JoesEdge
Well-Known Member
I got to working on the Duster over the Easter weekend, so I finally replaced my rear leaf springs with ESPO heavy duty 6 leaf springs along with polyurethane bushings for the front eye and the shackles. They price was too hard to pass up.
I got the stock height springs thinking they would settle into a height that I would like, but maybe I should have purchased the 1" lower springs. Oh well. It's not that big of a deal. I guess in time it will settle some more. I already had Bilstein shocks installed, so that was good to go.
I did have to drill out the front spring hangers to 5/8 inch. Luckily, I already had a good 5/8" drill bit and drill press, so that made the job much easier and cleaner. I wasn't going to let bolt size be a show stopper, besides I read that other people did the same thing.
At the same time, I also pulled out the 8 1/4 rear end with 4.10 gears (open carrier - that's just how it came when I bought it) with a '69 B-Body rear end with a 742 center section with a 3.23 gear (also open because that's what I found for dirt cheap - $150 bucks).
I'm loving the 3.23 gear. It's way more highway friendly and my son is claiming better fuel mileage already. I just need to find me a 3.23 geared center section with a Sure Grip or something I could rebuild with a Sure Grip.
Now the rear end seems to float over bumps and rides pretty smooth and does seem to handle better. After removing the old springs, I couldn't believe how bad they were. They were scary bad.
I got the stock height springs thinking they would settle into a height that I would like, but maybe I should have purchased the 1" lower springs. Oh well. It's not that big of a deal. I guess in time it will settle some more. I already had Bilstein shocks installed, so that was good to go.
I did have to drill out the front spring hangers to 5/8 inch. Luckily, I already had a good 5/8" drill bit and drill press, so that made the job much easier and cleaner. I wasn't going to let bolt size be a show stopper, besides I read that other people did the same thing.
At the same time, I also pulled out the 8 1/4 rear end with 4.10 gears (open carrier - that's just how it came when I bought it) with a '69 B-Body rear end with a 742 center section with a 3.23 gear (also open because that's what I found for dirt cheap - $150 bucks).
I'm loving the 3.23 gear. It's way more highway friendly and my son is claiming better fuel mileage already. I just need to find me a 3.23 geared center section with a Sure Grip or something I could rebuild with a Sure Grip.
Now the rear end seems to float over bumps and rides pretty smooth and does seem to handle better. After removing the old springs, I couldn't believe how bad they were. They were scary bad.
