Few questions - 83 c10 - drop ?, seat ?, etc

[pitchblack86]

thanks for the quick response.

question: my truck doesnt sag in the back and rides good, leafs are in great shape. with it laying on my tailgate i'm able to just use a pair a crap pliers and squeeze them enough to wiggle the bolt thru and get the nut going. i didnt have to use c clamps. and i'm a bit worried since i've never pulled a pack apart before, if its going back together straight.

is it fine to tighten on off the truck or does it need to be put back on? should you be able to wiggle the leafs a little bit or does it have to be so you cant budge them at all? dont want to go too loose or too tight.

feel like such an idiot. i was following a few builds and somehow got messed up. shouldnt have happened and i've ventured into uncharted territory for me. i mean its just simple to pull a leaf out lol. i got all f'd up somehow. going to see if i can get a new bolt. check back here and see if i can put it back together off the truck or on.

also, not going to put the shackle on at the moment. just the flip... so its going to technically be a 5/5 drop. still not understanding this drop shackle/notching thing.

[pitchblack86]

also just a little backstory. i'm doing this ''build'' because i've become so out of touch with wrenching and tinkering. now that i have the time, i want to get back to it. i miss pulling motors at like 9pm, putting another in at 10pm and driving it to work at 5am lol. doing auto to stick swaps etc.

hopefully this truck can show what i can do, but its going to take FOREVER!

the agenda is:
drop
roll pan/paint/grille/shave body
350, 454, or newer motor swap(5.3 maybe??) and a 4 or 5speed swap

not looking for a show truck because i cant afford it, but want a nice looking, good sounding, quick truck.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by pitchblack86

thanks for the quick response.

question: my truck doesnt sag in the back and rides good, leafs are in great shape. with it laying on my tailgate i'm able to just use a pair a crap pliers and squeeze them enough to wiggle the bolt thru and get the nut going. i didnt have to use c clamps. and i'm a bit worried since i've never pulled a pack apart before, if its going back together straight.

You should be fine. You can eyeball the whole thing from the top to be sure they are all straight. If not, give them a tap with a hammer until they are.

Originally Posted by pitchblack86

is it fine to tighten on off the truck or does it need to be put back on?

If you are talking about the bolt through the leafs, yeah, it's OK to put it back together while it's off the truck.

Originally Posted by pitchblack86

feel like such an idiot. i was following a few builds and somehow got messed up. shouldnt have happened and i've ventured into uncharted territory for me. i mean its just simple to pull a leaf out lol. i got all f'd up somehow. going to see if i can get a new bolt. check back here and see if i can put it back together off the truck or on.

Don't feel bad, very few people were born with this knowledge. This is how we learn to do what we do.

"When you make a mistake, don't look back at it long. Take the reason of the thing into your mind and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power."
Hugh White (1773 - 1840)

Originally Posted by pitchblack86

also, not going to put the shackle on at the moment. just the flip... so its going to technically be a 5/5 drop. still not understanding this drop shackle/notching thing.

What don't you understand? Lay it out there, we'll help you understand!

[pitchblack86]

i just cant wrap my head around how the shackle is supposed to fit in there. its directly beneath the frame. i keep thinking i need like a drop shackle hanger or something. cant find any pics or info on installing drop shackles(google returns lightings and dodges) and they are different.


whether or not the shackle goes on, i doubt its going to need the cnotch. deal with that when and if that comes up.

if i can find a pic or two of these shackles installed, i can understand it, but i've been thru dozens of pages on here and 100's of topics and havent found anything yet...still looking though. search button is your friend haha.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by pitchblack86

also, not going to put the shackle on at the moment. just the flip... so its going to technically be a 5/5 drop. still not understanding this drop shackle/notching thing.

I glanced through the thread again, think I know what you are talking about....

The drop shackles are longer that the stock shackles. What the drop shackles do is move the rear of the leaf spring farther away from the ground; or in other words, it pulls the rear of the leaf spring (and coincidentally, the rear end too) UP closer to the body. This pulls the rear end UP in the wheel well closing the gap between the tire and wheel well lip. And since the rear end can't actually move up or down, the rear of the truck is lowered.

As far as the notching goes, you have already noticed that the shackle sits right below one of the bed cross braces. In order for the longer shackle to live there, the cross brace needs to have a section cut out so the shackle can reside in that space. This is just the way it is, even if they don't mention it in the instructions. You would know right away if you had the longer leafs, as the top of the shackle would be BEHIND the cross brace, thus no need to notch it.

[pitchblack86]

figures i got the shorter leafs haha. i'm used to shackles that are the complete opposite of whats on here. on this truck the shackle(trying not to sound like an idiot here) sits lower to the ground and the leaf above it. i'm used to the leaf sitting lower to the ground and the shackle above it.

i had a ranger i lifted with chevy drop shackles and ended up with about 2-2.5 lift.

after crawling under it, i see what you mean, i'll have to take away a decent chunk for it to clear. while i'm waiting for my helper to get here, i'll crawl under and grind some away and see if i can get it to clear. assuming need like a 1/4 inch clearance or so after its all bolted in?

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by pitchblack86

i just cant wrap my head around how the shackle is supposed to fit in there. its directly beneath the frame. i keep thinking i need like a drop shackle hanger or something. cant find any pics or info on installing drop shackles(google returns lightings and dodges) and they are different.


whether or not the shackle goes on, i doubt its going to need the cnotch. deal with that when and if that comes up.

if i can find a pic or two of these shackles installed, i can understand it, but i've been thru dozens of pages on here and 100's of topics and havent found anything yet...still looking though. search button is your friend haha.

Here, try this. Top is a stock cross brace and shackle, bottom is a notched cross brace and a drop shackle.

[pitchblack86]

well that aint happening. i just gave it all on the lower shackle bolts. impact gun, didnt even budge them. pulled bumper off, threw on 11ft "persuader"(lol) and gave it hell. didnt even move. guess shackles are going to wait haha.

[CreditGod]

If you use the leaf springs off an 88 or newer truck you don't have to flip your rear end or c notch it and it will lower it about 3 inches because the new leaf springs where made with less of a curve then the later models either way is cool.

Don't forget to buy a set of plain shocks not a gas filled because the gas filled will make the truck ride a little more bouncy and the plain old shock "gabrial shocks" makes them have a lot nicer of a give then the gas filled.

Just adding my 2cents in.

Good luck

[pitchblack86]

i was going to buy lowering springs and a flip kit, but decided against it.

got a new bolt for the center pin. hopefully i'll be able to put up the finished pictures tomorrow and measurements. heres hoping....off to get drunk

[CreditGod]

Originally Posted by pitchblack86

i was going to buy lowering springs and a flip kit, but decided against it.

got a new bolt for the center pin. hopefully i'll be able to put up the finished pictures tomorrow and measurements. heres hoping....off to get drunk

try pb blast from autozone or any parts store works great check out my post two post up

[menace121978]

damn... i just went out and measured my u bolts from western chassis and they are about a 1/4" bigger than the stock ones! is there going to be problems?? everything went together nicely and all the measurments are dead on for pinion angle and everything...

[pitchblack86]

Originally Posted by menace121978

damn... i just went out and measured my u bolts from western chassis and they are about a 1/4" bigger than the stock ones! is there going to be problems?? everything went together nicely and all the measurments are dead on for pinion angle and everything...

i'm worried mine arent going to work. a hangover is one of the best ways to not want to be productive


drinking pot of coffee then off to sit on the wet ground to work on the truck. hoping the ubolts work so i can get it all put back together and finished and move on to the front.

[bigblock73]

Originally Posted by menace121978

damn... i just went out and measured my u bolts from western chassis and they are about a 1/4" bigger than the stock ones! is there going to be problems?? everything went together nicely and all the measurments are dead on for pinion angle and everything...

Are they 3 1/4" inside to inside? I would definately recommend putting the correct U-bolts on...3" inside diameter, 8" long, 5/8" diameter.

On a side note, has anyone had any luck getting ahold of Western Chassis. I found their site, but the number listed is disconnected, and the e-mails bounce back.

[pitchblack86]

what a project so far. hopefully otherside is cake. have leaf bolted back in place, didnt tighten shackle bolts up alot(supposed to tighten once on the ground correct?) and have to run out and get my new 3'' ubolts, not sure if the ones i have would be fine or not, i threw them on there real quick and with the nuts tightened it seemed fine. just got to get a new lower shock bolt(dont ask ) and then time to button up this side.

i kept the stock shackles and ended up loosening it to get the leaf to bolt back in, hopefully it goes back to where its supposed to...

now that i know what i'm doing, should take about 40 mins to do pass side, allowing for time to paint things

taking pictures and going to make a build thread maybe. we'll see. hopefully this gets finished today.

tighten up, do pass side, then the dreaded front drop. hopefully thats straightforward and i can cut my rear bumper bolts off and install the roll pan. trying not to get ahead of myself lol

oh and scored a nice k5 blazer bucket seats and console that i hope to install today. still wouldnt mind a burb rear bench though...

[pitchblack86]

drop is COMPLETED!!!! woot woot

this is how its set up. flip kit with rear factory shocks in the back(drop shocks wouldnt fit without the drop shackle) factory bump stops-minus the rubber.........hits like you wouldnt believe.

front is 2.5 spindle. 2.5 coil. rides beautiful. no bumpstops yet, no wrench to get at the bolt.

took 6 hours for drivers leaf drop. 28 minutes for pass side leaf drop.
took 32 minutes for pass front drop. 42 minutes for drivers front drop.

very happy with it so far, only did about a 1/4 mile to see how it is.

bump stops need to be on in front, rear bumps need to be gone.

somehow the alignment is almost perfect, very small pull to the right.

pics and measurements tomorrow. hopefully i can fine tune it(pass muffler shifted and is slightly rubbing driveshaft), bumps ground off, and new tires put on.

only problems was front brake lines needed to be bent slightly because they were rubbing.


well beer time and offroading the K5 and 2 K10's.

[bigblock73]

Two things, don't drive it until you align it. Even though it doesn't pull, you will have negative camber at least from the front drop. You'll eat up tires real quick if you drive it like that.

Your Doetsch shock should bolt up no problem for the flip only...mine did. My guess is you were trying to put the fronts on the rear, and rears on the front. The fronts will not extend long enough to put on the back. How do I know? I nearly put mine on backwards too.

Did you put the exposed piston on the shocks facing up or facing down?

[pitchblack86]

either sport truck direct sent me the wrong shocks or they are all the same part numbers. all 4 shocks are the same numbers. the bushings are ****. 2 of them crumbled apart.

i installed them right, but just wouldnt reach. they were fully streched and needed about 2 inches more, even with the 2inch shackles, seems like they would still be too short.

i def dont want to drive it without aligning it but wanted to make sure everything was seated right. hopefully it can get aligned soon.

still needs some tweaking here and there, but need to solve rear shock situation. paid alot of money and bushings fell apart and didnt fit.

i'll get the part numbers and post tomorrow and see what you guys think.

like i said, first time tearing into suspension like that, and went well. need to do the bump stops and shocks. align and should be ready to roll.

[pitchblack86]

by the way, has anyone dealt with sporttruckdirect before? seemed like nice guys, but if they sent the wrong shocks(few months ago) will they send new ones? plus the bushings were pure garbage.

[bigblock73]

They are different numbers for front & rear. I tossed my boxes, otherwise I could help you.

STD sucks...I don't think I will order from them again. Good luck getting a refund or exchange.

Didn't have a problem with the bushings on my shocks. Did you run the sleeves in them?

[bigblock73]

By the way, lets see the pics of your install.

[pitchblack86]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

Did you put the exposed piston on the shocks facing up or facing down?

i installed with exposed piston facing up, to the frame, not the axle. that is correct right?

[pitchblack86]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

They are different numbers for front & rear. I tossed my boxes, otherwise I could help you.

STD sucks...I don't think I will order from them again. Good luck getting a refund or exchange.

Didn't have a problem with the bushings on my shocks. Did you run the sleeves in them?

i put the sleeves in them. the sleeve started chewing up the bushing. pulled it back out, put some grease on it, and still chewed it up. NEVER once have a had a bushing fall apart, and i've changed quite alot of shocks before.

STD was very nice with me on the phone when i ordered. also when i didnt receive my coils and cnotch. all 4 shocks are same part number. heres a quick few pics, nothing great, it was dark.

[pitchblack86]

horrible pics, i know, and the massive tires on it dont help. 30x9.5. i know, crazy. need my new tires back.

better pics tomorrow and what it looks finished.

[pitchblack86]

anyone have a DIY/step by step guide of how to do a driveway alignment? want to learn how to do it and plus it will save me much needed cash. anyone here ever done an alignment yourself? wish i had a buddy that had a shop or access to a shop to do it myself...

and anyone know if 85 K5 blazer buckets will bolt into my 83 c10? just dawned on me that the brackets for the buckets are pretty huge and wont they cause the seats to sit extremely high up? cant find any information on this at all. hopefully someone can chime in. never did a bench to bucket swap before.