Anyone relocate their rear leaf spring under the frame on a D100

KenworthGoose moved the hangers to the inside frame rails d-chassis and a cut and narrowed his 8 1/4 and resplined the stock axles.

I did a d chassis with the rear shackle flip and flopped A-body 8 3/4 under there to tuck 12x15 325/50/15 in the fenders. following your truck adding the caltracs LOL!


I did a d-chassis with the shackle flip axle flop then added some weight in the bed to get the lower ride height I wanted.

then welded some brackets/ladder bars/coil overs under it with the ladder bars in-line/centered to the frame rail.

then removed the leafs/brackets from the outside of frame rails. got the new ride height and kept the pinion angles correct also went to a 14x15 rim.

I did not like the ladders on inside the frame rails on my first attempt at ladders.. too narrow for me. I can only bring the tire/wheel in as far as the outside frame rail so no need to have the ladders inside IMHO.

in-line is fine.

I have some pics I will post later of some mounts/leafs that are on Ferlins green truck.

easy to fab up and works out nice with leafs in line with frame rails. IIRC he had 14x15 also.

slowly working a short 4x4 chassis to make a mid 80s 2x gasser truck with straight axle/leafs up front, 3" straight tube with the yokes/spindles/hubs/rotors off the 80s front diff.

this should keep all the stock caster/camber/toe-in specs and stock steering linkage.

but then again a front & rear 4 link with king shocks would be cool?

Shocks are already relocated on Competition engineering brackets just want to move springs to get more tire clearance It hooks up good right know so I don't' want to mess with it to much . Just got it back to the track it hasn't been out for 7 years
Last Saturday

Love watching that truck launch!
It absolutely hauls the mail!
Glad to see you back as well.

are you just using stock leaf springs?

Stock Replacement springs, bent the originals ones they wrapped up so bad before the Caltracs. They are D100 4 leaf pack just missing the overload leaf.

Are traction bars any good if you have them right up to the front leaf spring eye? Trying to get mine to hook better.

I have a set of SSM lift bars for A-body. since I flopped A-body 8 3/4 in there for 12x15 325/50/15 M/Ts they went right on thruck

they replace the shock mount with a plate/traction bar that clamps to the leaf just behind the front eye. about the same spot caltracs pushes on the leaf. bolts solid and preloads the springs. lifts as it plants the tires.

it has steel wedge pieces square u-bolt clamps to fine tune it and instruction said to use 2 on pass side with 1 on driver side to start.

I had got down too 2 stock leafs with the lift bars and got lots of lift but blow the tires loose when it over extended the shocks...with a bang.. need moved like on your (clutch) truck.

I like them better than the slapper bar/rubber bumper old skool traction bars as the clamp solid up front and have pre-load built into them.

want to give them a shot or pics LMK.

working on my lap top now or I would post a few pics of different set ups

Part of your problem on the rear is the angle of the shocks when you flop the rear end to the top of the springs . The shocks are at to extreme of an angle to do their job. You could try some spring clamps on the forward section of the spring also . I have actually done way more work to the front end to get mine to hook than the rear. The rear is basically shocks relocated On CE brackets Rancho 9 ways with Caltracs in lower hole and shackle bushings honed out till the move freely when assembled.

Front end:
van lower control arms

Stock upper control arms

5th avenue front spindles
with the steering arms on upside down

stock strut rods removed replace with
chromoly tube and rod ends with heavy
duty tabs welded to frame and c lower control arm

Moroso GM F body trick springs for a big block

All bushings honed and greased
until control arms move freely

Strange adjustable shocks for B body
with extension

Thanks clutch !! I already had the shock moved from the truck location to the same as a car, I will move them again. Now are the Caltracs from a B-Body or did you have them made? Thanks again

LOL! and rack & pinion, weight reduction holes..

tell me more about the spindles & rack. how did you mount the rack to chassis?

by the looks of the launch you make it is working rather well. I will be moving my shocks for sure.

those front end mods look very interesting and like the use of the trick springs in there but confused on the upside down steering arm?

They had to be flipped so the tie rod don't hit the strut bars. 5th avenue spindles steering arms are bolted on. The rack is mounted on a piece of 2"x3"

heavy wall tube with a nut welded to the back mount just like it did on a Dakota. The trick springs and some 90/10 shocks making sure the control arms

move freely will get you a long way.

They will make the Caltracs to fit your truck just have to take a couple measurements They probably already have a setup by now with the flopped rear end.

did you fab a lower steering shaft to hook the rack up? stock upper steering?

and 1 more ?... when you say "hone out the bushings" that's using the poly bushings and letting them spin in the c-arm bushing shell?

not the ones with the shell to be pressed in.

same for lower arm?

stock steering column with fabricated shaft with 3 ujoints. I hone out the center hole of bushing where the steel sleeve goes and then grease it up with some moly graphite grease both upper and lower . Don't use the urethane bushings in the strut bars they are to stiff .

I think, it would be easier to mount the springs inside the frame rails. You have to relocate the crossmember or how guys call it..
I would probably move that crossmember, box the frame and make new front mounts for the spring.


I made them like that, you could do something similar, but inside the frame rails.
If you need more separation, move the front spring eye higher.

Rear mounts

I thought about just moving them to the inside ,but after some measuring there is way to much stuff in the way that would have to be

moved ( cut off and re-welded ). I found some afco front spring mount that will weld right to the bottom of the frame after trimming

cross member. Also found some ball bearing sliders that weld under the rear . That will make it sit about the same or slightly lower.

Do the front end work first. Do everything you can to make the front end to move as freely as possible.

I tried to video it, sorry for the quality.. but you should get the point, what clutch tried to say..
No shock is going to fix the movement when the arms does not move.

That video above says it all

WOW that is one heck of a difference.

Looks like you had the same Idea . That setup works great If the track is decent all I have to do is squeak the 295x65x15 drag radials and it hooks great.

I use to use the 1st gen Dakota drop spindles and the 14 inch wheel rotors( I think they are 10.5 Dia.
Rear shocks were always relocated to a straight up and down location.
B body rear springs with the front hanger moved back 4 inches.

The other thing to do if you have the cash to spend is do a FATMAN conversion for the pre71 trucks, , takes about 150 of the nose of these trucks.

Clutch , love that truck of yours
I'll have my 75 4x2 Ramcharger out next year with a G3 Hemi, pulling the 440 out and slow it down to mid 10s ,

Nice!! what engine and ET were you running in that pic??

489 max wedge headed 426, I think that was 10.20ish forget the mph, that was taken in 86.

Clutch,
You never said what the rack is off of. And the 5th av uses the same ball joint size?

Rack is off a first gen Dakota . Had to ream the taper out a little on the spindles an bush the top one because the taper was on the wrong side.

Still looks and launches Awesome !!

FMJ spindles ?
Thx
Matt

I used the M body spindles because they were so many around.

Front