72 c10 prerunner ideas...

[cap'n]

ok, new here. i recently picked up a 72 c10 from a friend, it runs and drives great, but 2wds are not my thing. so naturally a prerunner is the direction its goin. the problem is the very little info i can find. ive read the few threads on here bout it, but most of those lean towards either a small lift(2-3") or goin to the fabtech kit, which finding one of those would probly take a loooong time. ive put dinos 66 in my favorites so me and a buddy of mine have been talkin, he by the way owns a local 4x4 shop and is an awesome fabricator, and what we came up with was either making some new control arms, somthin lik 2" wider and 4-6" lower balljoint/spring mount, so that will net 4-6" of lift with a longer spring and wider track, gaining travel. the other option is 88-98 stuff, which i have no idea how different they are. of course itd probly be custom frame mounts for the 88-98 control arms, but im still not sure how well itd work. the last option we talked about is ford twin i-beam style, which would be totally custom, and sounds like more than i want to do at the moment. if anybody has any input, please please please chime in, ive been rackin my brain for a few weeks on this...

[mothertrucker424]

i'd find a 4x4 frame and mount your 72 atop it

or

get larger coils throw in a block or add a leaf out rear
try in 4x4 section also

[Twisted Minis]

Do you want a Prerunner or just a lifted 2WD? Because in my opinion they are very different.

If you want a kit, check out Blitzkrieg Motorsports. They make a crazy high travel kit for the front end, but requires a straight axle.

I ran across some pictures of a 72 Blazer frame where they built an I-Beam front suspension, and saved them. This may be more work than you want, but it sure is cool.

[cap'n]

wow, that blazer is amazing...

i guess i should have been more specific. i want a longtravel front suspension, somwhat cheap, that is usuable as my daily driver. i know im not gonna get nothing that is incredible, all im lookin for is great handling offroad, capable of small air time without serious damage, and 4-6" of lift to clear 33-35" tires. basically, somthin like the fabtech kit dino's 66 has, without the 4" lift spindles. the truck will be daily driven, but i want to be able to play with it without hurtin it. my fab skills are ok, but i have a friends whos fab skills are awesome. the only thing is im tryin to do this as cheap as possible, and with as little down time to the truck as i can. thats what brings me to believe custom control arms, built off the originals is the ticket. if i can get ahold of some other stock control arms we can build customs without the truck bein down. im thinkin if we take the measurements for camber/caster angles we can just build some thatll give bout 4" of drop in the balljoint/spring pad area, kinda mimic'in the fabtech arms, only 4" lift not 6", and 2" wider for more trac and travel. anybody have any input on this?? im very new to all the camber and caster and angles, built many strait axle 4x4s but compared to this thier a cakewalk...

[Twisted Minis]

I built something similar to what you are talking about for a newer Chevy. I built arms that widened the front track width a total of 6 inches (3" per side) with Uniballs in the lower arm, and a factory balljoint on the top. I didn't build any lift into the arms, although I'm sure it could be done. What I did was use a Bilstein coilover to lift the suspension, and adjust the balljoint angles to compensate for the new angles of the control arms. And I sleeved the tie rod adjuster to lengthen it. I unfortunately can't share my pictures here, but you can browse the RaceDezert forums to find some similar setups on newer stock vehicles such as F150s and the NBS Chevy trucks, and the new Tundras and Tacomas.

[N2TRUX]

Welcome to the forum Cap'n. It sounds like you have some cool plans. Since you are trying to do this on a budget and keep your driver drivable, I suggest you buy a spare frame. This will allow you to build it as time and money permits and swap it over when it's done.

Twisted Minis- Thanks for sharing the pics, and offering your experienced insight.

[Dinos63]

hey cap'n , are you looking for the fabtech arms? and my 66 is for sale or trade i post it this week

[Mrwlliam]

I dont care how you do it, i just want to see that heavy ___ thing fly thru the air... see u at the dunes!!

[Dinos63]

twisted your work is unreal duuude

[MT71c-10]

Hey Twisted Minis, good to see you over here on this board! I've admired your stuff on hotrodders for a while. Good stuff!

I'm no fabricator by means but I have owned fords with the I-beams and stock they were like riding a pogo stick. To me the i-beam set up seems like a ton of fab is needed, and heavy, I think I'd go with control arms. Id also think that if you did take an awkward landing, chances are one side would be taco'd with the control arms, where as the I-beam it could take the whole kit and kabootle out. Basically, repair would be easier. If you are a sand dunner, I'd want as much ground clearance in the front of that thing as possible. Any thing that digs into the sand would endo that thing faster than you could say "boy howdy, hold my beer and watch this".IMO

[desertrat]

I have to agree with twisted minis. I-beam is the way to go for 2wheel drive. Unless you have a ton of cash
(regardless if you are doing youre own fab work or not)!

Pre-runners are no joke. Most of the ones you see on the streets are not real "pre-runners".
Jumping a truck puts alot of stress on the suspension/steering/frame and the heavier youre truck the more stress.
I can go on and on about this but basically there is not an easy answer for what you are asking.
Here is a good forum for what you are asking race-dezert I'm sure youre question has already been asked once or twice over there.
Good luck and post pics when you start youre build

[MickMc]

OK OK I'll play.
I am working on a 67 stepside.
I call it a prerunner. I'm on the Race-Desert and Pre-Runner and Fab forums, and in true form, it is a 2wd lifted truck, only.

The 'real Pre-Runners' are insane, and so is the money.

So it's going to be a lifted 2wd, driver fun machine.
88-98 front lifted spindles
I found a Moog spring catalog I'm digging thru for springs, something soft would be nice.
88-98 front 6 lug discs
I have a set of lower tube arms, they might end up on egay...
I plan on setting up everything going for a drive and then maybe finding someone to build me custom longer upper and lower control arms. If I need more something
No sence in getting in to deep, this is going to be a driver, not a frame off custom 24 inches of travel, morgage the house, trying to keep up with the fast boys.
I've seen the true 'Pre-Runners' and basically they are a Trophy Truck with four seats (usually) and a full interior. Cubic dollars. I looked at one at SEMA and snapped a few shots and scratched my head and said DAMM.

Now back to a thin wallet, not living in fabrication heaven, and one of the very few raising a 67 2wd Chevy. Nobody to ask advice of, and doing something very few people are interested in. Does that make me a 'rebel' or an idiot.

Mick

[desertrat]

Originally Posted by MickMc

........Now back to a thin wallet, not living in fabrication heaven, and one of the very few raising a 67 2wd Chevy.
Nobody to ask advice of, and doing something very few people are interested in. Does that make me a 'rebel' or an idiot.

Mick

Sounds like you have a grasp of the prerunner idea. I Love the prerunner look even if it can't bomb threw the whoops at 100mph.
I think the main thing is to understand the limits of youre truck. Which sounds like you do which in my book makes you opposite of an idiot.

I hope I wasn't sounding arrogant about "real" prerunners. Heck I have preran in an f-350 with 6 people in the truck.
The rich people ( and I mean rich$) have taken the whole prerunner thing to a level most of us cant comprehend (nor do I want to).
Here is some pictures I took last week in Baja of Frank Arciero's over the top prerunner.


Looks like a nice clean prerunner


but if you look at the suspension you can see it is serious


everything is chrome


the interior is over the top , I couldn't get a good picture but everything is wraped in leather w/ a ferrari steering wheel

[pooz911]

This is about as high as you will be able to get without going to lifted spindles or cutting fenders.

[ERASER5]

pooz911, what springs do you have?

I may be looking for some more front lift.

[pooz911]

They are Rancho springs with a 1 inch upper ball joint spacer. Someone told me that 1 ton springs do the same thing without spending as much cash.

If you are running a big block, it will sit an inch or so lower due to the weight.

[MickMc]

.


Looks like a nice clean prerunner


but if you look at the suspension you can see it is serious


everything is chrome


the interior is over the top , I couldn't get a good picture but everything is wraped in leather w/ a ferrari steering wheel
[/QUOTE]

The one I snapped at SEMA was a little more over the top (if you can imagine).
PM me if you would like to see my fullsize photos, you'll drool.

Mick

[MickMc]

UPS dropped of the lift spindles this week.

The parts collecting moves slowly forward.

And its snowing outside


Mick

[SixtySixC10]

Twisted your work is pretty METAL

[David Wymore]

Subscribed

[Forced-racing]

I am new here to this board so I have been trying to read everything and get caught up when I came along this thread.

Here is what I just picked up and I be working on now...

1970 c10 longbed ebay/towyard truck Future Prerunner/driver....




She's rusty, but she's mine....

Keep the ideas comming I am loving them all..

[N2TRUX]

Welcome to the forum Forced-racing. Thanks for sharing with us.

[onlyifihadachevy]

I would say launch it And get pics and upgrade what breaks. Thats if it has a cage, which I can't tll if it does, appears not to , but it could be what I'm thinking is the dash.

But nice find.

[Forced-racing]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

Welcome to the forum Forced-racing. Thanks for sharing with us.

Thanks... It is nice it have a place ot share info and get great ideas.

Todd

[Forced-racing]

Originally Posted by onlyifihadachevy

I would say launch it And get pics and upgrade what breaks. Thats if it has a cage, which I can't tll if it does, appears not to , but it could be what I'm thinking is the dash.

But nice find.

If and when that happens I will post pics. LOL

No cage yet, just runs and need work. Major rust issue, it will need a cab eventually.