Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15

[BigRed76]

One more question, I didn't see it mentioned anywhere but are those rancho shocks?

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by BigRed76

One more question, I didn't see it mentioned anywhere but are those rancho shocks?

Yes they are RS9000S. I got them when I first swapped the axles a few years ago. The springs were so stiff that I never noticed a difference after adjusting them. Now it's night and day when I adjust them.

[BigRed76]

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

Yes they are RS9000S. I got them when I first swapped the axles a few years ago. The springs were so stiff that I never noticed a difference after adjusting them. Now it's night and day when I adjust them.

You're a step ahead of me haha my next question was going to be if you had adjusted them yet. Thanks for being the guinea pig on this looks like you did a top notch job

['63GENIII]

I just got tired of waiting for someone else to be the test dummy. I tell ya though, had this not worked, I'd be sleeping in the kids treehouse out back. Lol. Thanks for the compliments.

[BigRed76]

I've been contemplating the 52" front spring sway for a while, but just haven't had the time or space to dive into it yet. I was also under the impression that longer rear springs wouldn't make enough difference to justify all the work, but it seems you've proved it to be well worth the extra work.

['63GENIII]

Hey Zach, yeah it was definitely worth all the work in my mind. I really like driving the truck again. Although I think that the rear 56 swap is just about moving the rear hanger, I've had several trucks with the 56s and a few with the 63s. There really wasn't a comparison for me. If I ever need more capacity, I'll dig up some 63" 3/4 ton springs and mess with those.
BTW, where in Loveland are you? My Father in Law lives there. Been there a few times myself for Thanksgiving. Real nice country.

[BigRed76]

Yeah I would probably go with some 3/4 ton 63" springs to keep the load carrying capacity. Did the 63" springs interfere with your bumper brackets at all?
And I'm in South Loveland up on HP hill, and it is indeed a nice place.

[rickcdewitt]

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

I got the spring pads, bump stops and shock hangers cut off of the 14b and got it into place. Lots of measuring later, I was ready to set the new pads and the reworked shock mounts. I did have to get new 5/8" u bolts and plates for the tops of the springs. The plates are crazy thick (3/8") and are really well built.

i'm just about to this point with my k20 and have some 3/4t 63's and newer 2500 springs as well. i have few questions if you don't mind.

where did you get your new perches and top plates? my local offroad shop is out of them at the moment so i might as well order some.

do you think the rear hanger will interfere with using a modified drop hitch or bumper brackets? i'm wondering if i should use my 2000 model springs for better clearance?

anyways nice truck and pit! my pits 15 yrs old and always been a great shop dog,rick

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by BigRed76

Yeah I would probably go with some 3/4 ton 63" springs to keep the load carrying capacity. Did the 63" springs interfere with your bumper brackets at all?
And I'm in South Loveland up on HP hill, and it is indeed a nice place.

Hey Zach, Yes the DIY brakes did interfere a little with the bumper brackets. I believe that the two brackets on each side were originally supposed to "sandwich" the frame rail. Mine came with both brackets (2 on each side) bolted to the outside of the frame rail. I re installed the brackets the same way that they were because the rear cross member prevented me from putting it back the way it was stock. It worked out well though. I trimmed the bracket that was up against the frame enough to clear the hanger. The outer bracket actually uses the same bolt as the top rear spring hanger. I'll have to get some pics of it. Its just a little difficult to explain.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by rickcdewitt

i'm just about to this point with my k20 and have some 3/4t 63's and newer 2500 springs as well. i have few questions if you don't mind.

where did you get your new perches and top plates? my local offroad shop is out of them at the moment so i might as well order some.

do you think the rear hanger will interfere with using a modified drop hitch or bumper brackets? i'm wondering if i should use my 2000 model springs for better clearance?

anyways nice truck and pit! my pits 15 yrs old and always been a great shop dog,rick

Rick,

My last post kind of described the issues that I had with the bumper brackets. Not sure if you have the same kind. As far as the drop hitch, I got mine with the fuel tank and skid plate from an '89 Blazer. The hitch went on fine although the bottom bracket of the shackle did make it necessary to shim the back half of the hitch down 1/4". Having the tank in at that time made those bolts a PITA to install even with the bed off! lol. The top spring plates were from Ruff Stuff in Roseville, as were the u bolts. Top quality and fast ship. The spring perches were Summit but I got them before I found R.S. He has them too.
I just checked out your build. Nice work. Looks like its coming together pretty fast. Gonna be a great ride when its done! Keep up the great work.

[dieseldude4bt]

Did you get your drive shaft vibration issue fixed?

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by dieseldude4bt

Did you get your drive shaft vibration issue fixed?

For the most part yes. When I installed the TC, I must have been in a hurry because it was way off. I've got it corrected as best I can right now. Occasionally it will have a slight vibration when Im lugging 4th but other than that, its been great. I almost think that the divorced T cases need some sort of brace to keep it a little more rigid. Thats another project for another day. The DS vibration almost drove me insane. Just had to keep on messing with it.

[Dsuper5]

Hi 63genIII

Could you please let me know the parts number for the REAR Shackles and hangers ? I am trying to say all the parts which attach the REAR springs to the frame. Read trough your tread several times and could not positively identify them.

Just removed all the rear suspension parts on my 64 4x4 suburban and the Hangers i have wont do it.

Thank You
Eddy

[Dsuper5]

Top new springs bottom old ones.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by Dsuper5

Hi 63genIII

Could you please let me know the parts number for the REAR Shackles and hangers ? I am trying to say all the parts which attach the REAR springs to the frame. Read trough your tread several times and could not positively identify them.

Just removed all the rear suspension parts on my 64 4x4 suburban and the Hangers i have wont do it.

Thank You
Eddy

Will do Eddy. I think I just found the receipts for them the other day while cleaning the garage. Ill take a look in a few.

['63GENIII]

Ok Eddy, I found the receipts. For the front hanger of the rear springs, I used an ORD GU28010 - 1 which is listed as a "shackle flip kit for 67-72 GM

For the rear of rear hangers, I used DIY 4x4 item #00590ka "first gen shackle flip and switch w/ 4.5" shackles."

I used the ORD up front and had to flip the spring front eye to the rear since the bigger eye on the front of the spring created a clearance issue with the hanger (which really wasn't sized to anchor the front of the spring anyway).

That said, I didn't know that the differences in frame widths that occurred throughout the years were compensated for by moving the hangers inward or outward so that the spring perches on the axles remained somewhat the same. I wasn't aware of this possible problem because the 2005 14BFF needed new spring perches anyway. Im guessing that you are trying to re use your existing spring perches so I would recommend taking some measurements. If you need measurements off of mine, I can get them tomorrow.

[Dsuper5]

Cool i found them, Thx a lot will make it easier i hope. Updates will be posted as available.

[jwalt2gfd]

I was wondering what year of truck did you get the 63" springs from? I am just getting ready to start my 64 k10 build and I am looking at doing the same spring swap you just did. Great work and pics.

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by jwalt2gfd

I was wondering what year of truck did you get the 63" springs from? I am just getting ready to start my 64 k10 build and I am looking at doing the same spring swap you just did. Great work and pics.

Pretty sure that they came off of an '07 Silverado 1500.

[BigRed76]

Originally Posted by jwalt2gfd

I was wondering what year of truck did you get the 63" springs from? I am just getting ready to start my 64 k10 build and I am looking at doing the same spring swap you just did. Great work and pics.

I'm sure there are many variations, but GM started using the 63" springs in 88 on the GMT400 trucks.

[jwalt2gfd]

One more question, what year truck had the 52" springs, are these rear springs or did chevy have a 52" front spring. If they are rears what spring rate did you go with. Thanks for the help.

[1972RedNeck]

Subscribed for future reference...

[jwalt2gfd]

1972redneck, what does that mean?

[jwalt2gfd]

Hey 63genIII, is this a short or long bed truck?

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by jwalt2gfd

Hey 63genIII, is this a short or long bed truck?

Its a long step