It's been more than a few years, shall we say, since the old trucks we love rolled off the showroom floor, and many have lived their lives and passed on, been resurrected, or just managed to survive the scrapper to live another year. Over the course of time, many trucks were "upgraded" to suit the owner's work/driving needs, restored, or maybe customized, but regardless which scenario, things like these were usually done on the cheap to get by or to work within the owner's budget.
There will always be the debate about I-beam axles versus IFS clips, and the biggest argument for or against the issue is cost. The second factor is "how low do you wanna go?" and it's quite well-known that an IFS will net the best ground-hugging results. But what if you still can't afford to, or you can't bring yourself to cut up your stock frame? I-beam axle trucks that have taken a more custom turn have seen their fair share of botched lowering jobs over the years, with most ranging from dreadful to dangerous, but to do it "right" and safely, you need to start over with parts made to do the job. Flipping the axle on top of the springs, removing leaves, and making spacers will only get you a treacherous, rough, frame-on-axle ride with the potential of breaking important parts-possibly causing an accident-not to mention bumpsteer and bad steering geometry.
We knew someone with such a precarious frontend setup on his '55 Chevy truck. It's an in-the-works custom inspired by the '50s Barris-built Kopper Kart with a lowering job that could have dated back to those very days. Besides the fact that the front suspension setup in the truck was a bit dodgy, to say the least, there was no axle travel, which is pointless and hazardous, so we consulted with the folks at Classic Performance Products (CPP) in Anaheim, California, about the issue. They said they had the parts to do the job right and end up with a decent ride in the end while keeping the 'beam axle setup.
CPP offers a new 3-inch dropped axle, 3-inch dropped monoleaf springs, new shackles complete with bushings and pins, U-bolts, short bumpstops, shock mounts, shocks, and a beefy 1-inch replacement tie-rod bar to cure your '55-59 Chevy suspension woes. All or part of this list can be used depending on your needs or desires, but one thing is for sure, you won't be able to get your non-IFS truck much lower than this and retain any sort of decent ride without cutting the frame and opening up another can of worms.
Of course, doing any amount of major lowering is a give-and-take process, but one of the most important issues when it's all said and done with these trucks is the drag link angle. The drag link connects the pitman arm on the steering box to the steering arm on the spindle, and when there is too much of an angle in the drag link, you get bumpsteer. To rectify the situation after a dropped axle and/or leaves have been installed, the steering arm needs to be heated with a torch and bent, usually down, to level out the drag link. Obviously, this needs to be done right, or you could not only hurt yourself, but could do something like set your truck on fire and ruin parts, so ask for help or hire a pro when it comes time for this portion. Everything else with this job is pretty straightforward. So if you're tired of losing fillings while driving down the road or just want to lower your stock truck, give CPP a call today and get down!
This custom '55 Chevy truck...
This custom '55 Chevy truck is the long-term project of a local upholsterer and was inspired by the Barris Kopper Kart. Unfortunately, it was lowered the way it might have been done back in the 1950s, which doesn't cut it today. Using a new dropped axle and monoleaves from Classic Performance Products (CPP), we're going to show you how to lower a truck with an axle-the right way!
While there is the chance...
While there is the chance that nothing would ever happen with a lowering job like this, there is always "what if." The leaf packs had many leaves removed, the axle was flipped to the top of the leaf packs, and hollow spacers in conjunction with long U-bolts left this '55-59 Chevy truck sitting in the weeds. With the weight of the truck at ride height, the frame was resting on the axle!
With the truck in the air,...
With the truck in the air, the wheels, brake drums, and backing plates need to be removed so we can get to the spindles. If you are keeping your stock brakes, take care to retain all their parts; CPP has disc brake upgrade kits for your truck-stay tuned for a six-lug disc upgrade on this truck.
Before trying to beat out...
Before trying to beat out the kingpin, make sure the tapered cross-pin is removed. Once you have the spindles off, give them a thorough cleaning and set them aside for later.
The remainder of the front...
The remainder of the front suspension can come off as a unit by disassembling the shackles at the end of each leaf spring. Make sure to support everything before removal since this stuff is heavy.
ith the frontend stripped...
ith the frontend stripped from the Chevy, now would be a good time to degrease the rest of the frame and clean up what might be hard to get at later. Even though this truck is slated to be a wild '50s-style custom, the same rules apply to a stocker.