Po' Folks Lowering kit....

[BuckMaster]

Should I do it? That is... Heat the springs and remove leafs?

Anybody done it? How bad does it ride? My truck just sits way too high for a 2wd.

[sjarrett71]

I haven't done it but have driven a truck with cut front coils and heated rears. It sat lower to the ground and the ride wasn't bad.

[Boog]

Buck welcome to the boards. If you do a search you can find literally hours of reading on the subject of lowering these trucks. Opinions are strong on both sides of how to correctly do it. Drop springs aren't all that expensive these days nor are drop spindles. It is pretty much agreed upon that heating the springs is a bad idea, cutting them however is ok to a point. This only applies to the front springs as the rear ones cannot be cut due to the pigtailed ends on them. Read up and then decide.

[Skirkpat]

Heating springs will get you a bad ride, alignment problems, and probably safety issues...do a search, this question gets asked once a month at least. Do it right, if you can't afford to do it right, I would think twice about doing it at all ? A little more than half the guys will say to cut the fronts, I am a little anal about backyard/shade tree changes to suspenions, I would spend a hundred dollars and buy drop springs.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

what they said.
Do a search and you'll find all kinds of ideas/opinions. And, welcome. What part of VA are you in?
Here's my 63 with 1.75 coils cut up front and 70's Chevelle springs in the rear.

[Jim Osborne]

When you said remove leafs does that mean your truck has rear leaf spring,if so thats pretty rare on short wheel base truck,and is that traction bars I see

[71swb4x4]

When working with the suspension I am a big fan of doing it "right". There are more people on the road then just you.
That being said, removing a leaf or two can be done safely. You might also want to call a local shop and see what is costs to dearch the springs. And, I would cut the front springs and not heat them. Make sure you get it aligned after you mess with the front springs.

[jbristo]

never heat your springs cutting them is ok but I would never heat them

[BuckMaster]

Ok so no heating... Got it. Thanks guys...

And yes Jim Osborne, I do have leafs in the rear, I've tried to figure it out. I've thought maybe I had a c-20 frame... I have no idea. How rare is it? Was it just an option? I know very little about the history of these trucks.

And yes those are traction bars, but my leafs are on top of my axle, so they serve no purpose. Just looks.

[dave2953]

I believe GMC's had factory rear leafs and Chevy's had springs, but you could get either truck with either suspension if you ordered it that way. It possible that it could be a factory option.

[BuckMaster]

Originally Posted by dave2953

I believe GMC's had factory rear leafs and Chevy's had springs, but you could get either truck with either suspension if you ordered it that way. It possible that it could be a factory option.

I spoke with the guy that put this truck together back in the day... He said it used to be show quality(not that way when I bought it). But anyway he told me that they used 3 different trucks to build it... a 196X GMC 196X Chevy and a 1969 chevy, and bam... there you have it...

So with the info you provided me, I would say I have a GMC suspension, which is cool because I like GMC better( I have no idea why either)

BTW the owners manual in my Glove box says Owners and Drivers Manual GMC Trucks.

[MonteSS454]

DJM Suspension makes a rear flip kit for the rear leafs, puts the axle on top of the leafs for a 5" drop in the rear.

[2fly4u2c]

Drop springs are ok but I have a 65 gmc with drop springs on front and the left spring is rubbing against the upper cavity and hard knocking noise on right turns!

[dieselarmy13]

I have cut coils and drop spindles in the front, with a flip kit and a couple of leafs removed in the rear, with no problems. There's pics in my build thread in my signature. And rear leafs weren't that rare, just an option.

[mclairmo]

You can cut the coils and remove a leaf or two without creating a safety issue. You will have no load carrying capability but if you do not need it then go for it. Never heat anything.

[cdowns]

i heat stuff up in the microwave all the time no springs tho

[69lemans]

My truck sat up just about like yours when I got it. I cut 1 complete coil out of the front springs,and in the rear I removed the thick overload spring and installed extended shackles. The shackles would have lowered it 2 inches but were too long and would have rubbed the bottom of the bed floor if I had used them as is,so I had to cut about an inch off the length and use the lower holes

before and after pics