Please Help! Many Questions

[MBK3]

Hey everyone, this is my first posting and am new to the truck restoration world but i am giving it a shot. My main questions i have now is that i have a 63 c10 short bed that came without a bed or an engine. I have since found a bed and have an engine ready but i am wanting to lower the front and back but i dont have anything to go off of as far as what measurement of drop coil springs to get because i dont know what height the truck sat at before i purchased it and i dont want to make it too low but i dont want it stock either. I am wanting to go as low as possible and be able to drive it everyday comfortably. I am trying to find what the stock height of these trucks were but have had no luck so if someone knows the answer that would b really great. Another question i have is do i need drop spindles if i would want to lower the front 3in and the back 4in? I am hoping that i could just use drop coil springs and keep my drum brakes and wont need to convert it disk brakes because thats looking to be alittle costly. Any help would b very much appreciated because i am new to this and could use all the help i could get. thanks

[jocko]

for a 3" drop in front, I'd recommend new spindles if you want to do it right. Understand want to avoid cost and keep drums, but 3" is probably too much to expect from just a coil spring change/chop. Don't recommend that.

While I can't tell you the actual original height - general plan is to lower the front about 2" more than the rear in order to level the ride. So, 3/5 drop or 4/6 or 5/7 drop are the normal splits.

Sounds like you don't want to slam it, so to scratch your itch, I'd recommend the lowest you can without requiring a c-notch in the rear - so, maybe a 3/5 drop to start off with (keep in mind, your old springs are probably already a littled "dropped" or should I say "drooped" so a 3/5 drop with new springs might only appear about a 2/4 drop when you're all done. I know a lot of places recommend a c-notch for 5" rear drop, but am also sure I've seen a few folks do 5" in the rear without C-notch.

So.. based on what you said you were looking for:
- 2.5" drop spindles and 1" drop front coil springs (keep in mind they are new) and add disks in the process.
- Full 5" drop in back - or 3-4" drop with 1" or so lowering blocks (latter might help you avoid a c-notch).

That's how I'd approach it. If it's cost-prohibitive, then drive it like it is and save the $ to do it right down the road, no pun intended.

[MBK3]

Thank you so much bro! This is great info and greatly appreciated.

[MBK3]

So what would u suggest if i would like the front of the truck alittle lower than the back? Thanks

[jocko]

if you want a bit of a rake, then I'd definitely only get 3-4" drop coils in the rear. With 4", you'll probably be about where you want without any lowering blocks. Or, could err to the safe side, just install 3" lowering coils, and if it's a bit too high, add 1" lowering blocks. i.e. sneak up on it.