C10 vs 20 Suspension interchangeability or swapability ???

[smullen]

Hello,

I have been wanting a C10 (69-72) for years.
However finding one that I can afford, that is not way past my abilities seems to be somewhat of an issue...

I'm wanting one that my dad and I can do a few things to and hopefully, some day I can enter it in some local car shows... It might never get that nice, but it'll be ours and I'm sure we'll enjoy it.

I've always dug them and he had a 69 and a 72 years ago when I was in grade school...

OK enough of my babble, my question is.
IF I buy a C20 (only because thats what I found) that has 8 Bolt wheels on it, how big of a deal will it be to put 1/2 ton suspension parts and 5 lug wheels under it?

I want to Static Drop it (4/5) with Belltech or maybe another company's drop kit, while working on everything else, then finally bagging it.

I have a tank, 8 valves, 2 Viair Compressors, Slam specialties bags, switches, Dakota Digital gauges, some fitting, line, relays and a few other accessories to bag it, I was going to use them on my lowered 2000 Blazer that I showed for several years and did pretty good with, but I want something different and I know my dad really likes the old chevys, so I though we could work on it together. Never know how many more years he has and I'm trying to spend more time with him.

Sorry to run on, just trying to relay what I'm wanting to do, if its worth while.
I know it'd be much easier to start with a C10, but I can't find one and I've ran across several C20s that I've passed on.

Thanks for your advice in advance.

[SkidmoreGarage]

I just went through this on my build, feel free to browse my build thread. It is harder and more expensive than you would think and most of the guys who have multiple donor trucks/experience will make it seem easy in theory. But I think it's worth it!

The reasons for the challenge and expense are that most of the info online and "bolt on" kits are referencing c10 short bed stuff. If you buy a kit or research a part number it may require more modification than you had planned or re-engineering a bracket or tab. It's not that the two models are drastically different, it's that they are just similar enough that it would seem easy, but it isn't. The good news is that the front control arms and rear trailing arms bolt up in the same place, so you can't get too far off track. I would also keep in mind that some of the 5 bolt stuff has been getting harder to find used as the cost of these trucks have gone up, and may require additional cost to rehab as the used parts are 50 years old.

The differences:
The c20 frame is different, the rear axle is different (in my case conversion axles were not available), the panhard location on the frame may be different, the trailing arms are different (still usable but thicker at the u bolts), the axle u joints will likely change, the cab mounts are different, the front ball joints and spindles are different, and the springs are different. That's all I can remember off the top of my head but also there is the cost of the new wheels and tires to consider.

Now for the good news:
The c20 frame is made of 20% thicker material and has more factory bracing
A lot of the stuff that is replaced in the swap may already need replacing on an old truck
If you plan to upgrade/customize the rear end and add disc brakes it doesn't really matter that you have to replace what is usually under the c20/30 which is a 4.11 to 4.56 open diff.
When you are done the truck will be worth a lot more to more people
You may have planned to throw most of the old stuff out anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

[smullen]

Originally Posted by SkidmoreGarage

I just went through this on my build, feel free to browse my build thread. It is harder and more expensive than you would think and most of the guys who have multiple donor trucks/experience will make it seem easy in theory. But I think it's worth it!

The reasons for the challenge and expense are that most of the info online and "bolt on" kits are referencing c10 short bed stuff. If you buy a kit or research a part number it may require more modification than you had planned or re-engineering a bracket or tab. It's not that the two models are drastically different, it's that they are just similar enough that it would seem easy, but it isn't. The good news is that the front control arms and rear trailing arms bolt up in the same place, so you can't get too far off track. I would also keep in mind that some of the 5 bolt stuff has been getting harder to find used as the cost of these trucks have gone up, and may require additional cost to rehab as the used parts are 50 years old.



The differences:
The c20 frame is different, the rear axle is different (in my case conversion axles were not available), the panhard location on the frame may be different, the trailing arms are different (still usable but thicker at the u bolts), the axle u joints will likely change, the cab mounts are different, the front ball joints and spindles are different, and the springs are different. That's all I can remember off the top of my head but also there is the cost of the new wheels and tires to consider.

Now for the good news:
The c20 frame is made of 20% thicker material and has more factory bracing
A lot of the stuff that is replaced in the swap may already need replacing on an old truck
If you plan to upgrade/customize the rear end and add disc brakes it doesn't really matter that you have to replace what is usually under the c20/30 which is a 4.11 to 4.56 open diff.
When you are done the truck will be worth a lot more to more people
You may have planned to throw most of the old stuff out anyway, so it doesn't really matter.

Thank you for the reply and info, I'm reading your thread now...

Lots of amazing work so far!!!