lowering springs for a 1/2 bb truck

[jamie72]

looking to lower my 1/2 ton factoy bb 72 truck a little,(3in) in the front,knowing the factory springs for these trcks are really 3/4 ton springs, what do i use? don`t think they make 3/4 ton front lowering springs?

[lolife99]

ECE sells 1" and 2" big block lowering springs for $114 a pair.
www.earlyclassic.com

[jamie72]

Originally Posted by lolife99

ECE sells 1" and 2" big block lowering springs for $114 a pair.
www.earlyclassic.com

thanks for the link.. so then i`ll have to go with a 1inch drop spindle to get the 3 inch drop i want?
so would it really matter if i used 1/2 ton springs as long as i use good shocks? i`m thinking the added weight of a bb might make the front bottom out easier?? or am i wrong?

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

MOOG has a stock replacement big block spring, # 6102 1015 lbs/in bigblock, longbed. Others have had good luck with these by cutting off one full coil. Hotchkis has 2 different lowering springs, a 4" drop rated at 1100 lbs. (P.N. 19390F) and a 2" drop rated at 1500 lbs. (P.N. 19392F) I'm friends with Mike Hickman on Facebook (I'm sure you've seen his orange C10 with a Hothckis TVS set-up) and he loves the Hotchkis springs. He started with the 4", then went to 2" and CPP MOD spindles. The 4" would most likely benefit from a shock relocating kit to ensure full stroke travel. For the money, though, you can't go wrong with the MOOG, or the Early Classic, except I'm not sure what ECE rates their BB springs at. Having the added weight of a BB, I don't think you would be happy with the use of small block springs. I've heard some complain about it causing a bouncey ride, even with good shocks. Hope this info helps!

[jamie72]

yea gearbox that what i`m thinking about the sb springs.. bouncy ride.. but i really don`t want to go 4in 3 at the most, either new springs or new drop spindles,don`t want to have to do both for just a small drop..
thanks

[ryans69chevy]

Who makes a really good long lasting spring? I'm looking at doing pretty much the same thing- lowering my truck 2.5 inches since I got 2.5 drop spindles. So in the front I don't want to lower it anymore so I'll need a stock spring. In the back I prob only want 2 inch springs. These have to be rated for a big block. I've been looking at both hotchkis and moog, but it's hard to navigate around their site. I'll prob have to email them. Do these two companies make the best springs or is there another company? Which company would you go with?

Thanks,
Ryan
Posted via Mobile Device

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Originally Posted by ryans69chevy

Who makes a really good long lasting spring? I'm looking at doing pretty much the same thing- lowering my truck 2.5 inches since I got 2.5 drop spindles. So in the front I don't want to lower it anymore so I'll need a stock spring. In the back I prob only want 2 inch springs. These have to be rated for a big block. I've been looking at both hotchkis and moog, but it's hard to navigate around their site. I'll prob have to email them. Do these two companies make the best springs or is there another company? Which company would you go with?

Thanks,
Ryan
Posted via Mobile Device

Ryan,

MOOG makes some really good factory replacement stuff, and a good variety of front springs. For a BB application I would recomend #6102. This is a factory replacement BB spring rated at 1015 lbs/in. We sell these for $109.99, but are currently out of stock and ordering more this week. If interested, let me know and I'll add an extra set to our order. Early Classic sells some great stuff, too. We have used their products on several builds. Hotchkis is another great product, but unfortunatly, don't currently offer a stock height spring.

[Hertzdaddy]

I have a big Caddy motor (514") up front in my 73 Jimmy 2wd. I cut 1 coil from a set of stock 1/2-ton sb springs and along with some lowering spindles its dropped about 4-1/2 to 5" in front. It rides smooth with no bounciness. Good shocks help too. I have beltech nitros but others are just as good.

My understanding is that coil cutting raises the spring rate so it may be perfect for the BB application.

[GEARBOXGARAGE]

Originally Posted by Hertzdaddy

I have a big Caddy motor (514") up front in my 73 Jimmy 2wd. I cut 1 coil from a set of stock 1/2-ton sb springs and along with some lowering spindles its dropped about 4-1/2 to 5" in front. It rides smooth with no bounciness. Good shocks help too. I have beltech nitros but others are just as good.

My understanding is that coil cutting raises the spring rate so it may be perfect for the BB application.

Hertzdaddy - Yeah, from what I understand of it, cutting the coil can, in a sense, raise the spring rate. So you are probably right in the ball-bark of a lowered BB spring.