camaro rear axle on a 53 dodge pickup - where to begin?

[neverwintercycles]

so i spent a considerable amount of time surfing the web yesterday for knowledge regarding installing the camaro rear end i picked up

i'd like to re-use the leaf springs from the 53 dodge pickup suspension if poss in order to save cash.

the camaro axle is wider than the dodge but i am not running fenders so i dont think that matters.

here's what i get confused on:
- i want to lower the truck. what is the correct sequence to install the suspension while taking this into consideration? do i install the wheels etc and then the suspension and then work on lowering it? obv the wheel is not going to change so i would thik i need to have that in place - or at least the measurement for it - to do this?

- my plan is to channel the body. i have beenn told the best option for lowering the truck frame is to z the frame. but others c-notch it, others use dropped spindles, others flip the leafs upside down, some use a dropped axle -
HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW WHICH METHOD TO USE? LOL

i just need help with the plan of it all so i can research the actual building of it

 

[Alienbaby17]

Some people end up using a combination of many of the methods you listed...

I guess to establish the best 'game plan' we'd need to know how much you plan on lowering the vehicle.
I had a 1950 Dodge 1/2 ton truck. I was able to lower it a an inch or two in the rear just by removing the "helper" leaf spring pack (think it was around 5 leaves) that sat above the main leaf spring. Maybe yours doesn't have that but mine did. I knew I wasn't going to be loading the truck up to the point I would need those so it was no major loss.
You could also look into removing a few of the leafs from the springs. I think typically it is recommended to remove every other leaf. You could also look into having the springs de-arched some.

In the front you could go with dropped spindles- although I don't know anyone making them for that application- same with a dropped axle. You could have your current axle 'dropped' but I'd guess it would not be cheap to do.

IF you want to go extremely low you would need to modify the frame. A 'c notch' is probably easier than 'z'- ing the frame.

There are lots of options but first we need to know how low you want to go. Remember you will still need to go in and out of driveways and over speed bumps occasionally.

Jay