GMC rear coil spring sus.

[Mike80D]

Every GMC pickup I have ran across has had leaf spring suspension, but I noticed on the 70 model I’m picking up that it has coils on the rear. My sales brochure lists coil as the standard, and leaf springs being an option so my truck can’t be some sort of anomaly I don’t reckon.
As far as the 551 med bronze/white paint, did they just forget to spray the inlay on the tailgate, or did that vary across plants? This is a St. Louis truck.

[Bob B.]

Coil rear springs became standard in GMC pickups starting in '69. That was the year the V-6 was dropped and GMC's and Chevy's became more or less identical except for trim. All '67-'72 2WD Suburbans and panels have coils, Chevy or GMC.

[Already Gone]

Originally Posted by Mike80D

Every GMC pickup I have ran across has had leaf spring suspension, but I noticed on the 70 model I’m picking up that it has coils on the rear. My sales brochure lists coil as the standard, and leaf springs being an option so my truck can’t be some sort of anomaly I don’t reckon.
As far as the 551 med bronze/white paint, did they just forget to spray the inlay on the tailgate, or did that vary across plants? This is a St. Louis truck.

If you are referring to the tailgate lettering when u mentioned inlay, then here is a post on it. https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...t=832500thread

[Richard]

Coils were standard in all the C trucks AFAIK. Just that more GMC's were made and ordered with leaf springs. Easy to see, If leaf springs are noted on SPID they were an option. When the SPID is missing is where the speculation starts.

[connorm]

My 1970 GMC C2500 was built as a leaf spring truck. There is no option on the SPID for leaf springs. I have always understood it that Chevys were standard with coil springs and GMCs were standard with leaf springs, even after 69. My dad has a 1971 Chevy C20 that is coil springs and it does not have an option code for that on the SPID either.

The GMC is a Canadian truck and the Chevy is a Flint truck.

[Mike C]

I have had (4) 69 or 70 GMC C2500 trucks and all were leaf and NONE had it on the SPID. One was a 133” wheelbase truck (Longhorn in Chevy speak), and we know all of them were leaf. None of them show spring type on SPID.

I have a 71 GMC C1500 truck and it is a coil spring truck. It doesnt list the spring type as an option. My 69 Chevy C10 short step DOES have leaf on the SPID.

So my small sample size answer is parroting what I have heard for a long time and that is MOST GMC trucks were leaf, and MOST Chevy trucks were coil. But there isn’t enough info in my samples to definitively say what’s the end all be all.

[BROWN 70]

my 70 GMC is a coil spring truck. made at Fremont CA. 350 th 350

[connorm]

Originally Posted by BROWN 70

my 70 GMC is a coil spring truck. made at Fremont CA. 350 th 350

Does your truck still have the spid? Does it say anything about the rear springs?

[RenoKeene]

My factory big block 1/2 ton GMC is coil spring.

[BROWN 70]

g50 hd spring, g60 factory over load spring.