55.2-59 Opinions on crooked bed?

[72 k15]

I can’t seem to find any springs for it that are not 450$ I plan on pulling to bed off this spring for new bed wood and painting the frame.

[dsraven]

sometimes the local spring shop can be the cheapest considering freight etc. also, try the local napa store.

[72 k15]

Found some maybe, https://www.generalspringkc.com/1955...ty-7-4-3-leaf/ . Has anyone ordered from there before? Are they reputable with a quality product. I’m assuming 1100 pounds is the stock weight.

[_Ogre]

if you want reputable eaton detroit spring has been around since 1937. we ordered school bus springs from them back in the 70s, still around making springs. expect to pay the premium price for a premium product. [yowza! 2.5X more $$$]
lots of guys here removing springs from their trucks, you might ask around here for their old springs. springs typically don't go bad, they break from the constant flexure. 58 truk is still running the original stock oem leaf springs in back. i'd try for a matched set if possible, but we'd replace broken leaves individually too.

[mr48chev]

Generall spring appears to have been around for a long time.

A lot of the small "local" spring shops are relying on manufacturess like General spring to supply them rather than making new sets of springs inhouse now. I needed an odd size main leaf made for my car trailer and got the local shop (White Front) in Yakima to make it but had to wait several days before it as they only fired up the forge one day a week in the middle of the summer to do made to order springs. That was after they went though the catalog looking for a replacement main leaf. My guess is that that same shop modified a set of springs for that trailer when it was built in a high school ag shop in the 80's.

[dsraven]

Maybe a good idea to ensure it is a spring issue before buying springs. Not that it isn't great to have new springs but just to be sure.

[72 k15]

I think I might have found the problem, here’s a picture of the front cross member.

[duramax55]

That would have been a very hard hit. Might have tweaked the frame

[_Ogre]

i believe he posted 2 pics of the frame tweaked
look for a matching dent on the roof or dash where a head hit

[72 k15]

Looks like the front engine crossmember might have hit a rock, looks like I’ll need to buy a new crossmember which should be fun to track down and then have a frame shop make sure the rails are still straight.

[dsraven]

if you're not using the stock power plant you could simly fab a new cross member. it doesn't have to look like that if your engine isn't going to sit on it. it just needs to be the correct width.
before you spend money on getting the frame straightened you may want to go under it and look closely at the whole thing, front to rear, for loose rivets, bent items, heavily rusted spots behind shock mounts etc that will make the metal thinner, etc. a frame shop will likely simply try to straighten what is there rather than try to get a new cross member back into that spot. the old one can be cut out but the new one will need to be installed in one piece. since it is fitting inside a C channel that is not easily done. trust me, many guys on here have tried to remove a cross member thinking it would be easy to do simply by pulling one end forward and one end backward. it doesn't wotk that way because the cross member is wide-front to rear- so it doesn't have room enough. it would need to be slid out the front, possibly requiring other things to be remved first.
the best wouldbe to remove the body to allow work to be done and also to allow the frame to be checked properly for square-corner to corner, straight-fore to aft, and sag. the assembly manual has a section with how-to figures, measure points and allowable "out of range" specs. frame checking I believe is what they call it.

[72 k15]

I am currently rebuilding the factory 270 GMC, so I need the cross member, i had not thought about how hard it would be to get a new one in, I’ll see what the frame shop has for input they are looking for the problem and not going to just bend the frame if a leaf is bad.

[duramax55]

72 K15 that cross member can be straitened out with heat but the frame shop can do it also.

[mr48chev]

One might have to weigh the cost of having that frame straightened over finding a good straight frame and swapping frames.

Some people claim that there are serial numbers on GMC frames but I don't know that know that for sure. That would be the only issue with changing to another exactly the same but straight frame.

You could even have the new frame all slicked up, painted and ready before swapping things over.

Check the costs, check the options.

[dsraven]

whats the plan for the truck, just get the frame straight and figure out the sag problem and then keep driving it? no plan to dis-assemble or anything? if thats the plan then the frame shop can probably straighten that bent section, check the frame for straight and repair as required, check the sag issue and repair as required, then you pay and keep driving it. all good. if the plan is to resto the truck, and it isn't a daily driver, then you should possibly look at your options. decide what the end result will be and then come up with a plan. if you want a truck that has independent front suspension that will probably lower the truck. if the truck is lowered you will likely need to do some frame work out back too, like a C notch, so the rear axle doesn't hit the frame when driving over a speed bump or curb into the driveway. at this point it could be said that you will be doing frame work in the front and rear of the truck. before you start a project like that it is recommended to take the body off and check the frame for straight, sag and out of square as well as checking all the cross members for loose rivets etc, etc before doing any frame work. this is so your foundation is good before you build on top of it, like a house build. long story short, it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend money on the frame now if you plan to resto the truck in the NEAR future. now, if you plan to drive it for a few years first, then, for sure, get the frame checked/repaired and the sag repaired and drive the crap out of it. just saying, no use to spend money now if it is just going to have a few miles of use before a resto that will undo/redo all that was just done and paid for. if you redo the rear springs to eliminate the sag, then soon you get the bug to resto the truck and you plan for air bags out back or a 4 link with coil overs, then that spring money is for nothing.
your truck, your call.
nice solid looking truck by the pics. how solid is it when you get up close? have you looked at the normal rusty spots? if you are gonna be driving it like it is then I suggest to do a dual circuit brake master cylinder for the safety aspect. the stock single circuit master cylinder supplies all the brakes from a single hydraulic circuit. if one brake circuit springs a leak or fails somehow then you have no brakes on all the circuits, front and rear.
again, your truck, your call.
if you get a minute it would be nice if you could post a few pics showing the truck from different angles and inside/under the hood etc. looks like a solid unit from the rear.

[mr48chev]

The main thing is before you spend a dime on springs or any other part explore your options.

If it runs and drives and is licensed find out who is the go to frame straightening shop in the area and go ask about having it sorted out. Find out what the cost is.

Be thinking about swapping in an exact same model frame from another truck that is in perfect condition. With all the guys buying pretty nice trucks and doing frame swaps that may not be that hard and a lot of guys tend to put later 4x4 chassis under TF trucks. The big expense there will probably be your time and labor prepping the frame and swapping everything from one frame to the other. You could put new or have your springs reconditioned at the same time.

As much as I don't like frame swaps for the sake of swapping frames if you were ever thinking about swapping to a later model frame to get independent suspension or turn it into a 4x4 I'd just drive it as is until I came up with a proper chassis for the swap. I don't think that is in your plans but if it is, I'd pass on fixing the stock frame and put the money into the swap.

[dsraven]

you could always fab up a cross member to fit the 270 in there if the frame shop says it's too far gone.