New Here: Suspension ?'s

[72C-10]

Hey guys, Im 15 and I recently sold my 87 dodge 318 to look for something more gas mileage friendly, well my dad runs a used car lot and while at an auction I found a midnight blue flake 72 c10 that I had to have, well I get the truck home and am surprised at the shape, interior is great but just one piece off the drivers armrest, i installed some new speakers and cd player and put on a new rear chrome bumper and picked up a new holley 670 street avenger carb yesterday for it along with some dynomax headers for the new exhaust, the motor is a fresh 350 .030 over (355) with a comp cam,1.6 roller rockers, aluminum intake,holley carb, all that bolt on stuff. the body is straight and it has a tonneau cover, a good one with the rails so it doesnt sag and it doesnt have all the snaps runnin down the bed, slide out system, anyway to the suspension questions, the suspension in the rear is the stock coil suspension with the shocks, no leafsprings, but it has the "auxiliary spring" and correct me if im wrong but will this need to be adressed if i go for a 4in coil drop in the rear because to me it looks like I will be resting on this after the drop. Im new to c10s and ive been readin on the site alot, get my license in couple months and i gotta have it lookin nice so I can intimidate some ricemunches being how my town is overrun with civics with 6ft tall wings that make it go 200mph. thanks for the help, havent typed that much in awhile.

[krue]

Welcome to the board from South Mississippi. Try the suspension board for info on your drop. We also have some good articles on the FAQ board.

[llegos]

sounds real hot, but im gonna need pics to drool over...

[72C-10]

lol thanks for all the info guys, i still cant find much on my suspension problems, the truck is in my dads garage and as soon as I get up there this weekend im snappin some pics for you all.

[72C-10]

If you guys can help me with my suspension its greatly appreciated, Im goin with some early classic drop coils after I learn about the suspension on it.

[TEXAS 68]

from Texas,if you hang around here much you'll learn fast,btw

[matthufham]

you know you shouldn't race a red honda, that means they're fast! and don't race ones that have "R" stickers or badges on them.

[69-350]

6 ft wings that they stole from Boeing and make it go 200mph? you mean 200pmh under the posted speed limit, right? OR 200 bcdpm (brain cells dead per minute) ? either way, I don't like them rice burners at all. Luckily most people aorund here realized that our North Dakotan roads do horrid damage on body kits, although there's still a fare share of those angry-lawn-mower-noise-makers (AKA fartcannons) and a few big wings, although nothing that looks like it came off a 747 (just a 737 or so)

Overall, sounds like a sweet ride man, it sounds like you got a truck that you could actually put a sound system in and stuff. That's about a few thousand dollars down the road from me right now, But hey, it's nice to see a young kid on the boards, let me welcome ya. And GET THOSE PICS SOON! and like has been said before, you'll learn alot if you stick around some. Heck, I've been here only a few days, and I'm already learning a lot! And if ya got questions, there's a lot of guys and gals here who can lend their help, opinions, and expertise to ya. Again, welcome aboard, and remember these two fundamental rules about these boards:

1) have fun and enjoy yourself here
2) make sure to learn here, so you can use these boards to have fun and enjoy yourself!

[xtinc]

72C-10 congrats on the new truck, sounds like a nice ride. I'm also redoing my rear suspension, but I'm going with the Air Ride suspension so I can haul and tow. From all the tech articles I've read the aux springs were just removed. You can always call Early Classics, the guys are great and will be glad to answer your questions.

[Skruffy]

I see all the articles about putting on airbags, but nobody ever talks about how they ride. Is this some big conspiracy? LOL How do they compare to stock?

[Tx Firefighter]

The overload spring will have to go when you drop it. Or, like you said, you'd be sitting on them all the time otherwise.

[mplex2000]

You guys shouldn't underestimate imports. Of course, if it's a Honda with a huge wing, you can probably ignore it. I keep mine stock looking on the outside so you're surpised when I blow your doors off. 400+ hp at the wheels in a 2200 lb car make it quite a bit faster than most 5000+ lb trucks :P

But oh I do love my truck. I think my Honda is getting jealous.

[FirstGen]

Originally Posted by mplex2000

You guys shouldn't underestimate imports. Of course, if it's a Honda with a huge wing, you can probably ignore it. I keep mine stock looking on the outside so you're surpised when I blow your doors off. 400+ hp at the wheels in a 2200 lb car make it quite a bit faster than most 5000+ lb trucks :P

But oh I do love my truck. I think my Honda is getting jealous.

What color is that hatch? I only know of one civic that quick in the N.Dallas area.

[Putter]

Welcome to the board from Central Missississississippi. Aside from the wealth of know-how, you can easily make some really good friends. I have met members face-to-face from here in Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, and just this weekend, from California and so far, 100% of them are great folks. (Some a little more off-center than others....aka-LUV!!!)
I would not hesitate to offer any one of these guys/girls a room in my home or supper, or whatever else they need.

BUT IF YOU DON'T GET THE PICS POSTED SOON, THEY ALL MIGHT TURN ON YOU!!!!! (jk)

[mplex2000]

My old one was a black 96..new one is a red 96, but I'm painting it white. Motor is out now, it's never seen a turbo. Ditched the 1.6 SOHC of course and I kept the 1.8 DOHC I had in my last one, but now I've got the VTEC head and I'll be getting a bigger turbo from Precision. Had a Garret T3/4 on the non vtec motor.

Actually though, I'm only shooting for 450-500 whp this time around (got to have those iron sleeves installed this time though, the stock guts didn't take well to 400hp). There's so many guys out there with 500+ hp Hondas it's sickening. It's just amazing how far technology has come (and the low weight doesn't hurt either). It's funny that I know so many guys with fast imports, but you really never see them on the street. All you ever see are the cheeseball riceboys.

Anyway, sorry to jack the thread, I'm sure they don't appreciate fried rice in this forum :P

[67ChevyRedneck]

How did this turn into a "rice" thread??? Like TX said, just remove the overload spring, as with a drop, I'm sure you won't be doing any hauling. I've only ever seen one installed and I think they were a bolt on item. It is ok to remove it, it is only there for hauling heavy loads. For your drop ECE is a good choice. Haven't used them myself, but I have heard good things from many people. We also have many "board vendors" that sell good quality parts. Are you going with a 2 1/2 - 4 drop? (2 1/2" drop spindles, 4" drop springs in rear?) Be real carefull removing the front spings, they could kill you, no joke. Good luck on your truck and welcome from upstate SC.

Edit: I also bought my 67 when I was 15 back in 96. Drove it to HS. Chicks love old trucks, and if they don't, they aren't good enough for ya, find another

[mplex2000]

Heh, my front springs were so sagged they just kind of flopped out...I think my drop spindles and new springs will actually raise the truck lol!

[Tx Firefighter]

I know all about quick imports that make serious horsepower. The problem is, it takes away a lot of the reliability when you lean on them that hard.

Like my dad always told me when I was building racing VW bugs: "If you want to build a 400 horsepower car, start with a 350 horsepower car, not a 100 horsepower one"

[panhandler62]

I've seen 1 500hp Civic and about 500 1hp Civics, but I've never seen an old truck that wasn't interesting in some way.

Got nothing against compact sport technology but, once you've heard a Keith Black Hemi hit 10,000 rpm on "fuel" you'll be a v8 groupie (or deaf) for life!

Anyway ... Welcome to the funny farm and best of luck! It sounds like you do have the one all important thing that eludes so many of us and frustrates our projects --- funds for the toy!

[mplex2000]

I really hate to see people get so stirred up, especially over something they aren't familiar with. Can't you guys see, I enjoy both sides, import and domestic.

One thing to note -

I drove for over a year on a 200+ whp 1.6 liter Honda motor, then for a year on a 300whp 1.8 liter Acura motor (of course it didn't come that way stock) and got 30+ mpg, never had any reliability problems. After that I cranked it up to over 400 with some modifications, but it due to an unfortunate accident, the car was totalled and the motor pulled.

Anyway, back to trucks, unless you really feel the need to rag on about how bad imports are, so on and so forth....but I thought we were here to have fun

[72C-10]

Originally Posted by panhandler62

I've seen 1 500hp Civic and about 500 1hp Civics, but I've never seen an old truck that wasn't interesting in some way.

Got nothing against compact sport technology but, once you've heard a Keith Black Hemi hit 10,000 rpm on "fuel" you'll be a v8 groupie (or deaf) for life!

Anyway ... Welcome to the funny farm and best of luck! It sounds like you do have the one all important thing that eludes so many of us and frustrates our projects --- funds for the toy!

Actually the funds arent quite a long flow of cash, I picked up a 87 dodge 318 pickup from an old farmer with 50g original miles for 400buks and I ended up sellin it for 1800, and my dad and I found my c10 at a auction for 1500, the auction was a dealer auction and none of the dealers wanted to mess with a "old" truck on their lot that they dont know if they can get rid of so dad bought it for me for 1500 and now i have 2200 to put in it which is shrinking heavily after I purchased my 670 holley,dynomax headers,speakers, and my rear bumper and exhaust, but its fun lol. I also just sold my quad for 2500 and I purchased that from my brother couple years back for 1200 so I guess im just doin some "panhandlin" no pun intented of course PanHandler92 lol. I saw someone post something about vw's me and my dad have been workin on a 2200cc stroker since I was 12. Its all done now and its fun to drive and also fun to pass gas stations and not worry about checkin prices to stop, gobs of gas mileage. Its also nice to have a dad that enjoys this stuff its just hard to remind him to let me drive when we take my truck out around the country roads and I keep hearing the classic line "now this is something you should never do" as he lights up my rear tires. He agreed to pay for me new rear set though so i guess its ok

[FirstGen]

Originally Posted by mplex2000

I really hate to see people get so stirred up, especially over something they aren't familiar with. Can't you guys see, I enjoy both sides, import and domestic.

One thing to note -

I drove for over a year on a 200+ whp 1.6 liter Honda motor, then for a year on a 300whp 1.8 liter Acura motor (of course it didn't come that way stock) and got 30+ mpg, never had any reliability problems. After that I cranked it up to over 400 with some modifications, but it due to an unfortunate accident, the car was totalled and the motor pulled.

Anyway, back to trucks, unless you really feel the need to rag on about how bad imports are, so on and so forth....but I thought we were here to have fun

The only thing I don't like about imports is just that every high horsepower import I've ever seen around is an expensive time bomb. If the drivetrain lasted for any length of time it wasn't driven much or hard on a regular basis. Just my experience with the import scene...

[bigcdawg99]

Welcome! Its nice to see guys starting so young (I thind most of us did). I would definately recommend an Early Classic Enterprises drop kit. Quality stuff and the guys over there are very helpful if you have any questions.

[panhandler62]

Got nothing against imports.. I think it's just culture shock. When I was I High School there were Hondas around, but no one was fixing them up.

Heck, my mother thinks it's bizzare that I'm hot rodding an old truck. LOL

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by 72C-10

Its also nice to have a dad that enjoys this stuff its just hard to remind him to let me drive when we take my truck out around the country roads and I keep hearing the classic line "now this is something you should never do" as he lights up my rear tires. He agreed to pay for me new rear set though so i guess its ok

Also, don't forget to keep it between the ditches