Better ride?

[mcm1209]

Got my truck with a leaf spring rear suspension
I'm doing a frame off resto and was curious of what is the preferred rear suspension. Since I have never ridden in a 67-72 with rear leafs i don't know the difference.
My buddies 64 on trailing arms rides very good in my opinion
Would it be comparable to today's leaf suspension?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by mcm1209

Got my truck with a leaf spring rear suspension
I'm doing a frame off resto and was curious of what is the preferred rear suspension. Since I have never ridden in a 67-72 with rear leafs i don't know the difference.
My buddies 64 on trailing arms rides very good in my opinion
Would it be comparable to today's leaf suspension?

I had a 74 swb truck w/approx 6/8 drop & a 68swb truck w/approx 6/8 drop @ the same time. The 74 had spindles, cut 1-coil, flip kit, drop shackles, & a home built air-over-leaf set-up. The 68 had drop spindles, 1-coil cut, lowering blocks, & truck-arm rear w/air bags swapped in place of coils. These trucks were very similar in their set-ups except for the rear suspension.....

The 68 definitely had the better ride quality.

[mcm1209]

Been doing more research ad look like the coil rear is the way to go as far as comfort.
Going to have to decide if i want to get rid of the leafs or not

[PGSigns]

I have a 66 and like the ride on coils. I am building a 65 on full air. The coil spring truck rides a lot better than the leaf spring trucks I have had. Be a while before I get to see how the air ride feels.
Jimmy

[andrewmp6]

If you want that luxury car smooth ride air is the best way to get it.A step down will be coils front and rear.Rear leafs depending on the leafs can ride ok or ride like a log wagon.

[mcm1209]

Well after thinking about it, really dont see many 67-72 trucks with rear leafs so im just going to keep it with the suspension it already has.
In the back of mind i know the coils will ride better but hey its a truck!

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

Modern trucks use longer leafs, and that is why they ride better compared to old shorter leaf trucks.

The down side is they have more axle wrap if your going to stand on it. Thus slowing down effective reaction time.

GMT400 trucks have longer springs, and are the same width as our square bodies. So if you relocate the mounts you could easily install longer leafs compared to any other set-up.

[mcm1209]

Yes I had noticed they are shorter. Thats what made me think about a trailing arm setup. My old 98 2 door 2 wheel tahoe had the short leafs and it was rougher than any of my trucks.

[Ziegelsteinfaust]

The trailing set-up while great is either a pain in the a$$ to swap in or pretty pricey.

Longer leaves can be done cheap. With a angle grinder, and a drill with good bits.

Either way will give you good results, but if it were my truck I would try truck arms. Mostly because I love vehicles that handle.