Vannin' Home Forums General Discussion Readers Rides Dajiban in SoCal - my build thread!

Front 3/4 view with wheels installed at stock height. Filling up as it is thirsty driving around town!




Now to lowering it - took out the tape measure and figured out I'd ideally need 3.5-4" to fill the wheel gap, but decided to go a little conservative in case I end up running a tire with a little more sidewall in the future. Scoured the forums and got some information on options of cut springs/spindles for the front and flip kit/shackles for the rear. I found a local shop that specializes in manufacturing leaf springs, and talked to the gracious owner there and figured out a game plan to lower it.


View of the shop -




Ended up cutting a coil off the front springs, and trimmed the bump stops. While the front suspension was apart, I went ahead and replaced the ball joints as well as the control arm bushings with new Moog parts as they were pretty worn. The shocks were still fairly new, so I didn't change those out. The front end is smooth and tight - what a difference replacing those worn parts made!

For the rears, the leaf springs were disassembled and de-arched. Overall, I got a 3" drop all around, with the rear sitting just a touch higher than the front for a proper stance. The ride is similar to stock - I was expecting it to be pretty horrendous, but was wowed by the smoothness and control it exhibits over bumps.


After an alignment, took it over to my local wrap place to have them install some film on the sidemarkers. Hard to see in that pic, but I ordered a front lower valance for a Dodge Ram. It was a bit tricky to get it to fit properly, but with some trimming on the edges and screws in the right locations, it worked out fairly well. Here it is sitting pretty with the new stance!

Any regrets cutting the front springs? I want to lower my shorty but don't want to ruin the ride and handling.