A few rear suspension questions

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67dartGTconvertible

67dartGTconvertible

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67 dart. I want to move the leaf springs closer to the frame rail, move the axle back a 1/2" and install sliders in place of shackles. I am fabricating the front leaf spring mounting brackets out of 1/4" steel using the out-of-stock DrDiff offset kit for inspiration. For moving the axle back I plan on moving the leaf spring bolt hole in the front mounting bracket back 1/2".

For the rear I want to use sliders and make essentially this
1730481165800.png
but have the slider on a slight angle since someone mentioned in the thread where I pulled this image from that angling it would be beneficial.

Car was a slant6/904 convertible that will get a 400b/833. The rear will be explorer 8.8. I want to run about 27" diameter tires in the back. I am using new leaf springs that I bought at Carlisle over 20 years ago that I thought were "Super Stock" but have no idea at this point. Maybe someone can tell something from this:

1730482106721.png


My questions are:
For the front mounting bracket, is there an advantage to moving the leaf spring bolt hole up or down any amount compared to the stock position?

What angle, if any should I use for the sliders?
 
Unless you are trying to set records for a class I doubt you’ll notice the angled sliders.

The big deal is not getting any binding.

Edit: the front bolt is what moves the car. All forward motion goes through that bolt.

So its location both in height and front to rear location matters.

It’s hard with leaf springs to move the bolt reward in the car but you can. Up and down not only changes how the springs behave but it also changes ride height.
 
Thanks. I like the calverts. That said I am on a budget and was looking to get THESE and just work any angle into the fabrication.. 5 degrees and call it good?

Since the sliders are probably going to have the back spring location in a different position than stock shackles (probably a higher mounting point) I was wondering if I should also adjust the height of the front bracket bolt hole to compensate. The thing is that I do not know enough about leaf spring geometry to make an educated guess. I am hopeful that someone much more knowledgeable than me can look at what I am trying to to and make a recommendation.
 
you can move the front spring eye up or down 1" at the mount without throwing the rear geometry into too much disarray.

btw, those springs don't look like SS. i know the eye test doesn't mean much, but they don't appear to have enough arch to me. check to see if there's a number stamped on the lowest/short leaf.
 
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