Drop Question....

[Lucky59]

I have few a question for you 73-87 guys. I have a 59 Chevy on a 76-77 Blazer frame. I would like to drop it, but I am not sure how much I should lower it. I have a preconceived idea that it shouldnt be slammed to the ground. I would like it to be lower all around, and a bit lower in the front. I have seen few kits for that year of Blazer, and they are usually 4/6 drop kits. Where have you guys gotten your drop kits from, and what size of kit did you get. If you have any pictures of ur dropped blazers I would love to see them. I am not closed to ideas. I need to see what a 4/6 kit looks like, so if you have pics of lowered Blazers, it would help a great deal.
Thanks a whole lot.

Lucky

[swervin ervin]

Maybe N2TRUX will drop in here. I think at one time he had his static dropped. It's on bags now.

Personally, I think a 4/6 drop would look good. Check out http://www.performancesuspension.com/ for all your drop parts. A great bunch of guys and they really know their stuff.

[ItsNotABlazer]

Not sure if this will help any but mine is dropped 4" front and flipped rearend. For some reason the drop seemed more than 4/6 from stock height.

Brad

[Lucky59]

I guess I should post a picture of the height my truck is at now, for some of you guys to get an idea of what I am working with.

Lucky

[ocbaud]

4/6 will be good

my friend has a 56' step with large back window that he is working on.

he is in the middle of swapping frontends with one his brother used to have. its from a 70 something camero.

[Lucky59]

I would love it if the way I want the truck to sit is a 4/6 drop, because thats really the only kits I can find. Here is a photoshop job of a different pic of my truck... This is how I want it to sit. I also like the size of sidewall on these tires. Hopefully this is a 4/6.

THanks for your help

Lucky

[swervin ervin]

Well, after seeing how your truck looks, I think I would measure from the bottom of the body, front and back at all four corners, just to see how much difference there is in height. Take the measurements behind the front tire and in front of the rear tire. Reason we are saying 4/6 is because our trucks come stock with a 2" rake. I'm not sure how the body of your mounts onto the Blazer frame.

Just by looking the way it looks now, it seems to me you have a very slight rake to the front. Is this true? If it is, a 4/6 drop will level it out, or be close anyway. Take plenty of measurments and extimate where you want it to be after the drop.

Oh, and you don't have to buy kits. You can mix and match the components to what ever you want.

[N2TRUX]

Your going to have to play trial and error here. We will be glad to offer all the advice we can, but since your truck is a hybrid of sorts it won't be easy, becuase everything is not the same.

For the front, if you plan to run 15" wheels, you can not use a 3" spindle. The calipers won't clear the wheels. I believe the 2.5" spindle will clear on certain back space wheels, but a 2" will clear for sure. The rest can be done with lowering springs. You might considr putting the spindles on first, then decide how much more you want. Once you determine that, you can get the right spring, or cut some off your stock spring if you don't want more than another inch lower.

The rear will probably work with your normal flip kit. Unless something is different on the bed bracing, a standard flip kit and C-notch should get the job done....

[ItsNotABlazer]

N2trux I see where you say you can't run a 15" wheel with 3" spindles but mine are 3" Bell Tech spindles and a 1" spring and I do not have any problem with rubbing that I have noticed yet and I have had it dropped for several years now. Right now I have 15" rallys on it. I have no idea what the backspacing is on rallys though.

Brad

[Lucky59]

Thanks for all of your help guys. I think I am going to look into some spindles first... then springs like N2Trux said... I am not sure if our custom bed bracing and such will change anything in the rear.. I will have to take a look... If it does, how can I lower it without using a flip kit and C-notch.??

Thanks again guys
Lucky

[N2TRUX]

Originally posted by ItsNotABlazer
N2trux I see where you say you can't run a 15" wheel with 3" spindles but mine are 3" Bell Tech spindles and a 1" spring and I do not have any problem with rubbing.....

Sometimes when I bounce back and forth between late model GM, and 73-87 stuff I forget to give as much detail as I should. Then again, sometimes I forget things, and I'm just wrong. Let me try to clarify my response (CYA).

Certain 3" spindles can cause a couple of problems with 15" wheels. This depends on the backspace, and the width of the wheel. If you have heavy duty brakes (1 1/4" rotor) the caliper can become an issue. It will not clear some wheels without grinding a bit of clearence off the surface.

Another area of concern is the A-arm. This usually becomes a problem when you are running 15x 8 or wider wheels. You can have clearence problems when turning hard where the rim actually makes contact with the lip of the A-arm.

The common cure for that problem is to grind the rolled lip off of the A-arm. This creates another problem though, as it WILL weaken the A-arm and lead to cracks, and eventual failure if you don't weld a boxing plate on the bottom surface.

Since it appears GM made every one of our trucks from a different parts bin, nothing quoted around here is carved in stone....

[SCOTI]

If you limit the wheel width & backspacing, 3" spindles will work w/15" wheels. Also, to limit the possibilities of stress cracks resulting from trimming the a-arm lip for clearance, drill a hole where you want the lip to be trimmed to & then use a cut off wheel or sawzall to cut the lip. By drilling you prevent a sharp edge, which is where a stress crack will start.