poor mans lowering job....?

[silvertonguedevil]

Ok, I have a '71 1/2 ton with rear coil springs. I want to lower it approx 4" in the front and 6" in the rear. What is the cheapest way of doing this. I will eventually do it the right way with a lowering kit (spindles, springs, yada yada) but for now, I want it low and I want it cheap. Any ideas on how to achieve this?

[jcueckert13]

well do you want the cheapest way or the least expencive kit? the cheapest would be to heat up the coils with a torch untill it has dropped

[Quagmire]

Originally Posted by jcueckert13

well do you want the cheapest way or the least expencive kit? the cheapest would be to heat up the coils with a torch untill it has dropped

yep, that's the cheapest way. the worst too.

other than replacing the coils, i wouldn't know another way to lower it

[silvertonguedevil]

least expensive (cheapest) but without heating coils I have done that before (to a friends pickup-hey, what are friends for?). I met a guy the other night that dropped his by cutting 2 coils up front and then had some sort of lowering blocks/shorter coils.... in the rear I'm just wondering the cheapest...while the best way to lower it.

[crazy longhorn]

you wont get all the drop yopu are after, but this works ok..... If you cut 1 full ring off the front coils (bottom), you will get 2 `1/2- 3" of drop. you will need to buzz off the bump stops on the lower a arms, & run a traction bar snubber for the bump stop(leave the steer stops alone). at the rear, you need to opt for a dropped spring. A 4" drop spring will set you about right for stance (front vs rear), & no problems with frame /axle clearance(you might need to remove the bump stops). you can run stock lenght shocks, but i reccomend either purchasing, or building shock relocators, for both ends. you might also check the lenght of the track rod on the rear(my longhorn is leaf, so i havent had to deal with that). Just make sure the rear diff is centered after the drop. Best of luck,crazyL

[frogsmakr]

look in a junkyard for an old chevelle, tempest, G? body car and git the rear springs. You can heat/bend the track bar a little to center the rearend. Cut 1 coil from the front coils WITH A GRINDER. I would (and have) lay out the hunnerd bill for the 4" rear drop springs. Its a LOT easier, and better to boot.
I ECE'd the helloutta the '67

[LUV2XCLR8]

Heated Coils - Grey 4f - 6r / Black 6f - 8r - I Think Is What It
Ended Up? Black Truck Has No Snubbers F Or R. Ride Is Ruffff.

[cdowns]

switch to 13inch tires. low and dorkey

[silvertonguedevil]

What about cutting coils off of front and rear? I'm wanting a 4" front and 6" rear drop. Is this a mistake?

[gabet40]

i cut of all four of my spring, put em back in, then heated them to even it out. the ride wasnt as bad as a thought it was gonna be but i was also looking forward to doing it the right way.
of course now im selling it so i never got to it. heres the stance tho

[1972C10]

I cut a coil and a half of my front ones with a chop saw it lowered the truck exactly 3 inches there are several differnt springs out there too you may have a light duty pair so you might look into getting a cheap pair and cut them so there is a less downtime

I dont know about one coil but on a coil and a half if i jack the truck up by the crossmember the springs fall off the locators on the top i have thought about making a cable limiter but havent really tryed it yet.
So i have to jack both a arms up into the spring when i put them in then when i service the truck i have to put it on stands lifting it by both a arms and keeping them supported.

[ChevLoRay]

We want 'em low and we want it done cheaply. Yet, when we do, we do it knowing we are going to re-do it later. But, often times we decide to sell 'em and the prospective buyer likes the look, but comes to hate the ride.

I was always asked, "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?" So, I waited, and did mine the right way. Now, it's done and I don't have to re-do it....except I wish I'd done a 3.5 front and 6-inch rear, instead of the 2.5/4.0 drops. But, I'll let it stand and I can use my truck to do whatever I want, including hauling a load, pulling a trailer or whatever. I don't think you can say that with cut or heated coils. But, that is the nice thing about this board. We can do what we want because it is our truck, not somebody else's.

I'm not dissing those who want to do it inexpensively. But, if you drop the rear 4 or more inches, the track bar will not keep the rear end centered under the chassis. Your shocks will be at an odd angle and will not function properly, either.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by silvertonguedevil

Ok, I have a '71 1/2 ton with rear coil springs. I want to lower it approx 4" in the front and 6" in the rear. What is the cheapest way of doing this. I will eventually do it the right way with a lowering kit (spindles, springs, yada yada) but for now, I want it low and I want it cheap. Any ideas on how to achieve this?

The cheapest way is not necessarily the 'quickest way'. If you factor in all the time & $$ it takes to hurry & do it right now, irregardless of how it rides, then the cost (again time + $$) of doing it over, you'll spend about the same as doing it right 1 time. You can cut 2-3 coils off the front & rear springs for free, but you'll a)have a hard time aligning it; b)it will ride like sh!t; c)will wear other suspension components out faster (shocks, b.joints) from constant pounding.

Difficult alignments cost more $$ and replacing prematurely worn parts cost $$. Add the extra $$ w/the extra time & 'cheap' isn't necessarily true. How creative are you? Do you have mechanical/fabrication skills?

To keep costs down.... do as much of the work possible, by yourself. Hands down, the best cost effective way to lower the front & maintain drivability is w/drop spindles. Yes they cost more initially, but you get a much better ride & you only have to do the job once. Get some 2.5-3" drop spindles & cut 1 coil off your stock coils w/a cut off wheel/chop saw. This gets you 5-6" of drop (depending on your stock springs current amount of sag). Hit the wrecking yards & grab a HD 1 1/4" sway-bar off a 73-87 3/4ton or 1ton dually for a cheap front end upgrade. Get some poly bushings later when your budget allows.

For the rear, modify all your stock shock mounts for a better shock angle (& ride). Make some 2" lowering blocks from 2" / thickwall square steel. You could use some coils from late model a/g body cars (malibu, cutlass, regal) for some drop or go straight to air bags. You can do 2 rear bags & manually fill them for around $300.... depending on how well you shop. I did mine in '01 directly through AirRide for $300 delivered. This included 2-bags, DOT 1/4" airline, bag fittings, & fill fittings. You could prob find dealers w/better pricing on different brands of bags vs. AirRide. Time is $$ for me so I went through them so I could focus on fabbing the other parts. This gets you between 5-7" of drop depending on how much air you run and, you can still use the truck to carry loads by simply adding more air psi.+ it still rides good.

[silvertonguedevil]

SCOTI, thank you for all of your information. I have a couple of questions for ya though. Have you experienced any problems with your air bag set up? Any complaints? How is the front of your truck lowered? I plan on towing car trailers and stuff like that....with dropping it in the rear by way of 6" lowering springs, will this keep me from doing this? Will I have problems with it? If I am not going to go the "cheap" route, I would probably be interested in ECE's 4"-6" drop kit unless I would experience towing problems. How much would you say you have invested in lowering your truck total? How far did you drop it? Do you have any pictures? Too many questions? Thank you in advance for replying!

[ChevLoRay]

I tow a utility trailer with mine. I don't know that I could with 6-inch drop in the rear. You need to think about where the ball will be when the drop is where you want it. You'll have to consider the paths you will travel, known and unknown. It would suck real big, to have the trailer jack, or the hitch receiver, hung up on a berm, or a curb, or a speed bump. I know it may not be any worse than towing with a hooptie, but it is something you should consider.

Mine has a bit of a rake, but mostly because I have 225-60's on the front and 255-70's on the back with the 2.5/4.0 drop. I'd like to have air springs, but that is for another day. The springs I have are all new, on all 4 corners.

I'd like to hear what SCOTI has to say about the bags, too. Air Lift makes the system I'd like to use.

[1971 Cheyenne]

The cheapest way is prolly to load up some rocks, or maybe some sand.

[SCOTI]

I used 2.5" Western Chassis drop spindles & cut 1 coil off the stock 6cyl springs. I got the HD 73-87 sway bar & added poly bushings from Summit. The spindles were $220, the sway bar + bushings was about $55.

I've had no problems @ all w/my bag set-up. I used the manual fill system for about 1.5yrs & then started hauling my car trailer @ least once a week so I stepped up & got the comp/air tank.

I also have a c-notch & shortened panhard bar out back in addition to the cheap stuff I posted before (that's how I know what I posted works). The c-notch was less than $150 & adj p/h bar was less than $100.

So add it all up & you get an idea of the cost. I spent extra because I went ahead & rebuilt all my front end while doing the swap (if you rebiuld yours don't forget to add that to the cost as well). I also splurged for new rear axles from Moser so the bolt pattern would match.

Heres a pic of ride height & a poor quality one of it w/the trailer attached. I've pulled a 65 stang & another swb chevy truck w/o issue. Let me know if you need anything more specific.....

[silvertonguedevil]

Thank you! That's the stance that I am after. That looks sweet. Do you think I would have problems with just doing springs in the rear if I wanted to tow a car trailer?

[SCOTI]

I couldn't say for sure, you should ask the spring manufacturer. If you decide to use the a/g body spring, then NO, I don't think towing is a good idea.

[Longhorn Al]

I was thinking about cutting my coils as well, front and rear. I don't want the 4/6 slammed look like some people on this thread. I want a conservative drop in the front and rear. I also want to keep my slight rake. Would cutting 1 coil off of all 4 really cause that many problems? Since I'm not going for a 4-6" drop in back, will it work better for me?

[1972C10]

How exactly do you go about cutting rear coils?

[crazy longhorn]

You cant cut the rear coils, unless you plan to heat & rewind the "pigtail" (bad idea.....very bad!) If you stick to 1 coil max off the fronts, you wont need to worry about the spring jumping out of the seat when you jack it up, or hit a pothole(yikes).....crazyL

[my new 72]

This is why I hate to buy anything that has been "Started" by someone else. Do it right to begin with. Don't be cheap when it comes to your truck, you will regret it. And DO NOT go the slightly less expensive route and use 73-up spindles, tie-rods and such. Doing so causes rubbing issues between lowering control arms and the inside lip of the wheels. Another reason why I hate buying stuff someone else has started on. Please do not be irresponsible and do it the half-assed way, because that is exatly what it is, irresponsible. Save your money and try not to be so impatient.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by my new 72

.... And DO NOT go the slightly less expensive route and use 73-up spindles, tie-rods and such. Doing so causes rubbing issues between lowering control arms and the inside lip of the wheels. Another reason why I hate buying stuff someone else has started on....

Your statement sounds like your against using 73-up parts. Is that your intent or just how I'm reading it?

[my new 72]

I am against it on the 67-72 trucks. I just don't like the issues it causes.