Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

Hey all,

I'll be welding in a new rear suspension setup in the future. I don't have access to my bed currently. Was wondering if any knew how much one would want to shift the rear forward or back on a leaf spring truck to better center the rear in the wheel well? I'm working on a 66 GMC. I currently have it attached via leafs, so if I knew the change it would be fairly easy to shift it forward or back a bit to better center it.

Appreciate any input people have.

Re: Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

Assuming the wheelbase remained the same from trailing arm (Chevy) to leaf-sprung (GMC), and that we're talking about a 6' bed, I'd suggest moving the axle back 2 to 2-1/2".

Re: Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

If your spring hangers are in the stock position, it's really going to depend on the ride height that its at with the bed on. You will be limited to spring perches with multiple holes that allow forward 1", centered and rearward 1" of movement. You may even be able to use a zero rate spring that also has multiple holes for a bit more movement. Just depends on where the axle sits when the spring flattens out with weight and how much arch it has to begin with. I was able to use the perches to move my axle 1" back which centered it up the way I wanted it.

Re: Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

Thanks for the info all!

Chris, thanks for the info, but your advice seems to be under the assumption that I am keeping the leafs, which I am not. Feel free to correct me if I totally misunderstood though :).

I'll be going with a 4-link coilover, so I'll be able to set the brackets for both the coil over mount, as well as the forward mount for where the 4-link connects, which should give me ample freedom to shift the rear a bit if desired.

Re: Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

Yikes. Sorry, yes I didn't see the 4 link in the OP. Sorry bout the mis information

Re: Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

No worries, I just wanted to ensure I wasn't missing something :)

Re: Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

I would wait till the bed is back on and you have the tire and wheel you want to run. With the rear end out and the truck on stands place the wheel and tire in the wheel opening and place it to where it looks right to you. A taller tire my need to be a further back to look like you want. With the shape of the wheel opening the look of centered may not be the measurement of centered.
Jimmy

Re: Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

I would also think it would matter if you have a fleetside bed or a stepside bed.
Seems like the fleetside bed needs the wheels to move rearward in the wheel opening.
And the stepside beds need the wheels to move forward in the wheel opening.

Up front,... they all need the wheel to move forward,...

Re: Moving the rear forward/back to center in wheel well
 

It's a fleetside, long bed. Fortunately I have the wheels and tires I want. Guess I could measure the distance from the cab to the wheel center, vs the bed to wheel opening center, accounting for the cab-bed gap. Anyone know the gap between the cab and bed?