Scary Spring Under

[Joe Handley]

Went to a local cruise night with Dad tonight, and after we finished looking around and started to walk back to my Jeep and came across a very well used post war Chevy p/u that had been lowerd a bit. Just before we got to the truck Dad and I both noticed something that made both of us stop in our tracks. The guy used lowering blocks and new u-bolts to drop the rear, but didn't have the bolts over the axle tube

Here's the pics Dad took!

Yea, the bed was bad enough we didn't need to look under the truck to see the lowering job!

I actually saw the guy driving past the street the car show was on, Dad and I still can't believe it's held together this well

[sdrodder]

i think it would work. I mean it would be safer running it over the axel tobe but it works doesnt it?

[Joe Handley]

Dad was amazed he even made it out of teh driveway like this, let alone navigate the railroad tracks right next to where the truck wa sparked.

[Guest zebm1]

Hmmm, guess that guy assumed that leaf springs always retain their recurved shapes under acceleration or heavy braking....they have a tendency to look like flat "S" curves sometimes. Is why we used to run 8 to 12 leaves per side on our local short-track stockcars. For more control of axle "windup."

[george 53]

If you look close, you'll see that it's probly the way G.M. set it up originaly.Theres no provision to clear the brake lines, so it must have come like that from the factory. All I can see is that he put a block between the rear axle an spring.Isn't that How you instal lowering blocks? Only thing I can think of it's not beein right is , is there a u-bolt behind the axle? I can only see one in front of it. It NEEDS to have one on EACH side of the axle to hold it securely. Am I missing somethin?

[george 53]

OK I went back an took a better look an other than it beein a homemade up fixture it looks ok to me. I woulda used squred off u-bolts as opposed to U-bolts, but it looks like he put em where G.M. intended them to go,Again, AM I MISSING SOMETHING???!!! cuz it looks OK to me.

[lordairgtar]

Actually, those are the lowering blocks that were sold in all kinds of parts stores and speed shops and they are installed as they were meant to be.

[Joe Handley]

If you look close, you'll see that it's probly the way G.M. set it up originaly.Theres no provision to clear the brake lines, so it must have come like that from the factory. All I can see is that he put a block between the rear axle an spring.Isn't that How you instal lowering blocks? Only thing I can think of it's not beein right is , is there a u-bolt behind the axle? I can only see one in front of it. It NEEDS to have one on EACH side of the axle to hold it securely. Am I missing somethin?

I noticed that and still think that it's a screwed up way of doing it, even if he used the proper square bolts instead of u-bolts and blocks that would fit better. If GM did it that way, then I'm still amazed it worked as well, for that many years, on as many vehicles as it did before the lowering job happened. Personally, I'd have re-routed the brake lines and I refuse to use blocks to go up or down on a leaf spring vehicle, just don't trust the things.

Edited August 17, 2008 by Joe Handley

[midwest 1953]

That's probably a 47-54 chevy or gmc with the factory rear axle... the u-bolts have to be installed that way because it's a torque tube axle.. there is no rear u-joint.. so the entire axle pivots on that bolt you see in the photo.. if you u-bolted the axle to the spring...the spring would bind.. and eventually break

by the way thats the correct way to lower a pre-55 chevy car ...for the same reason .....

[Joe Handley]

That's "correct"? Looks like a FUBAR waiting to happen!

[Uncle Mike]

That's "correct"? Looks like a FUBAR waiting to happen!

It Is the correct way, although the 'U' bolts are not fitted squarely atop the bracket. The correct 'U' bolts would fit properly.

As for the 'pin' rotater, it is a tried-and-proven setup. Look under some of the serious race designs today. Chris Alston uses a setup like that with his 4-link suspensions. It is a 'no-bind' design, and utilises an identical rotation pin for suspension.