Rear shock hack job

[RBW]

I've attached pics of the rear shock mounts on my '62 C10. There's been quite a bit of modifying done by the previous owner. I've been told the Diff might be out of a Blazer. The shock mounts are some of the shabbiest work I've ever seen. The basic location seems ok, but I want to cut all of the PO's disaster out and do it right. Any suggestions for top and bottom mounts would be greatly appreciated. As you can see, I'll be starting from scratch.

[LostMy65]

I'd try to get it back to stock.
The 60-62 stock shock location is a great setup. The 63-66 guys will often relocate their shocks to something like the 60-62's.
I'll see if I can find a thread.

[LostMy65]

This might be a good option :
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=477839

[LostMy65]

Another thread and webpage :
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=763851

http://nolimit.net/tech-center/67-c1...on-kit-1963-72

[62bagger]

It looks like they moved the shocks to the inside of the frame. On my 62 they are on the outside of the frame. They left the bottom shock mounts on the trailing arms but they are turned to the front. Can you turn the bottom mounts to face the rear will they move them back to the outside of the frame? if yes you can use the No limits top mounts top mounts. Hope this helps.

[RBW]

Thanks guys. This gives me a couple of directions for looking into.

[PGSigns]

With the two sets of saddles on the housing I think the housing is out of a 63 up truck. Post a picture of the center section and that will help id the rear.
Jimmy

[RBW]

I’d definitely appreciate an I.D. on this differential.

[1998c1500]

Originally Posted by RBW

I’d definitely appreciate an I.D. on this differential.

There should be a code on the top of the passenger side axle housing that will tell you what it came out of and the original gear ratio.

[RBW]

Originally Posted by 1998c1500

There should be a code on the top of the passenger side axle housing that will tell you what it came out of and the original gear ratio.

I’ll look for that. Where could I find the code key?

[1998c1500]

The 1st letter is plant ID. 2nd designates gear ratio. The 4 numbers following that are the date code. If you list it here someone will help

[nsb29]

I hope he didn’t do to much work on the rest of the truck

[LostMy65]

Looks like a 63-72 12-Bolt
Is it 6-Lug or 5-Lug?

[RBW]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

Looks like a 63-72 12-Bolt
Is it 6-Lug or 5-Lug?

It's a 6-lug.

The only thing I see stamped on the top of the passenger side axle housing is an "N".

[Captainfab]

Being a 6 lug, and with that panhard bar mount, it will be a '65-'70 truck 12 bolt.

[RBW]

I did find a second letter stamp. It was about a foot away from the "N" and it looks like they failed to get a good strike, so gave it another go...

[nsb29]

You can figure out what gear you have by counting of the rotation Pinyan as you make one revolution with the wheel

[1998c1500]

They are hard to see on some differentials, but it should be there. Try sanding the area in the pic.

[Captainfab]

If you want to know what gears are in the differential and whether it is a posi or open diff, just pull the cover and have a look. There's no telling what could have been changed in the past 50 years. More than likely the oil needs changed anyway since a differential is one of the most neglected parts of a vehicle. It'll only cost you a couple quarts of gear oil, a cover gasket and a little time. Then you will know exactly what you have and the peace of mind knowing that your differential has fresh oil.

[RBW]

If you want to know what gears are in the differential and whether it is a posi or open diff, just pull the cover and have a look.

Good idea. So I just count the teeth on th ring and on the pinion, and do the math?

[PGSigns]

The numbers will be on the ring gear. Will look like 41-11.
Jimmy

[1998c1500]

I think he is looking for the year not the gear ratio

[demian5]

I just went through the exact same thing on a 60.

1st pic - Had a diff from a 80-90s cop car.
2nd pic - Got one from a 64 truck and had to add the wider saddles for the 60, and remove the track bar mount from the diff. Luckily the saddles were able to be welded on right next to the narrower ones (just like yours) and I used the existing ones to get the pinion angle correct.
3rd pic - Used the CPP deluxe track bar kit that put the pivot on passenger the trailing arm. Issue was that after installing that, no way I could put the shocks back in the factory locations. Had to extend the shock mounts as shown.

It all worked out but what a chore. Whomever put the car diff in used a conversion u-joint so all I had to do was use a factory u-joint and the driveshaft bolted right up. Before and after pics included too. Im running 1" spacers on the transport wheels on the truck to get them centered.

The diff you have in there should work. It looks like a 65 or later truck 12-bolt. The hard work is done. Just get a better shock arrangement. If you have the mounts at the rear of the frame, you could turn the lower mounts around and just bolt up some shocks.

Message me is you have any questions.

[RBW]

I spoke with someone at No Limit, to ask if the shock relocation mounts he sells for 63-66 trucks could be modified to fit my '62. He said his were based on the OEM mounts from '62, and advised I try to make mine work. So I flipped the lower shock mounts around to the correct direction, and it's looking like they'll do the job.

That was good advice on the Diff. I'll pull the cover, read the gearing marks and freshen up the fluid and gasket.

Another area of funk is the springs. They appear to be OEM units that were heated in order to lower the truck. I like the truck's stance, so would like to replace these with correct aftermarket springs with the same ride height. Can you guys take a look at the attached pic and tell me how much this truck has been lowered?

[RBW]

Still trying to figure out a good way for mounting my rear shocks. Please forgive my crappy drawing, but hopefully, it illustrates a point I'm trying to make. Everything I've learned about suspension and shock mounting tells me the shock should run roughly parallel to the arc of the rear wheel travel. The idea of mounting shocks that mount toward the rear places the travel of the shock outside that arc and it seems to me they will loose a lot of damping effectiveness. My sketch shows roughly where I'd like to mount my shocks, so they are inside the arc of rear wheel travel. Do any of you have photos that show a clean and sturdy way of mounting shocks similar to this?