How much can i drop my 68?

[JON70CST]

Hey guys,

just wandering how much my 68 1/2 ton could possibly be dropped from stock to get it as low as i can go. It currently has a 350 in it and probably plan on keeping that motor in it. I was planning on drop spindles in the front, but was wondering the best way to drop it and also get the most drop out of it. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Musclerodz]

Originally Posted by jonathonhargreaves

Hey guys,

just wandering how much my 68 1/2 ton could possibly be dropped from stock to get it as low as i can go. It currently has a 350 in it and probably plan on keeping that motor in it. I was planning on drop spindles in the front, but was wondering the best way to drop it and also get the most drop out of it. Any suggestions?

Thanks

search button is your friend. Subject has been covered extensively here. Check the suspension fourm

Mike

[killer71]

till it touches the ground

[dave2953]

Do you already have a disc brake setup? If not, you won't be able to run drop spindles. You can get up to 6" drop springs for the rear and they make blocks also. Just keep in mind that when you lower your truck things will change, i.e drive shaft pinion angle, rear end geometry, etc. For the front you can cut the coils, but I wouldn't recommend going more than 1 round. This will yield about 2" of drop, and if you are running discs a drop spindle could get you another 2-2.5" IMO a static 4/6 drop looks pretty good on these trucks. Hope this helps you out some.

[HUEVUDO]

Well let me tell you what I did. I have a 67 SWB yellow . I put drop spindles, drop coils, and disc brakes on. I had 17 rims with some regular sized tires. It dropped it so slow that those tires needed to be changed because of rubbing issues. After I changed the tire size it was so slow that on my street which is only a few years old it would dragged to bottom of the truck. If I hit a marble in the road it would bottom out. So I just happen to have another truck a 68 SWB red with 20's. So I made the switch . It raised the truck up with the bigger rims and tires. That made the difference . IT is low and only drags up when I hit a big dip in the road. I would suggest in the front only go with drop coils, and spindles that will accept disc brakes. When you go with drop spindles the whole world drops off. When I do my red truck it will have just disc brakes and drop coils. And I bought dropp coils for the rear from performance online. Big mistake. The tech online told me the lowest i could go in the rear was 4 inches in the rear, and anything more than that I would need to c notch the frame. That was a lie. I can go way lower in the rear. here are some pics before i did any work on my trucks. i should get some new pics.

[JON70CST]

thanks for all the replies,
so if i drop it more than 4 would it be suggested to c-notch the frame though? And what did you mean by when you go with drop spindles the whole world drops off? thanks again guys

P.S. thanks for the suggestion for the search utility, and the suspension forum, i'm brand new to the board so i'm still learning

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by jonathonhargreaves

thanks for all the replies,
so if i drop it more than 4 would it be suggested to c-notch the frame though? And what did you mean by when you go with drop spindles the whole world drops off? thanks again guys

P.S. thanks for the suggestion for the search utility, and the suspension forum, i'm brand new to the board so i'm still learning

You can go up to 5~6" of rear drop w/o the need for a c-notch depending on the amount of weight you carry in the bed. If you use your truck to carry 'big' loads, a c-notch would be a good investment w/a +6" drop.

Upgrading to discs is a good move because you can run the previously mentioned dropped spindles; dropped coils will do the job; or you can combine the two options.

Search the suspension forum for your answers & welcome home!

[trkklr77]

Originally Posted by killer71

till it touches the ground

not good enough. i want to slam it down so far that i put the wheels on jack stands and chassis will hang 4" below the bottom of the tires

[Shane]

How much can i drop my 68?

How much money ya got?

[JON70CST]

you can get disk brake kits for 6 bolt right? and then i'd be able to put on the drop spindles?

[68alltheway]

drop it til you can't drop it anymore

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by jonathonhargreaves

you can get disk brake kits for 6 bolt right? and then i'd be able to put on the drop spindles?

The kits use the disc brake spindles (either 71-72 or 73-later style depending on application) & a custom 6-lug rotor.

[JON70CST]

so it just comes down to spindles and rotors?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by jonathonhargreaves

so it just comes down to spindles and rotors?

Several board vendors sell disc/drop kits that have all you'll need. Just tell them 5 or 6-lug for the rotors.

[HUEVUDO]

What I meant by the whole world drops off is that you are really really low to the ground. Like I said normal driving in a good surface you can srape bottom. It was so low to the floor I could pick the pocket of a midget doing 15mph. From my driver's side window.

[Bob 68327]

If your handy you can cut the spring pockets on the lower controll arm and drop them. I cut and dropped mine about 3'' and added 2'' drop springs . I still run the factory power drum brakes. It's low and drives good!!

[JON70CST]

that's awesome!, so much inspiration to drop mine as low as it can go!
is it worth swaping to discs?

[corn]

Originally Posted by Bob 68327

If your handy you can cut the spring pockets on the lower controll arm and drop them. I cut and dropped mine about 3'' and added 2'' drop springs . I still run the factory power drum brakes. It's low and drives good!!

Can I get pics of the lca's? Id like to do that to my 69. Where in Ia are you?

[JON70CST]

yeah pictures would be handy

[shifty]

.... till it's dragging?

[JON70CST]

Bringing the topic up again because I am now building a '70 and am still going to lower it. I am mostly refreshing the topic to find out more about Bob_68327's lowering by modifying the lower control arm spring pocket. I am very interested in this strategy, and would love to learn more!