Easy Suspension lift for C10?

[t rex 7]

I have purchased new springs for the rear of my 84 C10, I am replacing the ball joints and coils soon and would like to know can I achieve a lift of 2-3" without alignment or tire wear problems by using coils to lift the truck.

I am not experienced with the suspension and not sure what to do that will be inexpensive. I have seen kits available but I am trying not to spend $600 unless that is the only or the best choice. I only have expereince with 4wd and rear supsension setups. I will also be replacing all tie rods and idler arms and also going to a polyurethane bushing kit at the same time. Would it help if I put C20/C30 springs in since the motor is a 6.2 dsl??

Almost forgot I would like to get 32s but will settle for 31s under the truck the 235s are big enough.

Thanks for the input.

[Prerunner1982]

My 82 c10 has stock HD coils and it levelled the truck out, I can run 31"s with no rub and 32" with very little rub. If your truck has the 6.2 ltr, it may not lift the front that high, however you could use a 1/2-3/4" coil spring spacer to bring the front up some more. Due to geometery of the front suspension the coil spacers will actually lift more than thier height.. (3/4" spacer will lift veh more than 3/4"). Ultimately lift spindles would the best bet, however nobody currently makes them as far as I know, AIM did at one time, though I wouldnt trust them.. The demand for lifting 73-87 c10s has grown in the past couple years and I wish someone would recognize that and build lift spindles.....but until then we are stuck with.. lift springs/spacers (which adversly effect tire wear and ball joint wear), modifying 88-98 lift spindles (which may require different control arms/ball joints and some fab work), or going all custom fab and having someone build spindle,control arms..

For the moment the HD coils are the way to go, no bigger of a tire than you wanting to run. Since they were stock parts, they should be easy to find (infact someone on here is/was selling some), they are fairly cheap, and wont cause wear problems.

[Prerunner1982]

here is the link to the ones that are for sale... they are free, though he doesnt want to ship you maybe able to talk him into it. He is in Texas also..

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=203973

[Shane]

lift? why would ya want to do that?

[t rex 7]

PreRunner,

Thanks I have been looking at the Fabtech kit with springs and ball joint spacers. Its about $700 and I did find some spindles for about $650 from another 4x4 suspension company cant remember name. I will go with your idea. I will be purchasing the spring spacers and see if the C20 or C30 coils would help or just the HD C10 coils. Thanks for the help on this just trying to get the truck sitting level. Thanks for the thread about the coils, unfortunately I am stuck in Lousiana on work until Aug 8, maybe until Dec 8 so I cant act on those. Besides I just ran across a 71 K10 frame with running gear that I might be purchasing and placing into storage here in Louisiana until I get home and get a trailer for it. Thanks for the info.

t rex

[Prerunner1982]

The HD coils are basically c20-c30 coils.. believe they may have been stock for the diesel trucks... do you have a link to the spindles you found? I know there is an ad in te 4 wheel mags that is a bit misleading..it looks like it list spindle lifts for 73-87, but infact its not. Another thing about coil lifts is that you loose any down travel.. but due to the design of the front suspension you would really have to convert to coil over shocks and cut off the coils buckets to gain any down travel.. but with lift coils it will already be bottomed out...

[t rex 7]

Prerunner,

I checked again for the link for the lifting spindles and noticed that is was for S10 not C10. I am going with new HD coils and if needed I will use the coil spring spacer to clear the 31s. Just want to get that level look with a set of 31s on 15" rims. I checked you were right on the HD coils are all the same for the C10/20/30s.

I did get that K10 frame today, and will have it in a storage unit soon. Looking at Linex coating the frame instead of poweder coating. These trucks are as bad as 1911s are about multiplying, but at least those I can lock in a safe to hide them from the wife.

t rex

[Prerunner1982]

Depending on the use you have for the 2wd you may look into re-inforcing the frame where the steering box mounts. You hear more about it breaking in 4wds, but it happens with the 2wds as well.... ask me how I know?

also feel free to check out the link for the 82 chevy in my signature. All sorts of pics in there.