Just picked up a 1968 C-20 and I need some advice!

[crakarjax]

Hello, new to the forums. I have frequented the team chevelle forums and this place seems like the truck counterpart

So I bought a '68 C-20 from a guy, it had been sitting for 8 years and was looking pretty bad. He wasn't asking much so I decided to check it out. Turns out the body looks quite nasty but mostly due to surface rust... pics to come. Anyway, the questions...

- longhorn man said in another post that the C-20 suspension and brakes are expensive to maintain. Are there late-model suspensions that I can find in a junkyard that bolt up? I won't be putting in a super-powerful engine and will only be towing a trailer occasionally, until my chevelle is done. Which has taken 10 years so I'll give it another 10/.

- As far as lowering the truck, I don't want a lowrider but I do like a lower look. Which suspension components should I look at to acheive that? (junkyardable stuff?) I'll definately leave ground clearance for streetability and don't want to do bags because they seem too expensive and time consuming.

That's it for now, I'll be back...

[oldblue1968chevy]

does it have trailing arms and coil springs?

you can buy front conversion spindles from ECE (early classic enterprizes)

then buy 5 or 6 lug front disc rotors

and hunt a 5 or 6 lug rearend it'll then be a half ton truck and you buy lowering springs to obtain your drop..

[echo72]

You could look for a 72 Cheyenne like mine and get the front suspension off of it. My truck came from the factory with front disc brakes. Also, try the FAQ thread below and start there. Good luck. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=157669

[crakarjax]

Originally Posted by echo72

You could look for a 72 Cheyenne like mine and get the front suspension off of it. My truck came from the factory with front disc brakes. Also, try the FAQ thread below and start there. Good luck. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=157669

Excellent, that MARTINSR stuff looks very familiar from team chevelle! I'll definitely pour over that. I also saw some randome tech notes link on the front page of this site which mentioned up to like '83 suspensions being bolt-on. I'll save any further questions until I'm not so ignorant...

[flashed]

Are you still a member of Team Chevelle ? Im Flashed on Team Chevelle as well as on this board. Also are you a member of Carolina Chevelle Association club?

[Sinister]

I have a '69 C-20. Getting ready to do the brakes on it now. Parts are available for the brakes and the prices aren't too bad. No gear sets available for the Eaton rear end though. GMC Pauls has 3/4 ton lowering springs. Or you could go ahead and swap out the existing suspension like has been suggested.

[69GMCLonghorn]

I agree with Sinister. The 3/4 tons are not expensive to maintain. If you have to do ball joints, etc, it's a lot of work, but I'd bet it's not much more expensive than a 1/2 ton.

Also, I think LMC had some 3/4 ton lowering springs as well. The time, effort and MONEY it would take you to swap out the suspension wouldn't even be close to cost effective...

[crakarjax]

Originally Posted by flashed

Are you still a member of Team Chevelle ? Im Flashed on Team Chevelle as well as on this board. Also are you a member of Carolina Chevelle Association club?

Yeah I am crakarjax on TC as well. I haven't been very active for the past 4 years, because I have been living in an aparment so no place to work on the car. It has been my daily driver all 4 years though. Now that I have a garage I can get into wrenching a bit more. I just moved here so no I am not, do they have a website?

Originally Posted by Sinister

I have a '69 C-20. Getting ready to do the brakes on it now.

Awesome, let me know how it goes and what your cost turns out to be. Someone quoted $500 just for brakes but that sounded really high.

Originally Posted by 69GMCLonghorn

The time, effort and MONEY it would take you to swap out the suspension wouldn't even be close to cost effective...

As I understand it you can get an '87 suburban or truck front suspension including cross members that will more or less bolt right in. Can't be too much from the junkyard, right? As it sits I am looking at replacing the ball joints and bushings and everything as it is, so it seems that the extra cost and effort would be worth it. I mean, finding an upgrade to 8-lug wheels would probably cost the same as re-doing the entire suspension, right?

[Sinister]

Originally Posted by crakarjax

Awesome, let me know how it goes and what your cost turns out to be. Someone quoted $500 just for brakes but that sounded really high.

Right around $250 per front and back, $500 total. New drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, oil seals, and spring kits. Going to replace the hoses at a later date when I do the rear drums.

[sleepertruck72]

My 72 C-20 front brake pads were around $45, and the rear shoes were about the same. The wheel cylinders are around 35 bucks, but I was able to use rebuild kits for $5 instead. The spring/hardware kit was $10. If you have to replace the drums, that's where you run into about $100+ for new ones. The rear axle seals were about $35 each. Mine is a Dana 60 in case it matters. Good luck with it, I would look for front discs from a 72 C-20. They should be a straight forward swap

[crakarjax]

Are there 8-lug front disc setups that I can swap in from late-model vehicles? In all reality I'll probably have to rebuild no matter where I pull the setup from, but I would rather swap for newer parts. If I do a swap from 8-lug, that means I will have to swap the rear too.