Lifting a 2wd
 

I have a 1974 long bed chevy c10 2wd. coil springs up front and leafs in the back. i am looking to lift the truck 2in and use 33/12.50R15's. i have been looking into lift spindles for the front and lift blocks in the back. is this a good route as far as parts and tires wear is considered and if so what places should i start looking for the spindles? please help!


Here she is hope it works

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...e/100_1732.jpg

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

they dont make lift spindles for theses kinds of trucks anymore

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

any other ideas. i dont really wanna do taller coils. cause i dont wanna deal with control arm length and never being able to align the truck and bad tire wear or would i not have troubles because of it only being 2in?

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

you can get a ball joint spacers and a 3" body lift

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

i would do the body lift

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

balljoint spacer and a 1" taller coil will allow you to run 33's.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

mike d
how reliable is a ball joint spacer and will it affect the alignment?

and

flamingbig 10
how difficult is a body lift compared to a suspension lift?

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

I don't have any alignment problems. Ill snap a picture this weekend. I know there is a moog spring that works great, I'll look for that part number as well

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

I ran 1 ton coils on my 82 c10 and was able to fit 32"s with only slight rubbing. I did not need any lift on the rear as the truck sat level with the 1 ton springs. You could do the 1ton front coils and then a small (1") body lift. I do not like body lifts but a small one isn't too bad. I know my 32x11.50s almost hit the lower edges of the front fenders.. I had less than 2 fingers width at the closest point. The tires rubbed the inner fenders at the top.

Spindles are the best option but as previously mentioned not currently available for our trucks. I have heard and seen a couple people running the 88-98 front lift spindles but have not seen a write up on what particular parts are needed.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

When I bought my truck it had 3" lift coils with the ball joint spacer in it. Then it had the blocks in the back. It had 31x10.50's on it with plenty of room. I can't tell you how it was on tires, or alignment because I changed back to stock pretty soon after I got it.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

When I bought my truck it had 3" lift coils with the ball joint spacer in it. Then it had the blocks in the back. It had 31x10.50's on it with plenty of room. I can't tell you how it was on tires, or alignment because I changed back to stock pretty soon after I got it. Here is a pic of it.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/p...pictureid=2255

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

prerunner 1982 - With the 1 ton coils did you need longer control arms or were you able to use the stock ones?

And does anyone have a pic of a ball joint spacer? i want to know how it works.
Thanks guys for all the assistance.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

No I did not need longer control arms, I believe the same coils were available in diesel equipped trucks whether they were 1 ton or not. Since they were a stock option, no mods were needed.

Ball joint spacers: Though the pics below are for a Toyota the concept/design is still the same. It spaces the ball joint away from the upper control arm and helps reduce the angle the ball joint operates at. Also some of the aftermarket tubular control arms have the ball joint mounting area angled to help reduce the angle of the ball joint.
http://www.sonoransteel.com/ball_joint_spacer_001.jpg
http://www.sonoransteel.com/ball_joint_spacer_008.jpg

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

I am currently running 3" coils and ball joint spacers in mine. The spacers are no where near as thick as the ones shown above, only about 1/2" you also chage the mounting from above the control arm to below it. this set-up is designed to eliminate the exact problem you mentioned.

Edit: to clear up any possible misconceptions ball joint spacers do not provide any lift, they simply allow you to get a proper alignment with a huge shim stack and provide room for more droop as the lift coils change the position of the a-arms. I also plan to install a 1 1/2" thick droop stop istead of the stock 2 1/4" one to provide suspension travel closer to stock.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

If you really want spindles:
Originally Posted by suicide 63
The recipe is
73-87
upper control arms any <c10-c20-c30>
lower control arms c20-c30

88-98
spindles for 1-1/4 inch rotors any exended cab will have them
rotors or a light dudy 3/4 ton they were six lug
upper and lower ball joints
outer tie rod ends
brake hoses
calipers

What makes this work is the 88 up ball joint presses into the 73 up 3/4 ton lower a-arm
Yuo will have to cut about a 1/4 inch off the new tie rod ends to get proper alignment.
Dont forget abought 88-91 square body stuff it all interchanges.
good luck

classic performance products has six lug rotors that go on 73-87 1 1/4 inch spindles about $120 for a pair.

Use this with a pair of lift spindles from Fabtech and 4" rear springs

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

holy cow had no idea it would b such a hassle. i never really like body lifts but it is looking like i might go that path. just seems easier. thanks for all the suggestions and ideas. hopefully soon i will get it lifted and i will post pics of what i came up with.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

ever see those "donk cars"? I always wondered how they lifted gramma's 4 door grocery getter to clear 30"rims. I saw a kit for $495 in one of the DONK magazines for a 3" kit for a c10. the kit had front spacer cups, ball joint spacers, rear blocks, hardware, and shock absorbers. or you could try some big block or 1-ton coils up front and blocks in the back.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

This combination would give it a raked look. 1ton coils alone would level out the truck.

However, what are you doing looking in a "Donk" mag long enough to find an ad for a c10 lift kit? :lol:

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

it was one of those things where you see the magazine cover at 7-11 and go "WTF?!" and pick it up. good marketing... sparked my interest for sure.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

yeah its hard to get passed the girls (well car) on the front of them mags

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

girls? they have girls in those mags? I musta' looked right passed them (my ole' lady's in the room)

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

what magazines are you looking at then? ;)

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

Think i am gonna do 1 ton coils and leafs. just seems easy.

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

On a C20, how much lift would I get with 1 ton coils up front? Or are the springs the same on a C20 and C30?

Re: Lifting a 2wd
 

about a 1 1/2