Original ride height on a 10/78 40 (1 Viewer)

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tls3601

tls3601

Joined
Aug 18, 2013
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Location
Prescott Valley, AZ
My ‘78 came with a reverse shackle front Done via Dave Gore @lcwizard and about 4” of lift. I believe it is an old Man A Fre lift, rear shackles are 4.8” center to center. I want to get down to original ride height. As I do not have the original springs and am contemplating removal of the reverse shackle front end; probably lots of work! My question is can I even get original leaf springs any more? I believe original shackles are still available. I realize a 31” Tire will be max on my stock wheels. Or, am I better going with what the whole world does and get the OME 2.5 kit and still be able to run my KO2 33X10.5X15 tires? Any advice on this? My ride is on the stiff side now and have the weight of 4Plus products swing out carrier in the rear and Dave’s Bull bar bumper up front. Anyone running stock height? Opinions and advise appreciated. Tom
 
I have seen stock height springs somewhere on the Internet. If u Google for a while might find where. U could always check with Toyota too. Or have alcan build u some stock height springs. If u did 2.5" OME out back and stock height up front with the shackle reversal u would end up with a 2.5" ish lift overall all around.
 
@White Stripe so I could leave my perches up front and run stock leaf up front? Then the OME spring and shackle out back? Would I need to change front shackle length? Try and get pics out later today.
 
tls3601 said:
@White Stripe so I could leave my perches up front and run stock leaf up front? Then the OME spring and shackle out back? Would I need to change front shackle length? Try and get pics out later today.
Click to expand...
I think the shackle reversal kit adds about 2" of lift on its own. So if u used stock springs up front u would have only the 2" lift overall up front if u use stock springs. Then u just gotta lift the rear 2" or so. Once u get the rear lifted i would fine tune with different shackle lengths to level out if its a tad off. Or u could go back to shackle forward and start from scratch.
 
Although there are enough mixed reviews about shackle reversals that I wouldn’t do one... I wouldn’t go through the effort to remove it. The above plan makes a lot of sense.

I started with 31s in ‘91, wore them out and switched to 33x12.50s, wore those out, and now 33x10.50 BFGs... which are really only about 32” tall. I couldn’t be happier with the size, its abilities, and the stance. With a SBC I’ve even swapped in a 3.70 diff... a compromise for rock crawling but it yields a 25% overdrive in forth gear (2000 rpm @ 50 mph).
 
The PO added a shackle reversal to my 81, and im about to undo it. Unfortunately he also replaced the front perches...been looking for the original perches for awhile. Im not a fan of sr, especially of the way it was executed on mine, so for me its worth the effort to restore it.
 
@AutaviaFJ40 I imagine there will be some cutting and grinding to get down to frame. BTB has original perches for the front
 
The S/R adds 1 1/2" on it's own. You can run a stock front and a 2 1/2" rear for a fairly level ride height. I bought a 40 brand new from the dealer. They rode stiff with stock springs so I doubt you'll get the soft ride you seek even with stock springs. No one makes a soft riding spring for the 40. Every one I've seen runs between 340 and 490 in/lbs. 180~ 240 is a soft riding spring. The OME 60 series has a lower spring rate than the OME 40 spring. I'm guessing that the 40 spring was engineered first , long before people were looking for comfort in the 40s.
If you look back at the options of the late 70's, the springs were even stiffer back then than what you can get now
 
The S/R adds 1 1/2" on it's own. You can run a stock front and a 2 1/2" rear for a fairly level ride height. I bought a 40 brand new from the dealer. They rode stiff with stock springs so I doubt you'll get the soft ride you seek even with stock springs. No one makes a soft riding spring for the 40. Every one I've seen runs between 340 and 490 in/lbs. 180~ 240 is a soft riding spring. The OME 60 series has a lower spring rate than the OME 40 spring. I'm guessing that the 40 spring was engineered first , long before people were looking for comfort in the 40s.
If you look back at the options of the late 70's, the springs were even stiffer back then than what you can get now
 
@lcwizard thanks Dave for your input on this. As you know I own Randy’s old ‘78. I should probably get with you on a pm to drive it out to to you and get your input in Miami. Your craft on the reverse shackle and welds is most impressive. But, I may want to go lower. Incidentally, anyone have an opinion as to how 31’s look on a 2.5 lift??
 
@lcwizard the other thing is Randy used the 40 with him, his wife, two kids in the back, extra fuel tank and about as much gear as he could load in it. I no longer have the aux tank out back or the extra weight of it but do love the rear 4X swing out carrier and front bull bar bumper of yours up front. So I do understand why Randy had it setup up on the stiff side. Perhaps a softer setup may not be enough leaf spring with the heavier bumpers front and rear?
 
A full 20 gallon tank is about 250 lbs. The carrier is about 200 with a tire but the carrier is farther out so given the leverage it
probably squats the same. I don't remember which spring Randy ran . That was 20 years ago. Ranchos were common back then.
They also had one of the highest spring rates aside from Burbank, in the 450 range. You can make springs that ride well but I don't know of any off the shelf springs that ride well. There isn't much interest in OME or any of the other manufacturers to revisit the 40 series.
In the eyes on the big companies it's a dead item
 
Thanks for all of the inputs. I guess original ride height may be darn near impossible due to spring availability and may not give a very good ride even if available. I do believe OEM shackles are still available.
 
lcwizard said:
A full 20 gallon tank is about 250 lbs. The carrier is about 200 with a tire but the carrier is farther out so given the leverage it
probably squats the same. I don't remember which spring Randy ran . That was 20 years ago. Ranchos were common back then.
They also had one of the highest spring rates aside from Burbank, in the 450 range. You can make springs that ride well but I don't know of any off the shelf springs that ride well. There isn't much interest in OME or any of the other manufacturers to revisit the 40 series.
In the eyes on the big companies it's a dead item
Click to expand...
I don't think OME even lists the 40 springs upfront anymore.
 
225/85/16’s that measure a SOLiD 32” tall on 5.5” rims with 49.5 year old clapped out stock springs.

F56B998C-9E71-47C9-B171-7A276343415C.jpeg


I also run 33x10.50s on my FJ55 on stock 5.5” wide rims. No lift.

E095CFB8-00A1-4D22-8B8D-D70BC6261E0C.jpeg


My point? Many trucks are lifted way more than they need to be for tires to “fit”
 
@wngrog yes to me less is more. Thanks for posting up those pics my friend. I especially like the 40, is that Spring Green? Nice....
 
tls3601 said:
@wngrog yes to me less is more. Thanks for posting up those pics my friend. I especially like the 40, is that Spring Green? Nice....
Click to expand...

Spring Green and rust. Build thread in my signature Project Patina
 
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