77 big ten handleing vs. 79 c10 handeling`

[big10ratrod77]

so i drove my 79 down the road for the first time last night, and i have to say it handles terrable compared to my big ten. did the big ten have differnt front springs?(i know they had heavy duty rear springs) if so enyone now where i can find a set. im also looking into addin a junk yard sway bar, polygraphite sway bar bushings, and new shocks all the way around. eny other suggestions to maky my 79 handle better? what do yall think about rear sway bars? will that help me much? i just wanna do whats the most worth while for this truck

[GmtGmt]

have you checked for worn tierods, bushings, ball joints, shocks and broken springs a car or truck with worn stuff like this will handle terible

[78 Chevyrado]

The Big Ten has heavier everything on it. Stiffer springs and thicker sway bars.

The sway bar helps, but so do the springs... You should see how my C20 handles with 1-ton springs on it... When it leans in the corners, it's mostly the tires squashing or flexing. I'd take the thing on a road coursre if I had shorter Tires and it was lowered.

[Slonaker]

The swaybar will make a HUGE difference. It did on my truck.

Auto parts stores offer regular and heavy duty replacement front coils for around $100. I know this because I was sold HD springs by O'Reilly Auto. They didn't tell me they were HD at the time. It took me quite a while to figure out why the front of my truck went up about 4 inches over the old regular springs. This is not a good thing when you are trying to lower it.

Slonaker

[big10ratrod77]

cool the hd springs sound afforordable and the sway bar is a must, i dont think the suspention is worn bc it dosent wear tires and all the boots are good, and when i pull the bed ill throw some 3/4 ton springs under the back also. thanks guys

[Pyrotechnic]

I actually ended up taking springs out of the rear of mine as it was just way too stiff unloaded. It started at 8, I took that huge overload out plus another leaf that didn't seem to do much and it's much better.

One note about the rear springs, they are actually longer. On a light duty half ton, you will have to grind the rivets out of the shackle hangers, and bolt them the the holes in the frame further back. The longer spring will actually give a smoother ride, given similar spring rates.