Cutting coils

[70 Bowtie]

Hey all,

I'm thinking about lowering my truck a little! Is it a good idea to cut the coils? and, will this make the truck ride like a lumber wagon?

Thanks

Brettt

[VetteVet]

Originally Posted by 70 Bowtie

Hey all,

I'm thinking about lowering my truck a little! Is it a good idea to cut the coils? and, will this make the truck ride like a lumber wagon?

Thanks

Brettt

Not that it counts for much but IMHO -no and Yes. It will change the steering geometry and might change the drive shaft angle too much. Others here have done it so they may have different opinions.

[Longhorn Man]

The rears can't be cut properly, tehy are pigtailed and would not fit in the holder properly. The only down and dirty dirt cheap way to do the rear, is with heat, and it is not a good idea. For less than 100 bucks you can use lowering blocks in the back.
Up front, you can cut the springs. You'll end up having to put more shims to correct the camber otherwise your wheels will look like this from the front /------\ Something I like better than cutting coils is junk yard swaps. Springs from a full size rear wheel drive curlass ir regal should lower the front a couple inches and still geve a decent ride.

With all that being said, again, front drop springs can be had pretty cheap too, and there's no guess work involved with them.

[70c10]

I'm getting ready to cut my front springs after I add my rear drop springs. My dads were cut back in the spring and his handles way better now that it's lowered.

[dennislbrooks]

For the rear, I like the idea of the lowering blocks but you will have to get longer U bolts. I plan on evening my stock truck so I purchased a new set of 2" lowered rear coils ---$37--. I should be able to re-use my U-bolts. In another thread it was said to cut a full coil for a 2.5" drop in the front but I wonder if you have enough camber adjustment left for a good alignment.......
With my 72 spindles on my 67 and 8" ralley wheels I have only 1/4" of shims to remove in the top A-arm. Let me know people.

[70 Bowtie]

Thanks for the help!!!

Brett

[Longhorn Man]

You'd need to add to the shims to compensate, not remove.
And don't hold your breath on re-useing the U-bolts... even if they do hold up, it's not a good idea anyways.

[Brad]

One full coil cut out will make for a really stiff ride. I'd recommend cutting half a coil first. Also, use a hacksaw or chopsaw. Do not use a torch to cut them as this will heat up the surrounding metal too much and weaken them. That's how you hear about broken coils.
Cutting coils will work- I did this and drove the truck this way for years and never had a problem.

[crazy longhorn]

I cut a full ring off the front coils in my longhorn & it rides good.....it actually rode a little "soft", untill I added the front swaybar. If you do cut the fronts, I would go 1 coil(no more or no less). The spring will sit properly in the top & bottom pockets this way. you will also need to trim the bump stops off the bottom a arm(leave the steering stops), & can use a traction bar snubber for the new bump stop. I have also built shock relocators, to keep the shock in the center of its travel & this may help a little with the ride. My old truck has been running with this setup for 10 or 12 yrs, with no problems.... L

[67chevemall]

1 full coil here too....rides great. tire wear is common untill you get the
shims right.