Front springs...

[RojoLoco]

Hello all. I've got my front suspension all rebuilt with poly bushings. I have my DJM 3" drop spindles and was waiting on the springs until I asked around for a few sugestions. The rear of the truck has 6" drop coils. I didnt want to go over board on the front so was thinking of just a 1" drop spring to go along with the drop spindles. This would make a 4/6 drop. I figure I can cut a coil if I feel the 1" front coil wasnt low enough. Any thoughts? Also I'll try and get some pics of what has been done to my 66 so far. Thanks, Dale

[salazar44]

i say no sense in buying coils only to cut them later. be sure how much you want to drop it then buy accordingly. just my 2cents.

[Sam59]

i cut my front springs 2-1/2 coils and now im riding about 8-9 inches off the ground.. my back was dropped about 6 inches....
if i were you i would probably only 1 to 1-1/2 coils off your front.. hope this will help

[NF65Fleetside]

Hey Sam are your springs stock coils cut? Love the stance of your ride.

[Sam59]

Originally Posted by NF65Fleetside

Hey Sam are your springs stock coils cut? Love the stance of your ride.

yes they are.. and thanks man!

[NF65Fleetside]

how much did you cut off the rear?

[Jdub]

Rojo, if you are just planning on cutting the coils you buy, you are better off just experimenting with the stock ones. You've got nothing to lose. And you might be surprised how it turns out. Btw, where did you get the 6 inch rear drop coils? How much were they??

Sam, the stance is looking good. Did you do it yourself, or take it somewhere to get done? Whoever did it must have really known what they were doing and did a hell of a job. You can't just take a blow torch to springs and get results like that! haha. The rake really looks mean driving down the road since you took those bump stop mounts out.

[salazar44]

Originally Posted by Jdub

Rojo, if you are just planning on cutting the coils you buy, you are better off just experimenting with the stock ones.

Yes, that is what I was suggesting!

[salazar44]

Sam, what engine do you got in there? and how does it ride/handle being that you cut so much?

[RojoLoco]

Thanks for the replies. The rear spring came from Early Classic Enterprises along with their track bar kit. Very nice stuff. Cant remember price off hand but Im one cheap dude. So If I bought it, it was reasonable, lol.

[Sam59]

sorry rojo, wasn't meaning to hi-jack this thread from you :/

Originally Posted by salazar44

Sam, what engine do you got in there? and how does it ride/handle being that you cut so much?

i have a 283/powerglide (still a work in progress tuning wise) since i cut my bump stop mounts off, the ride actually is not bad at all.. its still a little wavy and you don't need to be killing it over railroad tracks or anything, but other than that i like it.. i actually think that lowering it helps it turn easier, not having power steering and all.. my suggestion would be not to cut more than 2 coils off the front

Originally Posted by NF65Fleetside

how much did you cut off the rear?

the rear, we just heated.. we being my buddy jdub \/ \/ \/ and me.. the rear coils "pigtail" off on both ends, where as the front is flat on the bottom

Originally Posted by Jdub

Rojo, if you are just planning on cutting the coils you buy, you are better off just experimenting with the stock ones. You've got nothing to lose. And you might be surprised how it turns out. Btw, where did you get the 6 inch rear drop coils? How much were they??

Sam, the stance is looking good. Did you do it yourself, or take it somewhere to get done? Whoever did it must have really known what they were doing and did a hell of a job. You can't just take a blow torch to springs and get results like that! haha. The rake really looks mean driving down the road since you took those bump stop mounts out.

lol yeah, they must of been professionals of some sort at least.. hey you smell that? smells like, uh green bean casserole!! haha get yours out to the house and we'll give her the flat broke drop

[RojoLoco]

Sam59, lol, np. Its all truck talk either way. I am going to go with 2" coils for the front. Is should sit petty nice. Im excited to actually start making some progress.

[Jdub]

hey rojo, do you have any pics of your truck with the 6 inch drop springs in the back?

[Sam59]

rojo, are you cutting them or buying 2 inch drop coils?

[RojoLoco]

Jdub, no pics yet. The whole truck is on jackstands right now. Front wrap is off and bed is removed.

Sam59, Im gonna buy a set.

[Sam59]

thats what i would have done if i had the money, lol

[63 & 64 Bowties]

I just cut my fronts last week 2 coils. I've got 70's Chevelle springs in the rear. that pic's probably not the best angle.

[salazar44]

DAMN!!! Looks like i need to cut one more coil!

[NF65Fleetside]

Originally Posted by salazar44

DAMN!!! Looks like i need to cut one more coil!

hehehehe, same here...i think thats the right stance there for sure!

[Sam59]

hey 63 & 64 bowtie, did you cut off your bump stop mounts? hows she ride?

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Originally Posted by Sam59

hey 63 & 64 bowtie, did you cut off your bump stop mounts? hows she ride?

yea, I just cut them the other day. When I first put the cut coils back in I still had the mount, I had just removed the rubber stop. When I lowered the truck back down....ouch ! it sat right down on the stops. I really haven't driven it anywhere since cutting the stops, so I can't really say about the ride except that judging by the spring travel, I'll have to be careful not to run over any pennies, dimes may be alright.

[Jdub]

While we are on the spring topic again, I thought I would go ahead and ask some questions for the sake of clarification.

What exactly constitutes a 'coil' when counting how many coils you are cutting? Does the flat base count as a coil? Or is it not a coil until there is a full vertical revolution?

[Sam59]

63&64 bowtie, ill tell you right now cut off your mounts! if you know how a boat rides then thats how your truck will ride sitting on the mounts.. i drove around sitting on my mounts for about 2 days and couldn't stand it, so bad sometimes i didn't want to drive it.. it rides a hell of a lot better now that they're gone

[salazar44]

Originally Posted by Jdub

While we are on the spring topic again, I thought I would go ahead and ask some questions for the sake of clarification.

What exactly constitutes a 'coil' when counting how many coils you are cutting? Does the flat base count as a coil? Or is it not a coil until there is a full vertical revolution?

I would say a coil is a full revolution of spring from its end point.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Sam59; I cut the mounts but I just haven't taken it out on the road since. I have some more work to do before highway-travelin'. The rods (not sure what they're called) that run from the bed cross joists to the bottom of the bed sides need to be installed yet. I'm in the process of making them up out of 1/4" rod since I couldn't find them for sale anywhere. I don't want to take it out too far cause the bottom sides of the bed have no support now and kinda flop in the wind.

jdub; I think the way I did mine, I counted the flat portion. Hope I'm not lying to you, but I think that's how I did it. I already put the cut off portion in my buddy's scrap collection, so I can't check it. I cut mine directly in vertical line with the stock end (I think 2 whole coils above.) I wasn't sure if the top pigtail portion needed to be in the exact rotation spot or not, but I could see there was a "cradle" for the bottom end to rest in, so just wanted to be safe. From what Sam59 is saying, I'm sure I cut mine the same as his, cause it pretty much rested on the stops. Maybe he can remember exactly how he cut his. Old-age and the memory is failing I guess ~ you know what they say the first three things you lose with old age? the first is your memory....and I can't remember the other two.