Quote:
Originally Posted by Andyking1203
I'm building a 68 c10 swb, I'm thinking I wanna go coil o era front and rear (no limit setups for both ends), what's the advantage of spending this kinda money vs semi stock suspension ( itll be lowered, tubular a arms and tubular trailing arms)? They're is no road course racen up here in the north east... thanks
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This is a great question, and we hear this a lot. There are a few things to consider, and this will help make the best choice for you. Here are some comparisons that I put together this morning.
No Limit Chassis Pack has both front and rear suspensions, motor mounts, trans mount and a P/B kit for your truck. Price is $5195. This will net a 5/7 drop. Using Ridetech or Viking coil-overs. Keep in mind this includes new 12" front brakes, a power rack and pinion steering and front sway bar. Some welding is required for the rear suspension install. (if you choose a 4-bar) no welding with the Trailing arm package. There is a 3" gain in front ground clearance at the bottom of the crossmember and the total IFS swap cuts 215 lbs. The motor will go up 1" (for rack and pinion clearance) so the exhast may need to be modified.
From one popular manufacturer I was able to piece together a front and rear suspension package with coil-overs, drop spindles, dick brakes and a front sway bar. $4636 These parts bolt directly to the OE mounts on the truck. they advertise this as a 4/6 drop. No steering upgrade. This company has mixed reviews. Stock mounts means stock geometry so the performance improvements are minimal - but, the new A-arms would have new bushings and ball joints which would tighten up the truck compared to 50 yr old parts.
Another site had a package for $5725. This is for front suspension (Drop spindles, A-Arms and coil-overs and mounts) and a complete rear trailing arm set up with coil-overs. No brakes in front and no steering upgrades. This company is well known and has a reputation for quality USA made parts. 100% bolt-on install. Again, with all OE mounting points, the suspension geometry is very close to stock (except lowered) the crossmember clearance is the same, as is the motor placement.
One advantage (for some) of the 'bolt on upgrade' kits is that they can be purchased one piece at a time, so you can step in a little at a time. Where as with a total front or rear suspension upgrade, it all has to be changed at one shot. (more cash up front)
**** I discuss this with a lot of people all of the time. The one thing that most of us forget is how old these trucks really are. The geometry of a 67-72 suspension is really the same as a 60-62 (I know, I know, not the same, but, the suspension pivit points are identical, and so is the spindle geometry). These were first for sale in mid 1959. 8 months of pre-production, 9 months testing, 1 yr tooling, 1 yr engineering, and 1 yr design puts the technology date of these somewhere in 1955. Yes, the suspension geometry on a 67-72 chey truck was put on paper in 1955. So, as far as the tech goes, your C10 is from the fifties. Worse yet, this geometry design stayed until 1988. So, the last squarebody in 1987 had the same basic geometry (yes, updated with rubber bushings and disk brakes, but the same geometry) as the 1960, designed in 1955. So, in reality, how good do you really think bolt on parts can improve this? And, how far do you want to go? You don't need to go road racing to want a nice driving truck. Food for thought. Thanks ****