Identifying suspension lift

[serial car restorer]

I'm trying to figure out how much lift my '69 EB has. And some of what I'm seeing is a bit contradictory.

Here's what I can see. I have 31x10.50-15 on 8" wheels with 3.5" backside. Rear fenders uncut, no sign of rubbing, reasonable clearance. The front springs are blue (under a lot of dirt). Rear springs are 5-leaf + breaker leaf. Front shocks are Rancho RS5000 #5115, which is apparently for 2-4" lift. Rear shocks are Monroe Load-Leveler (coil-over) that are 23" long eye-to-eye fully extended, and compressed to 21" when sitting on the ground. Measuring from the top of the tubes to the frame rails is 8.5" in front, and about 9" in back (with the coil-overs disconnected).

Based on the normal numbers, I would appear to have about 1.5" lift in front, but 3" in back? It really doesn't look overly tall in back to me, but I'm a newbie here. I was guessing about 2.5" both ends, but the rear is apparently a lot more than that.

Thoughts? Anyone recall whose front springs were blue 20+ years ago?

 

[Oldtimer]

Quote from Paul (@DirtDonk ):

Easiest way to determine a suspension lift is to measure between the top of the axle tubes and the bottom of the frame rails.
The distance in the front would be approximately 7 inches stock, while the distance in the rear would be approximately 6 inches if still stock.

Any amount greater is than above is suspension lift.

For a body lift, measure the insulators between the body and the frame mounts.
Stock are rubber and 3/4 of an inch tall. Aftermarket are polyurethane, often with ridges around the center, but are available in stock height, and 1 inch lift.
Any additional block in addition to the insulator, is a body lift.

 

[DirtDonk]

The front springs could have sagged over the years too.
Not as common with lift springs, but it still happens.
Blue could be either Duff, or our Wild Horses coils. Over the years, we’ve sold them in black, yellow, red and blue.
You might be able to measure wire diameter of the coil and get it narrowed down just a little bit. But that can be hit or miss.
Anything extra heavy up front? Bigger engine? Maybe it had a heavy bumper and winch on it at one point?
If it was rode hard and put away wet, you might simply be dealing with sagged springs.

Got some more pictures showing details of the rear springs and the front? Any steering modifications that you can see? If you’re not sure, post up some more pictures.
Besides, we love pictures!

 

[serial car restorer]

Anything extra heavy up front? Bigger engine? Maybe it had a heavy bumper and winch on it at one point?
If it was rode hard and put away wet, you might simply be dealing with sagged springs.

Got some more pictures showing details of the rear springs and the front? Any steering modifications that you can see?

No, no history of anything heavy, and a bone stock 302. Steering and such looks totally stock also. In fact, the rig is so unmodified that I'm a little surprised that it was ever lifted at all. Obviously it was just done to get the 31" tires on 8" wheels under the uncut fenders.

The part that I find confusing is the difference front to rear (apparent lift 1.5" front, but 3" or so rear), yet the truck appears to be sitting mostly level. Did Broncos sit an inch or more lower in front from the factory?

 

[DirtDonk]

After so many years, and apparently original rear springs, it's impossible to say what went on with the different previous owners.
The 1.5" front is consistent with trying to raise the front to level it out. But that's without a lift. The lift in the rear, is as you say I would think. To stop the tires on too-wide wheels hitting the rear fenders.
It doesn't actually look level to me from here. But camera angles are often at fault for that. Along with my eyes!
You can take a tape measure from the body line along the back fender, to a spot just in front of the door, to see just how level it is. But I would also not worry about it overmuch either.
You can make any changes you want, and fix anything you think it wrong, and replace anything you think is worn out any time you feel the need.

By the way, were the Load-Level-Rs installed when the pic was taken? Or is this after they were removed?
Have you tried driving it with a couple of adult friends in the back yet? That'll usually tell the rubbing tale pretty clearly.

Paul

 

[serial car restorer]

You can make any changes you want, and fix anything you think it wrong, and replace anything you think is worn out any time you feel the need.

Yeah, I really shouldn't be worrying about details like this now, I've got a long way to go before anything like this is all that important. The only part that has me baffled is the 9" measured from the top of the rear axle tube to the bottom of the frame. That measurement is with the extra coil overs disconnected. 3" lift seems like a lot compared to the way it sits visually.

By the way, were the Load-Level-Rs installed when the pic was taken? Or is this after they were removed?

Yes, that pic was with them installed.

Have you tried driving it with a couple of adult friends in the back yet?

LOL! Nope. I'm months away from it being drivable, even if I did have a back seat for it!

 

[serial car restorer]

So to close this out, here's my current data and theory. Right now the rear measures 9" (axle tube to frame) with the load-levelers disconnected, and 10" with them in place. The would be about 4" lift with the extra from the coil-overs, and 3" w/o. But since there is currently no glass or lift gate in the top, no spare tire or mount, and only ~4 gallons of gas in the single tank, I'm guessing that would account for at least ½" of the rear lift. So the rear springs are probably 2½" springs. The front still looks like 1½" lift.

There is definitely more rake front to rear than I thought, the body line is a full inch higher at the tail than at the door when the rear shocks are in place. I have about 2½" fender gap over the new 31x10.50 (actually, 265/75-15) tires.

I'm not terribly crazy about it all right now, it just seems rather haphazard. For example I noticed that the rear brake hose is stretched tight when the axle hangs at full droop. Things like that (not installing a longer hose, using Load-Levelers to gain an inch, etc.) just don't seem like the way to go. I suspect I'll end up replacing it all before I get it finished.

 

[m_m70]

For example I noticed that the rear brake hose is stretched tight when the axle hangs at full droop. Things like that (not installing a longer hose, using Load-Levelers to gain an inch, etc.) just don't seem like the way to go.

Hate to date myself but back in the day we picked these trucks up pretty cheep and drove them pretty hard and had a ton of fun. We didn't have a ton of money but we could make things work with what we could find laying around and fab up to work. No internet, large supply houses or really an aftermarket source. So...... really not surprised in the things you've found. Not a lot really compared to some of the horror stories I've read here the last couple decades!
Have fun and enjoy the build. She looks like a fun one!

 

[DirtDonk]

And back in the day too, as today for some people, our Broncos were heavily overloaded with camping gear or wood for the fireplace, or equipment for working the fence line.
Those overload shocks may have been added to provide a slight lift, or perhaps to avoid tire rubbing. Or they may simply have been added for their original intended purpose, which was to provide extra load caring capacity.
My friend put them on his 72 for that reason.
Along with the Gabriel Adjustable-E shocks, that bronco handled very well without being over stiff.
And did not complain one bit when we loaded it for a weekend’s worth of four wheeling for three of us and gear.

The bottom line here is, you can’t tell very much with 100% certainty until your vehicle is fully assembled.
At least not with regard to the suspension and steering angles.
You can test. You can mock up. You can surmise and guess. You can add parts that you believe will needed from other peoples experience and your own.
But you won’t know for sure until it’s all back together.