Raising a 2wd '69 c-10.

[Dano69c10]

I was thinking about raising my '69 about 3-4 inches.
Is this done with springs or is there a lift kit for the bed, cab and rad support?

I imagine that if the lift can be done with springs then only the shocks would have to be replaced.
If it's done with a body lift then all of the fuel and brake lines, and tranny linkage would have to be modified.
Thanx in advance
Dano

[nvrforgotten52]

i have a 70 lwb work truck that is 2wd that i raised... you can go up to two inches higer in the front without new spindles and for the back your on your own. i made a lift block to go in between the coil and the arm and welded it in and just bought a longer bolt... just used a two inch peice of square tubbing.. worked great..

[KSCHEVYUP]

The lifting of 2wd trucks comes up on this board every now and then.I have been watching these posts for some good ideas; and there have been several suggestions. One board member said Fabtech makes a taller front spring with a ball joint spacer. Another member says Rancho has front spring with 1.5" lift. Someone also suggests to then add coil spring spacer for another 1/2" lift to spring. Another suggestion is the body lift of 2 or 3 inches.And yet another suggestion was running as tall of a profile tire that you can for lift.This would also give you more ground clearance under your axles if that is what you are after.You could take these or any combination of them to get the amount of lift you are after. There seem to be not as many options for a coil spring rear; sounds like the homemade block spacers under the spring might work? If you have a leaf spring rear it would be a little simpler; either blocks or new lifted leaf springs. I drive 6 miles of infamous Kansas Chit country roads daily so I have a practical reason for wanting to lift my truck a little. Plus I like the looks. Slammed ground pounders are cool too; but I couldn't get one of them in and out of my lane on a good day! So to each his own.I like these old trucks lifted; stock height; or lowered! So I am going to keep monitoring this subject until I get to the point to finally go out and buy some parts and do some wrenching on the old girl and see how much I can jack her up with reasonable effort and cost. My $.02 worth

[rancid]

look into fabtech, i know they have a 7 1/2 a-arm coil and spindle kit for the front. and for the rear if its coil rear just start by putting the arms on top the axle, and add cutom coils if you need more. then you could do a body lift for 3 more inches. so a 10 -11 inch bolt is possilbe. you could easily run 38,s.

[KSCHEVYUP]

rancid- when you suggest putting the arms on top of the axle; do you mean moving the spring perches and putting them on top of the axle housing? Like on a 4wd? This would only have one u-bolt holding it instead of 2 per side like on leaf springs. Anyone have an opinion of the safety factor/strength of this modification?

[trkklr77]

not moving the spring, rewelding some perches to the top of the axle then placing the axle on the bottom of the trailing arm. you keep the stock spring, youre just 7"+ taller in the back.

these question hasnt been asked yet???


why do you need to "raise" it up???
what are you trying to gain???
do you want to put bigger tires on it???

[rancid]

exactly, it would be the same under or over. and if you need it taller you could use taller springs. as far as saftey, i dont see it as being unsafe.

[PBFAB.COM]

I have a set of Fabtech arms and springs I am no longer needing. They are the 73-87 style and I believe are a 4" lift. If interested PM me... I will let em go CHEAP. They came on a 69 I bought a year ago... now it's going to get built, but heading the other way.

[PanelDeland]

The only suggestion I can offer is to check out some pre-runners.There may be some websites for offroaders with some info.Basically a pre-runner is a TWD offroad vehicle.I'm sure some of them can give you some info on how they did it.BTW they probably got more suspension travel too.

[Dano69c10]

I just wanted to be the same height as all the trucks around me in traffic and give it an aggressive stance. I think it's going to be more trouble than I want to deal with at this point. Thanx to all for all of the suggestions. I'm going to buy new stock springs and just call it a day. I hope this thread might have also help someone else out.

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

I used 1" spacers in the front springs, and 1.5" spacers in the rear. These are the type you can buy at Autozone, etc and use a 1/2" drive breaker bar and extension to twist them between the coils. It got maybe 1.5" of lift up front and 3" in the rear.

[KAILUAZ]

This is on the extreme end, but looks pretty cool;