Too low, need advice making it a daily driver

[VTX-Black]

While I have been building my own stuff, my wife went out and bought one already done. Problem is that speed bumps etc make it impractical and she wants it raised a bit. (Wheels also rub inner fenders and I don't want to modify the fenders).

Here is what it looks like now.

What I am looking for advice on is:
1) advice on how much higher to go and
2) the best way to do that without too much trial and error.

Since I didn't build this one I am not sure how much drop the spindles have etc.

Thanks
Wayne

[69chevytrucker]

i would just put the rear axle back on the other side of the leaf spring and by the look of the front it looks like they just cut the coil so go buy a set of factory coils and you should be back to stock

[Tx Firefighter]

Looking at the pictures, I'm guessing you're somewhere at 5 inches front and 7 rear drop.

Front has drop spindles. That will be 2.5 or 3 inches right there. Plus, there's something going on with your coil springs (more and that later).

Rear is a flip kit for 5 inch drop plus a drop shackle for 2 further inches.

Now, looking at your pictures, there are some things that pop out at me. First, your front coil springs are funky. It appears that someone has shoved spacers down inside the lowest coils. I'm guessing that the springs have been heated in the past and they stuck those in there to recover from excessive sag.

Your control arm bushings are shot. Look at the washers on the lower control arm bushings. Notice how they are not centered on the bushing ? That's bushing slop.

My suggestion is to buy a new pair of decent lowering springs and swap into the front. A pair of mild 2 inch springs would likely work well. Then, see if that gets you some clearance. I'd bet it does. In the back, swap the dropped shackles for either a stock pair or a pair with 1 inch drop.

[VTX-Black]

Perfect, that is the sort of advice that I was looking for.

I don't want to go as high as stock, but definitely higher than it is now.

As for problems, thanks for catching those. The driver's side could does have a spacer but not on the passenger side so I suspect someone has already done some trial and error to get it to sit the way it does right now.

So, unless there is a reason not to head in this direction,

---HERE IS THE PLAN??---

1) I will begin with new front coils (with a 2 inch drop or factory height)
2) Overhaul the front end while I am in there to take care of anything obvious

3) Once the front is set I will either flip the axles or new shackles to match the ride height at the front.

Are there any measurements that I should take to know how much lower I am riding from stock right now? (I realize that the big 22s are an added variable)

Thanks again for responding so quickly. I new you guys would know what you are looking at.

Wayne

[carboncrew]

bummer about the ride because it looks great the way it sits

[JWall]

Originally Posted by VTX-Black

---HERE IS THE PLAN??---

1) I will begin with new front coils (with a 2 inch drop or factory height)
2) Overhaul the front end while I am in there to take care of anything obvious

3) Once the front is set I will either flip the axles or new shackles to match the ride height at the front.

Sounds like a good plan to me get the front lined out & corrected then you know where the back needs to be.
I would think just putting the stock shackle on back will fix that up.

[VTX-Black]

I'd love to leave it at this height but she doesn't drive it much because of all the nonsense it causes her at this height.

There is a huge speed bump where she works (and at the mall).
People at work get impatient when she holds up the line exiting the parking lot at the end of the day as she tries to crawl over it.

A bit more height is a reasonable compromise I guess.

P.S.
She likely won't but she is starting to think about driving it in the winter too. Sacrilege I know, but she bought it for less than the cost of sales tax on a new vehicle, so even if she threw it away after a few years she would be ahead. I won't let that happen though so I'm preparing the fresh rust free underside just in case.

[J Knight]

Originally Posted by VTX-Black

I'd love to leave it at this height but she doesn't drive it much because of all the nonsense it causes her at this height.

Lose the 22's and put on 20's.

[Chevy3+3]

Beautiful truck. Do you happen to know the colors or the paint codes? If I ever repaint my crew I would love those colors only reverse the paint scheme.

[VTX-Black]

The truck was built in Texas for charity auction at some point.
It was later traded at a dealer and then sent to auction by them.

The colour was described as Dallas cowboys colours, but I don't have the colour codes. Wish I did. I have made a custom hard tonneau cover for it that I would like to paint to match.

Here is the auction the dealer took it to. (My wife bought it from the guy who bought it at this auction. A few details to sort out but other than the bit of corrosion on the springs, the body and underside is like when it left the factory.

[VTX-Black]

underside

[superwade57]

I agree 100% with TX and jknight

[Tx Firefighter]

Could it be that the truck is just rebelling ? Going from the Republic Of Texas to the land of maple syrup might be a bit stressful for the truck. It's probably having nightmares of rusty body panels and salty roads.

[raw23062]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Could it be that the truck is just rebelling ? Going from the Republic Of Texas to the land of maple syrup might be a bit stressful for the truck. It's probably having nightmares of rusty body panels and salty roads.

[VTX-Black]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Could it be that the truck is just rebelling ? Going from the Republic Of Texas to the land of maple syrup might be a bit stressful for the truck. It's probably having nightmares of rusty body panels and salty roads.

You are probably right.

What amazes me though is the excitement from people who see in in person, and then proceed to offer $5,000.00 for it as if that is a lot of money. Maybe Canadians just don't value hot rod pickup trucks?

Its not for sale, and we have been stored winters so far...but her father had one that was his daily driver for over ten years, so it is tempting to do the same if hers won't be worth anything when we are done having our summer fun.

[bigd65]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

Could it be that the truck is just rebelling ? Going from the Republic Of Texas to the land of maple syrup might be a bit stressful for the truck. It's probably having nightmares of rusty body panels and salty roads.

I'm with you on this one !!!!!!

[bigd65]

Oh yea, and. I am a DALLAS COWBOYS FAN, so I love the color.....

[VTX-Black]

Thanks guys. This is the first old vehicle that I have not had to spend years if my life welding on. When I add up everything that it has (fresh metal, custom paint, crate motor, r400 tranny, 5000 miles since restoration, for what she paid I joke that we bought a paint job and it came with a truck

[VTX-Black]

Update:

Ordered parts to bring it up to a 4 1/2 - 6 drop
I think it has a 6 1/2 -8 inch drop now.

Tires are 265/35/22 at 28" tread height.

Any idea what height the fender sits at with a 4-6 drop?

[VTX-Black]

I just measured my clearance and my header sit 4" from the ground.
Aside from wheel rub, there's the real problem.

As good as it looks now it will be nice to get it a few inches higher.

[bbbc10]

I had the same clearance on my 5/7 drop with long tube headers so I got shorty headers...most ppl remover inner fenders when going that low with big wheels so they wont have that problem

[VTX-Black]

I spent last summer thinking about fenders, but then that leads to the air conditioning unit, the battery, etc etc. and still would't address the control arms, the exhaust or the bone jarring ride.

The height as is would be great if I was just concerned about cruise nights, but to actually use the truck around town, it just has proven not to be very practical at that height, and unless I address that she is going to sell her truck.

[J Knight]

Im willing to bet you have a "bone jarring ride" because you need to cut out the bumpstop mounts off the lower control arms and your rear shocks are bottoming out.

[VTX-Black]

The tires hit the fenders and the exhaust hits the ground before the suspension slams against the stops.

Some of you are more talented than I am, and can probably sort this out without raising it up a bit, but the first advice from Tx Firefighter seems to be on the mark for our needs.

My wife is excited about the possibility of using her truck, but very discouraged with how it is now and threatens to sell it almost every day.

[50seven]

Sounds like you ordered the parts already but........ What if you looked at air bags to get a driveable height then bag it out when you want? The back is already notched? I am all for practical and am not an expert on the subject of air bags just figured I would throw it out there........