How low without converting to disc?

[Cris]

lolife99: I see your point. It looks like six of one and half dozen of another. Neither looks ideal. This would be a good problem to plug into a suspension program to see which is the best compromise.

UKNOWME: Tires are 275-55-17's. 28.9" in diameter. I agree, I really want to go about another two inches lower. Unfortunately that extra two inches kicks off a C or step notch and more serious mods to the front A-arms.

[UKNOWME]

Maybe I should just suck it up and do the CPP grand slam. It’s 1200 and includes all the drop components, disc brake conversion with new mater cylinder and brake booster, ball joints and tie rods.

[theastronaut]

I didn't spend near that much to drop my blue '66 C10, maybe only $800 bucks. I did it in two stages- the free way, I cut 1.5 coils off and removed the bump stop bracket to gain more travel. I also relocated the shock mount further up the frame to keep use of the stock length shocks. On the rear I removed the bump stop brackets and bolted in leftover springs from a friend's Jeep TJ for a 3-4" drop. I wouldn't go any lower than this up front with just cut or drop springs, you get into geometry/travel problems and the springs get loose in the cups when you lift the truck with a jack.

Stock height, and cut/jeep springs. The jeep springs are too soft if you plan on hauling or towing anything.






When I wanted to go lower I used CPP's disc/spindle kit, added rear drop blocks, a mild pipe notch, stiffer drop springs, and relocated the rear shocks using FrizzleFry's method. I left the factory single circuit manual master cylinder in place with no issues. The pedal feel and effort were really good actually, I never wished I had a booster. This is as low as you can go up front and have decent ground clearance, inner fender clearance, and suspension travel. Any lower and you'll need to section the crossmember and clearance the inner fenders for more up travel.




I modified a set of rear axle shock mounts so they'd bolt to the frame rails up front.






FrizzleFry's cheap/super effective rear shock relocation method, post #11. This works better than the normal relocation kits since it gets the shocks outside of the frame and closer to the wheel so the shocks can be more effective. I used gas shocks all around and sway bars front and rear and it drove great and cornered with less body roll than my autocross car.

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

[UKNOWME]

Love it!

[Cris]

theastronaut:

"and the springs get loose in the cups when you lift the truck with a jack"

I fixed this issue by using a longer upper bump stop. This doesn't allow the a-arms to drop as much during jacking and keeps the springs tight in the pockets.

[AcampoDave]

Astronaut, you run an o.e.m. single pot m.c. with disc brakes? Most people who make that kind of upgrade are happy to be rid of that thing.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Cris

theastronaut:

"and the springs get loose in the cups when you lift the truck with a jack"

I fixed this issue by using a longer upper bump stop. This doesn't allow the a-arms to drop as much during jacking and keeps the springs tight in the pockets.

Great idea!

Originally Posted by AcampoDave

Astronaut, you run an o.e.m. single pot m.c. with disc brakes? Most people who make that kind of upgrade are happy to be rid of that thing.

Yeah, just a standard original M/C. I grew up driving a '64 VW with manual brakes so a lot of cars with boosted brakes just feel weird to me... not as much feedback from the pedal, too much pedal travel, and harder to modulate as precisely. So I like manual brakes better. I had completely rebuilt the stock brake system before swapping to discs so it already had a new stock M/C; I tried it and it worked great. If I do another I'd add a dual circuit M/C since they're safer with the same bore size and still no booster. It's not needed. A lot of "upgrades" are monkey see-monkey do, or people are misinformed by others saying that you HAVE to have power brakes to be able to stop good. The guy that bought the truck was skeptical of it when he first called about it but after test driving it he liked the pedal effort and feel.

[AcampoDave]

Sure, boosters are optional and i don't use one either, but as for the single pot m.c and no prop valve with disc....."I don't think I'd do that" either.

[theastronaut]

It worked and was new so I wasn't too worried about it. It locked up the fronts just before the rears so it didn't need a proportioning valve.

I put 90k miles on my VW with a single circuit M/C... obviously it didn't kill me. Would I rather have a dual circuit M/C? Of course. But they're not the death trap everyone makes them out to be if the system is maintained.

[UKNOWME]

Finally lowered my 64 and installed wheels/tires. Not as low as I wanted but it will do for now. Also reupholstered the seat.

[RUN GMC]

Very very nice......is that New Mexico or Texas patina?

[Cris]

UKNOWME:

How did you lower?

Thanks, Cris

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by RUN GMC

Very very nice......is that New Mexico or Texas patina?

NM to the best of my knowledge. It was last tagged in NM in 99

[UKNOWME]

Originally Posted by Cris

UKNOWME:

How did you lower?

Thanks, Cris

4/5 drop coils. I’m about to cut a coil in the front and see what happens. Pretty sure I’m gonna have to swap the front to disk and get drop spindles to have the fender sit at or below the top of the tire.