Back in the oct. '07 issue, we introduced you to Jp's newest vehicle. With any project, certain modifications and upgrades take priority. and while we're content to torture the stock 232 engine with sustained 3,000-rpm jaunts, even though it only musters a best oil pressure of 15 psi, one thing that couldn't wait was the suspension.
Aside from a bone-jarring ride, the factory springs contributed little to the truck's ride and handling. in the rear, a set of 5-inch-tall lift blocks had been installed that were so long they overlapped the front and back of the spring perches. up front, some scary-looking 2-inch blocks were wedged between the springs and housing, held in place using the wacky factory-designed, offset-angled u-bolts. The truck wandered down the road, sat nose down, and drove like the axles were solidly welded to the frame. in short, it just wasn't safe.
While most J-Trucks and Cherokees from '74-and-later enjoy a wide selection of suspension lifts, there aren't a lot of options for the earlier '63-'73 fullsize Jeeps. Since many use post-type spring and shackle mounts of varying diameter and different spring-bushing designs, it's hard for suspension companies to stock enough applications to cover them all. See "The eyes have it" sidebar for all the possible applications. The hot swap for the fabrication-inclined is to weld new spring perches and hangers under the framerails that accept either the later FSJ, chevy, or Ford springs.
While we were lining up part numbers to make such a swap happen, we stumbled across hell creek Suspensions. And wouldn't you know it, the company offers lift kits for just about any Jeep made. From early FSJs and Jeepsters to mainstream Wranglers and XJs, the company has an offering. We happily put our welder and plasma cutter down and picked up the phone to order hell creek's 4-inch lift springs for our '68 J2000. Then we placed a call to national Tire & Wheel to have a set of eaton heavy-duty steel wheels built to hold our 33x12.50-15 pro comp all Terrain tires. next time, we'll be addressing the axles.
According to hell creek Suspension's Tom laher, there are at least 13 different combinations of spring eye and bushing types used in FSJs from '63-'73. The company's Web site has a whole section dedicated to the measurements. Whatever you do, make sure you pull your springs off and measure your posts and check your bushing types before you order. We guessed and wound up with a combination that's not supposed to exist, so an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. here's laher's info for how the spring specs measure out and the company's corresponding 4-inch lift spring part number. applications are also available for '74-and-later pickup and Wagoneer/cherokee vehicles.
* 2-inch wide by 44-inch with a 7.8-inch rubber post bushing and a 9.16-inch rubber shackle bushing (pn 44J-478r)
* 2-inch wide by 44-inch with a 7.8-inch brass post bushing and a7.8-inch brass shackle bushing (pn 44J-478B)
* 2 1/2-inch wide by 52-inch with a 7.8-inch rubber post bushing and a 9.16-inch rubber shackle bushing (pn 52J-478r)
* 2 1/2-inch wide by 52-inch with a 1-inch rubber post bushing and a 9.16-inch rubber shackle bushing (pn 52J 410r)
* 2 1/2-inch wide by 52-inch with a 7.8-inch brass post bushing and a 7.8-inch brass shackle bushing (pn 52J-478B)
* 2 1/2-inch wide by 52-inch with a 1-inch brass post bushing and a 7.8-inch brass shackle bushing (pn 52J-410B)
* 2 1/2-inch wide by 26x31-inch (distance from spring eyes to cen-terpin) with a 1-inch rubber post bushing and a 9.16-inch rubber shackle bushing (pn 57J-410r)
* 2 1/2-inch wide by 26x31-inch (distance from spring eyes to centerpin) with a 1-inch brass post bushing and a 7.8-inch brass shackle bushing (pn 57J-410B)
We placed our order in the...
We placed our order in the early days of hell creek's FSJ pickup suspension system development, so the company only had the 4-inch lift springs available. hell creek is working on shock and u-bolt applications as of press time.
Believe it or not, aside from...
Believe it or not, aside from the lift blocks and steering-stabilizer mount, this is the factory u-bolt arrangement. The stock u-bolts are spindly 7.16-inch pieces that we'll upgrade to safer 9.16-inch pieces when we swap out the front axle.
Still think there's nothing...
Still think there's nothing wrong with front lift blocks? upon disassembling the front suspension, we found both centerpins had snapped, most likely thanks to the increased leverage the lift blocks exerted during braking. The only thing locating the axle under the truck was the rusted, weenie u-bolts.