hi guys, i just recently picked up an 81 2wd short bed as a hauler. ive owned several older bmw's and vw's. of course the enthusiast in me cant leave my new truck alone. id like to drop it on 16" wheels with an aggressive offset (some poke). id like to bring some euro flair to my japanese friend. i dont want to go super low, but id like my fenders to be no more than an 1" from the tire. i would also like to retain the functionality of the truck. it looks like drop spindles and torsion adjustment will get me this in the front. am i missing anything? im sure i am. as far as the rear, people are recommending drop leafs over drop blocks. if i get the leafs then blocks arent needed correct? id also assume i would need some sort of drop air/gas shock. going back to ET the rear probably needs to be zero or negative to achieve a similiar poke to the front correct? remember i am completely new to yotas, but i love mine already! thanks in advance. also, where can i buy all these parts??
Hey man welcome to the site! Spindles in the front for sure. Once you see where it sits with them you can play with the torsions to get it to sit right where you want it too. As for the rear... Blocks vs Leafs... all kinda split decisions. I run blocks in mine. Work great. Leafs are nice to.. but cost a little more... so it kinda up to you. Some places to check would be.. www.stylintrucks.com i have had really good luck with them. Or buy a issue of MiniTruckin Magazine, and flip through the ads. Lots of parts to choose from! And they all have websites! Have fun
can i get drop spindles for my 81? i saw where someone said i could swap all of the stuff from an 84+ and make their spindles work. exactly what "stuff" would i need to swap. im serious about doing this swap and what to know all the parts i would need! thanks for the welcome. home to make you guys proud with my interpretation of a mini truck!
+1 Subscribed - I have a RN34 myself (81 sb) that I want to lower! Here's the Good/Bad News: Here is what I read the other day: I'll post more information as I find it. Also I believe you can run a 2" drop spindle after you do the complete conversion. Other than doing the conversion it's just torsions or custom work, I'm assuming that you have to re-index the torsion bars in order to maintain an "inline" ride? Also anyone know about removing a couple leafs and inverting them? What kinda drop are we looking at if I invert and only run one to two leafs?
Is it necessary to run angled lowering blocks for the rear drive angle to be correct if I am going to use 3" blocks?
Hey I'm new here just bought a 1981 pickup with the sr5 running a carbd 22r , looking to drop it 2-maybe 3 inches and just looking where to start, I know blocks for the rear but with the front do I just twek the torsion bars? If so what's the best way? And what do I do to not "bottom out"
My ubolts are about .5 inch short for the 3" drop can I just monoleaf it (but leave the overload on)and remove the 2.5 pinion shim to compensate for it
Pulling the middle leaf will help you gain a little room. You may still need the shim though. Whoever told you to get a shorter u bolt obviously doesnt realize its better to have a little extra that you can cut off
Ok I just returned them, got 10" ones but all is good just one question do I really need the shims thou? I test drove it and all seems well, even a little better , now we move on to the torsion bars, some jackasses on YouTube said to use pressure pliers on the top nut so now I have a stripped nut, but can someone tell me step my step how to lower the torsion bars here's some pics on what I've done.
