static drop options

[TXRANGER]

ISO Static drop idea options.
I'm looking to do a 3/5 drop on my 1971 Cheyenne.
I looking for the best/cheapest way to do it while keeping ride enjoyable. Drop spindles do seem to be part of the best options. Any help I can get will be appreciated.

[Smith & Sons]

You can cut the front coils with a wheel,saw,for the cheapest way.(1/2 coil=1" drop,Ect)Spindles with disc brakes for more money.Buy lowering springs for the rear.Contact GMC pauls for best advice,parts.One idea,is to use 4" springs in the rear ,with 2" blocks that have 4 degrees of pinion angle correction.(with the drop you want,your pinion will be pointing up & need correction.Doing a similar drop,I did not use the shock relocation kit , but did go with shorter shocks in the rear only.

[TXRANGER]

Here is my truck.
Another thing i want to ask is Does a 4/6 drop make sense for an everyday driver? From the couple of people Ive talked to 3/5 is better for everyday driving. Can anyone photoshop the picture so that I can see what each option would look like?

[Smith & Sons]

My experience is,whatever you do,your going to like it & want More lol.Might as well do it once.If your going 4" in the front,definitely do the spindles for 2" & cut the coils for another 2"(or buy 2" drop springs for the best ride).&yes guys drive this set up all day long.

[ksshane]

if you buy spindles and springs (instead of cutting them), I dont think you will have any problem with a 4/6" drop on a daily driver. Springs are really pretty cheap.

You can also get away with cutting your springs. And I know a lot of people do it with no problems. But if you dont know what your doing, you can easily over heat your springs.

The original owner of my truck did just that, and when I pulled my springs they looked more like a slinky than truck springs.

Another thing to remember is updating your shocks. you wont have to do it right away, but it will make a huge difference in the ride quality once you do.

Just my .02

[sangell]

This is a 4/6 drop with a big block so the front is pretty low. I put about 300 miles on it last fall driving to work etc. It is getting a drive train swap and it will be my son's daily driver starting this summer. It has drop spindles and springs in front, all spring in rear no blocks.

[Ekliptix]

The truck above is definitely lower then normal in the front with the help of the big block.

I like my ECE 4.5/6" drop, 2.5" spindle + 2" spring up front, 6" springs in the rear. It's definitely not too low, I never scrape on anything at all, so it's not an issue for a daily driver. I wish it were lower actually, of course.

[72c105speed]

Originally Posted by Ekliptix

The truck above is definitely lower then normal in the front with the help of the big block.

I like my ECE 4.5/6" drop, 2.5" spindle + 2" spring up front, 6" springs in the rear. It's definitely not too low, I never scrape on anything at all, so it's not an issue for a daily driver. I wish it were lower actually, of course.

What size tires are you running?

[DBK81]

I just did a 3/5, with springs front and rear from CPP, and with new rims and tires I want to go down more, will most likely go 2.5 spindles in the front and same in the back with blocks. But in doing that my long tube headers will have to go so a whole exhasut rework will be in order as well as an adjustable panhard bar, so it will probably cost me another $750-$1,000 to get that last 2.5"

[sangell]

Originally Posted by Ekliptix

The truck above is definitely lower then normal in the front with the help of the big block.

The new drive train is a 5.3 and 6spd manual. It's not running yet but the front is up quite a bit. Once it's running again we'll see if we are going to raise the rear, lower the front, or leave it as is.

The tires are 27" tall

[BB72CHEVKT]

I have put 35k miles on my burb with a 4.5/6 drop and it is totally do able and will drive better than stock with a sway bay. My burb handles way better than out 03 Yukon.

[Ekliptix]

Originally Posted by 72c105speed

What size tires are you running?

275/60/15 all around. Front tire rubs sometimes over bumps so I'd go with 255's up front next time.

[drewbert41]

Originally Posted by Ekliptix

275/60/15 all around. Front tire rubs sometimes over bumps so I'd go with 255's up front next time.

Do you have a notch? Smaller bumpstops?

[Ekliptix]

Originally Posted by drewbert41

Do you have a notch? Smaller bumpstops?

No c notch. Never had an issue out back. I did cut the bump stops down by 1/2.

[67ChevyRedneck]

I have a 4.5/6 as well.

It's not worth the extra couple hundred bucks you save by half assing it.

Chances are your truck needs new springs anyway. I would go with an entire kit that is meant to work together. Once you get down to 5-6" you really need a shock and panhard bar relocator kit. I highly recommend getting everything from ECE.

You don't need a notch for 6". You do need to cut down the bumpstops. I recently had my shocks off the truck to do the relocator kit and I jumped up and down a bunch of times as hard as I could in the bed and I couldn't get it to bottom out on the bump stops. If you haul a heavy ass load, you could bottom out, but who does that

[sangell]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I have a 4.5/6 as well.

It's not worth the extra couple hundred bucks you save by half assing it.

Chances are your truck needs new springs anyway. I would go with an entire kit that is meant to work together. Once you get down to 5-6" you really need a shock and panhard bar relocator kit. I highly recommend getting everything from ECE.

You don't need a notch for 6". You do need to cut down the bumpstops. I recently had my shocks off the truck to do the relocator kit and I jumped up and down a bunch of times as hard as I could in the bed and I couldn't get it to bottom out on the bump stops. If you haul a heavy ass load, you could bottom out, but who does that

The picture I posted in post #6 in this thread at ride height has 2.5" from the axle tube to the bottom of the frame and 1" to the factory bumps and it hits those all the time. If it stays at this height I'm going to do a 1" notch.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by sangell

The picture I posted in post #6 in this thread at ride height has 2.5" from the axle tube to the bottom of the frame and 1" to the factory bumps and it hits those all the time. If it stays at this height I'm going to do a 1" notch.

You're supposed to trim the bump stops. ECE's directions even state this for their 5 & 6" drop kits.

I ditched the factory ones and went with a $20 aftermarket one. I've had a few hundred pounds in the bed... has NEVER bottomed out, and we have some really crappy roads here.

[sangell]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

You're supposed to trim the bump stops. ECE's directions even state this for their 5 & 6" drop kits.

I ditched the factory ones and went with a $20 aftermarket one. I've had a few hundred pounds in the bed... has NEVER bottomed out, and we have some really crappy roads here.

Mine is not an ECE kit but it did talk about changing bump stops. I knew the drive train swap was coming so I was waiting until it was done to change too much.

In that picture how much space is between the axle and frame?

[Mike C]

Another vote for ECE. I have 2 1/2" disc conversion spindles and 2" springs in the front of mine. The rear is a flip using a DJM kit for the factory HD leaf springs which netted just over 7" drop.

Run as tall a tire as you can and be mindful of the width in the front. And the rear requires some precision if you want a big tire and have a stepside... 235 55 17 front and 275 55 17 rear on 17x8 4.5" bs and 17x9 5" bs respectively.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by sangell

Mine is not an ECE kit but it did talk about changing bump stops. I knew the drive train swap was coming so I was waiting until it was done to change too much.

In that picture how much space is between the axle and frame?

A hair under 2.5" from axle to frame. Just under 2" from axle to bump stop.

[TXRANGER]

Thanks for all of the replies. By the way how much do you think I will spend in totol if I went with someone like ECE?

[67ChevyRedneck]

$800 + shipping (and shipping will be high, it's heavy). I would call and place the order, making sure you get the 71/72 drop spindle. They used to give a little bit of a discount on shipping for the forum, but I don't remember if they do anymore. That will be springs, spindles, 4 new shocks, rear shock relocater brackets, and adjustable trac bar.

Cost will also depend on the condition of your truck. When I got mine apart, I found my ball joints and A-arm bushings needed replacement. I had done a rebuild before, but it was 15 years ago. When you get the spindles off, if you can wiggle the A arms back and forth at all, they need new bushings.

[sangell]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

A hair under 2.5" from axle to frame. Just under 2" from axle to bump stop.

Thank You