Making it Ride Nice

[Oberon67]

I like my box-stock 1981 C10. It's your basic farm truck with a 250 I6 and the 3-speed manual.

I'm happy with the handling of it, too. The only option on mine is factory power steering, which means zero steering effort. It tracks straight and steady on the highway; I don't have to keep adjusting to keep it between the lines, unlike some old Fords I've driven.

But the ride is very trucklike, as you would expect from such a beast. The suspension is stiff and I get a lot of road noise and vibration transmitted up into the cab and especially through the steering column.

So I'm wondering what's the best way to soften the ride just a bit and make it smoother at highway speed. I don't need to change the stance, don't need to raise or lower it... I just want to make it ride better as a daily driver.

Part of my thinking on this involves the shocks. I'm pretty sure the ones on it now are factory originals, and therefore no shocks at all.

So I should replace them... but with what, specifically?