We all wish to have the “best of the best” for our custom trucks but, what if our pocket books don’t match our desires? Rent, bills, and kids can swallow the majority of the monthly income and make it hard to afford hot rods parts. With that said, I have friends that will buy truck parts before they put food on the table and starve for a week.
When it comes to fixing our classic trucks, sometimes it’s not all about showing off your custom suspension but rather improving the stance of the vehicle. In the past we have covered the higher end builds, but when it comes to custom suspension they’re other choices. For instance, the more wallet friendly mono leaf front suspension can enhance the stance by lowering the vehicle 3 to 4½ inches, depending on the drop chosen. For this particular tech article, we made a call over to Performance Online in Fullerton, California, where the helpful sales guys walked us through picking the correct parts. I explained to the salesman that the owner wanted to have a traditional looking pickup using monoleaf front suspension but with the added braking performance of disc brakes. He suggested that we use the 4½-inch drop monoleaf that moved the front axle forward 1 inch to center the wheel inside the fender. We also added the Performance Online master disc brake kit that will help tie everything together on the stock front end.
One of the cool things about lowering a vehicle with monoleaf suspension and upgrading the brakes is that the vehicle was back on the ground within a day. The ride quality of the monoleaf is not all that bad when you compare it to the stock suspension and in fact, I think it rides better because of the lowered stance. CT
I started off by lifting the...
I started off by lifting the vehicle and supporting it with jackstands. We supported the the frame toward the front of the vehicle so we had plenty of room to install the monoleaf and master cylinder booster.
Four bolts hold the drum backing...
Four bolts hold the drum backing plate against the spindle. Remove these four bolts and the stock drum brake hoses.
Since we were also upgrading...
Since we were also upgrading the brakes from drum to disc is was necessary to remove the old drum brakes.
Next, remove the old U-bolts...
Next, remove the old U-bolts holding the axle. Make sure to support the axle or it will fall and possibly damage the spindle treads.
Next, remove the old U-bolts...
Next, remove the old U-bolts holding the axle. Make sure to support the axle or it will fall and possibly damage the spindle treads.
RJ removed the cotter pins...
RJ removed the cotter pins and spring shackle pins holding the springs on. It may be a good idea to order new bolts that hold on the springs because the bolts might be pitted or rusted. We inspected our ’56 spring shackle bolts and they were OK.
Supporting the spring, RJ...
Supporting the spring, RJ pulled out the spring shackle bolt on the zerk fitting side. Repeat this step for all of the spring shackle bolts.
With the springs removed they...
With the springs removed they were laid side by side to compare the drop. We used the 4 1/2 lowering monoleafs from Performance Online.
Notice the monoleaf spring...
Notice the monoleaf spring centering hole is 1 inch forward compared to the stock springs. By moving the hole forward it will center the wheel inside the wheelwell.
The spring shackle bolts were...
The spring shackle bolts were then wire brushed and lubricated with new grease.
Slide the new Performance...
Slide the new Performance Online monoleaf in the stock shackle and install the bolts. We tightened the bolts and installed new cotter pins.
The provided centering bolt...
The provided centering bolt was then installed on the monoleaf.
We then greased the shackle...
We then greased the shackle bolts again to lubricate the bushings.
Using the provided U-bolts...
Using the provided U-bolts make sure you tighten these down with a torque wrench. A 1/2 air gun will give you a false sense of torque. The stock axle bracket and shock bracket were sand blasted and reused.
The shorter Performance Online...
The shorter Performance Online shocks were then installed making sure not to over tighten the bushing.
Next, the brake rotor bearing...
Next, the brake rotor bearing adapter is installed on the spindle. We used an old piece of pipe and gently hammered the adapter on the spindle.
The zerk fittings on the spindle...
The zerk fittings on the spindle needed to be moved over to make room for the disc brake caliper adapter.