Are "lowered shocks" really necessary?

[pat]

My truck is going to have the geometry changed 2 inches in the front and 3 in the back. Do I need to mess with getting some shocks for a lowered application or should I just buy regular ones?
Thanks

[ChevLoRay]

I have spindles from Early Classic, that dropped my front end by 2.5 inches. I used stock height springs and stock length shocks on the front.
In the rear, I have 4-inch shorter springs, shock relocator mounts, adjustable track bar and shorter shocks.

Shocks should be long enough, yet short enough to function. If they are too long, they won't have enough travel. For a 2-inch drop, you can probably get by with the stock shock. I'd say that any thing greater than that, and you should check into getting the shorter ones.

[LONGHAIR]

Geometry change? meaning ride height?

There is no geometry change in using spindles and very little in a 2" spring drop(front or rear).

[ShamrockCustoms]

I would recommend shorter shocks for the rear. The front should be ok if only 2" drop.

[smitty62]

Rear: Reverse differential/shock mount plates (left to right, etc.) turning them upside down. You'll have to heat and pound flange down for a flush mount. This will gain you approximately 2-3" allowing you to use stock shocks. Look under there and you'll see what I mean--lot easier than it sounds. For the front........I haven't worked that out yet, but you know that no one is making shocks just for the front of lowered '67/'72 pickups--they're using something off the shelf and doubling the price for a "special" shock

[XXL]

Originally Posted by smitty62

but you know that no one is making shocks just for the front of lowered '67/'72 pickups--they're using something off the shelf and doubling the price for a "special" shock

Nobody really makes specialty shocks for anything... it's just an interchange issue (there are a few exceptions in the "high end" space). 20 years ago I was offering "lowered" shocks through my shop in North Texas. Basically I sat down for a few days with some shock manufacturer spec books and "reverse engineered" existing part numbers that met my needs (shorter, similar valving, similar/changeable mount types, etc.), bought them wholesale, and epoxy painted them a different color. Voila... "lowered shock."

To address the OP's question, if spindles only, there's no need to change the front shocks. For the rear 3" drop, smitty62 has the cheapest/best solution. If you go much more than 3" you'll want to either shell out for a "lowered" shock or expect to bottom them out from time to time (which is realllllllly hard on them).

[pat]

I have 2.5 inch drop spindles and 2 inch drop springs in the front.
In the rear are 3 inch drop springs and 2 inch drop blocks.

Thanks for the input. If I went to an auto parts store, how am I going to know what shock to get? I dont know any measurements to tell them.

[Tx Firefighter]

The 2 inch blocks in the rear are invisible as far as shocks go. The springs will shorten shock travel, the blocks won't. Think about it, the shocks mount below the rear arms and the blocks simply raise the axle higher above the rear arms.

[ante_up13]

I just bought the lowered shocks for my 69...what dimensions are you looking for...maybe I can help

[pat]

ante_up13, can you tell me what you bought? Im not sure of my dimensions but just know that it is about 2" lower in front and 3" in the back.

[darcane]

With only a 2/3 drop (No point in worrying about the spindles or blocks) I would just go with stock shocks. I had whatever shocks NAPA had in their books on my '68 C10 shortbed with a 2"/4" drop and never once bottomed them out in the 8 years or so that I had it like that. And I drove on some nasty roads...

In the front with your 2" drop, the travel of the shock is only going to be reduced by about 3/4 of an inch because of where the shock is placed. In the back, it will be reduced by about 3", but I'm sure the shock is designed to allow a lot of extra travel in that direction. If it wasn't, the shock would bottom out when the truck was hauling a really heavy load.