79 Big 10 lowering

[bowtieguy79]

ok, this past week, I have been messing around with ride hieght on my 79. It is a Big 10. I removed some leafs in the rear, and put on 2" drop coils. The rear is way to loosy goosy right now, planning to add back in the thicker leaf and remove another.

My question falls with the front end. Is the Big 10 not a "3/4 ton" coil spring? Sitting 1.5 - 2" higher than a non heavy half? So putting the 2" drop coils on, it only dropped 1.5-2"..... Whats the deal with that?

If my truck sits 1.5-2" higher in the front than a non heavy half, wouldn't a 2" drop coil put me down at least 2.5-3"?

The first picture is a before, and the second is current.
Is it possible that a Big 10 has a spindle that sat the truck up a little higher? What are your thoughts?

[71Farmtruck]

I dont know about the rating of the spring, but according to your logic you are correct. I wonder if spindle heights might be different.

[boatpuller]

i'm likeing the way it sit's.it's got a nice stance.tire's look good in the wheel well.as far as your spindle ?....you might want drop spindle's.

[Pyrotechnic]

Springs do get old and sag after awhile. Also could have been swapped out for light duty springs by a previous owner ?

[f.monroe]

I have had original trucks with the heavy duty suspension and they never sat as high as my 77 long bed did when I installed new springs . They may have sat higher 30 years ago but have settled over the years . Your new springs will settle a little . Also , what is the weight of the new engine vs the old all iron engine . That might account for and extra 1/2 inch in height due to the weight diff if there is any .
Frank

[bowtieguy79]

Originally Posted by boatpuller

i'm likeing the way it sit's.it's got a nice stance.tire's look good in the wheel well.as far as your spindle ?....you might want drop spindle's.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Pyrotechnic

Springs do get old and sag after awhile. Also could have been swapped out for light duty springs by a previous owner ?

Ya they do, I don't think they had been changed. I have had it for 11 years, and it was EXTREAMLY stock when I got it.

Originally Posted by f.monroe

I have had original trucks with the heavy duty suspension and they never sat as high as my 77 long bed did when I installed new springs . They may have sat higher 30 years ago but have settled over the years . Your new springs will settle a little . Also , what is the weight of the new engine vs the old all iron engine . That might account for and extra 1/2 inch in height due to the weight diff if there is any .
Frank

Compared to my brothers 77, I was 2" higher than him all around, but yes, I suppose they could have sagged over the years. Good point on the LSx being lighter than the Iron 5.7L. It did sit up a little higher with the LSx installed.

[heavychevy79]

I still have my old big-10 spindles somewere, I dig them out and mesure them
and mesure the reg C-10 spindles I have now.

I to noticed that those 2" drop springs didn't seem to drop it much.

I got rid of the DJM 3" drop spindles I had on my 77, with the 2" coils they were just too low, I was draging the ground and tearing up my lawn.
I'm going to try some that are 2" or 2.5" drop, but I'm not sure what brand to go with.
I didn't like grinding those DJMs to make my 15s fit.

[bowtieguy79]

Originally Posted by heavychevy79

I still have my old big-10 spindles somewere, I dig them out and mesure them
and mesure the reg C-10 spindles I have now.

I to noticed that those 2" drop springs didn't seem to drop it much.

I got rid of the DJM 3" drop spindles I had on my 77, with the 2" coils they were just too low, I was draging the ground and tearing up my lawn.
I'm going to try some that are 2" or 2.5" drop, but I'm not sure what brand to go with.
I didn't like grinding those DJMs to make my 15s fit.

That would be cool, if you could measure to see if there is a difference. I'm thinking of getting the 2.5" Summit drop spindles some time in the future.

Ya Id hate to grind on expensive parts...

[71Farmtruck]

Originally Posted by heavychevy79

I still have my old big-10 spindles somewere, I dig them out and mesure them
and mesure the reg C-10 spindles I have now.

I to noticed that those 2" drop springs didn't seem to drop it much.

I got rid of the DJM 3" drop spindles I had on my 77, with the 2" coils they were just too low, I was draging the ground and tearing up my lawn.
I'm going to try some that are 2" or 2.5" drop, but I'm not sure what brand to go with.
I didn't like grinding those DJMs to make my 15s fit.

I always liked the Western brand spindles, they're cheap and they work with 15" wheels fine. The only thing I had to do on mine were to tap the dust cover holes, for some reason they came only drilled.
I ate a spindle the other day when a wheel bearing came apart, I am swapping in spindles and brakes from a '79 Suburban I had laying around on the '81, I will compare those spindles for differences. The brakes are definitely bigger.

[bowtieguy79]

Originally Posted by 71Farmtruck

I always liked the Western brand spindles, they're cheap and they work with 15" wheels fine. The only thing I had to do on mine were to tap the dust cover holes, for some reason they came only drilled.
I ate a spindle the other day when a wheel bearing came apart, I am swapping in spindles and brakes from a '79 Suburban I had laying around on the '81, I will compare those spindles for differences. The brakes are definitely bigger.

can't wait to hear if you guys see a difference.

[grinch4om]

the stance is good in my humble opinion. It will sag with time. to tighten up the rear, put a sway bar on it, that will take the loose feeling out

[Tx Firefighter]

The only reason GM built the "Heavy Half" trucks was for emissions reasons. During that time, all trucks 1/2 and smaller had to comply with stricter emissions standards, so GM built the trucks and rated them 5/8 ton or "Heavy Half".

[grinch4om]

I did not know that!

[Tx Firefighter]

Summit sells Belltech, which is the finest stuff made and their Summit brand spindles I bought were Ground Force, also good stuff.

[bowtieguy79]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Summit sells Belltech, which is the finest stuff made and their Summit brand spindles I bought were Ground Force, also good stuff.

Summit is good about choosing good suppliers. There K&N "look a like" filters actually are K&N filters. Mine came in a plane box, with K&N plastic over the filter.

[71Farmtruck]

Sport Truck Direct sells Western

[heavychevy79]

Originally Posted by 71Farmtruck

Sport Truck Direct sells Western

Yeah that was the site I was on, it looked like it is part of of Western company, but I'm prob wrong.

I guess I should get those while they have free shipping.

I'll get those spindles out today. Oh and the springs might be there too, so
I'll mesure them also if I find 'em.

[71Farmtruck]

Originally Posted by heavychevy79

Yeah that was the site I was on, it looked like it is part of of Western company, but I'm prob wrong.

I guess I should get those while they have free shipping.

I'll get those spindles out today. Oh and the springs might be there too, so
I'll mesure them also if I find 'em.

Get yourself some drop hangars and shackles as well, they are hell to install but are way better than messing with your leaf springs

[heavychevy79]

Originally Posted by 71Farmtruck

Get yourself some drop hangars and shackles as well, they are hell to install but are way better than messing with your leaf springs

Huh, oh yeah I was talking about mesuring the front coil springs that were on my truck, but I did move the hangers, and did shackles, and removed two
springs, which was very hard compaired to doing a flip kit IMO.
I kick myself now for not doing a flip kit and saving myself the trouble of
grinding off all the rivet heads, and then drilling the rivets, then prying the
hangers off of the rivets/frame, then centering on the marks and welding.
Installing the shackles was not that bad, but removing those two leafs from
the spring pack was a workout.
Maybe the only drawback from a flip kit is you will have to grind off the
bump-stop bracket, four rivets I think.

But anyway there must be something that makes a Big 10 higher than a normal 1/2 ton. Could only be springs or spindles.

I asked my neighbor to dig those spindles out, but I think he was too tired.
He works night shift a Target and I think over 40 hours this week allready.
I gave those old parts to him to scrap, but he put them up someplace insted.
He's a Chevy head himself.

[heavychevy79]

We could not find those spindles or springs, but we can still figure it out.
I mesured the spindles from the 79 I had that are on my truck (was a reg 1/2 ton) and the spindles on a 73 I just got, I mesured from the very bottom of
the spindle to the center divot (backside) of the spindle shaft, and got 2-5/8"
The 73 looked to be closer to 2-3/4" but it is very greasy.
So all you have to do now is mesure yours, then we'll know for sure if they
are different.

[Chlsnk]

Were did you get your car style rally wheels for your truck ?

[JW76]

You can buy the rally wheels from wheel wheel vintiques. They are about 70 dollars a rim and they sell the stainless center caps for 45 and the trim rings for 19. You can buy them direct from them or you can get them through Jegs. They are pretty nice. You can get the rally wheels in various truck and car bolt patterns

[71Farmtruck]

Just don't forget to measure your back spacing, nothing ruins the look of a fat rear wheeled truck more than not having them tuck.

[heavychevy79]

I still want to know if the spindles are different.

I'm thinking it just bigger springs, but why would Big Tens/Heavy Halfs need
big springs in the front when all of the load is in the rear?

[lolife99]

No.
All spindles from the factory are the same height. (as in Big 10's and non-Big 10's)
The springs would be the only difference.