GMC 1500 Leaf Springs

[Pharmhand3]

Hello All,

Thought I would throw a question out to the board to see if anyone has any input for me. I have '70 GMC 1500 Fleetside that I bought in 1999 for $350. The history between then and now is too long, and has been recently discussed on the Engine and Drivetrain board (Need Help!! No Oil Pressure!!), so no details here.

Anyway, when I bought the thing the guy told me it was a 'heavy half' instead of a regular half-ton truck. The rear end has leaf springs instead of coils. I was curious to know if the truck came from the factory with leaf springs as an option? Or was it standard on the GMC trucks? Or perhaps a dealer mod?

What's really interesting is that the leaf springs are two-teir, as if they have a set of leaf springs stacked on top of another set, then all bolted together.

Anybody got a clue on this? The truck does have what appears to be the mounts for the left and right control arms (for a coil spring setup). But I figured that was probably a standard mount for the frame during the assembly phase.

Thanks for you help!!