basic lowering?

[TooT]

Hey i'm new here and i have a 68 shortbed thats getting some stuff done to it, but we wanna lower it first....whats the best and quickest way to lower these trucks? i have a S-10 Xtreme thats been lowered using spindles and blocks, thanks guys i love this forum! oh yeah i dont wanna lower it really low....just enough to make it look level with possibly 18's

[68w/sbc406]

welcome from portland or. where you from? you can do springs or spindles (or both) in the front and you can do springs or blocks (or both) in the rear

[BraveDave]

Originally Posted by TooT

....whats the best and quickest way to lower these trucks?.....

GET OUT THE BLOWTORCH, BABY !!! WHOOOOOOOHOO!!!

[MARIOS68PANEL]

Welcome , From a Nor Cal New Guy

[TooT]

Originally Posted by BraveDave

GET OUT THE BLOWTORCH, BABY !!! WHOOOOOOOHOO!!!

lol, thats what my brother is saying to do..it's no show truck or anything...needs carpet, a seat, a bed(or a lot of bed work) paint and taillights....it'll look sweet in the end!

[TooT]

[1978steven]

Looks like a great builder you got there, what are you currently doing to the truck?

[TooT]

nothing yet, the bed is getting bolted on today and it's gonna get a little primer on it.....the bed isnt all that great but it'll work for now till i can find a better one.

[Joe67]

Welcome, nice '68

[SCOTI]

Check out the suspension forum as it has lots of info on choices when lowering.

For mild drops w/a relatively low budget, use drop spindles for 2.5" of drop. If you want more, trim the stock front springs 1 coil while it's apart. That will be about 4.5-5.5" of front drop depending on how much your stock springs have sagged. Some people are very opposed to cutting coils (I've done most of the trucks I've lowered this way & it works well for the cost). But, if cutting is a problem, spend a little more $$ & substitute some new 1-3" dropped coils. Put some off the shelf/stock HD gas shocks & if it's not already equipped w/a sway bar, get one -- they make a significant difference.

Keep in mind, the shorter the front spring, the harder it is for someone to align the front end. That's usually why spindles + springs are the easiest overall method.

Originally Posted by GMCPaul

3" front drop springs often max out the studs where you shim upper a-arm for alignment and when maxed out they require off-set ball joints then to complete alignment properly( Off-set ball joints are Extremely Expensive ) and it is true that if you jack truck up anywhere in front other than under lower a-arm your springs will fall out as suspension sags when you raise the truck. Lowering springs of 3" in the front also make a vehicle more prone to bump steer problems not found when front is lowered using spindles.
GMCPaul

The back can be done w/dropped coils (or airbags if you plan to tow anything) for between 4-6" of drop. You can also add lowering blocks (2" should be the practical limit when using blocks) in combination w/springs/bags to get more drop w/a better ride. The lower the rear goes, the more mods that will be necessary. 4" w/springs won't require any other mods (get some new shocks to match the fronts!). 6" drops should prob get the shock brackets relocated for a better (more effective) angle & an adjustable panhard bar (or shorten the stock one. More than 6" of drop & you'll definitely want the clearance the frame w/some c-sections.

Hope this helps & welcome to the board.

[4tiresngas]

Welcome to the board from Southern Cal. I just lowered my '69 in my garage, and I had never done anything like that before. It really was pretty easy. I bought Early Classic Enterprises 2 1/2" drop spindles and stock front springs and 4" drop springs for the rear. I have 275/60/15's all the way around right now. It sits 30" from the garage floor to the top of the front fender well and 31" from the garage floor to the top of the rear fender well. I plan to put 17"s on it eventually. Good luck.

[TooT]

about how much are the spindles and wheres the best place to get the spindles and springs? thanks again guys...

[1978steven]

I'd go with the ECE springs and spindels.

[BIG ORANGE]

I good cheap way to do this would be remove the front springs and cut 1 round out of the bottom coil then have the frontend aligned. Then go to Advance Auto Parts and get a 2" block kit that comes with the Ubolts and use them on the rearend and then you will have a 2" drop and you truck will look cool and level.

[BraveDave]

I have 2-1/2-inch dropped springs and 2-inch dropped spindles up front and my A-arms bolts were maxed out to the point where you couldn't get a zero camber. The shop said I was out of luck so I went to Home Depot and bought 4 4X1/2-inch grade 8 bolts. They installed these in the A-arms and it works perfectly. Why don't these guys have enough sense to figure this stuff out for themselves?