Finally Pictures of the Old Guys "New" Toy

[alan c. brawn]

To those who were kind enough to respond to my request for help on my "new" toy, here are a few pictures. As noted, the top side of the truck is nearly perfect but the suspension needs work. Within budget limits (max $1000 to $1500) I need get the front and rear leaf suspension worked out with bags, coil overs, or revamped springs and axles. As noted in previous thread any help or suggestion are appreciated and I hope you like the truck.
Professor B
PS
I do have disc brakes in front and drum brakes in the rear with 22" whhels and 20" wheels.

[WarMonger]

Great look'n truck. I have heard of a way to cheaply bag the rear. You can take out most the leaf springs till the truck sags all the way on the suspension and add bags to get the lift/ride height. By keep a few leafs, it keep everything straight or in the same place. that would work, till you can save up and get a 4-link or something like that.

[zibs71]

Very nice truck Alan. Rims are awesome. What kind are they may I ask?


Zibs71

[alan c. brawn]

Thanks for the kind words and suggestions. Regarding the wheels I will have to find out who manufactured them and will do so this weekend for sure.
Professor B

[michael bustamante]

like the flame job. if the suspension is sub parr, definatley get it done right. that truck looks worth it

[alan c. brawn]

Thanks. It was 16 year father and son project and the son actually became a master body man. All the work you see is done in metal. The color is Viper red but with a blue pearl top coat and the flames are in blue and hand done. They wanted to move on to another project so a friend of mine bought it in Arizona and actually kept if for me until my son figured out a way to get it for me. The last big issue is the suspension and it seems like they just cut the front coils and left the old shocks. It rides fine and steers great until you hit a little bump and then it hits rather hard and it is obvious that suspension travel in not there. So if money was not an object I would just put an IFS front suspension with rack and pinion on it but money is an issue hence not being a suspension expert my search for the best compromise to get better suspension travel and still maintain the lower stance.
Professor B

[michael bustamante]

look into early classic drop kits. i have it in the rear and it rides nice. i used kyb shocks. good and inexpensive thru rockauto.
also you should use a drop spindle if you have front disk brakes.

[hamjet]

thats a sweet looking ride, how bright are those brake lights?

[alan c. brawn]

I wondered about the brake light when I got the truck but I had my son stand back and they work great.
Professor B

[Possmguts]

Shorter shocks and or relocation kits for lowered trucks are available at a lot of places, and unless your stuck on air bags there are ways of properly doing the back. Have some springs made along with drop shackles and shorter shocks there too. All for way less than your budget.

[alan c. brawn]

I am not at all stuck on air bags per se. I just want more suspension travel and maintain the lowered look. It just seems that air bags gives me more adaptability and other methods appear to not be so adjustable.
Professor B.

[yuccales]

Great looking rig! I like the big brake pedal, something I've been meaning to do to mine. Good luck on the suspension work.

[Mike C]

Great looking truck.

Originally Posted by alan c. brawn

I am not at all stuck on air bags per se. I just want more suspension travel and maintain the lowered look. It just seems that air bags gives me more adaptability and other methods appear to not be so adjustable.
Professor B.

You are correct that air bags have more adjustability, but they come at a price. Not just dollars up front, but in the amount of modifications to get them to work well and maintenance. They air bags will wear out much sooner than springs. And my opinion is it can't be done well at your max $1500 budget level. But you can do a static drop that will drive and ride well and not require much in the way of future maintenance.

Please take some suspension pictures of your truck and post some measurements. The most useful measurements will be from the center of the hub to the bottom of the fender straight above that.

For example, on my truck the stock measurement on the right front was 19 3/8 and after the 2" springs and 2 1/2" spindles it was 14 3/4. The difference is 4 5/8 or pretty darn close to the 4 1/2" predicted. I went from a 265 75 15 front tire to a 235 55 17 (31" tall tire to 27" tall tire) so the front came down the amount of the suspension drop plus 1/2 the difference in tire height. 4.5" + 2" or 6 1/2" total.

The right rear of my truck measure 21 1/4" before the DJM flip and 14 1/2" after for 6 3/4" drop. The 275 55 17 in the rear are 29" tall, so just 1" lower overall from the tire for 7 3/4" total in the rear.

Measuring this way eliminates tire height from the equation to figure just suspension drop. Once your measurements are known you can figure what parts you need to get the approximate same stance but improve the ride.

[steelhorse]

Great looking truck.