Front coil springs too low

[bigmoe]

I put a square body front crossmember under my 65 and I can't remember if I used the original 65 coils or the ones I got with the square body front crossmember I bought from a guy. Maybe it had drop coils in it and he didn't tell me, who knows. The other day was a momentous occasion when we dropped the v8 and auto trans into the truck. I should add it has no hood on and no front bumper on yet. First thing I thought was geez it looks pretty low. I can't even get my low profile floor jack under the crossmember. Upon closer inspection I see the suspension is sitting down just touching the snubbers. So my plan is new coil springs from a square body. I see I have the option of regular or hd for a/c trucks. The specs for each show the same uncompressed and compressed height but the hd springs have a heavier rating and thicker diameter rod. I'll add my sbc v8 has iron block and aluminum heads and no a/c. What have others used??

[vin63]

Did your 65 originally come with the inline 6? There is a difference in spring rates for the inline 6 and V8 applications...not to mention the age of the '65 springs.

[Clyde65]

Just get stock coils for your truck year. Show some pictures also, so we give you the right advice

[bigmoe]

Originally Posted by vin63

Did your 65 originally come with the inline 6? There is a difference in spring rates for the inline 6 and V8 applications...not to mention the age of the '65 springs.

The more I think about it I think I used the springs that came with the square body front crossmember. I wonder if the guy I got it from used drop springs or cut coils off the stock springs. I'll know more when I swap them for new ones.

[bigmoe]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

Just get stock coils for your truck year. Show some pictures also, so we give you the right advice

Right now I can barely walk around in my cramped space let alone take decent pics. Can't wait till I can put some on here though.

[AcampoDave]

Here's a short thread about what happened to me when I used a square body crossmember with stock height springs for a '66. I still don't know where the drop came from. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=586664 After all that, I ended up dropping the rear a total of 3 inches (2" drop springs and a 1" block) to achieve a slight rake.
Edit: FYI... Early Classic says square body springs have a stiffer rate than earlier coils because the trucks are heavier.

[Chevy Fleetside]

I never swapped the cross members in my trucks, so I don't have these problems.
If I can remember back 20 years ago. I believe the square body springs were 1" shorter. Not 100% sure of this.

[64shortbox]

I don't know if this helps or not but I swapped in a complete front suspension from a 73. I bought CPP 2 1/2" drop spindles & Moog stock height & rate springs for a 73 C-10 with a 350 and A/C.

The last pic is how the truck sits after the work was done. I still want to drop the front another 1" - the rear is bagged with 45 psi of air in them.

[bigmoe]

Originally Posted by 64shortbox

I don't know if this helps or not but I swapped in a complete front suspension from a 73. I bought CPP 2 1/2" drop spindles & Moog stock height & rate springs for a 73 C-10 with a 350 and A/C.

The last pic is how the truck sits after the work was done. I still want to drop the front another 1" - the rear is bagged with 45 psi of air in them.

Thanks 64shortbox. I ordered the same springs for a v8 a/c truck. I have 3” drop spindles on mine. When I get these ones out I’ll put them side by side for comparison.

[bigmoe]

Yup, the guy I got the squarebody front suspension from had trimmed 1 1/2 coils off. I'll see where the truck sits as soon as they are in.

[Clyde65]

1.5 coils would be about 3” drop.

[bigmoe]

Well it's up about 5". This height is with no hood, bumper, grill or fluids. I'll wait till I'm all done to reassess to see if I need to trim some off the coils.

[Clyde65]

After a couple weeks or so it will settle a little bit too

[BigBird05]

If you jouns the front end a few times. It should settle to its ride height. It shouldn't change at all after that.