making 60s leaves work

[rob lawrence]

hi all. im new to this site and am keen to get a few opinions on wot im about to do wit the suspension on my 60 ute. i know theres guys out there that can make leaves really work, but finding the right people to talk to is hard. i wanna do it once n properly. so here's wot im thinkin.
REAR- move the rear shackle chassis mount back about 120mm( thats as far as it will go as the chassis' been shortened). get a custom spring pack made to that length, as soft as possible. ( im thinkin longer springs=more travel. also a bit keen on a bit more wheelbase cause my truck looks funny cause it looks too short )
- cause of the soft springs make an axle rap bar to stop the axle twisting.
- make a new upper shock mount crossmember as high as allowable under the tray, wit the mounts as far in as possible, to allow for decent long shocks.( am i right in assuming that shocks will prob be the limiting factor in how well the thing travels?)
-dropped hangers and drop shackles
FRONT- shackle reversal
-drop hangers and extended shackles
-raised upper shock mount hoops for big shocks
as far as i can figure if the springs are soft n theres heaps of shock length there the thing should walk good. any ideas or opinions on this would be greatly appreciated
cheers!

[Z()LTAN]

have a look at parabolic springs mate
http://www.westraliasprings.com.au/para.html

Look what they can do

[rob lawrence]

i like that! ive heard of parabolic springs. wot r they exactly?

[Z()LTAN]

the theory is that one parabolic leaf acts a a whole conventional leaf pack. so with less leafs they twist a hella load better.

They have 2 leaves so if one snaps you dont fall on the road and eat $hit, and the rear has a 3rd "helper" spring that only comes into contact with the others when you load the rear.

This is what my ones look like, mind you they are custom ones

[rob lawrence]

i see. thats great thanks mate gives me somethin to think about

[known 2]

79 series springs r longer than 75 maybe use lifted versions of them in the back.

dobinson make a very flexy leaff as well. that lux flexes so well cos it's sprung over. u won't achieve that from ur 60 unless u do the same.

parabolics and soa would be a good combo

[Z()LTAN]

parabolics and soa would be a good combo

Exactly what im doing on me 75

[jonamaphone1]

*cough* coils *cough*

[Z()LTAN]

pfft, coils smoils... way to expensive to get the same amount of flex as that highlux LOL

[Ruffy]

pfft, coils smoils... way to expensive to get the same amount of flex as that highlux LOL

How do you figure? A good set of coils, 300 bucks. manufacture arms etc, 250 bucks.
That's el cheapo.
Those springs would cost you that.

[Z()LTAN]

pfft, coils smoils... way to expensive to get the same amount of flex as that highlux LOL

How do you figure? A good set of coils, 300 bucks. manufacture arms etc, 250 bucks.
That's el cheapo.
Those springs would cost you that.

WOW i want to go to your world!!!!!!!

Now back to reality... i think not..

[+dj_hansen+]

pfft, coils smoils... way to expensive to get the same amount of flex as that highlux LOL

How do you figure? A good set of coils, 300 bucks. manufacture arms etc, 250 bucks.
That's el cheapo.
Those springs would cost you that.

He isnt figuring in the labour for someone to make them... if you jump on pirate and search for the 4-link calculator program, armed with a writing pad, tape measure, protractor and a calculator you could 4 link to you hearts content and it would only cost you the beer and food plus materials....

[tuffsahara]

some people like leafy others coils no need to bag em out idiot all hes doin is trying to help a fella with a leaf sprung tyruck out not all of us has bundles of cash to play with use your head

[Ruffy]

some people like leafy others coils no need to bag em out idiot all hes doin is trying to help a fella with a leaf sprung tyruck out not all of us has bundles of cash to play with use your head

Yeah... Don't flame people or i'll flame you!
























idiot

[lay80n]

Your plan sounds pretty good overall, though dont worry bout the whacky shackles, they are only really useful for pose value (search the site if you want to see what i mean). Regarding your wheel base, what is it at now, and what ride height and tyres are your running/planning to run? You SPOA, or planning it? 60's have a sweet wheelbase from factory. Dont just go lengthening it cause it looks short, as you may kill your ofroad ability.

You are right, long soft fairly flat leaves. I think there has been a bit of talk on parabolic springs on the board, (again a search will reveal more ).

Layto....

[baddboy]

Leaf springs can be made to work okay! Yeah the front was hitting, but not anymore. Lots of mods since this pic.

[Sic Lux]

This has parbolics in the front .


seem to work ok but still going to try RUF

[Guy]

hi all. im new to this site and am keen to get a few opinions on wot im about to do wit the suspension on my 60 ute. i know theres guys out there that can make leaves really work, but finding the right people to talk to is hard. i wanna do it once n properly. so here's wot im thinkin.
REAR- move the rear shackle chassis mount back about 120mm( thats as far as it will go as the chassis' been shortened). get a custom spring pack made to that length, as soft as possible. ( im thinkin longer springs=more travel. also a bit keen on a bit more wheelbase cause my truck looks funny cause it looks too short )
- cause of the soft springs make an axle rap bar to stop the axle twisting.
- make a new upper shock mount crossmember as high as allowable under the tray, wit the mounts as far in as possible, to allow for decent long shocks.( am i right in assuming that shocks will prob be the limiting factor in how well the thing travels?)
-dropped hangers and drop shackles
FRONT- shackle reversal
-drop hangers and extended shackles
-raised upper shock mount hoops for big shocks
as far as i can figure if the springs are soft n theres heaps of shock length there the thing should walk good. any ideas or opinions on this would be greatly appreciated
cheers!

If your looking at a flexy front end with a shackle reverse you may want to factor in a few hundred extra for a long travel/long slipjointed front d/shaft

[rob lawrence]

in response to the spring over, i know thats the best solution cause i can run flatter springs, but im led to believe they cant be complied. not that im gonna be completely legal, but they do stand out. im not ruling it out though.
as for goin coils, i have asked myself if theres gonna be this much fabrication involved, should i just jump straight in build a nice coil setup? prob wit this is it looks like it would be hard to use the 60 diff cause the diff centre is so far offset. i guess thats not such a big deal though. i still think skocks will be the limiting factor before the springs. hard to know wot to do. im able to do most the work myself, but having not takled this specifically before, im struggling to decide the best value for money/time option

[tuffsahara]

it all comes down to how much money you have/wanna spend if you have plenty of dollars to play with then ultimatly coils would be the go but at a price other than that theres no reason why you cant get those leafys flexing great

[lay80n]

Basically, you can get all the flex you will need from your leaves. There is such a thing as too much flex. Coils and links have other advantages, such as increased departure and approach angle, and the ability to set up the suspension to work how you want it. With a well set-up leave suspension, lockers and good tyres/gearing, you will go pretty much the same places as with coils. The driver would most lilkey be the limiting factor. (no offence intended)

Layto....