1979 DODGE D50 suspension options

[civicduty13]

Hey all. I am in the process of getting my d50 up and going but I want to lower it with either coil springs or spindles in front and some lowering leafs in the rear but I cant find much out there for the 79.

I have a lead on some Nissan Titan 18s that I will be putting on with some 235/40 and 245/40 tires.

Let me know as soon as possible so I can get this ball rolling.

[civicduty13]

Found that 79 spindles are a one year only part, Rear leafs are from 79-81 only and front coil springs are from 79-89.

[Fordubishi]

Coils and spindles are the same from 79 to 93, not sure about the leaf springs but they might be as well.

[ragragtimetime]

i de-arched the rear leaf springs in my 1978 d-50 by purposely overloading the bed with roofing shingles. here are some other options: http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/leaf-springs.html

[noahwins]

Pull a leaf and/or use blocks?

Rear lowering leafs for an S10 fit my 2nd Gen perfectly, except the eye was 1/4" too narrow for the bracket so I shimmed it. Seems to work fine.

So junkyard S10 leafs with the middle leaf pulled might be a cheap, easy option. Or eBay S10 lowering leafs.

[pennyman1]

mitsu leafs are 2 3/4 in wide vs s-10s which are 2 1/2, so shimming them will workwhat did you use for bushings in the spring eyes?

[noahwins]

Used universal bushings out of the Energy Suspension catalog, don't remember the part numbers but I have the receipt somewhere.

Page 12-13 (warning, opens PDF):

http://energysuspension.com/assets/files/energysuspension-catalog.pdf

You can use the square pads on pg. 12 pads to replace the crusty bed pads that rest on the frame above the axle. I think you can use a lot of bushings for S10s like cab bushings on MMs with a little measuring.

[geezer101]

The front stabiliser/sway bar on my 2WD Gen 1 was dead. Suffered from metal fatigue and the right side end was bent (along with the caster/strut rod being bent in 2 places...) After removing it and comparing it to the front stabiliser/sway bar from a 2WD Gen 2 I can confirm that not only are they interchangeable, but the Gen 2 bar is a few mm thicker than the Gen 1 (G1 is 22mm - G2 is 25mm) Easy and cheap upgrade for a Gen 1 but don't forget the matching sway bar 'D' bushes.

[ILLA NOIZ]

2nd drop leafs will work on 1st gen. I'm running them on my 81 Arrow

[geezer101]

*have to make a retraction on my above post. I've posted this somewhere else but I wasn't aware that Gen 1 RWD trucks potentially have 2 different diameter stabiliser bars. The bar on my wreck is the same as one I pulled from a Gen 2 truck (IDK if it is the stock bar on that truck or if someone had already swapped one from a Gen 2 onto it, but I doubt that is the case...) The tired bar I ditched from my project was a few mm thinner - there might be different stabiliser bars depending on what spec the truck had optioned.

[tortron]

2nd gen ones are thicker. Possibly only the V6 ones, but I have a feeling the later built ones eventually all got the larger diameter bars