[BG_TX]

Left Rear leaf is obviously cracked...

[GAS-A-LOT!]

Glad that rig went to you and not to them other members that pull the whole cabin out and replace it with a roll cage.... too clean for that .... and If you don't get it scraped or rolled, I wont laugh... just glad your keeping it clean....

[Front Range 4x4]

Very nice 62! It will be nicer with the round eyes.

Just noticing the shackles are greasable and appear to be anti-inversion so some suspension work has been done. Maybe I missed that you did it but with cracked springs I would guess not.

I've been reminded that was was clean when I got it but not that clean. Not so much any more but IMHO it's more fun to wheel a 62 than polish it.

[bridges]

BG_TX - If you want more time before the HFS, as a temp fix to the break, I've got my old springs sitting in the garage. I'm headed your direction in the next couple weeks and can drop it off.

Let me know - you're welcome to them if wanted.

[BG_TX]

Thanks Gas-A-Lot... I want to keep the rig as 'original' in appearance as possible but still capable of some mild off-roading. Most of the mods I plan on adding can easily be removed if I ever need to take it back to near stock condition.

FR4x4 - you are correct, the shackles were added by the previous owner. I am replacing the current shackles with HFS greasable barbell shackles when I tackle the suspension.

Bridges - excellent offer! I really appreciate the gesture but I think if I am going to replace one pack I might as well do them all. I was going to put off the suspension replacement until fall due to the Texas heat but it won't wait that long. I assume it will be installed within the next month providing my buddy (heap owner) is willing to sweat off 30-40 lbs helping me with the job.

I had to re-wire my passenger door speaker this past weekend (pulled a wire loose when cleaning the AC components), literally a 30-40 minute job with zero hard labor involved and by the time I was done it looked like a water hose had been turned on me from sweat. Texas is tooooo stinkin' hot!

Who has an air-conditioned garage? haha

[BG_TX]

Call it a shameless self-promotion, call it an addiction... I am raising my introductory post from the dead. I finally got around to purchasing the lift and as originally planned I went with HFS.



I committed the cardinal sin of lift installation... I forgot to take full vehicle measurements prior to installation. We put the front of the wagon up on stands Friday evening and started eye balling everything and talking through it. Before I knew it the front end was disassembled. Front end removal was very easy... I expected the bushings would be a nightmare after reading horror stories of hammering and torching. Only 2 caused me grief but with a couple wacks from Moses (BFH) and a pipe they were out.


made quick work of removing the shocks...


HFS spring on the bottom, OEM on top...


The front end removal took about an hour, in between a couple of beers and chit-chat. Then the 1st trouble spot... mounting the new shackles turned out to be very tough. We tried several methods and the shackle was too tight to slide over the bushing without chewing it up as it slid. We used a lot of grease, floor jacks to push it up, etc with no luck. We decided to call it a night, hang out with the and sleep on it.

Saturday we got started about 10a and attempted to mount the shackle. Same problems as the previous night... the next option was tapering the open ends of the 'H' to reduce friction and allow it to slide without tearing/rolling the bushing (suggested by a member and thanks!). I decided against it, the shackles we took off were anti-inversion shackles and they are easy to mount since they can be seperated. I'm not bashing the HFS shackles, they are beefy and look great but the anti-inversion are beefy and easy to remove/install. I sided with ease of use...

Next problem, U-bolt skid plate installation. I had read these can be a pain when bolting up to the spring pack but we had no problems.


We encountered an issue when we started mounting the shocks. The lower shock mount on the skid plate was in an odd location and hit the spring behind it and put the shock at an odd angle.


Here is the lower mount location, even without the spring clips the shock would hit the spring pack.


Maybe it was user error but I put the OEM seat back on, I think the OEM is built better anyway. The skid plate shock mount is welded onto the lip of the plate and I can see how that could be busted in some rough situations.

Front is done... on to the rear! The rear was very easy with no major issues. Spring comparison, HFS on the bottom and OEM on the top.


After the rear it was time to replace the steering stabilizer... should have done it when the front end was off, oh well. I beat on it for a bit with Moses and it wouldn't budge. Gear pullers had it out within minutes.


Fully installed and greased by about 6p... test drive and torqued by 7p. We measured the rear wheel well before installation and the lift provided 3" total lift (35" prior/38" after). I plan on putting shims in to correct the pinion angle (it is off), extended brakelines (never know when full rear flex is needed) and rear sway bar extensions.

Here is the progression of the wagon so far...

Not long after purchase...
31" ATs, Extended Shackles (1.5" fr/2" rr)

33" MTs, Extended Shackles (1.5" fr/2" rr)

33" MTs, 3" HFS Spring Lift, Extended Shackles (1.5" fr/2" rr)

[dhollingsworth]

That 62 is beautiful. Only 5k? A guy down the street from me was trying to sell his 62 for 5 with tranny issues and quite a bit of rust.

[D'Animal]

Good Gosh that is a clean rig.



Glad to see wrenching on it is a family event. Makes it easier to buy tools and parts.

[rfj62]

Looks awesome, hows the ride?

[Trapper50cal]

Looks Great!

I have to admit I never have had the skidplates on the front ubolts just the rear.

[mkguyvr]

how does the transmission drive? i am debating purchasing one from the trany god. could you tell me how much the tranny converter and shipping ran you? you could pm it to me if you want.... rig looks great keep the mods comming.

[BG_TX]

Thanks for the compliments!

The ride is night/day... the previous bushings were toast. Several had completely split down the middle so the spring/pin was able to easily slide around in the shackle which contributed to my body roll, road wander, etc. Previously I would frequently hit the bump stops when rolling through intersections with dips, etc...

Now it is very tight and I can take turns at normal speeds. I have no body roll that I used to experience and no road wander. The springs are a little bouncy but not 5 fat ladies in a 1965 Cadillac bouncy, more like a quick stiff bounce when hitting bumps and that is it (no ripple bounces, etc).

I have not taken it off-road yet... once I put the shims in, cut the U-bolts down and add extended brake lines I will do some mild wheeling to see how well it flexes.

Originally Posted by mkguyvr

how does the transmission drive? i am debating purchasing one from the trany god. could you tell me how much the tranny converter and shipping ran you? you could pm it to me if you want.... rig looks great keep the mods comming.

The transmission is good to me... I don't have much to compare it to since this is my first 62 LC and I have never driven a manual 60 to compare power to. I can say it shifts with purpose if I get on the gas, it is not sluggish when I am on the skinny pedal. If I am slow rolling with traffic (lights, stop signs, etc) I can not even feel the transmission shift but there is an exception at times. There is a slight lurch or lunge between 1st and 2nd, not all of the time and it is not too noticeable. I am not sure if this was an install problem or a rebuild problem. I can say it has not gotten any worse over the year and half of use but it has been present from day 1. Rodney was very helpful and a pleasure to do business with. Total rebuild, modified valve body, cooler/temp gauge and the shipping ran me about 4k and about 3-4 months of downtime. One could argue for 4k the lunge would be an issue, but again I can not contribute the issue to any work Rodney did… maybe we did something wrong on the install?

Let me know if you need more information…

[IrollwithTojo]

Question: when you put in your lift and extended shackles, did you need to add a shim and or anything to fix pinion angle? I'm thinkin about getting longer shackles myself, and heard I may need a shim to fix that.
Great lookin truck by the way.

-Carl

[taccruiser97]

You did very well on the whole thing, from purchase to the lift, to final product. A VERY nice looking 62.

[BG_TX]

Originally Posted by IrollwithTojo

Question: when you put in your lift and extended shackles, did you need to add a shim and or anything to fix pinion angle?
-Carl

Yes, I can't remember the degree needed... I could have ordered aluminum ones from CCOT or have 4wheel parts measure and install for the same price (I know 'aluminum sux'). I had 4wheel parts do it. I want to say 3 degree in the front and 2 in the rear.

Originally Posted by taccruiser97

You did very well on the whole thing, from purchase to the lift, to final product. A VERY nice looking 62.

Thanks... there are some minor things I still need to do (sound deadener, exhaust, seats, etc). Once those are done I am sure I will no longer be satisfied with the height, etc. I am not sure a 'final product' exists.