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Hi guys,

My 58 (3100)fleetside project is moving right along. I ordered my 4"drop with Sid, I'm getting the parts for the 350 conversion, and everything in-between.

I am going to tackle the rear axle next. I want to put it on top of the leaf springs.

http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv127/davisears/?albumview=slideshow

In the photos, you will notice a bracket at top of the axle that's welded on. On the bottom, I noticed an attachment for the shock mount.

I want to put the axle on top of the leafsprings. Looking at my setup, how in the world can this be done? The weld on bracket on the top of the axle is in the way, and the lower shock mount is in the way. What do you guys think? Who has done this before on a 58 3100?

You're gonna lose that stock spring pad. Here's an EASY button. They also have a technical article on their web site on how to do it.

Thanks Waldo, that's a great article.

casey,
i once used a "U" bracket kit like this to lower an early 70's chevy full sixe truck.

http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Fall2003/Installing_a_34inch_DJM_Suspension_Drop.htm

this style is super easy, leaving the factory pad welded to the housing, and the "U" bracket allowing you to put the housing on top of the leafs. you even utilize the factory u bolts.
i know this article is for a frod ranger, but its the same for any type leaf set up.
maybe you could even fab up your own brackets.

leonard

Ouch My Eyes lol Ratrod that was a ford now i wont be able to eat for days lol JK :P

Thanks Leonard,

A 125.00 bucks for a couple metal brackets *(what most venders charge for the axle conversion) seems like a lot of money. What you posted looks like a better bet===

LOL. i know, i know, i should be ashamed of myslef. LOL.

leonard

yep, i hear you.. and you wont have to weld anything.
take care..

leonard

Rat Fink, If you do this flip with that kit please let us know how it went, and take some pics if possible. Thanks

Well I went to DJM website and couldn't find anything for the axle flip kit that matched what Leonard posted. Unless I was looking in the wrong spot All I could find was set ups for Late model Gm trucks and suv's. The set up that CPP has look's pretty straight forward and yea it cost $125.00 and you have to weld and fabricate a little bit, but that's half the fun with these trucks isn't it? It's not supposed to be easy and straight forward all the time.

I talked with DJM on the phone today. I told them what I wanted and they directed me to the universal Chevy kit.

The guy on the phone was like, Son of a B this, and F-bomb that, if you do this, you'll F your transmission, blah blah blah. Talk about customer service! Lol. Never had a customer service quite like it. Anyways, I may try again tomorrow and maybe I can talk to a different rep. who may be able to direct me in the right direction.

One helpful piece of advice I received from this guy was that when you flip the rear axle, you should move it back a little to avoid damaging the transmission. Good advice. AND after talking to my buddy who is an expert on this stuff, he said pinion angle isn't all that important unless I'm off by more the 4-5 degrees. Shouldn't be too hard. In response to the comment above, I will update you on the flip and how it goes.

Casey in regards to the moving the rear axle back a little this is a little I found on DJM's website, I'm posting just a fraction of what they say because it's just to darn long. Lets see what our fellow Bolter's have to say...."When you place your axle on top of the leaf springs there are two very important things to consider. No. 1 you must move the rear axle back towards the rear of the truck, away from the transmission, around ¾ of an inch. This is done because your drive shaft actually becomes longer when you “flip” your axle. Say what? Gets longer, how? You’ll notice the splined slip joint in the front of your drive shaft. It’s there to allow the drive shaft to move towards and away from the transmission as the suspension cycles up and down. If you were to support your truck by placing jack stands under the frame (both sides) in the rear. Then, with a floor jack supporting the rear end, remove the lower shock bolts and let the rear end down with the floor jack and look at the splined slip joint, you will see a fully extended slip joint. Now slowly jack the rear end up with the floor jack and watch the slip joint contract. If you could jack the rear end up to the point where it was level with the transmission the splines might completely disappear and the drive shaft would be forced into the transmission. This is not a good thing and why you need to move the axle back away from the transmission when you install a “flip kit”. Now the second consideration when installing a “flip kit” is pinion angle. The typical drop you can expect from a flip kit is in the 5” to 8” range, depending on the thickness of your leaf spring pack. And while the rear of a pick up truck is designed to operate in a wide range of ride heights (empty to overloaded) it is still necessary to establish an optimal static pinion angle. Axle locating brackets in most flip kits have a built in angle, by having unequal length legs in the “U”. This works pretty good most of the time, but not all trucks are created equal and often you need to adjust the pinion to get rid of a pesky vibration."................JOSH

notice the holes in the U brackets are offset.
this will offset your axle to the rear, and long as you install them correctly.
the lower the car/truck is, it pushes the driveshaft further into the transmission, thus needing to have the rear more rearward the further you lower your ride.

hope this helps.

leonard

I noticed the offset, and it makes sense to move the axle back a bit. But looking at all the 55-59 chevy venders, NONE of their axle conversion kits have the offset. I'm not sure why not. Maybe its not an issue on 55-59 trucks?

strange the offset not being on the other vendors brackets....
but i took 4 leafs out of my original 7 factory leaf pack, and didnt do anything, pinion angle or offset wise, and i am fine so far, with no driveshaft going too far into the transmission.

leonard

Did you do an axle flip also, Leonard?

nope, sure didnt. i forgot to add that.. sorry.
but i took the 4 leafs out and added shackle extensions and it lowered the rear right at about 3-4 inches.

leonard

Ok, well that's still a significant drop. If your pinion angle didn't change, hopefully mine wont either. I ordered a kit today from a vendor that is just a typical axle conversion kit, with the exception that I'll use it as a flip kit. Hopefully I get it soon---

cool... good luck, and let us know how it came out.
my pinion angle MIGHT have changed, i just never checked it. LOL. stupid me, huh ?
but it has been lowered for about 1 year now, and i have put about 2k miles on it, and at times have the truck up to 75mph, without any problems so far.

leonard

You'd know if the pinion angle was off, you'd have a vibration at or above certain speeds.

What I was taught reagrding angle: With suspension loaded, ie as it would sit to be driven, the trans output and pinion should be equal but opposite. If you trans output is angled down 3 degrees, the pinion should be pointed up 3 degrees. Max should be 5 degrees. Keep this in mind as you do your assembly.

Devin

I definitely will, thanks.