Very Stiff Ride

[‘Ol Flossie]

I have an 81 short bed that i've dropped 5/6 and the ride is so stiff i cringe each time i see any uneven pavement approaching. For the rear, flipped the axle, no C notch, stock leaf springs, and drop shocks. For the front, I have 3 inch drop spindles and 2 inch drop springs. I have an '84 with this same setup, with the difference being that on the '84 I have stock ride height shocks and stock control arms. On the '81, I have CPP tubular upper and lower control arms and 2 inch drop shocks. Same on the back, '84 has stock shocks and '81 with stiff ride has the drop shocks. For me, it seems as though my common denominator is the drop shocks that may be causing the stiffness. Would like to get others opinions and experiences please. Thanks.

**Also, I have removed the factory bump stops in the front and the rear. The rear has the pancake bump stops, and the front has bump stops that came with the tubular control arms.

[cadillac_al]

Are the bump stops getting a workout? I have 2 vehicles that are riding on the bump stops and I cringe when I see bumps coming. New springs will fix my problem, yours may be more involved since you are trying to get as low as possible.

[‘Ol Flossie]

Thanks for the response. I'll have to put an eyeball on the bump stops. I've gone through the truck from the front to the back. Rebuilt the entire front end, dropped a blueprint crate motor in it, 700r4, and now the rear end is apart and half way through removing the 2:56 ring and pinion for a 3:73 and posi. So, hopefully I'll be done by this evening or tomorrow and i can put focus on those bumps. Is it likely that it could be the shorter shocks? My '84 doesn't seem to have this issue. Other than the control arms and the shocks, the setup is pretty much the same. I will mention that I probably should've replaced the leaf springs, but they appear to be in fairly decent shape, same with their bushings. I will mention that my '84 has the 15" ralley wheels and some nice BF Goodrich tires, while this '81 has not been so fortunate to have new rubber. The rubber that is on it now is as hard as times in 1929. Not sure if that makes a difference either.

[Rich84]

So drop shocks, hard rubber and old leafs. These could all be contributing to your problem.
I run 255/70's on my 15" wheels and find the ride to be pretty good.

[Hart_Rod]

Did you use shock extenders on the rear to get a better shock angle? Do the CPP A-arms have polyurethane bushings? The will also add to the stiffness.

[EVRLET]

Jump on the rear bumper a few times and you should know if it’s slapping the frame and/or the shocks are bottoming out. I don’t think the shocks are the issue, but like Rob said, the shock angle is likely wrong.

[Frank68]

What shocks are you using? I have a similar set up on an 86 with 20's.Originally used the Bell Tech Nitro 2 drop shocks. Wife said it rode like a lawn mower.

Changed to the Bell Tech Street Performance and there was a significant improvement.