How low should i go???

[AesC10s]

Originally Posted by gchemist

Yea, right. Hell I drive mine faster and meaner.

LOL same here. The lower i go the faster i go!

[ProStreet83C10]

Originally Posted by piecesparts

Agree , the visor is not my thing either.

This is my Son's truck

what is the drop on his truck, and i agree, it is a nice truck but i personally like a fully debadged truck

[ProStreet83C10]

i just did some looking online at Belltech's components, onequestions is which company is better quality, Belltech or JDM. Also, i can only find a 3" front and 4" rear drop, thats close enough for me. For the front 3" drop would i need BOTH the front spindles AND the front shocks or is it one or the other. As far as the back, its quite obvious that id get the shackle/hanger kit for the 4" rear and NOT the flip kit for a 6" rear drop. If someone could clear this all up thatd be absolutly awesome

[Malo83]

Originally Posted by gchemist

Yea, right. Hell I drive mine faster and meaner.

Yeah OK guys, but how bad are your A-arms and crossmember bent and scrapped , yeah I drive fast on the highway but thats the only place you can, around town driving is a different story, curbs, ruts,potholes,speedbumps,etc,etc. you know what i'm talking about

[beaterC10]

Originally Posted by ProStreet83C10

i just did some looking online at Belltech's components, onequestions is which company is better quality, Belltech or JDM. Also, i can only find a 3" front and 4" rear drop, thats close enough for me. For the front 3" drop would i need BOTH the front spindles AND the front shocks or is it one or the other. As far as the back, its quite obvious that id get the shackle/hanger kit for the 4" rear and NOT the flip kit for a 6" rear drop. If someone could clear this all up thatd be absolutly awesome

I have used both DJM and Bell parts and I would say they are equally good quality. You only need spindles for a 3" drop. I know Bell spindles are 3" drop, I think DJM are 2.5" I would suggest you go with the 2.5 drop if you want to use the existing wheels. I have tried alloy wheels on my Bell equipped truck and they rubbed bad enough I would have to use spacers to the required clearance.

I just looked at the DJM website, their spindles are also 3" drop. Western Chassis makes 2.5" spindles. I haven't used their spindles, but may folks on the board have and spoke well of them. You might look at the Sport Truck Direct site, they seem to have pretty good prices.
The shock are do not contribute to the drop. With spindles the stock shocks can be used, since you are not changing the relationship between the shocks, a-arms, and chassis.

A flip kit will drop the rear somewhere between 5-6" The height of the spring perch and thickness of the spring pack control the amount of drop. On a SWB 1/2 ton the actual drop is probably closer to 5 due to the thinner spring stack it probably has.

[piecesparts]

The truck is a 3 1/2 front and 4" in the back drop. The debadging would be nice, but I was going for the "Money goes to the drivetrain" thinking. I did remove everything on my 84 and smoothed/frenched the front bumper. I and my Son don't scrape the "A" frames very much, because I set the front suspension up with Rancho 9000 shocks and adjusted them to the higher numbers to limit the strokes. Besides at 80 MPH the bump you just hit, is to far back to drag on, by the time the truck settles down again.

[AesC10s]

Originally Posted by Malo83

Yeah OK guys, but how bad are your A-arms and crossmember bent and scrapped , yeah I drive fast on the highway but thats the only place you can, around town driving is a different story, curbs, ruts,potholes,speedbumps,etc,etc. you know what i'm talking about

Mine are in great shape. I have only hit a few times.

[75Chevy90Kawi]

hopefully i'll have mine dropped 2.5/4 by sometime around new years... if you need any pics to sway you

[ProStreet83C10]

i will take all the pics i can get!!

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by Malo83

Yeah OK guys, but how bad are your A-arms and crossmember bent and scrapped , yeah I drive fast on the highway but thats the only place you can, around town driving is a different story, curbs, ruts,potholes,speedbumps,etc,etc. you know what i'm talking about

Must be really bad roads in your town. The worst highways, that I have seen are in two states Michigan is the top of the list and Arkansas was next. The city roads are something else in those states also. I have only really bounced my truck once, that ws in Springfield, Illinois--when I was coming out of the Rock and Roll Hardees on the 96 Power Tour. That was because of a wierd exit to the street.

[75silverstep]

California roads and highways have to rank up there as some of the worst..

[Malo83]

Originally Posted by 75silverstep

California roads and highways have to rank up there as some of the worst..

Especially here in the Valley

[culookn]

bag and drag it

[84slopwaggin]

Hey BUDDY lay off ARKANSAS. We have no state lottery, etc. to help pay for roads, education, etc. We have yet to reap the benefits of the horse and dog tracks.

[piecesparts]

Yeah, Well we have a state lottery---if you call it that. The State let a Judge take it all away and give it to the schools, so that ended the highway projects.

The funny thing about Arkansas, the state highways are not all that bad, it is the Federal one that I would be concerned with. I drove I-40 across your state and that stinking rolercoaster ride is the pits. The only thing shiney about that highway was the sign above the highway procaliming that Arkansas was the home state of Bill Clinton. That highway cost me a front shock on my 84 truck, what POS highway. On the other hand, I have made a couple of runs from Fort Smith to Mena and found the highways kind of unique and well kept.

[grinch4om]

I did the 3" spindles,1'' coils, flip kit and lowered shocks. the shocks are not nesessary with just the spindles, I am going to add extensions on the rear shocks cause they are really laid back, I don't like the geometry. The only trouble I have had, 7" ralleys instead of 8" on front(8's hit controll arm). And on good whopdedo's the front tires would rub the inner fenders. They came out and I'm making new ones.

[bigblock73]

Originally Posted by grinch4om

I did the 3" spindles,1'' coils, flip kit and lowered shocks. the shocks are not nesessary with just the spindles, I am going to add extensions on the rear shocks cause they are really laid back, I don't like the geometry. The only trouble I have had, 7" ralleys instead of 8" on front(8's hit controll arm). And on good whopdedo's the front tires would rub the inner fenders. They came out and I'm making new ones.

I have the same front drop, and have never had any rubbing issues with the inner fenders. What size tire are you running?

[grinch4om]

235-70-15 ft/ 255-70-15 rear

[ProStreet83C10]

Originally Posted by 75Chevy90Kawi

hopefully i'll have mine dropped 2.5/4 by sometime around new years... if you need any pics to sway you

you got that beast lowered yet??? im still lookin for pics and such

[Allens86]

Man im lovin that truck. That orange is beautiful. You should check out my 86

[454HO]

Originally Posted by Allens86

Man im lovin that truck. That orange is beautiful. You should check out my 86

Searchin' the archives, huh?

[Rollinsqrbdy]

So uhhhhh u think he's done with the drop?

[Low84]

Originally Posted by piecesparts

My 84 is not a ground scraper and I don't run bags, but I run the high speeds with the best of them. I have actually seen the speedo buried in the "OH WOW" section of the gauge. I only have a top displayed number of 85 MPH. I have Bell Tech components with a 4/4 drop and running 15X9 rims and 245/60/15s up front and 295/50/15s on the back. Low and Slow is only an attitude not a way of life.

Being a lowrider, I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one.

Anyway, this is the height of my '84 and for what your saying, it might be too low. I've gotten the crossmember caught on the sewer man holes. For an oil change, I needed a shop with a lift, as the rails on the ground holes catch. Almost sparked a fight between the shop worker and I, told him to be careful because I didn't think it was going to clear, he apparantley thought if he went fast enough that would change. Had to shove him out of my truck as he was still determined to get it ontop.