Front lowering spring issues

[grschell]

Hello all. I am having a few issues with lowering the front of my 70 GMC C-15. I decided to replace the control arm shafts, ball joints, and tie rod ends while it was apart. First thing I found out was the spindles (and maybe the control arms) were from a later model truck. The '70 model ball joints were shorter than the ones I took out and the new lower ball joint was a smaller diameter where it presses into the lower control arm . I ended up having to use '72 ball joints. When I put the 3" lowered springs in and connected the upper and lower ball joints through the spindle, the springs were completely loose when the upper control arm was topped out (resting on the spring perch). I know that the springs can't be that loose because I can pop them off of the tapered cup in the top of the perch. I would think that if the suspension ever topped out, the springs would not stay in position and that would be a BAD thing. Is this a known issue with lowered springs? The new 3" drop springs are about 1-1/2" shorter than the ones I took out. Anyone else run into this? I wonder if the later model spindles are taller, thus causing the loose springs. Any ideas?