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How To Build a Shackle Flip for your 72-93
Dodge
THE RIGHT WAY!
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Since Shaggys Offroad is no longer around to
make these parts for you Dodge guys I figured I'd post the info so you can
build your own. We spent a lot of time and money getting these designs
just right so you don't have to. It will still require a massive amount of
both knowledge and tools to get it right and you want to make sure they
are built well enough to not break on you. We never had one flip bracket
ever fail so if you follow the directions you should be OK. However!!!!
There is no warranty, promise or responsibility given by us to you that if
you try this all will go perfectly. We threw away a few brackets that
didn't turn out right for one reason or another. It happens to the best of
us. Nothing short of perfect is going to work here. It all has to be
EXACT!!! Not close, not pretty good. EXACT! Also, I didn't go into
cleaning the metal before welding, grinding down edges for full
penetration, stepping up hole sizes in the drill press or the like. If you
need us to tell you that stuff DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!
Best to take the drawings to a welder and have them make these for
you. Now that you are thoroughly paranoid about screwing it up lets
proceed.
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What materials you'll
need
- 2 - 6x6" 3/8" steel
plate
- 2 1 1/2" 3/8" bar stock
about 3 3/4" long
- 2 1 1/2" 3/8" bar stock
exactly 2 3/8" long
- 4 4"x 2 1/2"
triangles out of at least 1/4" steel plate.
- 8-10 1/2" X 1 1/2"
Grade 8 Bolts
- 8-10 1/2" SAE Style
(around 1" outside diameter) hardened washers
- 8-10 1/2" Fender style(
1 1/2" outside dia" at least) thick washers. You want something
with some beef as this will keep the bolts from pulling through
the frame.
- 2 5/8" x 4 1/2" long
grade 8 bolts, fine thread
- 2 5/8" grade 8 fine
thread nuts
- 2 5/8" fender style
thick washers
- 2 5/8" SAE style
washers
- 2 3/4"OD-5/8" ID x2
15/16" long metal sleeves
The steel we got from IMS in Irvine,
CA. All our bolts and such came from McMaster-Carr Supply in Sante
Fe Springs, CA. |
What tools you'll
need
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Drill press and at least
a 1/2" drill bit and a 5/8" drill bit.
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Band saw, plasma Cutter
or some way to cut 3/8" steel plate accurately and
precisely.
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Angle grinder
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210 amp mig welder. You
can use a big stick welder if you have one and are good with it.
Tig welding would work too but with material this thick I prefer
Mig or Stick personally.
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Big disk sander or bench
grinder |
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3D
Drawing of what you're building
Dimensions of RT (2") flip
plate
Dimensions of XT (3") flip
plate
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Here are links to Adobe PDF files
that have everything you need to make your own flip brackets. Open
them, print them and use them as templates. They SHOULD be 1:1 so
you can use them as your template to make your holes. Double check
that your printer didn't scale it though. The 72 through around
75ish truck used a different bolt pattern on the frame. Well, it's
the same pattern it's just tipped about twice as much as the later
trucks. This plates will fit either but will look crocked on an
earlier truck. |
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Pics to
follow |
Now that you have the drawings you
can start to see how it lays out I hope. The plates get 4 or 5 1/2"
holes where the frame holes are. The pivot hold is drilled to 5/8".
These MUST BE EXACT!!! Round the corners to make it look pretty if
you care.
Measure your shackles, 5/8" nut and
5/8" fender washer all together. Subtract 3/8" and this is how long
you need to cut the piece of bar stock I said that was "around" 3
3/4" long. With the washers we used 3 11/16" was exactly our
dimension. Yours will/might vary. The cuts have to be perfect here.
We used a metal cutting bandsaw for this and it worked well. Just
make sure they are straight and equal on both bars. This is critical
to it all lining up right and the truck driving straight down the
road. |
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Pics to
follow |
The two other holes you need to drill
are for the outside bolt tab on the end of the bar you just cut.
Mark it 3/4" from one end and each side and drill a 5/8" hole there.
This must be exact! Shape the end with the hole in it so that the
corners won't get caught on the shackles. It also looks a lot
better. Be as pretty as you want but don't take away too much
material. Broke because it's too pretty ain't pretty at
all! |
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Pics to
follow |
Take these two 2 3/8" tabs and put
your 5/8" x 4 1/2" bolts through them. Now thread the 5/8" nut on
the end so about 1/4" of thread is sticking out the end. Place this
in the 5/8" hole in the plates. I don't need to tell you that there
is a left and right here. Make sure they are flip right side up!!!
Place the other 3/8" bar under the outer tab and line it up so it's
parallel with the top and bottom for the plate. This is important
but not critical. Eyeballs are good enough for that part BUT make
sure everything is nice and straight, square and plum. Nice right
angle between the plate, the 3 3/4" bar and the outer tab!!!! Make
you the nut is firmly against the surface of the plate. This is
where it all goes wrong in a hurry. Take your time and get it
PERFECT! Now you can start welding it all up. Tack it on all sides
first, recheck that all is perfect, then crank up the heat and melt
some steel! This will take a lot of heat to weld up 3/8" plate.
Don't try this with a 110V welder. It won't work! |
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Pics to
follow |
After it all cools down remove the
bolt and clean up all the welds. Get rid of any splatter and get it
ready for more welding. Take you triangles and hold them up to the
backside of the upright bar. Figure out where you want them. Spread
slightly out at the top is better for more complete support.
Just be careful of the top forward 1/2" bolt holes. There isn't a
lot of extra room here with the small SAE washer installed. Weld the
triangles on and again, weld the snot out of them! This will be
taking all the weight and force from the
suspension.
Again, clean up the welds, grind the
splatter and paint. |
Now that you're done with that you just need
to get the old hangers and rivets outta there, drill out the holes to
1/2", bolt the new brackets on and figure out which shackles to use. We
suggest a 2" extended (6" overall) Jeep XJ shackle from the XT bracket or
a 4" extended (8" over all and easier to find) Chevy shackle with the RT
brackets. Both will require a new metal bushing sleeve to fit on a
Dodge. |
