Spring Swap Thread - 1963 K15

[argonaut]

ORD sells the sway bar links with quick release pins.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by argonaut

ORD sells the sway bar links with quick release pins.

Thanks!

['63GENIII]

Just drove it around. All I can say is that I have to hurry up and do the rears now. It is like night and day. Not a lot of body roll either. Gonna go drive it some more!

[argonaut]

Originally Posted by '63GENIII

Just drove it around. All I can say is that I have to hurry up and do the rears now. It is like night and day. Not a lot of body roll either. Gonna go drive it some more!

Awesome! That is good to hear that the body roll isn't terrible. You're making me wish I had gone with 52s up front when I built big ugly, but I wussed out.

Did you buy the 5 leaf 52" springs new? Did they come with the plastic sliders on the leaf tips like the factory springs? Did you remove the overload leaf or leave it on?

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by argonaut

Awesome! That is good to hear that the body roll isn't terrible. You're making me wish I had gone with 52s up front when I built big ugly, but I wussed out.

Did you buy the 5 leaf 52" springs new? Did they come with the plastic sliders on the leaf tips like the factory springs? Did you remove the overload leaf or leave it on?

I got the springs for 50$ used off of a '74. Didn't even notice that there were no sliders like the rears of the ones that I have on the truck now. I may try and get those. All in all, these springs make a world of difference. The rear springs in the truck used to be the softer part of the suspension. Now I hit speed bumps and wait for the rear to knock a kidney out. I can't wait to put the 63's in and really smooth the ride out! Just waiting on the flip kit which should be here on Wednesday. By the time I'm done, I should have the 31 gallon Blazer tank and the 63" springs in the rear. I'm thinking it will be a drastic difference.

[whateverpratt]

This is great info. I'm planning on converting my '63 C10 to 4wd this summer, and I've been agonizing over the spring choices out there. I'm excited to hear how it drives and see how it looks.

['63GENIII]

Just looked at my last post and noticed that it did not have very much valuable info for anybody here. The leafs that I got were seemingly good used rear 5 leaf units from a 1974 Chevy K10. The guy that I got them from had them powder coated and installed new poly bushings in the eyes. There are no end sliders or sliders where the pack center pin runs through. The original rear springs had the sliders on the ends and the sliders (spacers) between the leafs at the center pin. I may try to find out if the new springs may have had the sliders. Possibly they were removed for the powder coat?
I also just spoke with a guy who is close by and he has the sway bar, minus the frame mount for $20. I think I will pick that up this week.
Im really hoping that the hangers for the rears show up Wednesday. I'd like to have that done this weekend so I can get the fuel tank in and get the bed back on.
One more thing that I noticed. Some of you may have heard me mention that the truck sits anywhere from 1 to 1-1/4" lower on the passenger side. I never knew if it was frame or spring related. Well... I just realized that it is frame related. It is still leaning. I guess its time to start looking for a good frame shop .

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by argonaut

Did you remove the overload leaf or leave it on?

Jason,
I did pull the overloads off BUT, I did scavenge the two smallest leafs off of the original 45" front packs. I did use the smallest leaf on the bottom of the new pack (which I guess means that they are 6 leaf packs now, lol) and am saving the slightly longer one in case I need it later.

On another side note, be a little wary of C clamps made in China. I used 2 of them to hold the old front packs together when I was trying to get the smaller leafs off. One of the clamps let go sending a 2-1/2" chunk of metal whizzing past my head. It happened so fast, I didn't see it - just heard it whiz past my ear. I couldn't find the piece until today. It had ricocheted off of the work bench and landed 40' up the driveway. Lesson learned.