[MAC71]

A little side story about when I bought the truck. I had to fly from VA to MO and pick it up in the middle of winter. When I got there I found my self in the middle of a snow storm with large snow drifts. I test drove the truck an was satisfied with it and left MO for a long drive back to VA....in the snow. Not a single problem with the truck, did not use any oil and I only need a few stops for fuel. I made the trip all in one shot and arrived home at about 3 AM. The next morning I strapped in the car seats and loaded up my family to take them on a ride but after backing into the street we discovered that there was no forward gears. Apparently driving have way across the country was more than what the old TH 400 could handle, but it got me home.

Later that day I had jacked the truck up and discovered that both rear coil springs were completely broken and there was on shock mount that was snapped off. So the only connection points for the rear end was one shock, the trailing arms, and the track rod.

That weekend I pulled the transmission and all the suspension from the truck to determine what parts I needed so I could start ordering and spending money. While taking it apart I realized that the rear brakes we sized and in no way working. This I think was a blessing in because when I went to remove the trailing arm s the bolts that attach the arms to the frames were rusted threw. I bet it only took about 20 LBS to snap them off. I tried to knock them out with a punch and they crumbled and the trailing arms separated from the frame. So with the trailing are bolts in this condition and the springs broken if the braked did work I might have lost the rear end!

Everything on the suspension was rebuilt stock with the exception of using polyurethane bushings and replacing the rear trailing arms with new ones from Early Classic Enterprises.