All advice welcome: '71 Frame-O

[herculeric]

Let me start by saying, I am probably not even skilled enough to be a shade tree mechanic....I am just a guy whose grandfather had this awesome old truck, I used to love to ride around the farm in, and said I would have one someday...now I do. I started this Frame-off several years ago on my '71 C10 Long Bed and have her torn down to the frame. I have sandblasted the frame, Rustbulleted it, and painted. I have 4 inch drop springs in the rear, and would like to know a good option for replacing the front suspension. I intend to drop the front 2-2.5 inches and would like a lighter more nimble suspension to replace the behemoth I pulled off. I am a soldier currently deployed to the middle east and would like to have a front end waiting on me so I can start to make some progress again when I get home. I am doing this completely by myself in my garage so it has been very slow going. Any advice would be appreciated....thanks and God bless...

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[Low Elco]

Herculeric to the Make it handle thread....Herculeric to the Make it handle thread... Call CPP, order drop spindles. If ya wanna go lower, order springs. If ya wanna be fancy, go Porterbuilt or No Limit. Good lookin truck! Keep your head down and get home so you can get to wrenchin! Good luck.

[herculeric]

Thanks Low Elco! I would love to bag it, buit cost is always an issue. I have heard that you can bolt on an s-10 rack and pinion without too much trouble, but I am not sure. I also need to make sure that whatever I put on can handle a big block.

[robnolimit]

A couple of things stand out. 2" to 2 1/2" drop, Big-block, Budget. I would love to set you up with one of our new IFS kits, but I may be doing you a dis-service. The drop would be 4 - 5 inches. - Also, appx 2800 bucks. Keep the stock crossmember, add drop spindles and disk brakes. You can update the steering with one of our rack & pinion kits. New bushings and ball joints, and air if you want to, - but this will be an additional drop. Sway bars and shocks are the best 'bang for buck' when it comes to ride and handling. Stay safe, and thanks for your service.

[herculeric]

robnolimit...thanks! I will def check out your products...and head is down, charging to the end...be home may-ish.

[blime81]

These guys have it right.

Swaybar, drop spindles and good shocks plus new bushings, ball joints, hardware etc. will completely change the whole floating front end feeling you probably had.

CPP set me up right on this stuff, so they always have my vote but any board vendor is a good choice.

You can later add airbags later if you wanna go lower. Guess what? For a proper bag job you'll need all this stuff anyway.