Dear Welder Series…
I know you probably hate when people email a bunch of questions but I’m struggling to find anybody with listings for dodge pickups. 1953 dodge pickup. I would like an 8″ c notch kit, I will need two of the the shock mount brackets and whats your feeling on slamming the front leaf spring straight axle setup. Ive heard a few different options. One was to flip the leaf springs and the other is to put the axle on top of the leaf and weld on mount pads for leafs and to either heat up axle while in a jig and lower it a couple inches or get a drop axle from droppedaxles.com. I’ve always done full bagging and tubular control arm setups in the past but am challenging myself to see how cheap I can do this one.
Any info is greatly appreciated and are your listings for the 8″ c notch priced as a set?
Chad

Dear Chad…
Chad, your Dodge p-u will make a good looking project.  My brother is a Dodge pick-up fan and so is one of my best friends.

The step notch kit (shown here) is for both frame rails.

It involves a few extra steps to slam an axle truck with parallel springs.  Often, the tie rod hits either the spring or the frame rail.  If the tie rod is positioned between the frame and the spring, there can be very little suspension travel before the tie rod hits the frame, causing the tires to toe out and the truck will go left or right.  The drag link will be on a severe angle from the Pitman arm/steering box to the spindle.  This can cause very bad bump steering.  The truck will dart left or right when the front tires hit a bump.  The solution is to raise the steering box, but this often creates a new “challenge”.  If the frame is lowered the amount you want, will the oil pan still have enough clearance over the axle?

With the step notch in the rear, the front will have to come down a lot to get a good stance.  A Mustang II will probably be the easiest and most cost-effective way to get the stance and the ride that you’ll be happy with.

Thanks for looking at Welder Series parts.

Paul Horton