Alabama thread!

From AlabamaWX

RADAR CHECK: Widespread rain continues across parts of North/Central Alabama early this morning ahead of a cold front that is lined up from near Huntsville to Fayette at 6:00 a.m. The front will sag southward, and become stationary over the central counties later this morning as it becomes parallel to the upper air winds. Rain will end over the northern half of the state, and any showers this afternoon will be over South Alabama… and there they will be widely scattered. The high today will be in the 40s and 50s over the northwest corner of the state, 60s for the rest of North/Central Alabama, and 70s to the south.

The flash flood watch that has been in effect for North Alabama will expire later this morning.

REST OF THE WEEK: The front lifts northward as a warm front tonight, and tomorrow will be a warm February day with a high in the mid to upper 70s for most places. Look for a mix of sun and clouds, and most places will be dry with only isolated showers. The front returns southward as a cold front tomorrow night, and rain is likely over the northern half of the state late tomorrow night into Friday morning. There could be a rumble of thunder in spots, but no severe storms are expected. Some clearing is possible Friday afternoon with temperatures in the low to mid 50s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be mostly and cool with daytime temperatures in the 48-54 degree range over the northern half of the state. Showers are possible mainly over the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama. Then, rain becomes more widespread Saturday night and Sunday morning over North/Central Alabama as a wave of low pressure moves along the front that remains draped over the state. Drier air returns Sunday afternoon with a high in the mid 50s.

NEXT WEEK: The week looks dry with a warming trend; afternoon temperatures rise to near 70 degrees by Thursday and Friday. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.



ON THIS DATE IN 1975: An F4 tornado tore through parts of the city of Tuscaloosa, killing one person. It first touched down in the Taylorville community and then skipped northeastward before hitting the Skyland Park area and moving on to McFarland Blvd near the intersection of I-59/20. It went on to affect parts of the Alberta City and Holt. The official path length was 14.4 miles. Along it, 289 homes were destroyed or heavily damaged, along with 20 businesses and 21 mobile homes. The tornado nearly destroyed the new Scottish Inn motel on I-59 at McFarland. The fatality was a 23 year old housekeeper named Thelma Hill, killed when most of the second floor of the motel was sheared away by the tornado causing a wall to fall on her.

 

Sup Jeff

Sup Mike

 

Watching the news and drinking coffee. About to head to Cracker Barrel to get some breakfast.

 

Any of y’all around Huntsville do the Chevy 63 leaf spring swap? Considering it on mine, but haven’t ever done it before; would be nice to have a second set of eyes/hands if I decide to go that route.

 

@ovrlndkull is the only one on here I know that has done 63s

 

Nice

Sup Chris
@Jerneyman did one, but not sure where exactly he is.
@ovrlndkull also has one if I'm not mistaken.....but he's a good ways away

 

I forgot @Jerneyman did 63s too

 

Almost done. Just gotta do the final welds on main slider and weld frame plates to sliders. Then be ready for a test fit @Thunder Fist

 

If your not going through bed your still only going to be able to pull 12 inches of travel and 14 if you rotate the tabs down but that kills GC. Theres real no advantage (in my opnion) of Chevy springs unless you willing to cut through your bed and put a 14-16 inch shock in there. At that point im sure your front would be so far behind rear not sure how much benefit it would be.

 

yeah def no cutting through the bed in the plans. My thoughts behind doing it is cost of new leafs and purchasing new ones every so often

So option 1 is Deaver Stage 3 leaf pack with BAMF hangers. Leafs are $1300 shipped and hanger is $450 w/shackle shipped. So ~$1800 total just for that. I believe the springs will limit the articulation being so stiff. BUT this keeps things ‘factory’ and plug and playish.

Option 2 is the 63 swap. The brackets for swap are ~$250 and another ~$2-400 for leafs. That’s $650 total which is almost a third of option 1. I would be able to get leafs able to support my load and still get a bit of articulation. Will be a lot of Fab up front but down the road if my setup changes or the leafs wear, rather than spending another 1k on leaves, I’ll just have to drop $2-$400 on a set of 63 leafs.

option 1 I’d go with 12” shocks, option 2 I’d go with 14” shocks. Both options will have the archive shock relocation

this is my dilemma and where I’m at right now. Really not sure which route to go.

My main requirements are: reliability, longevity, articulation and ability to support constant 800-1k lbs over rear axle while maintaining 3” of lift.

 

My only advise is do lots of research and stay away from the basic tiny arch junkyard springs. I went with 1500hd/2500 springs removed the overload and am pretty happy. If I were to do it again I'd of ordered a custom set of springs from Alcan. Other than that the ruff stuff 63 swap kit and archive shock relocates. I really think there is a lot left on the table going the cheap route for 63s. I've seen similar results from HH and good springs and a shock relocation vs the cheap 63 route. It's a lot of work to do it well and properly. It took us 4 guys that knew welding and fabricating and 2 that were great 2nd and 3rd set of eyeballs and hands all day sat to do it. That's with 2 of us getting a ton of prep done fri afternoon into the late night. Then 2 of us doing some final things sun morning. We also boxed my frame at the time which I highly recc. and going under the cab with the plating.

There are a few things I'd do different now that I've done it I know where there is more to be had from it. Overall though I'm happy with the results

 

16” shocks through the bed with as few leafs as possible and uniball shackles would be pretty sweet for a 63 swap. If staying under the bed and a lot of weight the Archive kit is probably the best bang for the buck for ease of install at least.

 

You don't have to cut through the bed to stuff 14s and you can easily pull more than 12" of travel. It's all in shackle set up and where you set your ride height and bump height. There's a lot more to it than what a lot of the swaps do.

My version of the 63 swap would be much more up your alley from the sounds of it. Also I had those deaver stage 3s and they aren't stiff even unloaded because there are so many leaves they are very progressive and hold the weight really well. Side note hot damn the deavers got expensive when I got mine they were 900 shipped to my door. You go cheap on a 63 swap and it won't be to your expectations. I've got over 2g in mine. Just like the deavers I wouldn't recc. cheaping out on the springs that's the biggest downfall I see with a lot of people who do them.

 

I wen HH and and 2.0 relocate from AG. (no need for 2.5 since all i do is low speed stuff anyways.) Im pulling about 12 inches of travel with my setup. The leaf spring limits the shock from fully bottoming out so i dont need limit straps. I have Dakar springs, Thats the max you can get out of that spring so there is no need to get 14inch shocks unless i get a new spring. Im sitting about how you want as well. 2.75 when loaded and just over 3 unloaded. Im very happy with my setup and think it works well. Your leafs are going to be the biggest factor. Also if you did Chevy springs i heard the ride quality takes a poo poo but idk how true that is. Here some pics.

 

Hmm GC doesn't suffer? Also hows ride quality if you do that lol. Just asking cause i know he drives everywhere and doesn't trailer his truck.

 

You can do 16s under the bed with a 1" BL and pushing the archive relocation up 1.5". Alcan uniball bushings and then the missing link shackle. Only downside I could see would be road. I think then you're starting to push the limits of leaf springs and gearing more towards crawling/offroading.

 

No more than the stock mounts. Ride quality is about proper spring, shock tuning, and shackle geometry. Flipped shackles like mine actually have a freer swing and are smoother riding as long as you get geometry right. You do that and normal daily stuff the shackles move more than the spring compresses.

 

Can 3-link under the bed and keep the stock tank. Adjust preload for weight changes.

 

Ugh. So much good information!! But just making it so much more conflicting for me to decide.

@ovrlndkull i believe I saw the vid, the one tacomaholic made? Looked intense.

I’m no fabricator by any means but I’m fairly confident I can get it done, I’ll just be learning a lot throughout the process. The truck is down for a couple months while I do some engine work so I’m not in a rush.

@Brian422 is right, I drive it quite a bit over all kinds of terrain and I plan to take it out west for a couple month long trip in the future so I need it to retain its road manners for the most part.

kinda sounds like grabbing the deavers may be the way to go right this second. Down the road I can remove the bed, plate the frame and do the 63 swap the right way. Sigh… so unsure.

 

I've put probably 20k miles on my 63s driving all over the place she's definitely not a trailer queen but hauls the trailer queen. The 63s actually squat more than the deavers here's a comparison. Of the 2 with about the same weight on the rear of that truck. You see I rode both the set ups you're wanting to do. So if you got any questions or anything just ask. I'll be glad to answer. BTW they both ride fine unloaded no extra weight. Ride more like what trucks use to ride like before they started making them for yuppy soccer dads. Just remember the more weight to a point you're getting into the stiffer springs. Loaded I find the 63s to be a bit more comfortable and soft. That doesn't mean the deavers were uncomfortable at all they were. I wouldn't hesitate to ride either set up both are comfortable to me.
Chevy 63s

Deavers