LOWERING YOUR TRUCK

[88_mopar]

A few problems.
The C171 compressor is junk. You REALLY want a better compressor. Yes, I would still keep the tank outside too.
A "baby notch" is not going to work. An axle flip by itself can get the axle tube within 1/2" of frame rails and bottom out every bump. That's with full leafs. I would do full notch if you want the bags to do much of anything. You can bolt the notch on first, THEN cut the frame.

Why have 9 switches?

Well joe we already talked about the compressor and i decided on the rv2. As for the notch, i want to get the axle as far up as i can without hitting the floor when aired down. Im not looking to lay frame, just get as low as i can without hacking into my interior for clearance.
And the 9 switches.

LF   Front    RF

Left   All   Right

LR    Rear    RR

[88_mopar]

Eye-Opener that truck is sick. Any pics of the front suspension?

[Eye-Opener]

I will take some when I can...Thanks for the props...Rob

[Cruisin_RC]

Here's a few pic's of my '89 D150. Shockwave air suspension in the front and air-shock style shocks in the rear. Control arm re-construction in the front with no coils and flip kit, 2"blocks, and c-notch in the rear. It drives straight and very smooth as well. I'm running 20" in the front and 22" in the rear. I have a sway bar in the front and am getting ready to mock one up for the rear as well. I so wish it was a 4-door....but it'll do for now...lol....

That is freakin awesome man. Sweet!!

Here's the lowered rat rod RC. The back end still needs to come down,but the gas filler tube is nearly hitting the top of th shackle as it is. It took a three year break from being worked on. I just took it on the test drive this eveng. It's as much fun as I remembered it to be.

Thinking flat black, red rims, and portawall add on whitewalls. Been wanting to send the back wheels to Stockton, and get ten inch hoops installed. Some M/T tires on the back would look wicked, hehe.,,,,Cruisin

[88_mopar]

Cruisin, I guess great minds do think alike. I basically have the same "theme" idea but i want to change my body around quite a bit. I wanna go with a 73-76 front clip and doors, weld on matching quarters so it basically looks like a pop-top with the top welded on. Then, weld the rear windows shut to mimic an old 50's panel wagon(can you say blind spot?). I haven't decided if i want to go with a clam-shell rear end or barn-doors.
Shaved suicide doors, and remove the rear seat and extend the floor up to the back of the front seats. I may go with a sliding ragtop sunroof too but im not sure.
Oh well im just rambling now. Heres some "inspiration". I want to make an RC version of this stepside.

[88_mopar]

Eye-Opener I just noticed you shaved the rain gutter too. Do you have any issues with water leaking in at all?

[Eye-Opener]

Eye-Opener I just noticed you shaved the rain gutter too. Do you have any issues with water leaking in at all?

All the seals are brand new so no leaks inside...keep in mind the windows stay up in the rain and the a/c chilling...lol.

[Eye-Opener]

Cruisin, I guess great minds do think alike. I basically have the same "theme" idea but i want to change my body around quite a bit. I wanna go with a 73-76 front clip and doors, weld on matching quarters so it basically looks like a pop-top with the top welded on. Then, weld the rear windows shut to mimic an old 50's panel wagon(can you say blind spot?). I haven't decided if i want to go with a clam-shell rear end or barn-doors.
Shaved suicide doors, and remove the rear seat and extend the floor up to the back of the front seats. I may go with a sliding ragtop sunroof too but im not sure.
Oh well im just rambling now. Heres some "inspiration". I want to make an RC version of this stepside.

Thats a badass look..love the green....

[Cruisin_RC]

I'm curious about the drip rail removal. Isn't there a gap left once you take the two pieces down to body level? Is it small enough to weld shut, or is there more metal work involved?,,,Cruisin

[Eye-Opener]

They were cut back to about 1/4" and massaged closed, grinded flat, ground out a v-channel, and welded. Lots of work, and it was done and painted 3 years ago and although it just hit the streets...it shows no flaws...

[joe s]

That really is too bad the dodge is already up for sale. Was kinda hoping we could keep more 2wd guys around here.

[Eye-Opener]

That really is too bad the dodge is already up for sale. Was kinda hoping we could keep more 2wd guys around here.

New baby and moving costs is the only reason why...If I don't sell it within a certain time period, I'm going to go nuts in the bed and keep her for a while.....So for now ya'll gotta deal with my clunker....lol.....

[joe s]

I do understand. Unfortunately a lot of the guys who have built clean dodges suddenly got bored with them and disappeared off the forum before much info could be gathered.

[need$$]

From what I have been reading from this thread these things will work to drop a '90 RC correct?
http://www.gcustoms.com/product_info/category_id/5/subcategory_id/139/subcategory2_id/4014/products_id/21366/
http://www.gcustoms.com/product_info/category_id/5/subcategory_id/139/subcategory2_id/4010/tbds/44/products_id/13996/

[88_mopar]

From what I have been reading from this thread these things will work to drop a '90 RC correct?

The coils will only net you about an inch drop if that. Stock 94-01 coils are longer than 72-93 coils by about an inch. Same with the shackles, you may get 1.5" out of them. But yes they will work if you only want minimal drop.

[need$$]

I just want a 2"-3" drop preferably lower in the front, and less than $250.
After the drop would I have to get skinnier tires?

[Cruisin_RC]

Cruisin, I guess great minds do think alike. I basically have the same "theme" idea but i want to change my body around quite a bit. I wanna go with a 73-76 front clip and doors, weld on matching quarters so it basically looks like a pop-top with the top welded on. Then, weld the rear windows shut to mimic an old 50's panel wagon(can you say blind spot?). I haven't decided if i want to go with a clam-shell rear end or barn-doors.
Shaved suicide doors, and remove the rear seat and extend the floor up to the back of the front seats. I may go with a sliding ragtop sunroof too but im not sure.
Oh well im just rambling now. Heres some "inspiration". I want to make an RC version of this stepside.

I too want to remove the greenhouse windows on the sides, and make a panel truck out of it. The glass
removal would probably knock about 60-70 pounds off the weight of the vehicle, if not more. I wish they came with a different rear door too. A clamshell would be nice instead of the huge hunk o fiberglass, lol.,,,,Cruisin

[88_mopar]

I just want a 2"-3" drop preferably lower in the front, and less than $250.
After the drop would I have to get skinnier tires?

For a 2-3" drop stock size tires will be fine. Less than $250, id buy these coils and do shackles in the rear. Or remove a leaf and save even more $$.  http://midamericacustoms.com/shop/article_MAC-003/72-93-Lowering-Springs-2%22-drop.html?sessid=ZqrdEfEVBkMsI40NhrHWnduNU6mLB3zP3rd7lUlKT2wQ9p8bLKOEauJmedSsqAkp&shop_param=cid%3D3%26aid%3DMAC-003%26

[Cruisin_RC]

You can cut one coil off and file down the bump stop some. Need new shocks too, though. Stil a lot cheaper than $250 coils, plus shocks, plus plus....,,,,Cruisin

Mine is sitting with the top of the front tires even with the fender lip, so about 2-3 drop under stock height.

[88_mopar]

Its a shame they used chevy crap to do it but this is probably the lowest RC out there.
http://www.sporttruck.com/featuredvehicles/dodge/0911st_1985_dodge_ramcharger_busted_knuckles/index.html

[need$$]

My brother just got rid of his drop and his shackles are for a 78-88 chebby, would those work for the RCs? If I can get these shackles and I know they work I will finally lower my RC.

[88_mopar]

They should work fine, as long as the chevy had 2.5" springs( which i believe they do)

[need$$]

Ok, the shackles are the 2.5" ones. The think I want to know now is will I rub the wheel wells with a 2 inch drop on P225/70R16 tires? It looks like the front wheels would hit because they are too wide.

[88_mopar]

Unless you have incredible backspacing on your wheels, theres no reason you should rub. Your tires are skinnier than stock (235/75R15).

[need$$]

The back looks fine, but the front tires look like they are too far out and the top of the side walls would hit the fender lip. How can I move the tires in farther or would I just have to get new wheels/tires?

[88_mopar]

Theres no way to move your wheels in without major fabrication. Do you know the size and backspacing on your wheels? You can get two front wheels with more backspacing to move them in but when time comes to rotate your tires you'd have to get the tires taken off the rims to be rotated, or, since you wanted it lower in front, you can just buy 2 lower profile tires for the front. Possibly a 60 series. But then you cant rotate your tires front to rear at all. If you dont want to get new rims, personally id just get some 215/60r16's to put up front and just live with not being able to rotate them front to rear. Theyre 2.25" shorter and .5" skinnier than your current tires. Plus theyd get you another inch of drop in front.

[joe s]

Make sure they are NOT directional tread. You can still go side-side if they are non directional.

I have directional staggereds on my car. 245/45/17 and 315/35/17. Since they are staggered, you cannot switch them front to back. Since they are directional, you cannot switch them side to side.

Essentially, if they get any uneven wear, they are junk. (technically, they can be flipped on the rim, then switched) but that's an expensive rotation.

(those sizes were SPECIFICALLY chose with a single spare tire in mind)
So I can carry 1 extra 245 tire for the front, BUT be able to use it on the rear, w/o risking blowing up my trac lock differential. They are both identical height, just a much increased rear width (almost 4" wider) 

[need$$]

I wont be changing the tires, as they have a lot of the tread left.
Most of the lowered RC's I've seen seem to have the front wheels angled up slightly.(tops are tucked in some) Would mine do the same thing if I just got the front drop springs from mid-america and then got an alignment?
If so, that would be perfect.
PS I dont know why but I cant stop thinking that the front tires will hit the inside of the wheel well if I hit any bumps after I lower it. I guess I'm paranoid.

[joe s]

That is called negative camber. A desirable trait to a minimal extent, if too much (actually visible) then it will eat the inside half of your tread. Uneven tire wear.

May also handle funny since only a 2 or 3" wide section of tread may actually contact the pavement.

In many cases, even an alignment won't fix this, since shims and washers and offset bushings will only do so much. To correct, the upper arm has to be pushed further outwards and/or the lower has to be pushed further in wards. BUT like I said, you can only go so far.

After that, you have to cut and reweld your ball joint mounts at an angle to counteract the tire angle (camber)

Many alignment shops will not touch an altered ride height vehicle since ANY mod that affects spring height on a IFS vehicle, will inherently affect camber. The wheel does not travel straight up and down, it pivots on an arc.

Or drive around looking like a honda (excess tuck), and replace tires every 6 months.

[88_mopar]

Quick easy way to tell if they might hit is to tape a straight edge(flat stock, about 3" taller than the tire) to the face of your tire and bounce up and down on the front bumper. Have someone watch the straight edge as you bounce it and check for how much clearance there is. Do you know the wheels dimensions?

[need$$]

the only dimensions I know are 16x8
I dont know any of the backspacing or what not.

[funnycar65]

Hello I found this thread through another site I'm a member on.I want to lower my 85 Dually 4/6.If the lower control arms and front coils are the same(longer coils same diameter) dropped 1/2 ton springs and control arm should work then,correct?What about a flip kit for the rear then?

[joe s]

Hello I found this thread through another site I'm a member on.I want to lower my 85 Dually 4/6.If the lower control arms and front coils are the same(longer coils same diameter) dropped 1/2 ton springs and control arm should work then,correct?What about a flip kit for the rear then?

Flip kit can be done quite easily for a very significant rear drop. A longer shackle may also be used.
Frame notching is almost mandatory at this point. When my buddy dropped his '90  with flipped axle (no kits available) he had approx 1/2" axle to frame clearance. If someone climbed in the back, he had 0 clearance, the axle would rest SOLID against frame rail. Other's have had better luck, suppose it depends on your spring arch.
http://ramchargercentral.com/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=84

I don't know where the pictures are.

[need$$]

For those of you rockin' the 2wds, another fairly easy way to lower the front is to remove the front coil "keys". They are little metal spacers used mainly for bigger tires, not sure if all 2wds have them though.
Mine had two for each side, I took 'em out with some channel locks and it now sits 1"-1.5" lower than it did before. Its minimal but it really sets off the look of my RC.
Protip: alignment is highly recommended afterwords.
I will post up pics tomorrow if I can.

[need$$]

Here's some pics of what I mean, and a before and after pic
before

after

about 1.5 inches from tread to fender

suspension "keys"



this is where they were

and look how close the bump stops are

[Eye-Opener]

Those "keys" aren't factory....Someone before you had a rubbing issue and popped them in for a quick fix. Nice looking RC though...

[need$$]

Those "keys" aren't factory....Someone before you had a rubbing issue and popped them in for a quick fix. Nice looking RC though...

What ever rubbing issue he had, it is gone now. Thanks man.

[wyldebill]

I would post a pic of my junk if I could figure out how to post pix on this site. 

[need$$]

Upload pics to photobucket.com or similar site. Copy the URL and put [I MG] (minus the space) before it and[/I MG](again minus the space) after it.

[joe s]

Code:

[img]www.mypictureishere???.whatever[/img]

www.photobucket.com

[wyldebill]

 crapy fone pix, but my junk

[88_mopar]

Well driverside coil broke the other day so I threw in some 2" drop springs for an s10. When I first put them in it sat at the same height as before but so far it has settled down to about a 1" drop. I used djm CS2321-2, got em at summit for $95 if anyone cares.

EDIT: I should add that i replaced the original, wornout, 22 y.o., 200k mile springs and got 1" drop with these coils, if you have a low mile truck with good springs you'll probably get 2-2.5" of drop. Also, anyone that is leary of putting mini truck springs on a half ton, the DJM's i put on were definatly beefier than the stock ones i took out. It rides alot smoother too, not as much bounce after hitting a dip in the road.