Question on suspension

[veritas20]

I am about to buy in a month my father in laws 1969 chevy c 10 shortbed truck. The first thing I want to do is change out the front drum brakes to rotors. I want to buy a kit that has spindles that drop the front end 2 1/2 inches. What do I need to do to the back to have a level stance. I want to keep the back brakes drums though. Do I have to buy lowering leaf springs as well as lowering coils. Just one of either will work??? All this assuming that the truck still has a factory stance. Pic included. thanks guys.

[67cheby]

it looks to me like the rear has coils, so you will just have to buy coils not leafs, but if i am wrong it's either way not both, you either have to buy leafs or coils

[Constructor1]

From the picture it appears that you have a coil rear suspension, not leaf springs, so you should be able to get lowering coils for the drop you want. Congrats on your future purchase - that is a sharp truck. Good Luck.

[veritas20]

Here is a closer pic

[CC69Rat]

Will you be keeping the same wheels / tires? You'll want to make sure you have clearance up front if you lower the truck 2.5". .. you should be ok, but turning into driveways, etc. You could push the tire too deep into the fender well and take out your sidewall or fender, or both.

I'd also suggest dropped spindles over coils and keep in mind, dropped spindles will add about .5 " to the overall track width on both sides. (the tire will stick out further, thus making the rubbing potential increase)

Dropped spindles will keep your ride, suspension geometry, shock length, alignment, etc. all basically as it was before it was lowered. Just be ready for more width up front. Maybe there's a manufacturer out there that doesn't increase the track width (?) I'm not 100% sure. Most of them I have seen do.

Also, when you lower the back, remember your pinion angle will change depending on just 'how low' you want to go.

[mr48chev]

There are plenty of suppliers of coil springs to lower the rear of the truck what ever distance you want to lower it. You will also need shorter shocks if you lower it over a couple of inches. All unbolt and bolt back on stuff though.

[veritas20]

I have been looking at pictures I took of it and am starting to think the front really does not need to be lowered in my opinion. I think what I should do is replace the front drums with disc brakes but keep stock height spindles. As far as the back I guess I would just replace the coils with lowering coils. I truly dont want to drop my truck a lot, I really am just going with safer brakes and a leveled stance. Anyone Know just by looking at the picture how much I would need to drop the back. According to LMC is sounds like the factory stance show the rear 2 inches higher, but it says I will need to drop it 2 inches more than the front. I guess what I am asking is would I need 2 '', 3" or 4" lowering coils for the rear if I leave the front stock height?

[CC69Rat]

Same size tires all the way around now?

[swierker]

To CC69Rat's point I believe the aftermarket spindles give a wider track width only because of the disc brakes. The 71-72 w/ stock disc brakes have a wider track width than the 67-70 w/ drum brakes. Whether you decide to do a front drop spindle or not, if you upgrade to discs you will need new spindles regardless. I'm pretty sure that discs won't work with drum spindles.

As far as dropping the rear, it looks like a 2" drop in the rear would level out the stance if left the front alone. But that is just a guesstimate.

[CC69Rat]

Yep .. you're exactly right. I'm sorry, I didn't catch the drum to disk part. I read it I promise but I guess it just didn't register. I guess in my mind I saw the + offset and the first thing that came to mind was fender clearance. I like the wheels, don't misunderstand but it's difficult to run a wheel that wide on a lowered truck. Just my opinion. I can only hope my truck turns out half this good. I agree, a 2" or possibly 3" coil drop in the rear would look great. I personally like a little rake but .. that's just me.

[lolife99]

First,.. WELCOME to the board.
To me it looks like the front has been lowered.
Heated Springs?
Drop Springs?
Hard to tell.
Can you get some pics from under the truck? (front and rear)
The rear looks like trailing arms,... but there also appears to be a shock on the outside of the frame rail. (like the 73-87 trucks have)

Adding disc brakes is easy.
They make 67-70 specific disc brake spindles, (stock height and drop),... and they also make 6-lug rotors, for these spindles, that will allow you to keep you current wheels.
Give us some more pics,... so we can figure out what the previous owner has done.

For the back,... I would look at the "stance Photos" on Early Classic's website.
(www.earlyclassic.com)

I would also check for welds in the frame.
There are alot of shortened long bed trucks out there now.
It's a good idea to look over the entire truck.

And a very nice looking truck it is!