Pic request, trucks with a 3/4 drop.

[SSC's76]

I finaly broke down and ordered the belltech 3/4 drop kit. I was wondering if you guys would be so kind as to post a few pics of your trucks so I can get an idea of how the 76 will look. Also did a quick search but dial up is killing me, any issues running stok tire and wheels 235 75 15's? I wouldnt think there would be but I just gotta ask.

[Slonaker]

Mine is lowered 2.5/4. I would post pics but my webhost messed up my photo gallery. There is a photo in my signature, but it is dropped 2.5/0 there.

I have no clearance issues with 15X8 rally wheels and 255/70/15 tires. Yours are smaller, so I doubt you will have any issues.

Slonaker

[beaterC10]

I would expect you will have clearance issues with a 3" spindle and stock 8" ralleys. The problem will be with the ball joint area of the lower control arm rubbing on the inside of the wheel.

I have Belltech spindles and finally went with the 6.5" van ralleys on the front to help with the clearance. I also ground the lower lip down on the control arm. I removed enough of the lip on the outside edge of the arm that the lower surface of the ball joint extends past the outside edge of the control arm. The van ralleys seem to have the same backspacing as the truck ralleys, but the profile on the inside of the wheel is different and gives more clearance.

[Slonaker]

Originally Posted by beaterC10

I would expect you will have clearance issues with a 3" spindle and stock 8" ralleys. The problem will be with the ball joint area of the lower control arm rubbing on the inside of the wheel.

I'm glad you pointed that out. I assumed a 3/4 would be springs on the front and shackles/hangers on the rear. I should have take that into consideration. If your kit uses springs in the front, you should not have any problems. If it uses 3" spindles, you might have problems.

Slonaker

[SSC's76]

The kit does come with the 3'' drop spindles.

So would that mean I will have issues with my wheels? They are the 9" American Racing wheels?

[SSC's76]

Pic.

[Slonaker]

I can't say for sure, but I suspect you will have clearance issues. It will probably depend on the offset the wheel has. That is why I went with the 2.5" Western Chassis drop spindles. I have no plans to run anything bigger than a 15" wheel, and I didn't want to take a chance.

What stock wheels and tires were you referring to in the original post? Those aren't stock...

Slonaker

[beaterC10]

I will concurr with Slonaker on interference with 3" spindles and alloy wheels. I had alloy wheels on my truck when I installed the Belltech spindles and replaced them with van ralleys. The alloy wheels had a thicker cross section than the ralleys and would not clear the underside of the lower control arm. I didn't pusue the alloy wheels since I had planned to install ralleys all along.

You might be able to solve the clearance issues with spacers behind the wheels.

[Slonaker]

Originally Posted by beaterC10

You might be able to solve the clearance issues with spacers behind the wheels.

...or a grinder, or both. I have not used the 3" spindles, but talked to several people here and elsewhere who had to do a lot of grinding on their lower control arm and/or brake caliper to get everything to clear. One person told me he did some grinding, used spacer, and went with a narrower rally wheel to get everything to clear.

Even with my 2.5" spindles, the LCA is very close to the edge of the 8" rally wheel.

Slonaker

[SSC's76]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

What stock wheels and tires were you referring to in the original post? Those aren't stock...

Slonaker

I run two sets of wheels one is the AR in the picture the other is the ralleys from the 86. I was planning on switching back to the ralleys for winter use since I have a winter tire currently mounted on those wheels.

[Slonaker]

Got it. Those of us in south Texas don't think in terms of "winter tires." They are the same as our summer tires here.

Slonaker

[magnethead]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

Got it. Those of us in south Texas don't think in terms of "winter tires." They are the same as our summer tires here.

Slonaker

around here, you don't see either. All you see on trucks around here are either stock tires or 32+" M/T's. My friend's truck has 33x12.5's and they grab just about everything.

[SSC's76]

I went out and took a peek at the lower control arm in relation to the rim. From what my eyeball measurments can tell it's only 2 1/4 from the bottem of the ball joint to the rim. It looks like the spindles will not work with these wheels.