Quote:
Originally Posted by BigDan3131
Hi Rob,
So after reading much of the thread most of it is dedicated to the later model 67 up trucks. I recently finished the paint and body work on my 1965 GMC Longbed 3/4 ton truck and while I do not plan to race it I want it to handle better than it came from the factory. I plan to keep the 8 lugs since its a money issue [already have 18"x8.5" wheels with 265/60/18's] and I have other bills. I will be swapping the front drums to the 8 lug rotor conversion [3" Drop spindles] that POL sells and using a hydroboost setup. I know about weight removal and relocation, it had two saddle tanks and the one behind the seat. All three are gone and I'm adding a 32 gallon custom built tank to it behind the axle. So part of my question is which front springs should I get since I'm switching to a 500HP 5.3L LS from the obscenely heavy 305E V6 and I really don't want to do a flip kit to drop it but I wouldn't mind the truck being more level than the stock trucks are. Should I get rid of the stock multi-leafs for a new lowered set? I still might haul light loads under 1000 pounds in it rarely.
1 1/4 inch front sway bar? 1 inch rear or bigger? Its overall weight will be much lighter than stock with all the aluminum parts and I plan to set the motor back as far as I can and still remove the valve covers if need be. I also plan to run two batteries mounted in the rear outside the frame rails behind the tank and a roll pan/custom 4"x6" pipe bumper.
Someone mentioned Cal tracs and there is a new solution that's more adjustable but both seem meant from leafs under the axle not over it. Can I build something similar to the style available for the earlier trucks [55-59] ?
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Your biggest hurdle is rear Un-Sprung weight. that is, the total weight of all the components that are not supported by the suspension (springs). This would include the rear axle, brakes, wheels, tires, U-bolt hadrware and plates, and half of the leaf springs and shocks. Lets say there is 1400 lbs total rear wt., and, your rear un=sprung wt is appx 600 lbs. That means that the 'spung' weight on the rear axle is appx 800 lbs. So, your rear un-sprung weight percentage is close to 75% of sprung weight. This = disaster in the suspension world. 50% is the max for anything that handles. To get there, you could A) add 400 lbs to the rear sprung weight (this is why duallys ride better with 1000 lb of crap in the bed), or, B) swap to a lightweight 9" and 4-bar, and light weight wheels/tires. - I know, neither of these is going to happen. - But, now you know what your up against. Go with big sway bars and good shocks (try off roar pre runner valve styles) don't worry too much about the springs.