C-10 and C-20 Frames the same? C-20 suspension on a C-10?

[Ziptar]

They got a 78 C20 3/4 Ton truck in the yard near me last week. I was looking it over and thought it might be nice to have the heavier suspension, axle, and 16.5 wheels on my truck.

Are the C10 and C20 frames the same? or are they heavier on the C-20. Can I just switch the suspension and rear axle over onto the c-10 frame or do I need to put my bad, cab, and front end on it?

Think the 3/4 Ton stuff weighs enough to change MPG much??

[Prerunner1982]

I think it should a pretty bolt on swap, not sure if the spindles between c10 and c20 are different if they are you might have to swap control arms, but i doubt it, probably just the ball joints if you even need to swap spindles.. I do not believe the frames are different either, I think its only the 1tons that differ. So you may only need rear springs and axle, front springs and hub/spindle. Let us know how it works out..

[Russell]

The frames are identical, but you'd probally be better off grabbing the whole C20 frame, and swapping bodies over than trying to swap suspension stuff around. You'll probally wind up buying a ton of new stuff to make it all like new if you take it apart anyways, lol

[Ziptar]

Thanks for the info. Russell funny you mentioned getting the whole frame and rebuilding everything. I did some poking around on cart-part.com and juding from the search results it looks like the C-20 front suspension has more in common with the C-30 than the C-10 when it comes to control arms and spindles. It got me thinking I should get the whole rolling frame and go throught it with bushings, etc and paint the frame then set my body on it. I could take my time re working it.

I looked up bushings on prothane's site and they list bushing kits for GM Full Size 73-80, they don't specify C10, C20, C30. Are the busing kits all the same? LMC Lists different Body and suspension bushing for the C-10 and C-20, they also only list Urethane control arm busing for a C-10.

I kinda have the idea of re-doing the C-20 frame completely in my head now. I am going to go take a look at it and see what I cen get the whole rolling frame for.

I'll keep you guys posted.

[Ziptar]

I had a good look at the truck the other day frame is really rusty, I have enough to do on my truck already...

. I also started looking for tires for 16.5 rims, they are all but obsolete and tough to come buy.

Still now that the idea is my head, the thought of 3/4 ton suspension is cool..... Maybe I'll still do it, if I come across a donor and some 16" rims.

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by Ziptar;

..... I also started looking for tires for 16.5 rims, they are all but obsolete and tough to come buy.

Still now that the idea is my head, the thought of 3/4 ton suspension is cool..... Maybe I'll still do it, if I come across a donor and some 16" rims.

That's what I was thinking too. Those 16.5's are not common any more so tires are going to be more expensive to buy. Even 16's are going away these days. Most of the new half ton trucks come standard with 17's and 20's are optional.

My understanding is the A-arms are the same on all trucks. The spindles and everything attched to them are larger.....