1300+ lbs ... wow!

[454HO]

The wife and I went and bought 540 sq-ft of laminate flooring for the living and dining rooms this afternoon. Took the truck and loaded it up... all 32 boxes of flooring, plus the underlayment and a few other supplies. I knew it was going to be a heavy load, so I had pumped up the air shocks to 90PSI before we ever left the house. But even with that, having 3" drop control arms and 5" flip kit in the rear, the truck was sagging pretty low. I scraped the exhaust pipes at least a few times. Anyway, we got home safely... it was only about 8 miles... and out of curiosity I weighed one of the boxes. It was exactly 40 lbs. Yikes! I was thinking maybe 25 to 30 lbs... oh well.

So don't let anyone tell you a lowered pickup can't haul a load!

But, this little episode has convinced me that I definately want to put the heavy duty rear leaf springs I have on there. But since this is a short bed truck, that means I will have to re-locate the rear spring mounts, correct? Are the holes aleady in the frame. Anything else I need to be aware of?

I think I also want to replace the 22 year old coil springs in the front. They were originally for the 305 small block, but are now supporting an all iron big block. Where can I get a new set of OEM big block springs? I know LMC has a listing for them, but I would prefer to just go to the local auto parts store. I found a listing for a Moog part number 6454, but that number seems to be used for all engine sizes. Also found a TRW number CS6454, suspiciously similar to the Moog number. Anyway, it listed these specs -

INSIDE DIA.= 3.676 in.; BAR DIA.= 0.83 in.; FREE HEIGHT= 13.61 in.; SPRING RATE= 1060 Lbs./In.; LOAD= 3841 Lbs.; LOAD HEIGHT= 10 in.; END 1= PIG TAIL; END 2= TANGENTIAL

Does this sound like a big block spring??

[bigblock73]

To convert from LD to HD leafs is easy. The holes are already there...just slide the hangers back.

Can't help you much on the coil spring question, sorry.

[old Rusty C10]

i was able to bolt in heavy duty springs in the front , it was a little tough getting them compressed enough to fit in there but they worked out ok ( i asked napa for heavy duty coils for the front)

[454HO]

Thanks Rusty, I had not thought of NAPA.

NAPA online lists this as the 'heavy duty' spring -

Item#: NCP2772074

Price: $119.00
tax and shipping not included

Attributes:
Features & Benefits:Coil Springs Support Vehicle Load & Maintain Ride Height For Proper Alignment.
Features & Benefits:Precision Engineered Coil Springs Are Supplied In Matched Sets.
Features & Benefits - 2:Worn Coil Springs Cause Poor Handling
Improper Alignment & Unnecessary Wear On Tires & Suspension Parts.
Product Features:Constant Rate Coil Springs Provide A Smooth
Comfortable Ride.
Type:One Tangential End; One Pigtail End
I.D.:3.676"
Wire Diameter:.83"
Load Height:10"
# of Coils:8
Design Load:3841
Spring Rate:1060
Free Height:13.61"


Hmmmmm, sounds exactly like the TRW spring.

[74 shortbed 406]

With different springs ride height will probably change a little.

[Pyrotechnic]

Might look into an air bag over leaf setup for the rear. This gives you a soft ride for unloaded, but the spring rate you need to haul a heavy load. With schrader valves, the price for this setup is pretty reasonable. If you are happy with the stance of your truck right now, this is the route I would take.

Keep in mind that the shock mount points were never meant to handle a heavy load.

Also, 8 leaf HD springs ride ROUGH and will increase ride height. I had to pull a couple of leafs out of mine to get them acceptable.