Last time, is a C-notch really necessary?
 

Im going to drop my truck 5 inches in the rear with 3" drop springs and 2" lowering blocks. Do I need to get it notched or not? I plan on doing all the suspension this winter break so Im trying to find out. I probably wont ever haul anything more than a smoker or a bumper trailer.
Thanks

68 chevy half ton

You don't have to. You'll wish you did though because it will bottom-out allot. ;)

It shouldn't be a problem if you arent hauling any heavy loads. I know most companies sell a 4/6 drop without the notch. It isn't neccesary, but its nice to have the extra clearance.

kenny

test it out. remove the leaf springs from their mounts. lower the rear by the 5". now look at your rear axle tube. you should have a minimum of 3" clearance between the axle tube and the frame. if less, i would recommend getting the notch........

I just put 2 inch blocks in the back of mine with 4" springs w/o a c-notch, and it bangs the frame quite a bit. At rest I only have a bit over 1" between the axle and frame.

A c notch is very cheap now. Pull the bed and bolt the notch in or weld it. Really easy and straight forward.

You can pick up a bolt on C notch from http://www.***************** that is identical to a Western Chassis for $44. :D

Buy a kidney belt instead and you won't have to pull your bed:lol:

Thanks for the input everyone. Is there an obvious place to put it on the frame, like lining it up with the axle?

fiveeightchevy, I was looking at that c-notch and it looks flat, if i remember right i think that the frames on 68s are angled right in that area?.... am i wrong?

I guess Ill go ahead and get a kit soon.

Mine has 6 inch drop springs in it. No c-notch,

Last weekend, I hauled a 454 big block and turbo 400 tranny in the bed for over 100 miles. It did not bottom out once.

The $44 dollar c-notch from suicide doors wont work on a 67-72.
The flat plate c-notch wont work on these years, because the frame has too many angles in that area. I made my own and then boxed it in. But if I had to do it again I would spend the $150 on the pre fab ones

I have 5" springs and 2" blocks and did the c-notch. I dont know yet if I need the notch, but since I'm doing a frame off, I decided to do it just in case I want to go lower later.

Similar to you, I have 3" springs and blocks but only 1.5" of block drop. I've never banged the frame, but then I don't haul anything in it other than a cooler, groceries, parts, etc... I too am thinking about a C notch, simply so I don't have to always be concerned about banging the frame.

Seems to be a simple thing to do.

I guess the 73-87 guys forgot about the 67-72 frame in being different in the rear. No, the $49 notch won't work, but McGaughys has one for $119. Check it out....:cool:

Thanks everyone.
One more ?. Am I going to need an adjustable track bar or anything like that?

How much space do you have between the frame and axle?
The only way I could haul a BB and tranny w/o banging the frame is because the frame would be on the axle already :D
So either I have soft springs, you have stiff springs, or I have more than 4" dropped springs (in truck when got it)

I have hauled numerous heavy loads with my 6" drop Ealry Classic kit and never bottomed out yet. I asked them when I bought th kit if I needed to C-notch the frame and they said not to do it. Stan there told me if I take my rear coils out and set the frame down on the axle tubes, that there would only be a little over an inch of clearance before the rear end the bed floor. He said it's even worse with a wood floor, something like 3/4". I don't know how these guys are notching their frames without raising up their bed floors. Any input?

I think you might be thinking about step notches versus c-notches maybe....
http://www.*****************/index2.html

the c-notch only gives you another 2 inches, I layed the axle in the notch and I dont think I will have problems with the bed floor because the cross sills set the floor higher then the frame itself. But I wont know for sure till I get that far on my project. But when I had that problem with my 78(built it 12 years ago) which had a flip and 2" blocks and a c-notch, I had to build a box for the diff. pumpkin to clear.

Like Lowseventy, I have Early Classics 6 inch rear springs.

It all depends on the spring. My last truck had Eibach brand 4 inch springs in it for awhile. It would bottom out when hitting bumps going down the road. This was with KYB shocks too. I replaced them with Early Classic 4 inchers and never bottomed it again as long as I owned the truck.

Here's my clearance now, with a 6 inch springs. Got tons of room for movement.

Note in the above picture, the grime on the frame right above the axle is untouched. It's never bottomed.

The bed cross sills raise the floor except for directly above the pumpkin. On my 70 fleetside, the bedfloor sets right on the frame above the rear end. Additionally, the upper shock crossmember will interfere with the snout of the rearend.

Looking at your picture I can see that you have alot more room than I have. I wonder if the previous owner used something other than 4" springs, because with whatever springs are in there, and a 2" block, the axle is only about 1" away from the frame.

Dang guys.... I estimated my 68's rear drop @ 6-7" but after looking @ TxFirefighters pic, either I'm more than 7 or he's less than 6.

At typical ride height @ 30-35psi, the top of my rear end housing sits just inside the c-notch in the framerail.

Looks like a 6" drop on tx firefighter's truck to me. Mine looks to be about 2 inches higher than that and I have a set of 4" springs.

[Thread hijack on]
Okay, if TxFF's is a six inch drop and has a good amount of room between the axle and frame, any ideas of how much drop mine is. The previous owner said it had 4" McGaughys springs, then I added 2" blocks so it should be 6" total, but like I stated earlier I only have an inch between axle and frame, any ideas why such a difference.
Rear tires are 275s on 10" rim @32psi
[Thread hijack off]

Ok, I think we decided a while back that on a stock height truck the distance between the top of the wheel arch to the center of the wheel is approx. 22" (on the rear). So to find the amount of suspension drop, simply find the measurement between those two points and subtract that number from 22". Obviously the same can be done for the front end, but I think we decided on about 19" for the front stock height. Tire size has nothing to do with the amount of suspension drop but will affect overall drop of the truck. In my opinion if I were doing a 6" drop in the rear, I'd install a c-notch and get the adjustable panhard bar.

@pbmcauliffe

I dont have an answer to your question, but your truck looks sharp. What wheels are those? smooooothies?

Those are smooothies, and that "is" a sweet 67, but your pic needed some help-

If you look real close, I think those are chrome vette style rally wheels.

I agree! :metal:

Yep, chrome Corvette ralley style, 15x10 in rear, 15x8 in front. I am not a big ralley wheel fan, so they are going to be sold after the holidays when I redo the suspension and go to 18's.

So I just measured my truck against what Slammed67 said. I came up with 16" from the top of the wheel arch to the center of the wheel. That equals 6" drop. I always thought I had about 5". I have about 2" clearance at the frame rail. I have no bump stops back there and have NEVER hit the frame. This is my daily driver and I drive a lot. I would say I don't need a C-notch at all. So install the springs first and see how it is before you hack up your frame. Good luck.

Well, doing the measurement method, I am coming up with approx. 8" of drop (22-14=8) so I guess I need to c-notch it to get more than my current 1" of clearance between frame and axle.