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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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Technically, this project started about a year ago with the installation of wider rear wheels and tires:
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic57893.aspx
I wasn't kidding myself. I knew that alone wouldn't do it... and it didn't. It was mostly a cosmetic thing. In fact, I could tell no difference when it came to traction.
So, step 2, level it out.
I had lowered the front about 3" years ago, so it has a real hotrod looking rake. It looks cool but I don't believe it does anything good for traction. My method is to de-arch the springs. I left every leaf in, thinking that I'd like to retain much of the load capacity, if I want to haul something, which is likely, it's not a trailer queen show truck. This may not have been the best idea because the 3 helper springs are now in use at ride height. The ride doesn't seem too bad but time will tell. It's still a hair higher in the back but I just put the springs on and I think they settle a bit and I prefer that it be a bit to high than a bit too low. I'll get a more similar after picture of the whole truck.
 
 
 
I don't really like it as much as I had hoped. It looks more custom or lowrider (even though it's not really low) than hotrod to me and I'm a hotrod kind of guy but more so, I'm mostly a functional kind of guy, so if it actually does help provide better traction, I can live with it. Unfortunately, I probably will not find out until later in the year.
Some advice when dealing with old gunked up, rusty fasteners, whenever you can, clean the threads with a wire brush or a dremel with a wire brush attachment and then spray them with wd40 or a real penetrating fluid for weeks or months. If you do that, it should come apart pretty easily. Oh, and use 1/2" drive sockets and 6 point wrenches on bigger things. Patience and planning. It works.
Next, step three, traction bars... (hopefully within the next 2 months)
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By MoonShadow - 12 Years Ago
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Wait until the first time you take a curve at speed thats when you will feel the difference. You are not low enough to be a lowrider and too low for a monster truck so I think it sets at a perfect Hot Rod height. Chuck
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By JPotter57 - 12 Years Ago
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Your truck actually sits about like my `61 Uni, but mine has an Aerostar front suspension...Wish mine were lower...
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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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I notice that it is more stable in corners but my concern is that it may be too stiff and will bounce over bumps rather than follow the road. That's a major safety issue and doesn't help traction on regular roads at all and while this traction improvement is primarily for the track, the truck is primarily on the street so it needs to work well on regular roads, too. It seems like it's going to be ok.
I really don't want it too low. I don't want to completely remove "truck" from the equation.
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By The Master Cylinder - 12 Years Ago
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Charlie, Just my 1¢ for what it's worth. I like it. The tires seem to fill the wheel wells better. In the before pictures the tires seem to be too far back. 
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By Missouri Mike - 12 Years Ago
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Charlie-For what it's worth I'll chime in, I agree with The Master Cylinder that filling up the wheel wells was a good thing. It's a hot rod stance that's driveable. Not a lowrider or something that's "in da weeds" to a point you can't get in or out of the driveway without scraping. I like the short unis to begin with, and this look is cool and says "hot rod". Well done. Missouri Mike
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By Grizzly - 12 Years Ago
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Charley, Most Pickups, utes, light trucks, suffer from being too light in the rear with heavy springs designed for loads. Generally lighter springs help get some traction. I'm in no way an expert but you must have a spring guy handy to have had your springs reset. These people usually have a lot of knowledge on how to set up springs properly. I'm guessing that you have gone the wrong way and it would have been better to reduce the number of leaves. Traction bars help reduce the rotational force of the diff and if set up correctly will set that force in a downwards direction but some reports that I have heard say that they also tighten up the rear. Good shocks go a long way, I prefer shocks with shim stack valving which is more complicated than many of the others. I don't know if bilsten do a rear shock for your needs but a similar quality. The other way that many people go carry some weight in the rear, a spare wheel, some tractor weights. Looks? two thumbs up for both before and after. Cheers Warren
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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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I think it's going to be alright. It's proven not to be so harsh over the past few days.
re stiffer = less traction, I'll find out. If so, I can live with that as long as the whole package equals more traction when I want it. Right now, it's pretty much nonexistent. There are other reasons that I leveled it, headlight adjustment, seating position, handling, looks, possible miniscule aerodynamic benefit. I know that until the traction bars are installed, anything else really won't do much. I'll be using Cal-tracs. They're proven at the Y-block shootout (and I'm sure elsewhere), even on one other truck, traction is possible with a truck, and they're a unique design that functions under load but don't really come into play with everyday driving so it should make for a nice street/strip combination. If it doesn't, then I'll do something else.
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By unibodyboy - 12 Years Ago
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Charlie -- I'll be interested to see your Caltracs installation as I've been considering the same thing on my pickup. I think your changes look great. We're essentially in the same boat on this one!
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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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Well, keep watching. You can learn from my mistakes
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By pegleg - 12 Years Ago
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It doesn't look like you've made many so far!
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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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Step 3, traction bars.
The hangers required some clearancing.
 
Other than that, it was pretty painless.
 
The test drive was great. My biggest concern was that the 2 piece aluminum/steel bushings would make the ride more harsh. It actually feels more cushy, like a truck that had a Cadillac in it's lineage 40 generations ago, but don't get me wrong, it still feels very much like a 50 year old truck.
The roads are wet so I am not really able to get a sense of better traction. It actually seems easier to spin than it has been in the past in similar conditions(wet roads), but there is no hop. It's like butter when the tires (or tire, no posi yet) spin and that is definitely a good thing. We'll see what it's like on a dry day.
So step 4 will be some form of positraction but that's after I track down some shorter gearing from the junkyard to see if something like a 4.11 works better overall. Once I find a gear that's a good compromise, then I address the rear. That probably will not happen this year. Gotta finish other projects.
And after that, I think that's about all I can do without significant changes to the frame and suspension. Oh, well I guess I could get some slicks. And then that's all I can do.
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By yehaabill - 12 Years Ago
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Charlie: My homemade "Cal-Tracs" really work....you leave "Hard" with no axle hop and the truck goes straight....See ya in Columbus...I hope Bill
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By charliemccraney - 12 Years Ago
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I'll be there. I'm probably not bringing the truck this year. I need to get the wiring project finished. And I really want to get my low speed cooling issue resolved before I go on another long trip. I almost had to pull off the road in Cincinnati because of the traffic. I can leave early to avoid that traffic but then I have to deal with Atlanta traffic. Given the choice, I'll take Cincinnati any day. The driver side axle seal is leaking. I want to put that repair off until I have another gear to put in so I can handle it all at once. I'm certainly not making that drive with a leaking axle seal. In a month or so, I think it will be the first full year without anything breaking - I don't count the seal, it's probably time.
But I do hope to make it to Atlanta Dragway at least once before the end of the year to see if I can beat the 15.95 from last year. With the elimination of wheel hop alone, I think I can achieve that. It's a lot easier to control the traction that is available now.
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By charliemccraney - 11 Years Ago
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To catch up on this thread, I did make it to a test an tune:
http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic75263.aspx?
Over the past week, I built some shock relocation brackets. I thought it would be a good idea since I had lowered the rear to restore the stock geometry but I also noticed another problem while I was getting measurements. The axle is from a '68, installed before I bought the truck. Everything I've read says "it just bolts right in!" and like most things that assert that, it technically does not, though it was in there and functioning well enough for me since I've owned the truck. The problem is the location of the shock brackets on the axle housing. They are about 6" wider than the stock width of 26" which puts the axle mount right under the frame rail and causes the shock to hit the frame. So I designed them to address this issue as well. In addition to lowering the mounting point about 2.5", they move the mounting point about 2" toward the center of the axle.
I don't know if this will do anything for traction and that's not why I did it but it must allow the shock to do it's job better if the angles are more like original and that is a good thing.
Left, before. Right, After. The camera angles don't match, I know, but you can see the change of mounting position in relation to the axle tube.
 
Before:
 
After:
 
It's starting to look like there is something going on under there.
Now I have to paint them but I might mount them first and go for a test drive just to see if it seems any different, good or bad. The shock do need to be replaced, though but I can get new shocks ready while the pain dries.
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By bird55 - 11 Years Ago
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Nice work Charlie! I agree with you about the "bolts right in!" comment! It seems like I always have run into that very thing on every project I've done.
Provided you did your usual good job of welding on the rear housing, that should work perfectly.
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By MoonShadow - 11 Years Ago
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Charlie,
I have a garage, a mig welder, and plenty of projects. When are you coming up?  Chuck
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By charliemccraney - 11 Years Ago
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I think we can work something out. I don't normally do this, but for you, I'll accept an Eaton blower motor for compensation 
I made a novice mistake and didn't make sure that the non-stock shocks would work. The shocks are for a '68, the axle is a '68, the bracket angle is the same, the dimensions came from the axle brackets, so I assumed they would work, but they didn't for whatever reason. Maybe the frame mounts on the '68 put them at a different angle. I had to support the truck by the frame to allow the axle to sag and ensure that there is enough clearance. When the axle is at it's lowest point is where the angle is the most extreme relative to the brackets.
 
 
 
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By pegleg - 11 Years Ago
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Nice work Charlie. I know some grad engineers that would be jealous!
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By charliemccraney - 8 Years Ago
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Got some goodies today. Detroit True Trac differential, Moser axles and center section. Should be strong enough for the turbo engine (when I get to that in about 30 years  ) and absolutely bullet proof for the current engine. The ratio is the same, 3.70, most likely not what I will end up running, but that needs to be the same for now so I can properly evaluate the engine changes I did last year. Hopefully this actually results in less spinning off the line, for more conclusive test and tune results.
I plan to get them installed this weekend.
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By CK - 8 Years Ago
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Looking good, hope it works well for you.
My understanding is that the roll centre alters the drive characteristics such as, understeer by lowering the rear and alternatively if raised it will tail around and oversteer.
Similar to sway bars.
Don't know if it will alter straight line traction, I think that has more to do with spring and shocker placement and in your case the geometry of the caltracs.
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By charliemccraney - 8 Years Ago
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Got it installed a couple weeks ago. Traction is a lot better on dry pavement and slightly better on wet. Hopefully that will translate to more consistency, better 60 foots and lower et's.
 
I made a holder to use with my transmission jack. This is a prototype, proof of concept I'm sure I can make it better and it will probably work better with a normal, typical shop floor jack.
 
Also installed a drain plug, applied some epoxy to hide my gnarly weld and ensure that it is leak free. So far it is leak free.
 
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By Rono - 8 Years Ago
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Nice work Charlie! Did you MIG weld the drain plug port in the rear housing? If so, it had to be tough to do.
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By charliemccraney - 8 Years Ago
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Yeah, mig weld. I think I'm pretty decent when I can work out in the open, with good lighting and plenty of room. But upside down, with poor lighting and with sparks falling on me and limited space available for positioning, that makes it a little more challenging - I still need lots of practice with that.
If I had known how thick the housing is in that area, I probably would have simply drilled and tapped, but I do like that this plug is flush with the housing and it has more threads than the housing alone will allow.
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By Joe-JDC - 8 Years Ago
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Hope you did a quick gear clearance check on that drain plug install. Would hate for you to get a noise you couldn't figure out. LOL. Just a caution. Joe-JDC
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By charliemccraney - 8 Years Ago
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It is well below the height of the mounting flange so there is plenty of clearance.
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By pegleg - 8 Years Ago
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Charlie,
when you make the Pumpkin holder for the jack, make two. I'll take one, that's neat.
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