I've got some rear suspension problems...

[Phoax]

I've got some rear suspension problems. I could use some advice.

I bought a Richmond 5 speed out of an old Corvette on Craigslist to put in my truck. I got it raised up and removed the exhaust to find this. Disclaimer: I'm a solo hot rodder, I don't know anyone else who is into this stuff but I live for it and I'm learning as I go.




There is nothing holding the spring in. The upper bolt/cup is gone. You can see in the pic that the bottom one is still there but wedged in behind the spring. The spring is a few inches back from it's proper position.

I for sure need new trailing arms. What should I do? One solution I came across is buying the coilover trailing arm kit from CPP as it doesn't use the rusted out frame spring mount. It's very expensive though. Uggg, I just want to drive my beloved C10!

[Mbeef61]

From one solo to another I feel your pain. No choice but to repair. That is unsafe to say the least. Nice choice on the 5 speed. I would look into upgrading. I too like the idea of coilovers. I am looking into qa1 and ridetech. They are $$$ but worth it and increase the value and enjoyment. I don’t know much about the CPP kit.

Were you driving it that way? I don’t even see a lower spring mount. It looks like it is just jammed in there. I have also never seen a trailing arm rusted through like that. Give everything a good look while you are down there

[Phoax]

I'm thinking it's wedged in there pretty good and it was probably like that when I bought it in hindsight. So yes I've been driving it like this. I buy most of my parts from craigslist and junkyards so expensive is maybe different to me. The CPP kit is $1300. I'm not quite on the qa1 ridetech level. Here is the CPP kit. http://www.classicperform.com/coilov...rsion-kits.htm

[Ganty101]

Sheet man, has it been parked in a salt bath?!

On a serious note you could look for another c10 and use it for bits, probably pick one up for less than the coil over kit and you may get some extra stuff out of it down the line and still have a truck shell to sell. That would require some room though to be able to strip it down etc.

Especially good if you buy a truck that’s been in a front end smash. You only need bits from the rear end after all!

[saxart]

Not only are you looking at needing new trailing arms, but you could be looking at a frame swap at the very least. I'm guessing there are other areas that could be bad as well. Time to get on a creeper and check the entire underside of the truck over. There shouldn't be spots this bad that you "happen to stumble upon". Maybe you can find someone on craigslist selling an entire new frame with suspension and swap it over.

[Shaky]

Unless you are an artist with a welder, that truck needs new trailing arms and a new frame. The springs are shot too...

[Grumpy old man]

Time to pull the bed off to see just how bad it all is and have the room to fix it if it even is repairable . Too bad your not closer I have a long bed frame I'm getting ready to part out . I may have the parts you need if your frame is worth saving

[nikwho]

Post up more pictures of other parts of your frame. I've got that crossmember that I would give you, but I am sure that shipping would make it cost prohibitive! The biggest factor on the extent of work ahead of you would be how much rot there is in other places. Its easier to box a portion of your frame and replace that single crossmember than to do an entire frame swap. But, there just isn't enough information from these pictures. Trailing arms and reinforcing, at a minimum! These photos sure make me appreciate Arizona trucks!

Do you weld? Or have a friend that is a truly competent welder? That changes a lot, as paying a welding shop hourly to make repairs would cover the cost of a new frame pretty quickly!

Nik

[68is4me]

oh no What ever you do I would not be driving it till it is fixed. Even the trailing arms look like they are bent beyond of what they are supposed to be.

It could be fixed depending on your skill set and how the rest of the frame looks.

Don't you love living in the salt states.

[Steeveedee]

You might try member "toomuchstuff" for parts. He may have what you want or be able to point you to a source. He's in Minnesota, at least.

[Phoax]

Thanks for the replies. The other side isn't rusted out at all. It's a flatbed with nothing protecting the rear suspension from the wind so maybe it was parked for a long time with the one side getting blasted by salt wind. I'll do some more inspection but I've done a lot of work on the front half of the truck and haven't seen anything alarming so I think that is probably the worst spot.