advice on suspension improvements

[Pinchecharlie]

I have a 65 swb 2 wheel drive c10 with a stockish sbc and turbo 350, 12 bolt posi,(i put that stuff In) i bought last summer (for fun). I changed the front suspension to a late model one( 73-87) except i kept my old crossmember. I installed all new bushings and ball joints and did dropped spindles and springs. I dropped it too much and then raised it again (sorry forget the spring drop? 3 inches maybe) I bought 16 inch steelies and have forgotten the tire size crap. new (old style 73-87) disc brakes and new shocks. so all new (except old style 73-87). only thing weird i did was the re locate the lower control arms mounting pin hole for caster improvement. while i was there i did a power steering retro fit with capt fabs bracket and pol booster and master cylinder. in the rear its stock trailing arms with new bushings (urethane, bushings in front are urethane too) springs and shocks and a notch and a panhard bar. So as you probably know even though it is fine , it is a squishy squeeky dogboat that handles like poop. now in fairness about the only up grade from napa parts were the ball joints and bushings . everything else is stock chevy replacement stuff from napa. The drop stuff came from p.o.l. and cpp and the spindles are western chassis. example- lower a arm from 80 chevy c10 or whatever. my goals are to have a smooth and somewhat sporty (within reason) suspension BUT i dont really want to do a aftermarket crossmember system. questions-
1-are coil overs DRAMATICALLY better? THE NEW QA1 kit looks good or the ride tech? i would use no limit IF i could just use pieces.
2-can exspensive sway bars and exspensive shocks help DRAMATICALLY with the stock system?
when i say exspensive i mean like qa1 or ridetech adjustable style and hotchkiss or no limit or ridetech sway bars?
do fabricated trailing arms make a big difference?
3-would front control arms help or is it just the coil spring?
i just dont want to replace everything if i dont have to. example would be to at least keep the spindles and brakes and rotors. alot of the kits for coil overs use different spindles. now i have a bad habit of wanting race car stuff on a yugo budget. so i will be fair in my exspectations and my budget is good so i could buy whatever i want but iam not building a race truck and so i dont want to buy a 10k dollar chassis (yes i do !but i wont) I have a 49 ford thats air bagged and so iam over the whole bag thing but i never ran a shock wave but i still dont really want to mess with all the other miscallaneous b.s.
Is there a compromise with these parts somewhere?
What are your honest opinions from stock control/trailing arms to fabricated?
from coil spring to coil over?
from stockish shocks to multi valved adjustable?
exspensive sway bars?

thanks and sorry for the loaded question! at least i get to say chevys best on here! look forward to your input. trucks going to the body shop (no college for my kids) in march and i want to do the chassis/rest of the crap while its there. thanks again charlie

[PGSigns]

I will take a shot at this. When it got aligned what was it set to? What front sway bar? Parts store shocks go to go. The belltech street performance shocks work very well with out killing the bank account. Rear shock relocaters are something you need and are not on your list. Next is a long track bar like the ECE super track bar. Lowers the roll center and improves the feel. Moving the tank to the back also improves the handling. I drive mine every day and it handles well and rides good. I dons see where spending a bunch of money is needed to make em fun to drive.
Jimmy

[Pinchecharlie]

Thanks for the reply! Well after reading the thread "make it handle" I have some better ideas. Long and more than enough for an intro to suspension engineering. Won't lie a lot of it was lost on me but some of the more specific things I wrote down.
So I have my alignment paper that I'll try to post and some pics of the rear end set up. I lied and it is early classics stuff so maybe not the best and I would be willing to upgrade to no limit panhard and shocks. I am sure I could sell this to a youngster who just wanted cheap. I have NO sway bars installed now. I have a late Chevy 1/2 ton for the front and I bought a cheap unit from pol for the back. But...after reading I think they are less than desirable in the make it handle world. So...I will take all recommendations on those front and rear. I will re buy springs and shocks too as I made the truck too low in front and added a big block in back to try and salvage the stance but I missed and I missed on tire and wheel too! So...as we say in the boxing gym, "when you fail to plan...You plan to fail!" That's why I am punchy too .
Always thought my face was a good place to block punches! Anyway the wheels are 16 and tires are 135/70 front and 145/70 rear. I won't lie I struggled with it and ended up listening to a grumpy old guy at the tire shop. Now I know what others are doing I may rethink it but I dunno. So raise the front with a spring (2 under or 1?) 3 under now.thebig block spring with coil cut would be about right or call around I guess? New shocks and mount sway bar from no limit, call it Good? Use different block in back to even out the truck, maybe use no limit pan hard and shock mounts? Re think spring? It's a mystery spring that I got with the truck so no specs. Maybe flip the trailing arm mount just cuz I love beating on rivets? Shocks and I dunno? So...what a ya think. I mean I can putt around but my wife likes to drive it and it should be safe and sound for her lead foot. Oh I have tank in cab and battery in engine bay so I'll move those to while the beds off and the tanks a safety upgrade.

[PGSigns]

Its hard to read the pic of the alignment so what was the total caster? Kind of looks like 4 degrees and that is fine. I think you need to go look at your tires as they can be what you have listed. Overall the setup under the truck is not bad in the back. You have a good track bar on it and no need to change it. No sway bars is really hurting the handling. Any of the bars up to 87 will bolt up and yo will want to get the drop brackets for the front. Put the sway bar on and drive it and not the change then bolt on a good set of shocks and you might be surprised on how well it does.
Jimmy

[Pinchecharlie]

Hey thanks I appreciate your time. So as far as shocks go...and after reading about it. I am still a bit confused as on the proper ratings for my truck? I realize they are a tunable part but I'd just like to shoot for a compromise and just buy one set. So do you have a better idea of what weight ratings for them and personal preferences on compression/rebound?I wrote down what Rob liked from his thread but when I searched for shocks they where not referenced the same way? So if anyone wanted to hold my hand and just tell me the secret set up I would say thanks!?
As far as wheels and tires go, I am pretty clueless. I know most say look for the most available performance sizes then buy that size rim? So what's that consensus you think? I for some reason thought tall rims looked to "young" for me but after having few choices with tires for the rims I have I guess I understand now.Sucks that wheels and tires will cost more than I paid for the truck lol! Thanks again for your time and if anyone else would like to debate these issues your input would be welcomed.ok back to work

[PGSigns]

The tires you have will be fine unless you plan to auto cross it. Before you go out and spend a couple of grand on shocks for a driver try the Belltech shocks. I have 20000 plus mikes on mine and they are still doing good. Here is a link to a kit that is close to what you are running and you can order the shock in that kit from Summit Racing. They are valved for our trucks unlike what you are running now. Like I said before do the sway bar and then a set of these shocks and see what you think. Suspension is very much a system and things need to work together. A sway bar and a decent set of shocks will get you much further on the road to good handling than you may think. I have been through it on more than one of these trucks and for a daily drive these work. If you really want to go off the deep end there is always this. http://www.hotchkis.net/product/tvs-...k=&yr=&md=&sm=
Jimmy