02054wd Chasis08 Zoom - Photo 8259422

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We opted to use Teraflex Revolver Shackles in an effort to increase articulation and get the most out of the Alcan springs. The Revolver Shackle is self-supporting and stays folded against itself on level ground rather than resting against the frame. It also has a unique hinge design that rotates to allow the leaf spring to flex and compress without additional spring stress.

Matkins Extreme Jeep Frames provided one of its Level II Extreme frames for our project flatfender. The company offers custom frames for nearly every Jeep application, even for early Broncos and FJ40s.

Matkins lengthened the wheelbase a few inches and modified the spring mount locations to accommodate the longer Alcan springs. The overall length of the frame is 125-1/2 inches.

Notice the heavy-duty strapping placed along the lower rails. The rail wall thickness measures 7/16 inches in these areas and 3/16 inches everywhere else.

Matkins used jigs to ensure that all of the crossmembers were accurately placed. The cut-and-weld method of construction is more labor intensive, but the strength factor is unbeatable. This is the required method for NASCAR.

We had Matkins build our frame with mounts for a Saginaw steering setup.

The reinforced plate should be plenty stout to handle a ram-style steering.

Alcan Spring provided a set of custom springs. We asked for a Wrangler-style spring, which is a longer and wider than the stock flatfender setup.

Alcan Spring leaf springs are constructed of 5160 high-carbon spring steel and are custom built for each application. We've used them previously to get great results and expect similar results from this set.

We opted to use Teraflex Revolver Shackles in an effort to increase articulation and get the most out of the Alcan springs. The Revolver Shackle is self-supporting and stays folded against itself on level ground rather than resting against the frame. It also has a unique hinge design that rotates to allow the leaf spring to flex and compress without additional spring stress.

With all of the parts prepped, Big Jim at Four X Doctor went about completing the setup of our rolling chassis. Here, he mounts one of the Revolver Shackles to the frame after installing the Energy Suspension spring bushings.

Big Jim lined up the forward eye of the Alcan spring with the frame mount and slipped a bolt in to hold it in place.

He then secured the other end to the Revolver Shackle.

The Revolver Shackles are a great means of adding off-road ability to your springs. They potentially allow the springs to droop as much as 10 inches.

The Alcan springs are a perfect fit on the frame and went on without a worry.

Before positioning the axles beneath the springs, we measured the thickness of the spring and the Rancho spring plate, in addition to the axle tube and the spring perch, to get an accurate measurement for the U-bolts.

Big Jim measured the distance between the edge of the spring and the back of the rotor to ensure that the axle was properly centered.

With the axle located properly, Big Jim snugged down the bolts to hold it in place. We'll weld the spring perches to the axle tube once we've determined the proper pinion angle.

The M.I.T.-prepped Dana 44 was also bolted up to the springs.

The Goodyear Wrangler MT/Rs are available in a variety of sizes and are proven on the trail. We bolted up this set of 37x12.50R15LTs to Project All-American.

MRT cuts the lip of the wheel and welds in a flat surface for the retaining ring to bolt to.