63 Uni Long Uni Lowering Questions

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » October 26, 2011, 6:58 pm

Options, recommendations advice please.

I am finally ready to put my 63 Long Uni on the rotisserie (for torque box repair/replacement) and drop the frame. I have a good deal to have the frame blasted and powder coated, but before I do so, I want to make sure that I have made all the modifications I plan to make.

I have a set of mono-leaf springs for the front. They are non-reverse eye and I’m anticipating a drop of about 2”. If I had known that the dropped axles from Sid’s were only $350 I think I would have gone that route, rather than the monos (which I got for about the same price). Anyway, I would really like to go a little lower, maybe 4”.

I’ve found out that I can get the eyes reversed on the mono’s for $80, which I’m thinking will give me about a 4” drop. Am I thinking correctly?

If that’s the case, I would like to drop the rear the same amount. I was considering the DJM dropped shackle/hanger kit: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DJM-H ... /?rtype=10 which I believe will give me the 4” drop. But, this will run about $170 if I remember correctly.

Anyone know what kind of drop I would get if I had the stock spring eye’s reversed and maybe take out two or three leaves. I’m thinking this would be cheaper, maybe $80 to $100?

Thanks in advance.

Edit: Found the link to the shackle/bracket kit at Speedway. It's only $170, not $250 as I had remembered.

Alan Mclennan · Post by **Alan Mclennan** » October 26, 2011, 7:30 pm

Grits, what about flipping the rear spring mounts!

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » October 26, 2011, 9:01 pm

Alan: I had thought of doing that (would be much cheaper except for grinding off the bottle cap sized rivets

)...but found out from a post on here recently that you could only do that on the 65-66 trucks.
Seems that if you flip the forward rear mount on the 61-64's you get a bind due to the difference in design. Guess I could try to find a set of 65-66 mounts.

Alan Mclennan · Post by **Alan Mclennan** » October 26, 2011, 9:08 pm

sure would be cheaper!, do you have a pic of the 61/64 mounts?, I`m sure Ezer will know!

Truckrat · Post by **Truckrat** » October 26, 2011, 9:16 pm

This is my son's 63 with some leaves removed from the front and rear springs.
Brought it down about 3-4 inches in the front and rear. TR

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » October 26, 2011, 9:19 pm

I think Ezer was the one that said the 61-64's wouldn't work.

Can anyone confirm that a reverse eye front mono will give me a 4" drop +/-?

62galxe · Post by **62galxe** » October 27, 2011, 5:56 am

Dont remember how much drop i got with my springs but there is 1 1/2" between the bumpstop and axle.

salf100 · Post by **salf100** » October 27, 2011, 10:27 am

Reverse eye monos should get you about 4" Im having mine re-arched by a local spring shop for $250 and getting 4". The cheapest way to lower the rear IMHO is to do a axle flip. Gave me close to 6". Its pretty easy to do and cost was just labor since I found the steel I needed for free.

Leeroy · Post by **Leeroy** » October 27, 2011, 4:35 pm

I was considering the DJM dropped shackle/hanger kit:

I went this route as well, I am yet to install them but they look pretty beefy and well built. I beleive Ezer used these also and ran into a slight hiccup with positioning the front shackle mount, but it all still worked.

ezernut9mm · Post by **ezernut9mm** » October 27, 2011, 9:52 pm

is the djm shackle kit correct for the 61/64 trucks? i used one and the front rear hangers are too wide. they are correct for the 65-72 trucks, but not for the 61-64 trucks. i can get pics and show what i am talking about.
gerald, the reverse eye mono is 4" plus. the standard mono is right at 3".
i had my before and afters wrote down somewhere, but now i can't find them. lol. imagine that.

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » October 27, 2011, 10:36 pm

No the :DJM's are shown for the 65-72 trucks, but it was my understanding that they will work on the 61-64's, but apparently that's incorrect. I thought the DJM bracket/shackle goes on the rear of the rear spring, not the front of the rear spring.
If I can get a 3" drop with the non-reverse-eye monos that will be fine and really what I want. I thought my options were 2" or 4".
Chris: Did you have a problem using the DJM shackles or the bracket? If I can use the DJM shackles (without the bracket) that should give me a 2" to 3" drop in the rear (which would be fine) or if that's a problem, then maybe just take a few leaves out for a cheaper solution.

ezernut9mm · Post by **ezernut9mm** » October 27, 2011, 10:44 pm

the shackle is for the rear and the bracket is for the front to keep everything level and not mess up the pinion angle.
if you just lower from the front of the rear you are really messing with the pinion angle.
the djm kit is supposed to lower everything so pinion shims are not needed.
when i did the front bracket flip on my 68 i needed 6* shims to correct the pinion angle.
i did use the djm kit on my 61 and didn't need any shims, but there is some probable integrity issues with what i did, but i don't drive my truck 1000 miles a year. so i am not worried about it. i can supply pics saturday so you can see what i am talking about.

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » October 27, 2011, 10:51 pm

Pics would be great Chris.

ezernut9mm · Post by **ezernut9mm** » October 27, 2011, 11:01 pm

will do sir.

ezernut9mm · Post by **ezernut9mm** » October 31, 2011, 8:20 pm

pics finally gerald.
it is kind of hard to see, but there is an indention in the frame in front of and behind the front spring bracket. i am assuming this is for extra bolstering in that area. the djm brackets are wider for the 65 and up trucks because they are wider than ours.

here is a pic showing one of the indentions:

the djm bracket lands almost into the other indent making it where the bracket doesn't fit flush against the frame on both sides.

Gritsngumbo · Post by **Gritsngumbo** » November 1, 2011, 6:52 pm

Chris: Thanks much for taking the time to take the pics. Still not sure I understand why they won't work. Are the 65-66 springs actually wider?

ezernut9mm · Post by **ezernut9mm** » November 1, 2011, 9:04 pm

no, they will work in all respects, but if you look at your frame there are two indents that the factory spring bracket is mounted between. the djm bracket is wider or longer from front to back and one side lands in the indent on the frame. that is all really. i am using them, but i figured the super mechanical could easily find a dozen reasons that mounting them like that is not a good thing.
in short, they are working for me.

fire truck · Post by **fire truck** » November 1, 2011, 9:11 pm

Drop a 534 in the front and a load of brick in the back....