Complete chassis rebuild - Experiences?

[davepl]

With the cab off and the bed unbolted, I'm close to being ready to start in on the chassis. It'll take a while to disassemble and powder coat, but I'd like to start ordering parts.

On my '69 Pontiac 2+2 I used the PST polyurethane graphite-embedded stuff that you used to see on the back of every magazine cover. For the truck, I really don't know what to use... I guess just standard LMC stuff? Or is there a vendor that specializes in suspension bushings?

Is there a more sane approach than just going through the LMC (or similar) catalog and trying to make sure I get "one of everything"? It'd be nice if somsone offered kits to redo both the front and the rear, and then I could just add cab, bed, and rad support mounts and be done with it. So far, though, it looks like everything is broken out by piece and sold individually.

If you've been down this road before (this is my first truck restoration), I'm all ears! Share your pain and wisdom :-)

[Red68]

I used Classic Performance Products in the past, they have several different options and kits for the suspension. Classicperform.com

[PanelDeland]

I would use anyone as long as it was a BB vendor.Too many people have bad stories to deal with anyone but a BB vendor.Besides most of what I have used so far was cheaper thru a BB vendor.

[LockDoc]

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The only thing I can offer is that if you purchase your stuff from LMC and need some technical info don't call them because you won't get any help. I know you can come here for help but I would recommend buying parts from vendors that advertise on this board and have actually used the parts they sell. There are a lot of posts on here about the subject.

From my experience spend the extra money and buy the rubber suspension parts instead of the Poly stuff.

Just my 2¢ worth

LockDoc

[AusTx68]

I went with a 4/6 drop kit from ECE which included shocks, springs, panhard rod, and dropped spindles. My calipers, control arm bushings, ball joints, and tie rods came from O'Reilly's. They usually have the old stuff in stock but don't expect any of the young guys behind the counter to know anything about your truck. Brake lines came from Inline Tube. It took a couple weeks of back and forth to get all the correct brake lines but I was happy with the end results. I believe my cab mounts and core support bushings came from LMC. My trailing arm bushings are poly. I believe they came from ECE. Getting the old bushings out is a lot of fun. Some folks burn them out which makes a mess. I took a drill and made holes around the steel shaft then used a screw driver to pry it out.

[FirstOwner69]

I used Rock Auto for all the suspension bits and ball joints and ordered all the Moog parts I could. Everything I got was made in the good old U.S.A. and was about 50% the price I'd have paid locally. A couple of minor things (grease fittings?) were missing for one of the lower swing arm shafts. They sent a replacement and told me to keep the 1st. Great stuff and service. There are some here on the forum who complain about them shipping from multiple locations and how that adds to the total cost. I did not feel that way at all, and it may not be a concern if most of what you order is from the same manufacturer. I believe my total cost was still less. They also usually have 5% off codes available.

I ordered my tie rod ends/sleeves, idler arm and pitman arm from Classic Industries in California along with a bunch of other stuff (about $1000 total) and was very pleased. However, there were several items back ordered which was OK since I wasn't in a hurry. They have frequent 20% off sales. One just ended. Watch the promo code thread for their offers.

LMC? Not so hot. As mentioned above service is lacking.

I second LockDoc's suggesting regarding using rubber parts rather than poly.

[VA72C10]

I second ECE as first choice for quality and service on suspension items....and go with rubber for our trucks...too harsh of ride with poly....

POL performanceonline.com also is a good supplier of suspension parts...