Finally Lower

[rudey737]

I finally lowered my 84 longbed this past weekend after collecting parts and waiting for garage time the past six months. It's a McGaughy's 4.5/6 drop with stock shocks up front and shock extenders with stock shocks in the rear. I love the way it looks, and I can get used to the way it rides. Here's a pic I took with my phone last night at the gas station on the way home. New tires and an alignment are in the very near future.



Here are a few things I learned and/or I think are worth mentioning:

Penetrating oil is your friend. When you think you're going to start lubricating 30 year old nuts and bolts early enough before you start working to loosen them, you aren't. Start it about three days before you think you need to. I started three days before we started working and it wasn't enough.

Buy new u bolts for the lower control arms No one had them in stock locally this past weekend, so we didn't cut the old ones off that didn't want to budge. Therefore, I didn't get to rebuild my control arms. I'm planning on that when I rebuild the steering in a month or two.

Don't question TX Firefighter about tire size with your drop The 235/75/15 front tires on my truck rub pretty bad when going over big bumps on the highway. Tire rub on the front of your truck at 65-70 mph on the highway is a little scary the first time it happens.

Wheel size does matter. I have 15x8 ralley wheels on my truck, and the McGaughy's classic 2.5 drop spindles rubbed the inner lip and the wheel weights when we first dropped the front end. We were going to grind the spindle, but I read on here that the 15x8 ralleys had the wrong backspacing for drop spindles, but that the 15x7 truck ralleys would work because they had 4.25" of backspace. I'm running a temporary 5/16" spacer on the front wheels until I can find some 15x7 ralleys.

I'm sure there is more I could post about lowering the truck this past weekend and that there's more I'll learn while driving the truck over the next few weeks. I just wanted to share a picture of how my truck sits now, and reiterate how helpful this site and its members are when someone is working on something for the first time.

[Anchorism]

Originally Posted by rudey737

Don't question TX Firefighter about tire size with your drop The 235/75/15 front tires on my truck rub pretty bad when going over big bumps on the highway. Tire rub on the front of your truck at 65-70 mph on the highway is a little scary the first time it happens..

Every truck is a little different..... Just saying. Maybe your parts are worn out or your alignment isnt quite right. Just cause you took advise from someone DOESNT mean you would have the same result. I personally feel i could trust TX Firefighter with just about any question on my square.

[Straight six]

I have the same drop combo as you.. I'm getting ready to install waiting for break in the weather.. About how long did it take you to finish the job?

[rudey737]

My front end is definitely worn out. I was planning on rebuilding the control arms - I have the bushings and the ball joints - but we ran into some issue getting that done. This is my DD. To get the truck back on the road, we had to forego the control arm rebuild until we have the appropriate tools and I rebuild the steering in a month or so.

It took all weekend to do the install, and that didn't include rebuilding the control arms or installing the c-notch and shock extenders. We were short on time as I was using room in my parents' garage that is about 40 miles from my house. Again, this is my DD, so I had to have it back on the road today. If we had to do it all over again, we would have gotten the c-notch and shock extenders done. We spent too much time on the control arms when we should've just put the front end back together.

Having relatively unlimited time on the install would've been nice. I just didn't have it.

[rudey737]

Oh, and I was saying that you shouldn't question TX Firefighter about tire size. You know, I should've listened when he said that 235/75-15 tires were too big for the front.

I think you and I are saying the same thing here, Anchorism. I should've wrote, "Don't doubt TX Firefighter about tire size with your drop."

[Anchorism]

Originally Posted by rudey737

Oh, and I was saying that you shouldn't question TX Firefighter about tire size. You know, I should've listened when he said that 235/75-15 tires were too big for the front.

I think you and I are saying the same thing here, Anchorism. I should've wrote, "Don't doubt TX Firefighter about tire size with your drop."

Oh ok.... i see where you were going now... lol.

[ivorton74]

looks good

[rudey737]

Thanks, ivorton. It needs to be washed after all the grease that was slopped around during the front end tear down. It also needs new tires and the rims to be painted back to argent silver...and brake lines, glove box, door seals, etc. The list I have written out is a long one, but the truck is worth it to me.

[cool68]

Cool

[ivorton74]

@rudey...Lol yea i could see it needs some cleaning...i had my 74 longbed lowered too with flip brackets and air shocks and chopped coils...am running 15x7 truck rally wheels. About to swap a 5.3 in it in a few weeks.

[rudey737]

ivorton74 - But no drop spindles? Then I can't ask if the 15x7 wheels rub or not. Damn. I guess I'll just have to find some 15x7 ralleys and see if they fit.

[ivorton74]

No drop spindles yet...just 2 coils cut from each spring and shims to get rid of the bad camber i had. Heres a pic of my truck...

[MB84C10]

Looks good need bigger white walls!

[rudey737]

ivorton74 - The truck looks good. I assume you park that during your less than desirable South Dakota winters?

MB84C10 - I'm going the other way - smaller white walls. I think a 1/2 inch white wall looks ok on squarebody C10s. Anything bigger than that, and I think it looks out of place. To me WWW are reserved for cars & trucks made before 1960. But hey, to each their own - right?

[ivorton74]

[QUOTE=rudey737;6605986]ivorton74 - The truck looks good. I assume you park that during your less than desirable South Dakota winters?

No I still drive it in the winter time when I can.Having that truck sit there and not driving it would drive me nuts lol. The tranny went out so decided to do my 5.3/4l60e swap...so its been parked pretty much all winter.

[rudey737]

Yesterday was my first full day of driving the truck to and from work, around town, etc. Tire rub on the inner fenders is again a huge issue. I also have some minor rubbing on the lower control arms in tight turns. I can see on the LCAs where the wheels are rubbing a groove in them from these turns. I'm limiting those turns as much as I can until I get under there with a grinder.

My question is this. Will a 15x7 truck ralley wheel work? I'm going tonight to buy two that will need painting for $10 a piece. I figure what's $20 if they don't work? I'm sure I can sell them if they don't. Anyone have any ideas on this? What backspacing should the 15x7 truck ralleys have to work with the drop spindles?

[MB84C10]

Yea i only like white walls on rat rods ect...

[ivorton74]

I had tire rubbing issues too so I got smaller tires

[rudey737]

Did you have rubbing issues with the wheel on the lower control arm? Because I have that and tire rub on the inner fender. I'm planning on getting smaller tires to take care of the inner fender rub.

I'm also going to do a little grinding this weekend on the lower control arm to take care of the wheel grinding in tight turns.

I want to eliminate the 5/16" spacer I'm running on the front right now. I had to put it in because the new drop spindle would've rubbed my wheel where the tie rod end attaches to it. I've been doing some reading, and I think some narrower wheels will work. I just picked up two 15x7 truck ralley wheels with 3.75" of backspace. I'm hoping this will do the trick for the front.

[ivorton74]

Mine was just rubbing on the inner fender...never had any rubbing issues on my lower control arm though

[rudey737]

So, I just got some more garage time in. I did some minor grinding on the front of the lower control arms. No more grinding noise when I turn from lock to lock. Keep in mind there is still with a 5/16" spacer to keep the 8" wide wheel from touching the spindle at the tie rod connection point.

I test fit my 15x7 truck rally wheels I bought for $10 a piece this week. They fit great without the 5/16" spacer. I could turn the wheel from lock to lock while spinning the wheel the whole time. They don't touch anything. They're going off to sandblasting and powder coat this week. I'm keeping them the stock color, argent silver. They'll just be a little more durable than paint.

I also swapped my tires from front to back. That means 225/75-15 on the front and 235/75-15 on the rear. Just that 1/2" from the 235's to the 225's on the front helped a ton with tire rubbing issues. I'm definitely going with 215/75-15s on the front when my wheels are powder coated. I may leave the 235/75-15s on 15x8 wheels on the rear. I'm still making my mind up on that.

And lastly, I fixed what was a rough ride the last couple of days. In the length of a week, one of my brand new Monroe stock length shocks snapped at the weld from the body of the shaft and the bottom eyehole. No wonder why I had so much tire rub the past couple of days! I'll post a pic of the eyehole that broke off tomorrow. I took the shock back to the parts store and they replaced it under warranty. The problem with that - they didn't have any in stock. So I had to go grab a Gabriel they called in at another parts store. So now I have a yellow shock on the passenger side and a red shock on the driver's side.

I'm wondering if this break was a defective shock, if it was because the truck is lowered 4.5" in the front, or a combination of the two. Should I switch to drop shocks up front? I've read numerous posts on here about people running stock shocks up front with no issues. They claim it's because you really only have to contend with a 2" drop from the springs and the drop spindles are a moot point on the shocks. Others claim you have to get drop shocks for the front. Anyone have any thoughts for me on the broken shock and switching to drop shocks?