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Old 06-29-2018, 02:26 PM   #5
theastronaut
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Join Date: May 2011
Location: Anderson SC
Posts: 3,870
Re: Needing advice on 65 suspension upgrade.

You can put together a better "drop kit" than the kits most places sell for less money and it'll work better. I'm not a fan of the rear shock relocation brackets that CPP and others sell that keep the shocks inside the frame rails.

On my '66 I used CPP's drop spindle/disc brake kit and front sway bar. I had already replaced the master cylinder with a new stock M/C and it ended up working great without a booster. It would be smart to upgrade to a dual circuit M/C to be safe, but a booster shoudn't be needed if you stick with the original M/C bore size. The stock pedal ratio is set up for manual brakes and works well once the brakes are upgraded to discs. It's worth trying before you spend money on a booster/bracket setup. Some people like really low pedal effort, I prefer a firm pedal that is modulated with pressure rather than a soft/boosted pedal that is modulated with pedal travel.

I also cut 1.5 coils off the original springs. It was slightly too low so cutting only one coil off would be better. You'll need to cut the original bump stop bracket completly off. I modified a Currie shock bracket (originally meant to weld onto a rear axle) to mount the front shock farther up the frame to get the shock back into it's proper range of travel. This keeps a stock length/full travel shock vs the shorter drop shocks most places use.






In the rear I bought drop springs and drop blocks, and cut a peice of 4" thickwall pipe in half to make a small pipe notch over the axle. I used FrizzleFry's method to relocate the shocks using the stock lower brackets. That way the shocks are outside the frame rails and closer to the wheels so they work more effectively. I also used an 80's F100 rear sway bar, it's nearly bolt on.

You can see the details of the shock relocation here.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...postid=4730005





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