lowering blocks for air ride
 

hey all new member here from va. im currently building a '69 gmc thats gonna have a pro touring, g machine kinda feel. my question is on the rear suspension. its got trailing arms and soon too have bags but can anybody point me in the direction of a set of 3'' lowering blocks, the biggest i have found for these trucks is a 2''. thanks for the help

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

You'll have to make them yourself. 3" blocks for 6X-72 coil suspensions aren't marketed or manufactured that I've ever seen. Obviously you could stack a 2" & 1" block on top of each other & have u-bolts made the appropriate length.

That being said, a 3" block isn't going to really help w/the pro-touring 'feel'. It might give the 'look', but the axle that far above the leverage of the arms won't improve geometry or stability @ all which is the basis of a g-machine.

I would suggest 2" blocks max. Maybe we can help figure out a better way to meet your goal: How low are you trying to get your truck? What other parts do you plan to use?

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

basically i dont have a 100% plan on the rear suspension. i wanna be around 5'' at ride height. i have been thinking of useing ece trailing arms and crossmember with a watts link rather than a panhard bar. i am also open to any other ideas for a rear suspension. also, as i know its gonna make a differance, i plan on running 20x12'' rims in the back.

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

Don't you have to run a narrowed rear end to fit 20x12's?

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

Not on coil suspension trucks. You would use more back-spacing than a shorter housing would require which might make the difficulty level go up a notch when changing a tire.

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

Cool. I was just thinking if you needed to narrow the rear to run a 12" wheel, you could incorporate some of your drop in the mounting pad.

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

Although it would look better IMO w/a narrower housing, you can get away w/a 14" wide wheel (15" lip to lip) w/9.75"bs & not hit the frame rail on the trailing arm suspension 6X-72's. Once you add blocks, it changes the relationship of dimensions & would require larger diameter wheels for sure.

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

I might be able to help you with that, let me make a call.

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

I have some homemade ones that are made from some 2x6" tubing and the long u bolts that are new to go with them for $40 bucks if you want to finish welding the insets in. I cut some dom to keep them from crushing when you tighten down the bolts but never welded them in. The bolts cost me $40 but that is the old bolts in the pics and the others a new.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...pension002.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...pension003.jpg

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

i appreciate the feedback, and Jkade ill keep you in mind if i decide to go the 3'' block rout. One other question though, is there anybody that has or is running a link style suspension with shockwaves. How would that work for what im after

Re: lowering blocks for air ride
 

You could run Shockwaves on the rear, but you have to factor in the length of the unit. I think they need a mechanical advantage like a cantilever system offers to produce the amount of lift needed for the rear.