Finished Lowering the SS/T

[GLHS592]

I finished tightening up the bolts and took the BeaSS/T for a ride about an hour ago. The factory shocks must have been shot. All the bouncing, squeaking, and most of the vibration is gone. It sure is nice not to have to stretch or jump to get up into a 2wd pickup. I also took the receiver hitch off for a cleaner look. I'm thinking about putting the roll pan back on too.

The rear turned out to be a little lower than expected, which I'm happy about. In fact, the rear axle was sitting on the bump stops when I first put it on the ground. Once I cut them down, there won't be too much over 2" of suspension travel. I wasn't too happy with the front at first. It only dropped 1.5" instead of the advertised 2". I think the front has already settled down a little after driving it some.

Here are some decent pictures.




Before pictures:

[BadAssPerformance]

Looks nice

[blk86trbo]

Looks good, brought it down nice

[Turbo3Iroc]

Looks good! Always liked the level look on a truck vs the rake.

[thefitisgay]

i kinda wanted to put airbags on my truck.... people were like but dude its a beat 82 ford... and i was like yea but if i could drop my tailgate on the ground it would be soooo much easier to load

[neongary]

Looks killer! I've kicked around the idea of lowering my reg. cab Dakota, but decided against it due to the possible loss of functionality. Towing and hauling is easier when it's at the normal ride height. I didn't want to fool with airbags and all that mess.
What did you do to lower it? Was it a kit of shorter springs, dropped spindles, hangers, etc.?

[GLHS592]

Looks killer! I've kicked around the idea of lowering my reg. cab Dakota, but decided against it due to the possible loss of functionality. Towing and hauling is easier when it's at the normal ride height. I didn't want to fool with airbags and all that mess.

Thanks! I haven't towed with this truck in ages. I had to take the receiver hitch off to get to the shackle bolts and it's not going back on. People laugh at me, because I've never hauled anything in the bed.

What did you do to lower it? Was it a kit of shorter springs, dropped spindles, hangers, etc.?

I used Belltech's 4" lowering leafs, 2" coils, and Nitro Drop 2 shocks. With the leafs, you lose towing/hauling capacity, but I have the dually for that kind of stuff. I wasn't about to go with hangers/shackles in back. I didn't want permanently modify my truck by grinding the hanger rivets. Also, with spindles, you have to swap out the lower ball joint.

[neongary]

I don't think I've ever seen a truck of your vintage with a bed so "virgin". Damn! I have Rhino Linings in mine, so still looks good even after using it like a truck.
I was looking at the Hotchkis lowering kit, but I see that they don't sell it anymore.
I take it you have the 5.9L. Still stock? Lots of go-fast parts for the Magnum engines available.

[1966 dart wagon]

holy cow your bed is clean! NICE truck looks good too

[thefitisgay]

heh makes me wish i had nice stuff

[JDAWG]

it looks alot better, im sure it handles alot better too. Truck like that arent made to have junk thrown in the bed

[GLHS592]

I take it you have the 5.9L. Still stock? Lots of go-fast parts for the Magnum engines available.

It is a 5.9 and it is still stock except for a K&N filter. If I can sell a few things, I'm going to do something with the drivetrain. I'd like to do a huffed 408 with a beefed up 46RE.

[Abkshelby]

It is a 5.9 and it is still stock except for a K&N filter. If I can sell a few things, I'm going to do something with the drivetrain. I'd like to do a huffed 408 with a beefed up 46RE.

Give me your stock 5.9L to put in my new toy.

[skitzo_inc]

Looks great! There is a car lot in town that has a 5.9 RT short cab short bed for sale, but it has about 100,000 miles on it and wants 8 grand for it.

[Abkshelby]

Oh and by the way. Please leave the rear bumper on it. I'm one of the few that like trucks with rear bumpers on them. Roll pan is fine till you back into something or get hit.

[jl93sundance]

looks great!

[Force Fed Mopar]

Looks good, I need to do the same to my '93. I'll probably use drop shackles in the rear though.

[JDAWG]

Looks great! There is a car lot in town that has a 5.9 RT short cab short bed for sale, but it has about 100,000 miles on it and wants 8 grand for it.

holy crap, 8 grand? other than a 360 you could spend $500 on performance upgrades and make a regular truck a r/t

[Abkshelby]

holy crap, 8 grand? other than a 360 you could spend $500 on performance upgrades and make a regular truck a r/t

There are cheaper ones out there. My Dak R/T was FS for $5k from the original owner. I got it for $4500 and drove it home from PA. Even with a ton of miles on it. I missed my original '98 R/T I bought new so this one just ended up here through a friend that new of it. I missed not having a truck at all. Kevins truck I have always liked too.

[GLHS592]

Give me your stock 5.9L to put in my new toy.

Ummm...no! If I pull the original motor out, I'm going to mothball it. Don't want to risk blowing a hole in the original block.

Oh and by the way. Please leave the rear bumper on it. I'm one of the few that like trucks with rear bumpers on them. Roll pan is fine till you back into something or get hit.

How did you know I was considering putting the roll pan back on? I've decided to keep the bumper. I've had to repaint the bumper once and replace it another time due to my backing mistakes.