Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Nevermind, I found it!!!
http://www.ridetech.com/products/sus...1973-1987-c10/

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Thanks man! Glad you were able to find it.
Let me know if you need anything.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

John, I need $5900 to buy that badass coilover setup! Can you get that handled? Haha

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

If you can come up with just the $5900 I can take care of the rest..lol

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

I added a link to the page.
From what I have been told there is about an inch of variable up or down with out impacting the ride. I hope to go about 3/4" all around.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

You did a fantastic job on all the emblems and tailgate trim. Scarlett looks complete now that she has a tailgate trim!!
I'm always happy to see those get saved. When my Dad worked at GM, he made that part.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

What's the initial drop though?

You should've seen that tailgate band in person. What a work of art! The grain and finish looked perfect even without a coat of clear.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Do you clear the tailgate band after the sanding or just leave it natural?

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Thanks for the kind words. Its far from flawless, but a great improvement over what I started with. I was really proud when the photographer zoomed in on the badges and band for pics and complimented my work.

She has CPP 2" spindles on front with a Western Chassis 3" spring. One the rear is a flip kit and shackle for the traditional 5/7 drop.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

For this event I just wiped it with a coating of WD40 to keep it fresh looking. I plan to paint it with a satin clear to minimize maintenance.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

I mean the ridetech coilover drop. You said it has about an inch adjustment but what is the drop with the spindles and coilovers from ridetech.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

I wipe mine down with Skin So Soft.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

We are still talking about the tailgate band, arent we?:lol:

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

In anticipation of the RideTech coil over kit arriving, and another deadline looming over my head I got the ball rolling. I did something I normally forget to do and thats take measurements. I know the "correct" way to get a baseline is to measure from the center of the wheel to the bottom of the fender. Unfortunately thats not an option when you are trying to hold a tape measure straight an lean back to snap a picture.

As mentioned Scarlett currently has a CPP 2" spindle and Wester Chassis 3" coil. She is riding on Bell Tech shocks with and extender on the rear set. The axle is flipped out back and a shackle added for a traditional 5/7 drop. No C-notch in yet.

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I also learned this the hard way haha.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Thanks. Mine is UGLY so I'd like to clean it up but wondered about the protection/maintenance.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

LOL!! Yes we are still talking about the tailgate band.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

If its original, it still has the clear anodizing on it. Just wipe it clean and your done. Someone had used an acid based cleaner on mine and turned it milky white.Just checking;)

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

With the perimeters measured the process of "Scarlett gets a spring in her step" by RideTech begins, but first a little background. Several of the staff at RideTech follow my media feed and have been following the adventures of Scarlett. While developing the 73-87 C10 Coilover System they were looking for the best way to reach their target market. They decided to use a RideTech shop truck as an R&D test mule and JohnJ@RideTech posted the build thread here "Ridetech 4-Link Coil-Over Install"

Chase Mundy from the sales team reached out to me and asked if I would document the install of the kit on Scarlett. The plan at that time was to have it installed and ready to display at C10s in the Park. Despite everyone's best effort the kit was not ready to be released in time, so the decision was made to hold it till it was ready.

This week the green light was given and the decision was made to install the kit and have Scarlett on display in the RideTech booth at the Goodguys Lonestar Nationals. Follow along as I document the install and put put a spring in Scarletts step.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Wow that's a quick deadline! Can't wait to see the installation process and the end result.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

This is going to be fun to watch. I know how you and Chris are with deadlines, but this one is tight just 7 days from today!

If the kit is like the others you have done and as John's tread showed, you should be able to knock this out with time to spare.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Me too :(
Its going to be interesting. I had already committed to RideTech that I could make it happen as several deadlines came and went. I know this is going to be a tough one to pull off, but I WILL make it happen.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Removing the core of the front suspension components is straight forward. Its just a matter of unbolting as you go. I prefer to remove the ball joint castle nuts and flip them over to protect the thread before trying to pop the ball joints free from the spindles. The one thing I forget is unbolt the shocks before trying to pop the ball joints free. I beat them for a while before remembering to pull the shocks and they popped free on their own.

With the spindle and brake assembly removed I dropped the lower arms and set them aside. I loosened the upper arms and removed the alignment shims. The shims were wrapped in tape and marked for location so they can go back in place. A proper alignement will be required, but replacing those shims will be a good starting point.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Up to this point all that required is a good assortment of hand tools. I didnt even bother to break out the air tools. My DeWalt 20v did the job on everything it could reach. Thats all about to change for the next step.

The upper A arm mounting bracket must be removed to make room for the new HQ Series coilover bracket. There are four bolts that hold it to the frame. All but one came out with minimal difficulty. The bottom one on the passenger side was very difficult to access, so plan on testing your patience on this one. Be sure to lube the exposed threads to help ease the process.

With the bolts out of the way a whole new game begins. The stock brackets are secured to the crossmember with rivets. There are several ways to remove these rivets, none are what can be called easy.
A common way is to use a cut off wheel and cut an X in the head, then use a air chisel to cut the head off. If you use the process you will need a very good quality air chisel. Mine did not make the grade, and Harbor Freights best wont do it either.

In the end, I resorted to a more tedious method of grind the head off, top and bottom. I followed this up with drilling the rivet out. It was slow, but less stressful than a weak air chisel that would have taken much longer.

Re: 85 GMC Sierra "Scarlett"
 

Nice and clean in there!