Is there a trick to removing the stock rear leaf spring shackles on my 67 or do I have to drop the gas tank to do the job??? pdq67

FWIW,I did mine way back when,I was able to keep the tank in, although it was a PIA.I had to heat up my upper bolts with a propane torch and spin the nuts off with a hammer and long chisel.If I remember correctly the bolt should pull out of the bushing/shackle JUST enough to drop the leaf down.Is this what your having a problem with?I know there are a few guys out here who have done them recently,maybe they will be more help.

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67 RS RAGTOP # matching
4X4 Chevy truck
4X4 Suburban

The shackle bolt that goes into the upper eye should have been inserted from the outside rather than the inside. It is a fishing process to angle the bolt with the bushing on it inside the lower rear quarter, but I have done it twice. Now if the last owner reversed this and put the top bolt through from the gas tank side, then you will most likely be dropping your gas tank.

I've got a funny feeling that the shackle bolts have one in one way and the other in opposite and that they are "frozen" on with rust.
I'm going to tear into them tonight and I hope I don't have to drop the gas tank. pdq67

Mine were froze solid. My handy little angle grinder made short work of them but I did have my gas tank out. Even the bushings were froze solid in the frame. Air hammer with wide chisel made short work of them. Have fun.

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My Chevies (http://www.geocities.com/bh3chevy/Bobs_All_Chevy.html)

I got the drivers side out tonight and the shackle did come apart just enough to drop the rear of the spring. The frame bushings are rusted in and I'm going to use my air chisel on them tomorrow evening.

I bought a cheap 4.5" electric angle grinder for $14.95 plus tax this evening and ground the heads off the three front spring mounting bracket bolts. Now what do I do???

Should I drill holes clear through to the inside floorboard and use "long bolts" with a nut bottomed out on the 1" of threads and use them to fasten the mounting bracket back in or should I bite the bullet and order new stock "clip-nuts" from D&R Classic.

If I use "clip-nuts" the same thing will happen again in the future. Any advice??? pdq67

We had a discussion on this subject about a month ago.I would do a search,it was a long thread with lots of info.I WOULDN'T use the clips from D&R,I purchased the clips from them myself,they took about 10ft.lbs. of torque,then snapped in half!Every one of them.Someone mentioned a company(I forget the name) that sold a more heavy duty version of these on that old thread.

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67 RS RAGTOP # matching
4X4 Chevy truck
4X4 Suburban