SUA Spring Perch (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Mar 23, 2006
Threads
22
Messages
1,344
Location
N' HAMPSHA
I may be dumb, but why is there space between the top of the spring perch and the axle? It looks to me like the spring perch could be mounted flush against the bottom of the axle and gain another 1/2" or so of clearance.
 
The space accounts for the spring pin.
why? the pin doesn't necessarily have to come through to the point of being exposed on the other side, does it?
 
On one side in the front you have the diff to deal with, so they're probably all matched to that one where you have interference. You could get a little lift in the back though.

how about a little grinding on the right side of the front diff to compensate?
 
All that work for...1/2" at most of extra lift? Might as well do a spring over if you're reworking mounts.
 
All that work for...1/2" at most of extra lift? Might as well do a spring over if you're reworking mounts.

Not so much looking for the 1/2" lift as a bit more clearance under the springs. SOA requires quite a bit more work, ie different shocks, cut & turn, brake line work, steering, etc. I'm 62. With my 3" lift and 34" tires, hopping in/out of something anything higher than it sits right now would be a stretch, and it isn't going to get any easier next year or the years after.

I want to keep the center of gravity as low as possible and meet lift restrictions here in the Northeast. Getting all the stuff that hangs below the axle as close as possible to the bottom of the axle and smooth makes for more clearance and less chance of hanging up. Same idea as flipping the ubolts which I have already done at the front and will soon do at the rear once I resolve the issues in this thread.
 
If you've had issues with it then by all means give it a shot, I've just never had a problem with spring clearance with my SUA '63 (2 1/2" lift and 32s). I understand wanting to keep a low COG, we've built a couple low rigs (2 1/2" lift, 37s ,108ish:1 crawl and 100" WB being the latest) that perform great and I suppose when I say spring over I envision the style I'm building for my crawler which requires a custom reversed eye flat spring that sits as low as possible for an SOA rig.

If it was me I'd slightly trim out clearance for the front passenger side perch as necessary and set them essentially flat on the housing with a spring pin that fits just in the thickness of the perch.
 
Same idea as flipping the ubolts which I have already done at the front and will soon do at the rear once I resolve the issues in this thread.

I've got a sweet pair of u-bolt flip plates with shock mounts doing nothing in my parts pile. Make me an offer if you need a pair.

If you were ok with a bunch of cutting and welding, you could recess the leaf perches a bit into the axle tube too. You could probably get away with about 3/4". :hillbilly:
 
(2 1/2" lift, 37s ,108ish:1 crawl and 100" WB being the latest)????

cool photos please, low w/ 37's i love it...I'm not ready to hack my body up, buggy would be cool w/ a fibriglass tub & body...? just rambling

sorry for the jacked thread. Go for it LCCRUISER, I've thought the same thing & the same thing for SOA. getting the SOA w/o so much lift...
 
(2 1/2" lift, 37s ,108ish:1 crawl and 100" WB being the latest)????

cool photos please, low w/ 37's i love it...I'm not ready to hack my body up, buggy would be cool w/ a fibriglass tub & body...? just rambling

This is the one I'm talking about pre relocation of the front axle but post relocation of the rear, picture taken after being loaded up to take back to the owner's house for finishing. It needs new fenders which are going to be tube fenders set level with the bottom of the hood. 465/203/cruiser with cruiser axles. 2 1/2" BDS springs with a leaf removed in back. Wheeled it for years on 33s until he grenaded a birf in Moab.
/hijack

edit: yes it's missing a lugnut on the passenger rear wheel, yes that's been corrected.
IMG00002-20100915-0735.jpg
 
Last edited:
Let's not forget room for the rear lower shock pins either. Earlier models all had 'em. I put my vacant shock pin mounts to use to avoid all the hurty rocks.
 
If you've had issues with it then by all means give it a shot, I've just never had a problem with spring clearance with my SUA '63 (2 1/2" lift and 32s). I understand wanting to keep a low COG, we've built a couple low rigs (2 1/2" lift, 37s ,108ish:1 crawl and 100" WB being the latest) that perform great and I suppose when I say spring over I envision the style I'm building for my crawler which requires a custom reversed eye flat spring that sits as low as possible for an SOA rig.

If it was me I'd slightly trim out clearance for the front passenger side perch as necessary and set them essentially flat on the housing with a spring pin that fits just in the thickness of the perch.

Keeping a SOA reasonably low requires the Berlin eyes on the springs you mention, there's an article about it in the current TLCA Magazine. Would probably also require moving the mounts. I'm trying to get by with what I have at the moment without too much modification.

Here in the NE, the obstacles are sometimes under the water or mud, so getting hung up happens more than we like since we can't always avoid waht we can't see. Tucking everything up close and making it as smooth as possible reduces the possibility of interference.

Your advice on the front passenger perch is appreciated. It's nice to get input from folks with different ideas and perspectives. That's what it's all about!
 
I've got a sweet pair of u-bolt flip plates with shock mounts doing nothing in my parts pile. Make me an offer if you need a pair.

If you were ok with a bunch of cutting and welding, you could recess the leaf perches a bit into the axle tube too. You could probably get away with about 3/4". :hillbilly:

Maybe an inch or inch and a half if I caulk around the opening where I cut through the housing just below the axle shaft, eh? :rolleyes: I'm a bit concerned about going that far with this project. Notching the tubes is too extreme, I just want to be as flush as possible.

I'm interested in the flip plates if they fit the '78 model (shock mounts vary a bit by year). Do you have the ubolts? How much with Priority Flat Rate shipping to 03304?

Thanks!!!

Larry

 
Maybe an inch or inch and a half if I caulk around the opening where I cut through the housing just below the axle shaft, eh? :rolleyes:


Um, you'd have to leave room in the middle of the 3" tube for the >1" axle shaft. That's where I came up with 3/4". Dumb idea in any case.

I'm interested in the flip plates if they fit the '78 model (shock mounts vary a bit by year). Do you have the ubolts? How much with Priority Flat Rate shipping to 03304?

Poser said:
This isn't classifieds. Take it to PM.

Message sent.
 
Thanks for all the input and advice!
 
holy tire rub batman

Suprisingly it doesn't rub much at all in back anymore, we recut the wheel arches a second time just slightly under the top of the wheel well since we're trying to keep as much of the body as possible, it hits bumpstop right before it rubs it's got way more droop than uptravel, that's for sure. The front on the other hand with stock fenders :bang:.
 
"it's got way more droop than uptravel, that's for sure."

Nice soft springs, right? what kind?

"The front on the other hand with stock fenders"

can you cut the fender front to back & move it up to the bottom of the hood? I know the tube fenders you talked about would be best but just wondering what stock fenders up high would look like.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom