Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Thanks for the link Swamp! That is exactly what I'm looking for. Although there isn't a lot of body roll right now, I suspect that when I get the 63's in the back, the bed on it and am carrying firewood, it may get uncomfortably loose. Im working on finding someone on CL that's parting a 73 up K series truck as I write this. I really like how that sway bar looks like it came with the truck!

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Awesome! That is good to hear that the body roll isn't terrible. You're making me wish I had gone with 52s up front when I built big ugly, but I wussed out.

Did you buy the 5 leaf 52" springs new? Did they come with the plastic sliders on the leaf tips like the factory springs? Did you remove the overload leaf or leave it on?

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

I got the springs for 50$ used off of a '74. Didn't even notice that there were no sliders like the rears of the ones that I have on the truck now. I may try and get those. All in all, these springs make a world of difference. The rear springs in the truck used to be the softer part of the suspension. Now I hit speed bumps and wait for the rear to knock a kidney out. I can't wait to put the 63's in and really smooth the ride out! Just waiting on the flip kit which should be here on Wednesday. By the time I'm done, I should have the 31 gallon Blazer tank and the 63" springs in the rear. I'm thinking it will be a drastic difference.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

This is great info. I'm planning on converting my '63 C10 to 4wd this summer, and I've been agonizing over the spring choices out there. I'm excited to hear how it drives and see how it looks.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Just looked at my last post and noticed that it did not have very much valuable info for anybody here. The leafs that I got were seemingly good used rear 5 leaf units from a 1974 Chevy K10. The guy that I got them from had them powder coated and installed new poly bushings in the eyes. There are no end sliders or sliders where the pack center pin runs through. The original rear springs had the sliders on the ends and the sliders (spacers) between the leafs at the center pin. I may try to find out if the new springs may have had the sliders. Possibly they were removed for the powder coat?
I also just spoke with a guy who is close by and he has the sway bar, minus the frame mount for $20. I think I will pick that up this week.
Im really hoping that the hangers for the rears show up Wednesday. I'd like to have that done this weekend so I can get the fuel tank in and get the bed back on.
One more thing that I noticed. Some of you may have heard me mention that the truck sits anywhere from 1 to 1-1/4" lower on the passenger side. I never knew if it was frame or spring related. Well... I just realized that it is frame related. It is still leaning. I guess its time to start looking for a good frame shop :(.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Chris, did you compare the springs, side by side before installing them? I ask this because I had a set of front springs I pulled off of my suburban and when I set them side by side, upside down on the ground I could easily see that one was about and inch lower than the other. Not sure why that would happen but I put in different front springs anyway.

How can you tell that your frame is tweaked?

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Jason,
I did pull the overloads off BUT, I did scavenge the two smallest leafs off of the original 45" front packs. I did use the smallest leaf on the bottom of the new pack (which I guess means that they are 6 leaf packs now, lol) and am saving the slightly longer one in case I need it later.

On another side note, be a little wary of C clamps made in China. I used 2 of them to hold the old front packs together when I was trying to get the smaller leafs off. One of the clamps let go sending a 2-1/2" chunk of metal whizzing past my head. It happened so fast, I didn't see it - just heard it whiz past my ear. I couldn't find the piece until today. It had ricocheted off of the work bench and landed 40' up the driveway. Lesson learned.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

I noted you replaced the radiator core mount bushings, have you done the cab bushings yet? i'm curious if the cab bushings could be contributing to the truck leaning to one side a little?

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Good call Swamp. It wouldn't hurt right? I did notice that the passenger side bushings were squished more than the drivers side. I wouldn't think that it would affect the frame that way but what do I know? I seem to learn something new almost everytime I work on this thing. I'll probably do the bushings before finding a frame shop. Thanks for catching that!

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Hey Jason, Yeah I put them side by side originally and didn't notice a difference and TBH, I really have no idea if the frame is tweaked or not. I'm just kind of wired to go to worst case scenario right away. Swamp just reminded me that I may need to replace the cab bushings as they may be contributing to the lean. I will try and work through the small things first. I appreciate you guys talking me off of the ledge!

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Here's the pick of the C clamp. Not sure how it made it past my head, my Wife's bug and the Denali without messing something up! I'm chalking it up to free tuition.
I also burned up my trusty Dewalt XRP while drilling holes in the frame for the hangers. I should have started with the corded Makita drill motor that I ended up using in the end.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Do you have a set of calipers? If so, could you do me a favor and measure the thickness of your main leaf, when you get a chance? I'm curious if it is thicker, thinner or the same as a 7 leaf pack.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Old main = .336. New main = .305. Give or take a little grime. New ones are definitely thinner. Not by much but you can see it.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

OK guys, serious question. When I was measuring the leaf thickness, I noticed that the original front springs have a military wrap on the front eye. The new ones do not. I know they are there for an extra margin of safety should the main leaf break. While I have seen a few mono leaf trailer springs break in the past, I have yet to see a multi leaf let go. I really don't want to experience this firsthand on the front of the truck. Has anyone seen any issues with running a non double wrap on the front of any trucks before? If so, does anyone know where I could find some stock 52's with the military wrap? Im kinda tripping on this. Ive never heard of it being a problem but really wasn't looking at this point / issue in the planning stages of this.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

I wouldn't worry about it. Non of the aftermarket front springs have that secind leaf overwrap.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

That does make me feel better. Thanks!

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Both my ole Rancho and the new BDS springs only had the large spring wrapped, pretty common i think.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Gonna stop thinking about that extra wrap I think. Looks as if plenty of rigs out there are doing fine without them. Just thought I missed something kind of big. I do that more often than I'd like. Thanks for all the feedback!
Now on to the rear springs!

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Small update. I so impressed with how the front springs rode that I pulled the truck back in the garage on Friday and started going to town on the back half of it. I figured that the front was fairly easy, how hard could the rear be - especially with the bed off?
Anyway, all of the old hangers came off easily within an hour on Sat. morning. They exposed some rust that I was sure would have fossils in it. Not quite surface rust and not quite rot either. A little more than I like to see on a frame but its what I have to work with.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

I pulled the Dana 60 out to address a couple of items but mainly BC I just want to clean it up a little and put a couple of coats of paint on it. Lately I've been looking at CL for 14 bolts. Not sure why but I'm not gonna start painting just yet. As you all may remember, I was going to install the 31 gallon Blazer tank while I had the bed off and I was doing the 63" spring swap.
I have found it kind of weird how I have planned this out for the last 6 years in my head and had the order in which everything would happen mapped out as well. Funny how the project can dictate what order thing are going to happen.
At the start, I was going to do the suspension first, followed by the fuel tank. As it turns out, I have to do the tank first - mainly for the two new cross members that will be replacing the only cross member where the old spring hangers were.
In order to install the new DIY4x4 rear hanger I was going to have to remove the frame mounted trailer hitch receiver. At this point, since I had already removed the last cross member, I felt that the receiver was the only thing holding the back end of the frame in place. I didn't want to take the chance of everything really getting out of shape. Sooooo, the fuel tank crossmember install is going to happen before the spring swap. So far, not quite as easy as the front. LOL!

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

I cut a couple of pieces of 2 x 4 x 1/8" box tubing to fit the frame, both to hold the fuel tank and to strengthen the frame a little. I was going to bolt them in initially but I think Im going to use the Miller on it. I drilled holes for the stock tank straps, skid plate and access holes to get a wrench into. Im not a frame guy by any means so if you guys see me about to totally FUBAR my frame or maybe a better way to do things, Im all ears.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

Awesome progress, Chris!
I have the same fuel tank sitting in my back yard waiting to go into Big Ugly. I guess great minds think alike! What is your plan for the fuel filler?

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

I'm not quite sure yet Jason. There is a lot of room towards the rear of the fender. My 9 yr old son asked me just yesterday - " Hey Dad, are we gonna have 2 tanks on the red truck now?", to which my reply was "nah, then we'd have to put in a valve and a switch and I don't really have the time". He seemed OK with that logic, but now I'm trying to figure out how to do it! Lol.

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

this is so awesome! i had a leaky valve cover gasket that lead to a full frame off resto once.

same boat bud.

by the way, im taking notes and riding your coat tails for my own 52/63" spring swap. thanks for the leg work!

Re: Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15
 

And Pandoras box has just opened a little more. Just received an email back on a 2012 14BFF with disc brakes. The guy wants it gone fast. This would keep me from having to rebuild the brakes on the D60 and the spring perches. Anyone know how much my driveshaft would have to be shortened or lengthened to do this swap? At this point, I'm afraid the truck isnt gonna see the light of day again!