Help...unknown drop method?

[Durney]

Hey Folks, Ive been looking for a short wide project and I think I found a nice candidate but was unsure of the type of "drop" on the front. The rear has been flipped with a 7 leaf pack and sits nicely but I cannot figure out how the front was done.

You can see the spindles in the pics and also the relocated upper shock mounts on the frame (the well made brackets bolter to the frame behind the ams). The top of the spindles look VERY rough where they meet the ball joint almost as if they have been "shortened" unlkess thats how poor the "castings" were. The owner bought it this way and said it rode great. You can see also that the truck sits level now with NO engine trans or front clip but the arms are nice and parallel. The crossmember has NOT been sectioned and everything moves smoothly. I am guessing the rear was a 6" drop so the front must be at least 4" could the springs be cut that much and wouldnt the arms be way off if so?

What do you see? Do they look like drop spindles to you?

[85gmcguy]

Those are dropped spindles but I can't tell by how much 2 1/2 is close to max. From how close the bump stops are, I'd say the coils have been cut. Couldn't say for sure, but probably more than one coil because mine (cut 1 coil) aren't quiet that close. Might change with an engine in it.

[Restrorob]

Not sure what you have there with the what appears to be welding around the upper area, My stock spindles are taller between the ball joint mounts.

Those are not drop spindles, The wheel shaft is mounted too low on the spindle right next to the lower ball joint. Drop spindles will have the wheel shaft mounted higher on the spindle closer to center of the two ball joint mount areas.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=462976


Regardless, If I seen that welded area appearance on my rig they'd come off pronto......

[STOCKISH]

Cutting the spindle above the wheel shaft area wouldnt drop the truck though. Not sure what you have going on there. Can you get better pics of the spindles?

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by 1972SuperCheyenne

Cutting the spindle above the wheel shaft area wouldnt drop the truck though.

Looks like somebody didn't know that.....

[85gmcguy]

I was mostly looking at how the LCA has been hacked for wheel clearance, that
usually is done with dropped spindles. Something strange is defiantly going on there, though.

[1LowToy]

Here's a pic of my stock spring you can count the coils ans compare

[Durney]

Thanks guys... you have all pretty much echoed my concerns. I figured new set of drop spindles and springs into the price we are negotiating.

Speaking of which how about the market value of a 74 Cheyenne super with minty zero rust sheetmetal (except front cab mounts and rockers which he has new replacements) ? 12 bolt with new posi/3.73/bearings etc. nice bench and decent dash?

Basically a really nice roller with awesome sheetmetal and some extras (brand new tires/radiator/diff/etc)?

Swapping a 5.3/4l60 FYI.

[Restrorob]

Originally Posted by Durney

12 bolt with new posi/3.73/bearings etc.

I would remove that from the equation since the front end looks hacked, There's no telling if it was done right being a roller only.

Originally Posted by Durney

minty zero rust sheetmetal (except front cab mounts and rockers which he has new replacements)

I wouldn't call that zero rust, It's a little bit of a job to get those parts installed properly. May be why they haven't been installed already, I'm not trying to discourage you but this project is going to take some labor/money to get it on the road.

Value depends on your area and how bad one wants it, Around here it looks like a 4-5 hundred rig with the new rad and tires......

[Durney]

I was actually referring to everything but the cab. My body guy mentioned complete rockers with jambs and corners is 400 and supports are 150 each. (Thats the good guy deal supposedly). He did say its not uncommon to only need the front or rear supports but WONT use the slip over type.

It adds up quickly .... hmmmm.

[Gearhead1]

If you buy this truck and remove the front spindles, I think you will find that the uprights have been sectioned above the spindle. The purpose probably was to change the angle of the upper control arm and restore some of the travel lost by cutting the springs too much. If you got some weight in the front, you would be able to see the angle change quite a bit. I'll bet the lower control arm would have a pretty steep slope too.

I'd buy the truck but plan on replacing the spindles! If you do, please post pictures of them next to a tape measure so others can see.

[1LowToy]

It does look as if the spindles have been sectioned. Extreemly dangerous move but doing so would recover some alignment lost by lowering it so much.
No wonder insurance companies frown on lowered or lifted vehicles.