prerunner?
 

i was thinking of making my truck( 63' gmc c/10) a prerunner. i was woundering if put some 1 ton coils in the front how much lift would i get if any? also since i have the big block v6 would that effect how much i would vs if i had a small block? i want to try to put some 32" on 15" rim maybe 16".
Any help would be great. also the difference of the v6 and the sbc is roughly about 300 lbs.

also dose anybody make a body lift for my truck or can i use one from a 67 to 72 without any problems or is there some mods. i would have to do?

you should be able to buy a body lift, probably use one from a 67-72 or 73-87, may be short or extra a mount or two.. haha..

as far as the 1 ton coils i doubt it would help you, with a bb v6, you may already have them. what engines were available in the 1tons? bb v6s? or a bb v8? if a bb v8 was standard or offered it would depend on the weight difference between that and your v6... probably not much. You could add coil spring spacers but you would lose most of your down travel. ALso it would cause premature ball joint and tie rod wear.

The best lift is a spindle lift... unfortunately nobody makes one for anything pre 88 at the moment. Though a coversion maybe possible as that is was i am contemplating for my 82... as soon as funds allow.

if i go sbc would i get any lift? if i do any major work like swaping its going to be a 4x4 chassis swap.

if you go sbc you should get some lift.. a couple inches? doubtful.. on my 82 with 1 ton coils it levelled the truck.. thats it.. the rear suspension is stock.. It depends on your wheel wells, as to your tires.. i can run 32x11.50s on my stock 2wd.. hows the body? are you against hacking the fenders a bit? if i remember correctly the 60-66 wheel wells are fairly large..

npoe not against trimming my frenders. also have u ran into problems with your truck after u put in the 1 t0n coils?

nope, they were on there before i bought it, so i dont know what it was like before... but i dont have any alignment or wear problems...

there arent many 32" tires... so you might be better off buying 33"s... and just hacking off where it rubbs... the back probably wont require much if any... fronts will require a bit more.. dont get tires that are tooo wide.. atleast on the fronts... will require less trimming..

Prerunner1982,

I'm thinking of buying a 1993 C1500 truck with a 350 V8 and auto. The truck also has 31x10.5"-15 a/t's. I'd like the front end lifted to level out the truck. I was originally thinking of coil spacer lifts but I was wondering do you think a 3/4 ton or 1 ton spring swap would be better? The front springs look like they're sagging a bit anyway. Do spacers on half-ton springs make the spring feel as stiff as a 1 ton's? I am only looking for an 1"-1.5" lift BTW; however if heavier springs will ride better I'll accept a 0.75" lift from 3/4 or 1 ton springs.

i know squat about 88+ trucks i would imagine the same would hold true for them.. i would go with springs over spacers....however, spindle lifts are available and by far the BEST way to list a 2wd. It wont wear ball joints, tie rods, tires.... and wont cause abnormal alignment issues..

So a spacer will make the 1/2 ton coils feel as stiff as 3/4 or 1 ton coils? I'm looking for a cheap yet sensible and practical way to level the truck. (I can't afford a $500.00 lift kit) I'd like the truck to last a long time. How much do new stock 3/4 or 1 ton springs usually cost?

I might also look into an actual lift kit... if the springs and shocks are too worn out.

BTW how much faster would the ball joints and other steering components wear out compared to stock? I'll probably drive the truck between 10-20K miles a year and would like to know if the savings from the cheaper lifts will be offset by the shorter service life of the front end.

i would guess that a coil spacer would stiffen up the 1/2ton coils like 3/4-1tons.. but i have never run a spacer.. i do know that a 3/4" spacer will lift it close to 2" or so.. though just like a lift coil.... you will lose any down travel the stock suspension had.

as far as a time period for wearing parts i dont know... again i havent been through this personally. The stock tie rods and ball joints werent meant to be used at such extreme angles.. take a look at the front end and you may see what i mean.. i havent see anyone lower the steering on a 2wd to fix the tie rods... though with some parts searching and modification it could be done.. some aftermarket tubular control arms are degreed at the ball joint mounting area to fix that problem as well.. i am not sure which kits are done this way.. would take some communicating with the company to find out... i havent looked into this because i dont have the $$ to drop on it right now or any time soon...

Are 1 ton coils any longer than 1/2 tons (even 1/4"?) or are they just thicker coils?

i would guess they are just a heavy duty coil.. but truthfully i have never seen them next to each other to know. 8t5silverado just swapped his out so he may know.. mine were on the truck when i got it.. i do however know that it will level the truck out.

8t5silverados pic
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...39_47_full.jpg

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...39_53_full.jpg

Well, my HD springs were taller than the 1/2 ton springs, but that may have been due to my stock springs sagging. The gauge is a little thicker as well.

I had to pry my lower control arm down with a cheater bar to get the coil to fit up in there. You have to remember that if a coil is 1 unit longer, it will lift your truck approximately 2 times that due to the geometry of the control arms.

If you have an 88+, I'd go with a lift spindle.

We pre-88 truck guys should petition for a lift spindle!

If you are lucky you can find a pre88 lift spindle... but they are rare.. AIM made them for awhile but quit due to lack of interest.

maybe i'm just ignorant.....but wont putting 1 ton springs on you truck make it less supple for soaking up desert ruts? it you are truly building a prerunner wouldnt you want ver soft springs? i have put some though inot this for my truck and the best option i see is a 4 link with coil overs and home made trailing arms in the rear with coil overs......btw this truck has sick suspention and is still leaf in the front

yes a true prerunner would have a soft suspension with extreme travel... BUT i dont think there are many dunes in Washington.. never been i could be wrong.. arent many here in oklahoma either. some but not many..

Some of us happen to have 2wd trucks... cant afford a 4x4 but still have the need for larger tires. so we want some lift for bigger tires is all..though even the aftermarket kits dont improve the suspension travel. So a true prerunner would require alot of custom modification..

ive got 3" body, and 1 ton coils, and a little bit of fender trimming and fitting 35s on a 76 2wd

got any pics?

There is an area around Moses lake, almost dead center of the state looking at a map, that is an official WA state ORV park. It is conveniently located just off I-90.
The dunes in Oregon aren't too far really if you have the toys to want to go there.

Not to get too far off topic, but WA is split by the Cascade mountain range. On the west side (coastal) you have lush forest with lots of trees and hills - moderate weather with lots of moisture. On the east side you have lots of plains (not like Nebraska or Kansas or anything like that) with lots of desert - dry climate with hot summers and cold winters (again, not like Nebraska or Kansas or anything like that). In mid August you can count on temps near or over 100.
I prefer the west side!

Kevin,

I was going to post a similar thread...grew up in Spokane.

id love to find a lift spindle for mine. or else it looks like ill be throwing an axle from a 4x4 under there so i can go to leaf springs up front.

Griswold510, that's a sweet looking truck. I'd be happy to own a truck just like that as long as everything on it still works. Are you going for a John Deere look? That's a nice looking two-tone paint combination you've got there. I also like the mountain scenery you're driving through.

Can someone lift a 2wd truck just with spindles? The lifts I've seen come with springs, add-a-leafs, spindles, brake lines and some other stuff I don't remember for $700-800.