3/4 ton to 1/2 ton Suspension Swap
 

Just kicking some ideas around in my head and looking for some input.

I'm kinda, sorta looking to pick up a 1/2 ton 2wd Suburban. I want to throw a 5/7 and some wheels on it and make a nice cruiser out of it. The issue is that it seems to be pretty slim pickins when it comes to 2wd 1/2 tons. The ones that are out there all seem to have been ridden hard and put away wet. However, there are a plethora of relatively clean 3/4 tons out there that can be picked up pretty inexpensively.

Is there anything magical involved with swapping out a 3/4 ton suspension for a 1/2 ton suspension? I'm assuming it's all pretty much interchangeable.

Re: 3/4 ton to 1/2 ton Suspension Swap
 

Its a straight swap.

Re: 3/4 ton to 1/2 ton Suspension Swap
 

Cool. Thanks, Ken.

Re: 3/4 ton to 1/2 ton Suspension Swap
 

I actually had to drill a couple holes for the front hanger on my 76 but was not a big deal

Re: 3/4 ton to 1/2 ton Suspension Swap
 

The frame dimensions are the same, right? IIRC, the 3/4 tons have a slightly thicker frame, but the overall dimensions are the same.

Re: 3/4 ton to 1/2 ton Suspension Swap
 

Frame is the same just thicker. I believe balljoints are bigger too. If you have a donor, it should all swap over.

Re: 3/4 ton to 1/2 ton Suspension Swap
 

Its been a while since we did one...
Front ....used 3/4 upper control arms with 1/2 ton ball joints
1/2 ton springs/spindles and lower control arms bolted in
watch for variations in tie rods etc between years...also some later parts are metric

Rear end is bolt in ...driveshaft change reqd

At least this is what I remember

We usually tried to pick up a matching half ton/same year/tranny etc for the swap ...easier than chasing parts...