Fabricated Leaf Spring Slider Brackets?

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19_Dart_68

19_Dart_68

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Has anyone fabricated brackets for their rear leaf spring sliders, rather than just welding the to the framerail?
It seems to me that you may want more adjustability than is provided when just simply welding them in place... Because, I assume, that if you need to add weight to the back, or subtract it, change springs, etc. it will change where the shaft rides in the slider... Thanks in advance!
 
I made brackets for mine. Nothing fancy, not really all that adjustable. At least not the way I made mine. But they are bolted on, so I could always return to the original hangers or make another bracket. The write up on them is in my build thread here- My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head

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72bluNblu said:
I made brackets for mine. Nothing fancy, not really all that adjustable. At least not the way I made mine. But they are bolted on, so I could always return to the original hangers or make another bracket. The write up on them is in my build thread here- My "new" '74 Duster- or why I need a project like a hole in the head

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Hi there. I saw your thread earlier, but mine need to be under the frame (moving springs in).
So I think I will need to cut the framerail in order to fab the mount I am envisioning. The main reason being that I don't want the slider hanging down too far and drastically changing the ride height.
 
I did,but I moved my springs under the frame,so it was easy.
Dropped a heavy threaded plate into the frame rail.
 
19_Dart_68 said:
Hi there. I saw your thread earlier, but mine need to be under the frame (moving springs in).
So I think I will need to cut the framerail in order to fab the mount I am envisioning. The main reason being that I don't want the slider hanging down too far and drastically changing the ride height.
Click to expand...

I wanted to add that you’ll actually be lowering the ride height if you mount the sliders directly to the bottom of the frame rail. The body of the slider itself is actually not as tall as the shackles, so, you actually lower the car slightly even flat mounting the sliders. On my car I used the bottom of the frame stub as the height, and that lowered by car almost 3/8”. When younggun2.0 did his sliders and set them up into his frame rails he was lowering the car, about 1” if I recall correctly.
 
The first sliders I saw, - dude welded flat iron down each side of the frame rail forming a channel, spring-eye slid back and forth on the frame rail, that's it, - no bolt, nothin, roundy - round, Camaro frame, never jumped out, even when he went off-road . (not by choice)
 
I just started fabricating my own slider mounting plates rather then welding them to the frame. One side is drilled and taped. I have 4 1/2” of movement forward and back at 1 1/2” increments. Still need to drill and tape the other side of the plate.

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Strong work but I don't get it. How does it attach to the vehicle.
 
Ok I’m working on the Dart this weekend. The weather in Havasu is perfect for this. When I moved the leaf springs inboard to the frame I gusseted the rear shackles attaching points but since I’m changing to sliders I needed to remove them. With them removed now I can work on mounting the slider mounts.

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I cut the mounting plates in half to give me the left and the right sides. I was able to cut them with a table saw and a fine metal cutting blade.

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I’m going to mill a 1/4 slot on the top side of the mounting plates and the weld them on the outer edge to the plates. Then bolt them into place through the bracket and the frame. I will do that when I mock up the rear end with the suspension so I know where to locate the mounting point for a forward and back adjustment.

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Also started stripping down the rear 1/4 panels to see what’s underneath the top layer of primer. The original color is the Frost Green so I’m seeing body filler over the original green paint and a darker green over that plus another skim coat of filler then the gray primer and the black primer. I’m going to bring it down to the original green. Every piece of body metal was stripped to bare metal the a sealing primer except the 1/4 panels so once I do the car will be stripped of all paint and body filler. I’m planning on painting the car back to the Frost Green and a Dark Green vinyl top.

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Will your slider be at the same height from the ground as the factory shackle was? Like will the rear spring eye be factory height?
 
sabre67 said:
Will your slider be at the same height from the ground as the factory shackle was? Like will the rear spring eye be factory height?
Click to expand...

When I flush mounted my sliders to the bottom of the frame outrigger it lowered the car about 3/8” compared to the factory shackles. So with a 1/2” plate I’d think it would be pretty close so the same eye location as with the shackles.
 
68wssDartmmb said:
I just started fabricating my own slider mounting plates rather then welding them to the frame. One side is drilled and taped. I have 4 1/2” of movement forward and back at 1 1/2” increments. Still need to drill and tape the other side of the plate.

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Nice execution, but not clear why you need so much adjustability, and what the finished assembly weighs relative to the OEM hanger.
 
Rather than welding them to the frame rails and then have the slider max out based on position I can move it forward and back a few inches.
J-c-c said:
Nice execution, but not clear why you need so much adjustability, and what the finished assembly weighs relative to the OEM hanger.
Click to expand...
 
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