Rear Suspension

OK...need help here....I bought a 1964 A100 PU...it has a 170 /6 and a 904....the 904 was swapped in as the shifter is still the 3-on-the-tree linkage....it has 1 8 3/4 rear with air shocks.....it had 215/70 x 15 rear tires that I changed to 275/50 x 15 MTs.....I raised the rear a little with the air shocks and noticed they didn't lift much at all.....when I crawled under for a look, the shocked were at a very strange angle...looked to be about 45 degrees.....the force of the air shock was tearing the front spring perch from the frame (such as it is)....so I suspect the axle may have been swapped in also.......can someone send or attach a picture of the stock shock installation points so I can compare......also, If the rear shackle were shortened and put in so the spring eye were below the spring mount would that work OK....just need the get things working right before the engine/trans swap....thanks

Hello and welcome.
Sure it's a 904? The stock ones were all 727s and I don't know of a 904 that is short and has the stock mount pad at the top of the tailshaft.

As for the front spring mounts and shock mounts, I don't have any pictures, but there is a post here with a service manual and there are these
Dodge Technical Service Bulletin for the A-100
(slideshow style!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcewnrO5vIc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3J-KeyDRZU&feature=related

Thanks Rod...I am sure it is a 904 and the tail shaft mount has been changed. The drive shaft is only 18" long and that is one of the things that concerns me. I am removing the 170 to be built up to a 209 and raced by a friend. In turn, I am putting in a 225 with ported head, Ausie Speed Two barrel intake and headers, cam, etc.. A mild street engine. Working on a short tail housing and shaft for a 518 with a plate adapter so I can keep the 3.90 gears.
From the video I can see the stock shock mount and it is just like mine. The problem being that the angle is sufficient to create a good deal of stress on the front spring mount instead of lifting the truck. Will have to look at a modification. I can see why guys can't find air shocks that work. No air shock would work with the geometry I see.
I have been toying with the idea of going to a coil over suspension and 4-link. Lot of work, but now is the time. Another idea was installing a corvette rear end. That would solve the short drive shaft problem.
What we won't do for these little ugly trucks (at least that's what the wife says).
Don

Sounds like a normal length driveshaft, which is why no one that I know of has installed a 518. It's the same length as a regular long tailshaft 727.
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/113_0705_engine_swap/a518_transmission.html

A coilover and 4 link would require a subframe and/or major unibody frame strengthening.

One of the Priceline vans had a vette rear installed. EDIT: looks like the vette rear is under a truck (running boards) NOT a van....
Here is a link to build pics of the 2 vans used in the ads.
https://s293.photobucket.com/albums/mm49/rodstrace/A-100/priceline%20van/


http://www.bestads.tv/view/2445/priceline-negotiator-van-/
This van has the open interior
The burnout shows a standard 8.75 axle. They may have used the vette one for the drift though.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/55717/super-bowl-xliii-ads-pricelinecom-negotiator
This van has the electronics interior.

BTW, the early /6 with autos used a regular V8 727 and an adapter. Those adapters are valued! You could use it to install a 518 to the /6, but the length is still an issue.

Funny, both our avatars are pointing!

I have been looking at the 518 tail housing and shaft. I make a shorty kit for a 904 that trims it down to 22" OAL. Been thinking about a shorty for a 518 that can include the governor. Would be a lot of work. But once I am finished with building dragsters, I will have time to devote to my "Ugly Little Truck".
Funny about the avatars. I picked this one as it reminds me of my DI father. Ooh-Rah. LOL.

bigviking I love that guy!!! Welcome to the site

I definitly have a A904 trans. It was swapped in sometime in the 70s. Looking at making an adapter to couple a 700R to the /6 or maybe a AOD. Too much work to do the corvette rear. Still looking at coil over.

Thanks Rod. That confirms that the 700R and AOD are the right length to not cause drive shaft problems. The conversion to the 904 in my truck was done by someone who knew what they were doing. The cross member was fabricated with a drop out for easy trans removal and the shifter was built into the three-on-the-tree manual shifter. I hope I can do the AOD or 700R install as clean. The shocks are in std. location, but I cannot for the life of me understand why Dodge did it that way. It looks like it will be relatively simple to put in a frame cross member and Watts linkage to accommodate the coil over. Then I can easily adjust ride height. I am looking forward to doing this project as soon as I get a customers dragster out of the shop. I am also building an electric three wheeler (Like a big wheel for adults) for me to get around on. It will ride in the back of the truck.
Thanks for all the help. This site is great.

OK...really getting steamed.....between my eyes failing and the rest of me failing as well, much of the rear suspension options are out.....but, I still have a problem....the air shocks are clearly pushing the rear end back instead of down so the forward end of the rear spring eye mount id pulling out of the frame......I can repair that....I thought that the rearward rear spring shackles might be upside down, but they have the spring eye above the frame mount so that is as it should be.....but the rearward spring eye is butted up against the frame so there is no spring flex possible......I must have sacked springs.....anyone know the factory eye to eye length of the rear springs?????
I think I am going to remount the shocks so they are more upright and add ladder bars.....too much work to install coil-overs just for street....

Spring lengths change with load, so I don't know of any easy way to get that number....
Ladder bars with leaf springs require floaters, not a good idea unless this is strictly a drag vehicle.
http://www.competitionengineering.com/articles/chassis2.asp

I was thinking ladder bars because the only reason I can think of for locating the shocks at 45 degrees forward of the axle is to dampen pinion angle change due to spring wrap......my thought was to mount the air shocks in a more vertical stance ....I am going to remove the leaf springs and disassemble them for inspection......I have a set of floaters I could install but then I would have to install a watts or some other track locater.......It really concerns me that the spring is basically trapped fore and aft with the rear eye butted up against the upright for the shackle mount.....pictures on this site of other A100s show the set-up as I have it, but the rear spring eye is an inch clear of the frame upright......I'll try to get some pics this weekend....thanks Rod....

After reading the bigvikings suspension battle with Rod on the front line gets me thinking I'm in the shallow end of the ocean.

van go, here are some basics.
http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible_pg2.html

He's concerned because the shock absorber is not vertical. This means using the mounting points for an air or coil over would tend to twist the axle instead of simply pushing it down...

I bookmarked the page.....I'm not at the level you and Viking are,point being it was a hell of a read anyway,I'd like to see what BigViking came up with to knock the slop outa the rear end......