What drop does my truck have??

[19seventeeCustom]

Hey guys how is everyone?

I recently picked this '70 up and was wanting to get it lower than it currently sits. The truck appears to have only a spring change F & R. Eibach springs to be exact but I cannot find the part numbers online to confirm how low they are. The truck appears to have stock spindles also?

I was considering to add 2" spindles in the front, and a trac bar,shock relocators, and a 2" block for the rear. Will I have to notch with that drop if I dont plan on hauling anything significant?

The truck looks like maybe a 2/4 drop now?? but im really only guessing???

Here are some pics for you to critique, lol I'm no photographer.

<img src=http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac64/JunkyardZ/CIMG2551.jpg?t=1269306884>
<img src="http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac64/JunkyardZ/CIMG2553.jpg?t=1269307020>
<img src="http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac64/JunkyardZ/CIMG2548.jpg?t=1269307083>
<img src="http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac64/JunkyardZ/CIMG2549.jpg?t=1269307135>

thanks guys

[kev2809]

pics didnt work..nice truck btw

[SCOTI]

The tires look fairly tall. What size are they (front & rear)?

[72BlckButy]

2/4; maybe a 3/5

Here's my truck running a 4.5/6" drop for comparison:

[19seventeeCustom]

thanks kev,, how did you do that? lol scoti, the tires are 255/70's front/rear. on 15x8

blckbuty,,, nice truck my friend,, is the rear notched?

[SCOTI]

With 255-70-15's (@ 29" tall), I'd say you have a 2/4 drop.

[19seventeeCustom]

thanks.. So I should't have any problem dropping the front and rear another 2". Or will i have rubbing issue with the tires that are on the truck? I plan on going 20" soon but will run these dropped for a while

[72BlckButy]

Originally Posted by 19seventeeCustom

thanks kev,, how did you do that? lol scoti, the tires are 255/70's front/rear. on 15x8

blckbuty,,, nice truck my friend,, is the rear notched?

Originally Posted by 19seventeeCustom

thanks.. So I should't have any problem dropping the front and rear another 2". Or will i have rubbing issue with the tires that are on the truck? I plan on going 20" soon but will run these dropped for a while

Thanks for the kind words!

I did not notch the frame, and it is not needed if you are only going with a 6" drop in the rear.

As far as dropping the front another 2" are you going to use drop spindles? This is the only way I would consider dropping a truck to over 2" in the front. A drop spindle will help to keep the overall geometry of the front suspension.

If you drop the front are you bringing the rear down with it?

Rubbing on the front/rear will depend on the wheel size (and BS [backspacking]) and the tire size. For my truck I'm currently running a 235 75R15 on a 15x7 and 15x8 6-lug wheel. If I were to run 20's it would have to have the correct BS and matched with a set of 245/40 or 255/40's for the front and a set of 295/40's for the rear.

One thing you need to figure out before you order 20's is if your rearend was replaced in your truck. Since you have a '70 and the '67-70 era trucks had a narrower rearend, this will affect your BS on 20's. Since you have a 5-lug setup on your truck already, the PO could have swapped the rearend for the later '71-72 style which is wider than the '67-70.

I'm guessing you already have disc brakes up front right?

In my opinion... I would drop your truck to a 4.5/6 or 4/6" drop and call it done, but I'm bias...

[19seventeeCustom]

thanks again blckbuty...you have been super helpful.

Yes I was going to put a set of 2.5" drop spindles on the front to lower it down more as I assumed that was the best way to do it.

Yes the rear is coming down with it..hopefully via 2" drop blocks.

The 20"s arent getting here for a few more months I was just wanting to drop the truck more and cruise it for a while before changing anything else on it.

How can I tell what model rearend I have in the truck? is there a casting number stamped somewhere? The truck already has disc up front.
So basically I need to pull a wheel off and measure the backspacing on it to be assured I wont have clearance issues right?

Would shock relocators and trac bar be best suited for the drop Im going with or do you think the benefit would be minimal?

thanks once again
aaron

[72BlckButy]

Aaron, I would look no further than ECE for your shock relocators and super trac bar. I have used all of their suspension components on my '69 and wouldn't have done it any other way. Everything fit like it was supposed to and was good quality.

You are correct in needing to remove your front wheel to determine the correct BS for you wheels. As far as measuring the rearend, let me see if I can locate the rearend dimensions on the board (unless someone else can chime in with them). I can't remember if you can just measure from backing plate to backing plate, and then how they compare to the years. I'll see what I can drum up for you...

Love the color combo by the way.

Cheers!
Nate

[19seventeeCustom]

sound awesome nate.. thanks a ton.

I was planning on using ece for all my suspension needs,, I have heard only great things about them thus far.

You know, im diggin your color combo too,,, odd huh? lol

[SCOTI]

I've read pre-71 rear housings were 60-61"; post-71 housings were + 1.5". I always wondered why the 60-61" measurement (seems vague). So.... I verified my 68 12-bolt housing was 62" wheel mounting surface to wheel mounting surface (drums were installed). I meant to do the same to a 74 model housing I have but I pulled the axles before I remembered to measure.

[19seventeeCustom]

thanks scoti. I'll mesaure mine very soon and report back