lowering a '70 c10

[chevguy7]

I have a 1970 C10 and have been wondering about my different options for lowering it. All I would like to do is lower it 2 inches. I know I could by shorter springs to do this. Would I then have to buy different shocks as well? I have heard some people in other forums talking about cutting springs, what does everyone think?

[jimmydean]

Springs are cheap and in your truck, they are 36 years old. New lower springs would drop it 2". Stock shocks will work just fine, but you might need new ones anyway.

New springs and new shocks will not only give you a good look, but can give you a good ride too.

[crazy longhorn]

I agree that new springs would be the better way to go, but here goes on the budjet drop...... You can cut 1 full round off the bottom of the front springs& expect about a 2 1/2" drop. On the rear, you can use a 2" drop block(coil spring truck), & neither of these mods will cause any problems. You can run the stock shocks on both ends,but might add a set of relocator brackets on the fronts.....the rears wont be affected by the blocks. Best of luck, L

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by jimmydean

Springs are cheap and in your truck, they are 36 years old. New lower springs would drop it 2". Stock shocks will work just fine, but you might need new ones anyway.

New springs and new shocks will not only give you a good look, but can give you a good ride too.

The problem w/those 'new' lowering springs is what height is the standard for comparison vs. the advertised drop amount?

A 36yr old trucks springs have sagged some over the years of use which typically alters the ride height. Are those 2" advertised drop springs 2" lower than a 'new' stock truck or 2" lower than your 36yr old used springs...... what about compared to my springs in a truck w/different options (6cyl no options vs. a loaded sbc)? See the issue that arises here?

Like 'crazy' suggested, try trimming 1-coil off the current front springs & see what you think. Take measurements before & after any work is completed so you have some sort of base-line for future comparisons. I bought some 3" 'drop' springs years ago for my first truck & was quite annoyed after installing them.....the truck was @ the same basic height as when I started. When I called to ask why this was..... they told me the drop amounts were established vs a new truck @ stock height.

[chevguy7]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

I bought some 3" 'drop' springs years ago for my first truck & was quite annoyed after installing them.....the truck was @ the same basic height as when I started. When I called to ask why this was..... they told me the drop amounts were established vs a new truck @ stock height.

Is there any way to tell if my current springs are sagging now? One of my friends has a '70 C10 that is lowered 2 inches and I like how it looks and I know that it is lower than mine so I am guess that my truck is not saggin much if at all.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by chevguy7

Is there any way to tell if my current springs are sagging now? One of my friends has a '70 C10 that is lowered 2 inches and I like how it looks and I know that it is lower than mine so I am guess that my truck is not saggin much if at all.

Measure both trucks @ roughly the same point on the frame F/R. See what the difference is for the amount of drop he has vs. your truck @ current height.

[chevguy7]

Thanks Scoti. How hard is it to do the relocator brackets on the front and is it guaranteed that I will have to do that?

[70c10]

I lowered my 70' by cutting 1¼ coils off the front which gave me almost 3" drop. I bought 4" rear springs for $100. I kept my stock shocks. Here is a before and after shot.

[chevguy7]

Thanks! Looks good.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by chevguy7

Thanks Scoti. How hard is it to do the relocator brackets on the front and is it guaranteed that I will have to do that?

Are you referring to relocating the shocks? I re-read your previous post & could not determine what you're asking about. On my 74 I did relocate the shocks higher up on the framerail vs stock. My 68 did not require relocating the shocks.

The way I determined this is:
I set the truck on the ground @ the new lowered ride height w/the front shocks removed & recorded the distance between the top & bottom shock mounting holes. My 74 was 11" between the mounts.

I then measured my front shocks fully extended & fully compressed & split the difference between those numbers to know the optimum 'ride-height' for the shock. Mine were close to this example: 16"L extended; 10"L compressed = 13" @ optimum ride height.

Compare the optimum ride height of the shock w/the available length between the shock mounts. If there's a gross difference you can either buy custom/shorter shocks for lowered vehicles or you can relocate the upper mount.
My shock needed to be @ 13" for the middle of the shocks stroke & would bottom out @ 10". Since there was only 11" available between the mounts, I would have only had 1" of travel before the shock was self destructing.

I measured on the frame rail & had roughly 2" to play w/so I made new upper mounts from 2"sq. .250-wall mild-steel tubing that I had picked-up from some scrap @ work. I mounted them as high as I could on the frame rail & gained 1.5" more length for a total of 12.5" which was pretty close to ideal (13"). Of course I could have bought some custom or shorter shocks. I simply used what was most convenient @ the time & I knew the shocks worked well before I lowered the truck.

Here are some pics of my cheap, home-made, upper-shock relocation brackets for my 74. In the last pic, you can see the original shock mount hole about 1.5" below the C/L of the upper shock bolt. I hope this helps . . .....

[crazy longhorn]

http://community.webshots.com/user/hotrodhorn go to the 2nd page, a pic titled clutch linkage......there is a pretty good shot of the shock relocators that I fabbed . L

[chevguy7]

Thank you for all of your help.

[scotts 72]

I have a 72 c-10 that the guy I bought the truck from took a tourch and heated the front as well as the back srings and the truck looks good but rides like crap

[BCOWANWHEELS]

that blue 70 truck dont look good ! it looks really good!!!!!!!!!!!!! almost just like i want mine to be except i,am going hawaiian blue all over and american torque thrust wheels. killer pal.
bob

[Rocky P]

So i added a camaro tank under the frame, my truck was already lowered with lmc springs . Now i noticed the rear with a full tank is lower then thw front.
Do lowering shocks make the truck any lower ? I need the front to drop another inch or two. help..

[TexasLS1]

Originally Posted by Rocky P

So i added a camaro tank under the frame, my truck was already lowered with lmc springs . Now i noticed the rear with a full tank is lower then thw front.
Do lowering shocks make the truck any lower ? I need the front to drop another inch or two. help..

Shocks shouldn't affect your ride height at all - the springs will determine the height. Sounds like you'll need to swap to a taller spring in the rear (or change/remove lowering blocks if you have them under the axle), or you'll need to lower the front a little more by getting a shorter spring or adding drop spindles. Do you have factory spindles on it now?

[Rocky P]

Ok, thanks. Still drums in the front. You think coil overs till i do a drum to disc conversion?

[BigMike]

What drop springs do you have up front now? I think the max you want to go up front is 3", anymore and I think you run into alignment issues. If you have 2" dropped springs you can cut 1/2 coil out of them to give you appox 1" more of drop that may help the stance.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by Rocky P

Ok, thanks. Still drums in the front. You think coil overs till i do a drum to disc conversion?

Cart before the horse.....