drop dead

[40oz.]

i have cut the springs on my 70 panel almost to the stops, i know that dropped spindles will get the front even lower, but what do you do for the rear? im not above Z'ing the frame in the rear , or the front for that matter, im in the custom business. i would need to break out my old carpenter tools to do a channel job im in the process of pie cutting the roof, so im not afraid. this seems like the best site for chevy trucks and panels. so i know you guys have the answers
thanks. whit

[1FaastC10]

just body drop it and ditch those cut coils! they're dangerous for you, and everyone around you! look here: http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/s...threadid=11148

[love it loud]

those were heated but cutting is bad too!

[highboy_04]

how bad is cutting the springs? what kinds of dangers are involved?

[70 Jimmy]

That's the first I've heard about cut coils being dangerous. Heated coils can become brittle so if you cut your coils without heating them up with a torch (you can put them in a bucket of water) there shouldn't be any problem. Also, make sure they sit in your a arm pockets correctly. I have heard that if you cut them more than 2" you will have bumpsteer issues. What are the facts?

[ocbaud]

you cut the coils and the truck will not sit even for one(most of the time) and the ride will become very soft and like said, bumpsteer will come into affect a lot

[BaggedC10]

You should not cut factory or stock coil springs. However, it is okay to cut lowered springs.

[40oz.]

cutting the coils is ok, as long as its a cold cut,and yes bump steer does become an issue at some point. i cut the front to the stops, and dont have a problem other than it rides and handles like a rally car, huh? thats not a problem. explain this body drop, is it the same as a channel? or can you some how lower the body on the mounts?

[crazy longhorn]

Im not sure why cutting a factory , or a drop spring would be any different? I have done cut coils.....tossed them upsidedown in a 5 gal bucket of water & & torched off 1 full ring. I damn sure wouldnt take any more than that, but havent had any probelms with the set I am running. The basic rule on a frontspring drop is that 2" is about max, & still keep the front geometry the way it should be. cutting coils goes a little past that figure, making alignment tough. the "bumpsteer" comes from the angle of the tierods(they arent paralell) if you go too much on the spring drop. as the wheels go up/down over the bumps the toe setting changes. i have a little of that issue to deal with, but only see it across the real nasty spots in the road. ok you ask, why do they sell 3 & 4" drop front springs? they are cheap compaired to spindles, & guys will buy them for that reason! while I dont reccomend cutting springs, it hasnt caused any problems on my truck. I have fabbed shock relocators to keep the shock in the middle of its intended travel, & figure approx 2 1/2-3" drop on the front. a flip & relocated spring hangers give me 5" @ the rear.....+ 1 1/2" body drop(channeled). A drop spindle would be a better deal, but all in all the old longhorn rides/handles pretty nice.......crazyL

[40oz.]

hey crazyL, im not trying to sound like a smart a%% or a knowit all, but why, if you did, channel an 18' panel for 1 1/2" of drop? ive channeled a models and various others for 5 to 10" but did your channel make that much difference for that much effort? and remember, im not being a turd here.

[crazy longhorn]

I tend to(try) keep on the conservative side of the mods. The truck is also chopped 4", & after a while you run out of cab space! Here is a link to pics..... http://community.webshots.com/user/hotrodhorn @ 5' 9" the truck fits me pretty well(no broken neck syndrome, while trying to look through the windsheild)

[40oz.]

i gotta give credit when its due, thats some impressive work did you do the design work on the tilt? i know thats some hard figuring. did you keep the inner fenders? but i still dont see the channel job in the photos. looks like relocated perches and dropped spindels. what im sayin is- i think a channel job should be seen and shown off, but i thought you had a sub or a panel, i could do a 6" channel and leave the susp. stock and be low with my chopped top. just put my seats on the floor, like an MG. i understand with a pick up. thats sharp! and the glass work! i wish i knew how
later, 40oz- whit

[crazy longhorn]

Thanks! Yes i did all the lay out work on the front clip, chopped the top,& cut the glass . The clip doesnt have inner fenders, but she is only driven in fair weather. Up front, there is a disc brake conversion using 75 c 10 parts, & a cut coil drop(1 full ring). The rear is a flipped axle, with the brackets relocated on the frame(no notch). On the body drop, i might have opted for 3 " , but with the 4" chop on the top side it does really take a lot of space out of the cab. The drop on the body was more to add a little to the budget suspension drop......& keep the pcs off the pavement. absolutely nothing makes sparks on the road(we have mean potholes in Illinois!). I still plan to "dump the nose" another 1 to 1 1/4", to give it that nice "Cali rake". I could see where you could do a lot more body drop on a burb or panel, & move the seats back & on the floor. There are a couple guys on the board that have done a 3" stock floor body drop (notched the frame rails)....pretty slick! crazyL

[40oz.]

hhuuummm, would you be interested in sharing some of those glass cutting tips? i worked in a glass shop for a while, but we never cut any curved lam.

[crazy longhorn]

that curved lam is a bear to cut. I had worked in glass for 9 or 10 yrs, but had never messed with cutting a windsheild. Before I chopped my 69, I picked up a copy of How to Chop Tops, written by Tex Smith. there was a section on cutting curved glass. basically, you are taking it off in pcs about 1 " X 3" at a time(cresent shaped pcs). You need to score & run the inside first, then the outside. it took about 3 passes across the glass to get it down to rough size. Then the rest was finished with a belt sander. it took approx 5 -6 hrs to strip the glass to size, & on the last pass a little less was taken ea time to minimize the "tits" on the glass. If you can get your hands on a a wet belt sander, it will make short order of the finish work. I used a hand held belt sander, & a pump bottle of water to keep the glass cool......i guess you could say i wanted that chop pretty bad! Good luck,crazyL

[1FaastC10]

CrazyL, i have to say, i generally hate the look of a lowered longbed. and IMO chop tops are ugly. but you've done some great work there! maybe you're changing my mind about LWB trucks and chop tops?

[crazy longhorn]

I think the biggest distaste in chops, is that we have seen too many "radical chops". IMO, the 67-72 takes a 3 -4 " chop very nicely. The shortbed trucks can go a little more, & the proportions still look "right". An 8" radical chop might look right at home on a Model A, but its too much on our trucks. The truck also needs to fit the driver when its done . there was a red shortbed running around town(71 or72 fleet)......very nice looking truck, with a bout a 5 - 5 1/2" chop.........but the driver was about 6'6"! I think his neck may be "permanantly bent" from trying to see while he was driving the truck......some things are best done in moderation crazyL