Lowered 520

[ChanceDatsun1968-520]

Hey guys! New to this forums stuff! I just purchased my first 520! And I'm looking to lower it as much as possible while keeping some ride quality!

[ChanceDatsun1968-520]

And also, how do I post pictures of it! Lol

[waynosworld]

Welcome
Putting drop blocks in the rear, and re-indexing/loosening the torsion bars are the easiest way to lower your truck, but you will loose ride quality, the lower you go, the worse it gets unless you go to extreme measures.
I don't know where you are located, but putting Datsun/Nissan 4X4 leafs in the rear will give you a one and a half inch drop without sacrificing your ride, it will allow you to use a smaller sized drop block which helps with the rear lower shock mount clearance, and they will have a slightly firmer ride, which is what you want when lowering these trucks.
The front is a lot harder to go real low without fabricating/modifying things, it's hard to explain without typing a monster reply, I have a 1966 520 that has had the s*** modified out of it, I have done everything necessary to keep my ride, have it real low, and not bottom out every time I hit a bump or go into a driveway, but it took time to do, to give you an idea of what I have done, I put a flat carrier cross member in(doesn't hang down), I re-located the front rear leaf mounts, I used roadster rear leaf mounts, I used 510 wagon shock mount/leaf mount plates, I have 3 inch lowering blocks, I notched the rear frame 4 inches, I made front drop arms, I re-located the front tension rods to the rear and cut all that mount hardware off the front, I had to route the exhaust system above the cross members, this is only the things I can remember right now, it was less than 2 1/2 inches off the ground till I raised it a little, I hated dragging it to get in my driveway.
Everything has drawbacks, even stock has a drawback, it doesn't look as good as a lowered 520, that's a drawback, you have to decide how low you want to go and if it will be legal, I went to great lengths to be safe, I can take all the tires off the rims and mount the rims, set the truck on level ground and nothing will hit the ground.
I have modified the s*** out of this truck, and it is still not done.







This is sitting on a 1986 Nissan 720 kingcab frame.

[ChanceDatsun1968-520]

Thank you! So my question now is, can I get it low with out any modification? Block the rear and re - index the front? Ride quality is not that important lol. I'm new to this mini truck scene! Still trying to figure the picture thing out to show yall!

[waynosworld]

No, you cannot get it that low without modifying it, if my frame was not notched, the frame would be resting on the rear axle(no rear suspension).
The only way I can make mine look lower is to do a body drop, I have thought about it, but the top of the engine would stick out the hood, but if you still have the J13 engine, you might get away with a 3 inch body drop, but you still have to modify it to do a body drop.
To post photos you need a photo hosting account, I use Picasa, basically you open an account, down load your photos into the account, then you click on the photo you want to post a photo of and a large image will appear, then right click on the photo, copy the URL code, then come here to your reply using the full editor, then place the code between the IMG text, there is a thread on here about posting photos, I will see if I can find it.

Thank you! So my question now is, can I get it low with out any modification? Block the rear and re - index the front? Ride quality is not that important lol. I'm new to this mini truck scene! Still trying to figure the picture thing out to show yall!

[waynosworld]

Here is a thread on how to post photos using Photobucket.
how-to-post-pictures-using-photobucket-t521110.html
I personally don't like PB, but there is no thread I can find that tells you how to use Picasa using the URL code.

[AZhitman]

Welcome aboard, Chance!

Wayne's given some great advice... all I can add is 'don't do it all at once.' Lowering should be a bit at a time, until you're happy with it. Remember that every time you make a change, the truck will 'settle' over the next couple days as well.

[ChanceDatsun1968-520]

so how low can I go with out modification, besides the re indexing and blocking? I appreciate all the responses!

[waynosworld]

You cannot without modifying it, blocks are a modification, but it can be done with tools like wrenches and sockets
The first thing that will hit as you lower it will be the driveline carrier cross member, it hangs down a few inches, I have seen that cross member pushed back quite a ways on lowered trucks, it happens when you go over speed bumps and such things as a business/driveway with high spots like where the sidewalk is.
You can drop the front till it is resting on the bump stops, but it will ride like crap and eventually something will give, in the rear you can buy about 5 inches of drop blocks, that will basically have the frame sitting on the axle, but the only time I would ever get in a truck that low is if it was not moving, I personally don't want to have a compressed disc in my spine from hitting a bump.

so how low can I go with out modification, besides the re indexing and blocking? I appreciate all the responses!

[timmyyyyyy]

Hi,

I lowered my 520 over the weekend..... See my blog here:

http://carsbeerandcooking.blogspot.com. ... atsun.html

Hope it helps...

Cheers,

Tim

[waynosworld]

When you lower the front of your 520, it is better to re-index the torsion bars so they don't hang down and hit the ground.
What I mean is that you loosen the adjusters all the way till the torsion bars are loose(front end on jack stands), then you mark the torsion bar where it goes into the arm bolted to the lower control arm, then you pull the torsion bar out of the arm and put it back in a tooth or two counter clockwise on the left side, and clockwise on the right side, and then tighten it back up to the height you want, the torsion bar adjustment arm will then be back inside the cross member where it's supposed to be again instead of hanging down.

Hi,

I lowered my 520 over the weekend..... See my blog here:

http://carsbeerandcooking.blogspot.com. ... atsun.html

Hope it helps...

Cheers,

Tim

[timmyyyyyy]

Good tip - thanks for that. I might even get another inch of lowering using that method!

When you lower the front of your 520, it is better to re-index the torsion bars so they don't hang down and hit the ground.
What I mean is that you loosen the adjusters all the way till the torsion bars are loose(front end on jack stands), then you mark the torsion bar where it goes into the arm bolted to the lower control arm, then you pull the torsion bar out of the arm and put it back in a tooth or two counter clockwise on the left side, and clockwise on the right side, and then tighten it back up to the height you want, the torsion bar adjustment arm will then be back inside the cross member where it's supposed to be again instead of hanging down.

Hi,

I lowered my 520 over the weekend..... See my blog here:

http://carsbeerandcooking.blogspot.com. ... atsun.html

Hope it helps...

Cheers,

Tim

[Dats521]

When using blocks in the rear make sure that your driveshaft has some angle, I had a issue with driveshaft/pinion angle. I used flat blocks 4" but I needed angle cut blocks

[waynosworld]

What you need to do is make sure that the angle the driveshaft comes out of the tail of the transmission(down angle) is the angle the driveline goes up when it comes out of the front of the rear end.
Here is a photo of what I mean, if the front is angled 15 degrees, then the back needs to be 15 degrees.

In this photo below, you can see how when a driveline yoke turns at same speed coming out of the transmission, but after it goes thru the joint it slows down and speeds up in the joint, so if both ends are angled the same it doesn't vibrate and the pinion flange turns an even speed even though the driveline speeds up and slows down all day long, but if one end is angled differently, then the joint don't speed up and slow down the same speed at both ends, that makes the drive line vibrate, and that makes the whole car/truck vibrate.

[Charlie69]

Great post Wayno.

I like this picture of your 520!

[waynosworld]

So do I Charlie, your the one that did that photo, I use it as my screen background.

Great post Wayno.

I like this picture of your 520!