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06-03-2003, 02:25 PM
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#1 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Maine
Posts: 8
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Suspension Lift
I am thinking about building a 67-68 Stepside Shortbed K10 or K20.. I was curious in whats a safe lift to go. I wanted to do a 6 inch suspension and and 2 inch body. I was wondering if anyone had any insight on what the best move is.. I am gonna drive it every day and take it muddin to but I dont want something that is really tippy.. I have never really done a lift on a 4x4 I have been heavily into muslce cars. I have a 70 Nova but I also like the truckin business to.. I am currently at a school for auto body. I am 18 years old. So if u could give me some good possible setups for this type of truck it would be greatly appreciated thanks..
I attached a pic of my nova I restored. I bought it when I was 15 and restored it. My car looks reddish pink but its actually hugger orange my digital camera does that to an orange color. www.geocities.com/chvynova70/willsnova.html |
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06-03-2003, 02:32 PM
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#2 |
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Post Whore
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Rose Hill, KS, USA
Posts: 12,686
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If it were me I would do with an 8" suspension lift rather than a 6" suspension and 2" body. Nothing wrong with doing it that way, but if I were starting from scratch, that is what I would do. A member, Pont, will hopefully chime in as he has a truck of that vintage with 8". The 67-68's do require a custom setup, but I will let him educate you on the differences.
Welcome and sweet car! Any time slips?
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1970 Blazer with a 400 sbc and 4" lift 1980 Pontiac Trans Am, 455 Oldsmobile 2012 Kawasaki Concours 14 |
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06-03-2003, 02:34 PM
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#3 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Maine
Posts: 8
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I never ran it in the 1/4 i only ran it in the 1/8 I built the whole car including drive train its a mild 350 turbo 350 tranny 4.11's it ran a best of 8.2 @ 84.3 MPH.. Not bad for a high school daily driver. I graduated in 2002
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06-03-2003, 02:39 PM
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#4 |
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Binder Rep
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Salcha, AK
Posts: 1,506
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If you want a stepside shortbed it'll be a K10. You can put 3/4 ton axles under it, however.
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06-03-2003, 02:42 PM
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#5 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Maine
Posts: 8
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Ok thats good to know I need to get caught up on my GM older trucks I know a lot about the muscle cars but I have always wanted to get into the trucks too.. Thanks All the info is helpful to me in my upcoming in building older trucks..
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06-03-2003, 03:45 PM
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#6 |
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I need another Barley Pop
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 1,629
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67stepside406, welcome to the board and very nice Nova!
If you want to lift a 67 or 68, here is something to keep in mind. None of the lift manufacturers makes rear springs for these 2 years. Getting front springs is no problem at all but the rear springs on 67-68 are different than 69 and newer. 69 and newer rear springs are available from all the lift manufacturers. The 69 and newer rear springs are 52" long from eye to eye and the centering pin for the axle is offset closer to one eye than the other. The 67-68 trucks have rear leafs than are 56" long from eye to eye and the centering pin for the axle is dead center. A cheap solution to this would be to buy the 69 and newer rear springs and relocate your hangers on the frame so that your rear axle is centered in the wheel opening. I chose to have custom springs built for my truck for two reasons. 1) I didn't really feel like relocatiing spring hangers and 2) I wanted the longer 56" spring to try and get a smoother ride than a shorter spring. Overall, I'm very happy with my 8" lift. I used Skyjacker Softride springs up front and had National Spring Co. in California custom build my rear springs to my specs. My truck rides better with the lift than it did when it was stock. To help with the smooth ride, I'm also running Rancho RS9000 series 5-way adjustable shocks. If you have any other questions, I would be happy to help if I can. If your going to lift it more than 4", I would also highly recommend getting rid of the stock steering and going with a crossover steering setup. Good luck with you project and keep us posted on your progress, Rob
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67 Short Fleet 4x4 04 Honda CRF450R 89 Toyota 4-Runner 34 Ford 2 door sedan - Long term project ---------------------------------------------- There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness" 
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06-03-2003, 04:56 PM
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#7 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Temple, Ga
Posts: 854
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how far do you have to drive every day? i tried driving my 72 blazer with 8" skyjacker lift and 38.5 groundhawgs evveryday and it didnt work very good.
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06-03-2003, 05:01 PM
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#8 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Austin, TX, USA
Posts: 7,727
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Your biggest mistake were the GroundHawgs. Never seen a tire so hard to balance, prone to road walking, and subject to cupping.
I also think you went too big IMO. I have over 100k miles on my 4" lift. Most of that running MT baja belteds. It now has 35" BFG mud terrains on it and is a highway cruiser! If you want to keep that kind of lift, check out the 37/13.50/17 Pro Comps, and I think BFG has a similar size tires as well.
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44 Willys MB 52 M38A1 64 Corvette Coupe 68 Camaro 'vert LT1 & TH700 69 Z/28 355 12.6's @110 69 Chevy Short Step 4 1/2"/7" drop 72 Jimmy 4WD 4spd 4" & 35's 02 GMC 2500HD 4x4 Duramax |
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06-03-2003, 05:21 PM
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#9 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Atlanta GA
Posts: 1,704
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Quote:
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Grim-Reaper 70 Pontiac LeMans Sport Convertible, worlds longest resto in progress Looking for 71-72 2wd Blazer or Jimmy Project |
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06-03-2003, 05:26 PM
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#10 |
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Temple, Ga
Posts: 854
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I love the ground hawgs and lift i just couldn't afford the gas. I think i was getting about 2 mpg. and at $200 for all four groundhawgs and wheels i had to get them. and you think 38's are too big? 38's is the samllest i would go. i would love to put the new 48's on there.
Last edited by blazerboy72; 06-03-2003 at 05:32 PM. |
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06-03-2003, 05:36 PM
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#11 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Maine
Posts: 8
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I appreciate the help everyone and Ill check into everything.. I was curious to wonder why every site i went to for lift kits for like 6 or 8 inches it only had blocks for the rear in springs for the front. I really like the looks off the 67 and 68 pickups I liek the 67 the most cause of the small window and i just want to make it a real nice looking monster. I am going to build a 406 small block torue monster after i figure out everything i need to do to get it 8"s. Pont is their anyway u could give me the specs so that I could have a local spring place build me a set. And also how much did it cost for them. Another thing tire size i wanna run either a 15 or 16 inch wheel and how wide i dont know but what should i run for a tire. I am a young kid and i just want to go big with everything but I need to think reality and if i plan on driving it like a normal truck around and go muddin with it then I need a decent tire I like a good mean looking tire too.. would like a 40 be to big if they even make that size. I was also going to put 4:56's and lockers of some sort in the truck if i went with 35 or bigger.. Pretty much I just need th smartest setup I could go with. Another thing where do i get the steering converison u were talking about.. And again I thank you for taking ur time to help out a kid thats looking to have some serious fun...
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06-03-2003, 05:37 PM
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#12 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Maine
Posts: 8
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O yea Pont great looking truck
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06-03-2003, 06:33 PM
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#13 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 56
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Quote:
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06-03-2003, 10:26 PM
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#14 |
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I need another Barley Pop
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 1,629
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67step, I hear ya! I have the heart of a 21 year old but the body of a 61 year old. I'm actually 37. When I set out to lift my truck, I wanted to go bigger but realizing that I drive it everyday and that I don't care for having to jump up into it, I tried to make it practical. If you go as wide as I did with wheel and tire on an 8" lift, it will rub if you are doing some hard wheeling. The same tire height of 35" would be fine with an 8" lift if they aren't too wide. If you go as wide as I did, you might want to think about a 10" or 12" lift for hardcore wheeling.
I've had a few requests for pics so I will post them here. I pulled my backup hard drive out of my computer where I had all my pics stored but I think I may have a few stored on floppy's. Give me a little time to find them and I will post a couple pics for you guys.
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67 Short Fleet 4x4 04 Honda CRF450R 89 Toyota 4-Runner 34 Ford 2 door sedan - Long term project ---------------------------------------------- There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"
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06-03-2003, 10:44 PM
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#15 |
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I need another Barley Pop
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 1,629
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Sorry guys, I thought I had more pics on floppy's but I only have a couple. I will re-install my back-up hard drive where I have all my pics stored and I will post more later. For now, this is all I have.
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67 Short Fleet 4x4 04 Honda CRF450R 89 Toyota 4-Runner 34 Ford 2 door sedan - Long term project ---------------------------------------------- There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"
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06-03-2003, 10:46 PM
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#16 |
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I need another Barley Pop
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 1,629
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You can also do a search on my user name (Pont) and see where I have posted other pics of my truck on this board.
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67 Short Fleet 4x4 04 Honda CRF450R 89 Toyota 4-Runner 34 Ford 2 door sedan - Long term project ---------------------------------------------- There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"
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06-03-2003, 10:49 PM
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#17 |
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I need another Barley Pop
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 1,629
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Other members like Yukon Jack and Mudder67 might have some other pics if they want to post them. Sorry I didn't have any pics on this hard drive.
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67 Short Fleet 4x4 04 Honda CRF450R 89 Toyota 4-Runner 34 Ford 2 door sedan - Long term project ---------------------------------------------- There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"
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06-03-2003, 11:52 PM
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#18 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Temecula, CA
Posts: 56
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Nice lookin!!!
I'm interested in the 396. I've been contemplating swapping my 396 into my 72 4x4. Did you do your swap? How painful was it and do you have any tips? Thanks JW... |
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06-04-2003, 04:37 AM
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#19 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: East Central, MO
Posts: 11,336
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I think!
I have a couple.
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06-04-2003, 04:39 AM
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#20 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: East Central, MO
Posts: 11,336
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One more
For sure!
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06-04-2003, 05:38 AM
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#21 |
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user # 2756
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chesapeake, Virginia
Posts: 4,612
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Something else to consider why not do a newer(71-72)GMC and swap in the older hood? I believe on the GMCs the rad core support is the same 67-72 as well as the fenders w/ the exception of the 67. The 68's had the hood letters also.
This way you would have the body lines with the newer(relative) rear suspension. Just a thought. The newer(71-72)would already have disc up front/power brakes/steering/205 transfercase.
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1970 K25, 8' stepside bed 350/465/205 44 up front, 60 in the rear 4.10s rolling on 33" Dunlop MTs 1986 K5, 350/465/208 Dana 60/14 bolt from a cucv 36" Super Swampers TSL/SX 1983 K20 w/ CUCV axles, 350/700R4/208 sitting on 37" Goodyears 1986 M1031 6.2 diesel, TH400/NP205 locker in the rear and a LS in the front, all stock for now..... 1986 K30, 350/400/205 dana 60 and 14 bolt. I kept the drivetrain. Body/bad and chassis are gone. 1981 K30, 350/465/205 dana 60 and dually 14 bolt. Has a G80, and a flat bed. Going to replace the flat bed. 1985 K20, 350/400/208 10 bolt and SF 14 bolt. I wonder where I can find some 1 tons. Hmmmmm 
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06-04-2003, 02:52 PM
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#22 |
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I need another Barley Pop
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 1,629
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jwhitfield, the BB was already installed in my truck when I bought it but there are other members that have done this swap. The only issues I had with a BB was frame clearance with headers on the passenger side (it's fine now) and how close the distributor sits to the firewall. Other than that, a big block goes nice in these trucks.
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67 Short Fleet 4x4 04 Honda CRF450R 89 Toyota 4-Runner 34 Ford 2 door sedan - Long term project ---------------------------------------------- There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"
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06-04-2003, 03:05 PM
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#23 |
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Post Whore
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Rose Hill, KS, USA
Posts: 12,686
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jwhitfield, I will pm you about the BB swap.
__________________
1970 Blazer with a 400 sbc and 4" lift 1980 Pontiac Trans Am, 455 Oldsmobile 2012 Kawasaki Concours 14 |
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