crossmember swap-drop

[wibilly]

in preperation formy next truck project i pulled the front crossmember from a 79 gmc. the project truck is a 67 short fleet and will be droped. i was thinking spindels and springs. then i got thinking some more, why not just open up the cross member and drop the frame into it? this lead to more thinking. moter mounts- easy fix. then theres the drag link and tie rods. i don't have the frame in the shop yet to get a look at how this would work out. my ?is has anyone done this and what problems does it present?

[gringoloco]

Check in the suspension forum. Many have done this- XXL and CaptKaos are two that come to mind...

[wibilly]

thank you gringoloco

[SCOTI]

Search for 'crossmember notch' or 'crossmember drop' & check out this thread . ..... http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=60649 ....

[wibilly]

thanks scoti i read the firs 8 pages so far i'm not looking to lay frame or nothing i'm just looking for a cheap way to get a couple inches without altering suspention geoetry

[N2TRUX]

It can be done, but it requires a few mods other than the crossmember.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by wibilly

thanks scoti i read the firs 8 pages so far i'm not looking to lay frame or nothing i'm just looking for a cheap way to get a couple inches without altering suspention geoetry

It took more clearancing on mine than what XXL had to do on his (keep this in mind).

[wibilly]

at first glance i thought it would be a cheap easy way to get a few inches, but it looks like it would be easier to z the frame

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by wibilly

at first glance i thought it would be a cheap easy way to get a few inches, but it looks like it would be easier to z the frame

If you're looking for more than 1" ~ 1.5". . . ..... yes, it would be better to 'Z'.

[wibilly]

can i drop the frame into the crossmember 1-1.5" without any stearing or other major isues

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by wibilly

can i drop the frame into the crossmember 1-1.5" without any stearing or other major isues

Some have gone the 1.5" amount w/o issue (the crossmember that CaptKaos did for XXL).

My truck (68 crossmember (EDIT: It's actually a 73-up crossmember after thinking about it a little longer), stock 68 manual steering box, stock 68 manual pitman arm, Moog brand tie-rods for 73-up, factory 71-72 drag-link, 73-up Bell-Tech drop spindles) would not allow a 1.5" drop w/o removing the majority of the 'outside' portion of the u-bolts that hold the lower a-arm in place.

I had read the max was 1.5" so my plan was to be conservative & only go 1 3/8"...... but that wouldn't work w/o removing more material than what I felt was safe. I settled on 1 1/8"; but it still took some creativity to ensure that my steering linkage had 1/8" clearance for lock to lock.

[wibilly]

so your saying it's alot of work for only 1". i never had or lowered a truck. i'm planing on 2.5" spindels and think i want more. not sure what using drop springs will do to suspension and stearing geoimtry. i want it to ride and drive as good if not alot better than new

[jlaird]

I did this. Yes, it is ALOT of work for a little over an inch. If I were to do it over, I would strongly consider a z. If you section the crossmember, don't go more than 1.25. With this amount, you will still need to shave some of the lip of the crossmember so the inner tie rods dont hit it. Good luck with it. If you have any questions, just ask.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by wibilly

so your saying it's alot of work for only 1". i never had or lowered a truck. i'm planing on 2.5" spindels and think i want more. not sure what using drop springs will do to suspension and stearing geoimtry. i want it to ride and drive as good if not alot better than new

My truck was dropped spindles + 1-coil cut from the 33yr old springs. It was equal to about 5.5~6" of front drop. It was fine for the daily grind here in DFW TX. Where you're @ might be a different story.

The reason I did the c.member section was simply to raise the lowest part of the front end.... the a-arm shafts (since they're the first things to hit). I just wanted the added 1"+ of clearance for safety margin.

But, after cutting the crossmember, clearancing, assembling, plumbing, & painting the front suspension of the truck, I've stepped up my game & purchased a PorterBuilt-Streetrods 'Dropmember'. That gives me even more ground clearance if I keep air in the bags or it will go lower if I yank the inner wheelwells.

[oldspowered67C10]

A friend of mine did 4" using this method but he was making a entirely new frame so it made sense. I think the problem is that to retain steering to suspension alignmnet you have to raise all the steering components(steering box and idler arm) as well. If you start looking at it you see that you have to modify the frame in front of the crossmember for steering linkage clearence. I suppose that you could leave the steering stuff in the stock location but Id imagine bump steer could be a problem. By the way, my friend had to cut up the center link and put a dropped section into it to clear the engine oil pan.