Kit for better handling and lowering

[c3888]

1970 stepside/shortbed. Disk brakes in front. 6 lugs wheels all around.
Is there a kit that you can recommend that do fix better handeling and lower the car 4’’/5’’ (or something like this)?

[Ironangel]

There are kits available...Check LMC Trucks out...The biggest handling improvement will come with adding a front sway bar. The first move in lowering your front end should be with "drop spindles"...That way the steering geometry, caster and camber are not affected with the drop. The rear can be done by simply adding "drop springs" up to 4" and maybe 5" on a short bed and bending the panhard bar. I put a 15* degree bend in my panhard bar with 4" drop springs and the rear end is centered perfectly. I can still haul my 600 lb KZ1000 (drag bike) without bottoming out. If you go over 5," or 4" on a long bed, you will need to relocate your shock mounts and opt for shorter "shorty" shocks as well as either bend or install an adjustable panhard bar. LMC is your friend...~Ghostrider~

[68 TT]

Originally Posted by c3888

1970 stepside/shortbed. Disk brakes in front. 6 lugs wheels all around.
Is there a kit that you can recommend that do fix better handeling and lower the car 4’’/5’’ (or something like this)?

Get a square body 3/4-ton front sway bar. Look for one with the 1-1/4" bar as I have seen some with the smaller 1-1/8". May not sound like much but that is a huge difference in the world of sway bars. If your truck didn't have a stock sway bar you probably don't have the brackets to install the front bar. The ones from the square body are a direct fit. You have to chisel off the rivets holding on at least on of the two mount points on the brackets. Some I have seen had a bolt in one position and others had two rivets. YMMV.

Get a set of four polyurethane sway bar bushings & brackets that have the grease fitting on them and are the thicker overall bushing diameter. There are versions that have a thinner wall thickness that will not work well in our trucks with the design that bends them under suspension travel. A kit designed for a square body with the 1-1/4" bar should be the correct ones.

Absolutely replace the trailing arm bushings with polyurethane parts and get new bolts for them. Those bolts have seen 50-years of constant hammering and exposure to the elements. Do you really want to risk damaging your truck over $20? While you are working on them stitch weld some 1/8" plate to the top & bottom flanges of the trailing arms and wrap it around the back end. Not much added weight but it will substantially increase the strength and durability of the trailing arms.

It may not sound like much but replace your rubber body bushings with a set of polyurethane ones and get new bolts if the kit doesn't come with them. It won't make the truck handle better but it will make it more responsive to your steering input similar to a quick ratio gear box does. Same goes for replacing rubber shock bushings with polyurethane for a similar reason.

Just getting lowering springs isn't what you need. You need to talk to somebody like Rob at No Limit Engineering about proper spring rates for the handling you are after to go along with the spring height change you want to get your desired ride height. There is a science to it that can make an otherwise well put together truck drive like a shopping cart if done incorrectly.

Shocks have a ton to contribute to it as well. Too much shock rate is just as bad as too much spring rate. Off-road 4x4 shocks on a street truck will make it drive like you put a piece of schedule-40 pipe in there instead of a set of shocks. A set of Koni reds have always been my starting point on a great handling street bound vehicle but there are many other great performance shocks out there. Get a set of double adjustable shocks if it is anywhere in your budget. The ability to tune them to your specific application is invaluable.

[68 P.O.S.]

Try ECE. They're well known here and are well regarded. Forget LMC hahaha

https://www.earlyclassic.com/catalog..._tid=140&keys=
https://www.earlyclassic.com/catalog..._tid=140&keys=

[68 P.O.S.]

This rear sway bar makes a huge difference http://www.classicperform.com/Store/...uck/CP7401.htm