Suspension Advice

[brad121860]

Looking to do my first resto-mod project on a 67 shortbed. I think I have a pretty clear vision with the exception of the frame/suspension, so I would appreciate any advice from those of you who have done one. I will be doing an LS conversion with automatic overdrive. I don't plan on road racing, but I want it to handle and ride like a newer truck or better. Planning on using 2.5 drop spindles and lowering the rear 4"(this is the ride height I want, not slammed) and adding 4 wheel disc brakes. As far as the rest, I am wondering where I will get the most bang for my buck when it comes to rack and pinion conversion, tubular control arms, etc. and what are the "must do's" to get it done. When looking at suspension upgrade options, I quickly realized you can easily spend the cost of a new custom frame when you start upgrading. As I said, I really want to improve ride and handling over stock, but I just don't want to spend anywhere near 15k to 20k on a custom frame or upgrading mine. On the other hand, I don't want to invest a ton of money and time building a nice truck and skimp on the suspension. I realize this is subjective, but any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Brad

[Sean1985]

Ridetech coilover kit is pretty awesome. Right down to the directions. Rides nice and you can pick the level of shock you’d like to run. It might lower it a bit more then you’d like. But in no way is the truck slammed. I think this is one of the better options out there with out swapping crossmembers and spending 10k.

[mongocanfly]

ride tech is a good choice..quality stuff from what I've seen....you can also do one end of the truck at a time if you wanted...and still drive it in between..start with the front and then setup the rear...asking who's stuff is best will bring a lot of suggestions....pick something in your budget range and do the research on it....there are several quality setups out there....
John from ridetechs a member here..maybe he'll chime in...

[drfloyd]

I used No Limit's Wide Ride front, standard drop and their 4 link on the rear with a 9" rear end, disc brakes and Ridetech coil overs. If I had it to do over, I would have bought Rob's roller and been done with it. But boxing the frame and doing the LS setup has been fun when I had the time to work on it.

[Kudzupatch]

Best bang for the buck in handling would be lowering it, that lowers the CG. Good shocks but that is just part of lowering it. And adding bigger sway bars, front and rear. That will check the body roll and really makes a huge difference.

My suburban was lowered with front and rear bars and it still amazes me how flat it corners for such a big heavy vehicle. It always amazes my friends going through the curves. The difference is quite dramatic.

Quicker steering is on my list. I expect to swap out the steering box next week or so. It is just to slow and doing some research I have found mine shares the same box as several others with a little faster ratio so it is fairly easy swap.

Everyone has an opinion but I don't see the need for tubular arms, coil overs, etc. for a street car, I doubt you are going really see any difference UNLESS you really drive it hard. I have nothing against them, but stock arms work and save a few bucks.

[Pinchecharlie]

I dunno why nobody's talking about it but the new c10 stuff from qa1 looks nice and is right in the middle of the price range . I was thinking about all this too and I am where you are now. Just money at a certain point or do what the successful autocross guys do. Tough one. I think the guy who said to buy a roller is right. Check out the big three rollers for around 10k and after it's all done you have 5-8k and a lot of cleaning/cutting/welding ect..
But jeez it is some money. Hard to argue with no limits success at the track? Roadsters shop has a nuts chassis. Detroit speed is nuts , hotchkis, porterbuilt is a pioneer and respected. Hmm...How much you wanna spend? Me , my head started to hurt and I bought new springs, expensive adjustable shocks, sway bars and I am spending the rest on paint I however will have way less hp than you so it's not a safety issue.. Let us know what you do I would love to see it.

[brad121860]

Thanks everyone very much for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate your input.

[68Stepbed]

I'm running the TCI Engineering setup. I love it, and as you said, by the time you swap or rebuild everything separately, you'll be close to the same amount as a full suspension.

https://totalcostinvolved.com/produc...evy-c10-truck/