Rear trailing arm bag setups

[Dustin07]

what choices are there other than BOA and utilizing the arms? I was looking at the porterbuilt tubular trailing arms, says 3" drop. Seems like a good investment while static. Anyone go with a cantilever setup on these trucks? I'm wondering if something like KP Link's bolt on canti setup would work on a 60-66?

[Dustin07]

maybe this is a better question. what changes on the rear that makes this a 63+ setup? I thought 60-62 was same rear setup as 63+?

http://www.kplinks.com/product.php?p...&cat=50&page=1

[kieth]

what suspension do you have ?

The only reason to go Cantilever is if you are going really wide on the rear tires and you want to really drop the rear of the truck, What are you trying to accomplish ?

[Dustin07]

1/2 ton trailing arms now. I thought the canti had more lift and a better ride? I had a parallel 4 link with BOA on my last truck, I'd like to lay frame with a bolt on solution if possible. I'm capable of welding, but I like the cleanliness and laziness of a bolt on pre-designed solution... any suggestions?

[vin63]

Originally Posted by Dustin07

maybe this is a better question. what changes on the rear that makes this a 63+ setup? I thought 60-62 was same rear setup as 63+?

http://www.kplinks.com/product.php?p...&cat=50&page=1

The kit identifies a 63 and up probably because of the frame brackets. The 63 and up frames are different (taper) than the 60-62.

[Dustin07]

Originally Posted by vin63

The kit identifies a 63 and up probably because of the frame brackets. The 63 and up frames are different (taper) than the 60-62.

well I just got the '61 home tonight. doing the motor swap this next week, then I'll rip the bed off and start figuring out exactly how to go about it.

with that '61 frame, is there a bolt on rear air setup you'd recommend?

then again, I'll have to verify this is a '61 frame... after climbing under it tonight i realized its already been body dropped by way of cab mounts, the front sus is already converted to coil and power disc. so I don't know, rear could be anything. I'll get pics and see if someone can help identify. VERY excited about this truck

[Dustin07]

I think i Just found out its a 68 frame. that should make life easier

I may go with a weld-in notch though after all. would really prefer bolt, but not sure I want to spend $400 on the notch. seems pricey.

http://www.kplinks.com/product.php?p...&cat=81&page=1

[kieth]

The real limiting factor on these trucks is the front end, unless you do a z on the frame, cup the a arms, or go to a full front dropmember you will not drag frame, after you get the front of the truck to the ground then you will have to change the rear, Kieth

If you want a inexpensive drop add 2" spacer block between the trailing arms and the rear end, I got mine from Boris for $60.00 then you will be able to take advantage of your notched frame. Kieth

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...8_QhxZCfT-A-LB

[BR3W CITY]

Ok, what makes you think it is a 68 frame?
The disc brake front ends (a arms and spindles or the whole xmember) can be swapped on the 60-66 frames pretty easily. Is the truck still a 6 lug, or has it been converted to 5 lug?

You mention BOA (bag over/on arm, last time I built an air ride setup), then mention the 60-62 frames, which would be leaf spring and not have the trailing arm rear.

If you can weld then you could run pretty much any system you want. Cantilever will get you more lift, and usually let you do so with a slightly smaller bag. Requires more fab work, and math. IMO to have the most ease, the most articulation, and one of the easiest would be a 4 link. Even easier, a 3 link, but u loose a little bit of side to side.

Thorbeck bros, aka suicidedoors aka Quality Air Ride now...have some really nice diy kits for stuff like that. If you call them up and tell them what you want to do; usually one of them can put a nice setup together for you.

[Dustin07]

is this what you mean by cup the arms?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ng+arms&page=3

how much lower will that get the front? or... how close to concrete? I'm wondering if its worth it or if I should just wait till I can afford the dropmember.

[Dustin07]

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

Ok, what makes you think it is a 68 frame?
The disc brake front ends (a arms and spindles or the whole xmember) can be swapped on the 60-66 frames pretty easily. Is the truck still a 6 lug, or has it been converted to 5 lug?

previous owner told me its a '68

You mention BOA (bag over/on arm, last time I built an air ride setup), then mention the 60-62 frames, which would be leaf spring and not have the trailing arm rear.

if thats true, thats weird cause I have a '62 with trailing arms. my last build was a '99 though. leaf...

If you can weld then you could run pretty much any system you want. Cantilever will get you more lift, and usually let you do so with a slightly smaller bag. Requires more fab work, and math. IMO to have the most ease, the most articulation, and one of the easiest would be a 4 link. Even easier, a 3 link, but u loose a little bit of side to side.

Thorbeck bros, aka suicidedoors aka Quality Air Ride now...have some really nice diy kits for stuff like that. If you call them up and tell them what you want to do; usually one of them can put a nice setup together for you.

thanks dude that is exactly what i was thinking. I did see porter has their rear dropmember setup (and 4-link option) almost 100% bolt on minus the cup mounts at $1900 with notch I think.

[kieth]

Originally Posted by Dustin07

is this what you mean by cup the arms?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ng+arms&page=3

how much lower will that get the front? or... how close to concrete? I'm wondering if its worth it or if I should just wait till I can afford the dropmember.

If you want to go all the way to the ground then the dropmember is the way to go.........I am doing a budget build right now and Corina Patina will end up about 2 inches off the ground. Here is what we are doing....

1. rear bridge kit (suicide doors) firestone 9000 series air bags 2" spacer blocks std trailing arms



2. front of truck 8' firstone bags , 2.5" drop spindles, cupped A arm like you showed in your link to coulters build. We have not started the front yet, will have the later model disc brake set up tomorrow so we will modify the a arms then install the disc brake crossmember and drop spindles put on the cragar wheels and see how low she will go. Kieth

3. after this is done we are considering dropping the body 2" but will wait to see how low we can go on a budget Kieth

[Dustin07]

I definitely want to see your build when you get that front end going Kieth. how much camber do you expect after cups and spindles?

with this blocked/oem trailing arm setup, what is the leading hindrance to going lower? the trailing arms hitting the frame, or the front suspension work?

[Dustin07]

with that rear bridge kit, you are going BOA?

[BR3W CITY]

Originally Posted by Dustin07

if thats true, thats weird cause I have a '62 with trailing arms. my last build was a '99 though. leaf...

60-63 were leaf 64-66 were coil spring usually; you said the frame is a 68 so its a different story.

[Dustin07]

yes the '61 I have now is on a '68 frame. I just thought the other part you mentioned about 60-63 having leafs was odd. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I had a 60 with trailing arms and coils, and I currently have a '62 with trailing arms and coils. I learn something new every day.

[Dustin07]

Kieth I was thinking about your setup. In the short term, I could notch and bag the rear without the dropmember, cup the front, and get the truck down to within 2 inches or so for under $1k probably.. and always add dropmembers later without having wasted anything I think.... maybe that is the way to go short term.

[yumyumchoppers]

my 62 had trailing arms

[kieth]

Originally Posted by Dustin07

Kieth I was thinking about your setup. In the short term, I could notch and bag the rear without the dropmember, cup the front, and get the truck down to within 2 inches or so for under $1k probably.. and always add dropmembers later without having wasted anything I think.... maybe that is the way to go short term.

When you cup the A arms do not extend the bottom of the box below the edge of the A Arm because this can cause problems with clearance. I will let you know what kind of problems we run into as the build proceeds. Kieth

The build by Coulter should give you some insight into how the truck will sit.

I am also looking into a simple body drop since 1 or 2 " is very important. It looks like one could add a deep trans tunnell, then lower the cab mounts, front radiator mounts and front fender mounts and then the bed mounts without a lot of trouble. Z-ing the frame accomplishes those things but is just a little too radical for me......Kieth

[kieth]

Originally Posted by Dustin07

with that rear bridge kit, you are going BOA?

BOA does that mean Back of axle ? yes we are going behind the axle on the outside of the frame or it could end up on top of the axle after we drop the front the ride height will be set (since that is the limit) and we will then position the bags in the rear to match the front of the truck. Until you start one of these projects you do not know how much actual thought goes into it. We need to set the ride height of the front bags to their proper height
8" see where the rear bags have to be set so they are withing their travel range 8 to 8.5" and then make sure the rear bags do not collapse farther than 4.5" when fully lowered.....so it is going to be a juggling act. Kieth

[kieth]

Originally Posted by kieth

When you cup the A arms do not extend the bottom of the box below the edge of the A Arm because this can cause problems with clearance. I will let you know what kind of problems we run into as the build proceeds. Kieth

The build by Coulter should give you some insight into how the truck will sit.

I am also looking into a simple body drop since 1 or 2 " is very important. It looks like one could add a deep trans tunnell, then lower the cab mounts, front radiator mounts and front fender mounts and then the bed mounts without a lot of trouble. Z-ing the frame accomplishes those things but is just a little too radical for me......Kieth

Oh yes do not forget the drop spindles I think boris has the deal on those...

Jason at AVS has some killer deals as well as Boris

Here is what you need:

1. 2.5" drop spindles (to fit whatever front end you have with disc brakes)

2. 2 firestone (slam specialties) 8" with 12" total height $319.00--#1 & #2

boris has this deal and it is great.........................................................

3. 2 top brackets for a arms (_70.00)

4. 2 Firestone 9000 series bags for trailing arms $140.00

5. Lowering block and U bolts (Boris) $ 60.00

6. Misc air line and schrader valves $ 50.00

total $619.00

Plus freight

Check with Boris and Jason to see who has the best deal.......Kieth


Jason AVS http://www.avsontheweb.com/home.php

Boris Hub garage http://www.hubgarage.com/mygarage/way2Lo2


the nice thing about this is it can be done in stages, do the drop blocks in the rear and the rear bags....... Then do the front.......it does not have to be done all at once.

[Dustin07]

when I built my last truck, we set it so full aired out was a completely compressed bag I believe, but it was laying frame. I can see a benefit to this setup, having the truck basically as low as it will go with some air still the bag may help with ride quality.

BOA I always refer to for bag over axle (so axle mounted bags rather than behind)

This weekend I"ll try to take apart the front a bit and see whats going on. the truck is already lowered so I'll try to figure out how they did that, maybe it has drop spindles already...

[Dustin07]

by the way, AVS is great. I think I have spent over $5k there lol.


and I got a tshirt. haha

[BR3W CITY]

I was a bit mistaken, the GMC still used the leaf springs when the Chevy had already switched to coils with trailing arms. Hence my confusions.

[Dustin07]

oh that would make sense