1968 lowered

[Whynot]

Guys, need some input. I am thinking about lowering my 68 short wide. Not really as some guys say slaming it. Just enought to get a nice look. But I am not sure which way to go. I am sure theres more, but heres what I am thinking.
# 1. Buy a set of factory aftermarket built lowered coil springs.
For the front and the rear. like 2-3 for the front,and 4-5 for the rear.

# 2. Buy air bags, for all four corners.

I like the springs,I guess because there maybe about half the price of,
a air bag setup. I"m not into makin the lil 68 jump,or hop. Have any of you
lowered your truck. What did you use ?? And how did the ride compare
to the orginal truck ride ?? Do you have any regrets ?? By the way this is
a driver,not a garage/show baby.
Thanks ! Tracy !

[boraxman]

I would go springs if I were you, from the sound of the look your after. Springs are wayyyy less than half of bags. Go 2-4 or 3-5. I have 3-5 spring drop and its fine, you will probably want to get dropped shocks also...Luck.

[71swb4x4]

I am working on a bag set up, and to do it 'properly' you are looking at 3-4 times the cost of springs.
You can go cheap by doing springs for the front and blocks for the rear. For more drop do spindles and springs up front, and springs and blocks in the back. Of course for the most flexibility go all out and do bags

[Joe67]

Originally Posted by Whynot

Guys, need some input. I am thinking about lowering my 68 short wide. Not really as some guys say slaming it. Just enought to get a nice look. But I am not sure which way to go. I am sure theres more, but heres what I am thinking.
# 1. Buy a set of factory aftermarket built lowered coil springs.
For the front and the rear. like 2-3 for the front,and 4-5 for the rear.

Hey Tracy.

I'm going with a nice static drop on my 67 SWB project. Checkout www.earlyclassic.com - great tech help and some good stance photos showing each drop combo they offer as well

[tomatocity]

Hi Tracy. I am doing the same research as you are but I have rear leafs to deal with.
Here is something to consider.
Front suspension: If you reduce the length of the spring you reduce the amount of travel. If you lower it with a dropped spindle you don't lose the amount of travel.
Rear suspension: The amount of travel is limited by the distance between the frame and rearend housing. You reduce the spring height and you reduce the amount of travel. You can notch the frame and/or reduce the size of the rubber bumper.
Shocks: There are extended shock brackets that will allow you to use stock height shocks.
GMCPauls, Early Classics Enterprises, Chassis Performance Products are good resources. Tim

[GloryHound]

If I was making the choice I would have to agree with tomatocity when choising between drop coils or drop spindles. The only way I would go with coils is if I was doing a really low budget and could not afford to go to disc brakes on the front. But if your concern is more for a lower ride then a faster stop I'd just have to say, "can I get the remains of your truck? Just add that little line to the bottom of your will!"

[72MARIO]

I have a 2.5 spindle 1" spring. Polysway bar bushings. I also have a leaf rear which is 5-6" lower via drop shackles 1 spring removed and 3" dreach. It rides Awesome. I have hit some of the worst roads around here and still have not bottomed. If you have long tube headders you will have the possibility of scraping them.

I would say give the guys at ECE a call. They will help you out and answer the questiond you have. A air kit seems like a pain. Just all the lines tanks switches. I spring/spindle kit is easy and fast to install.

Good luck.

[mocwon]

Originally Posted by 72MARIO

I have a 2.5 spindle 1" spring. Polysway bar bushings. I also have a leaf rear which is 5-6" lower via drop shackles 1 spring removed and 3" dreach. It rides Awesome. I have hit some of the worst roads around here and still have not bottomed. If you have long tube headders you will have the possibility of scraping them.

I would say give the guys at ECE a call. They will help you out and answer the questiond you have. A air kit seems like a pain. Just all the lines tanks switches. I spring/spindle kit is easy and fast to install.

Good luck.

Not to hijack the thread but.. Mario, did you have to notch the frame when you installed the lowering shackles and dearched springs 3"? I'm asking 'cause I'm doing something similar but not quite as much. I used 2" drop shackles and am havinig the springs dearch 2-1/4" today.

[67pro-street]

i would definetly go with a static drop. i have about a 5/7 drop on my truck and have never had any problems with the chasis hitting the road. i have however, had problems with my header (full length) and front sway bar brackets hitting stuff. if i were to redo my truck, i would keep the original ram horn manifolds or go with 3/4 length headers and sway bar brackets from ECE designed especially for lowered trucks. just last week, i pulled my mercedes about 30 miles to the paint shop on one of the worst roads i know, and had absolutely no problems with the truck bottoming out. if you have anymore, questions, let me know.

67pro-street

[67ChevyRedneck]

I also agree with tomatocity. You can purchase a 2 1/2" drop spindle for the front AND have disk brakes! Kill 2 birds with one stone. This would not change the front end geometry what-so-ever becuase you are moving the tires in a perpendicular direction, and becuase you are only moving the spindle position, you can use the original shock mounting locations. For the rear I'd go with a 4" drop. There are kits out there that you can purchase that will relocate the shocks to the proper angle, I think ECE has it? Haven't done this myself, but read many different articles....so thats my $.02.