1978 GMC Sierra C35 "Project Second Life"

[tc4x4]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ENS-3-2120R/?rtype=10

I found these at summit. Should work for the leaf springs and shackles.

[bharrison1]

Cool project!!I have a 75 C20 longbed i lowered on eight 20s

[tc4x4]

Are the current shock locations going to work with the drop? The shocks attach to the inside of the frame.

[tc4x4]

What ways can i get the front lower than 6 inches. Right now I'm getting drop spindles and cutting the springs. I know for the rear I could also get a shackle kit to get it down more. I think my 6/8 drop idea will look good but I think the truck will still be sitting pretty high because its a one ton and its starting at such a high height.

The fenders are at 35 inches in the front and 37 inches in the rear.

[cochino12]

Originally Posted by tc4x4

What ways can i get the front lower than 6 inches. Right now I'm getting drop spindles and cutting the springs. I know for the rear I could also get a shackle kit to get it down more. I think my 6/8 drop idea will look good but I think the truck will still be sitting pretty high because its a one ton and its starting at such a high height.

The fenders are at 35 inches in the front and 37 inches in the rear.

Shorter tires. 6" is the most you should go without bags, just my opinion

[SCOTI]

^^ Shorter tires within reason.... The 3/4 ~ 1-ton trucks just don't look right w/too short of a tire in the wells IMO.

3" spindles for sure. Cut 1-coil & see where things wind up or just buy some 2-3" drop springs. I don't like more than 2" of coil drop because then theres very limited travel w/the factory bump-stops in place. You can trim them, replace them w/something shorter, or remove them all together; but then you run into issues w/the tires buzzing the top of the inner wells or the lower control arm bushings hitting the road on moderate dips @ speed.

Another option w/the spindles & shorter springs/bags is an aftermarket front x-member or notching an OE x-member. These allow for some additional drop that won't impact suspension travel. Of course, these alternatives aren't as easy as just opting for shorter springs either.

It just depends . . .... Do you want uncompromised drop or are sacrifices acceptable? If sacrifices are acceptable, what's the cut-off point?

[tc4x4]

Thats what I was looking for. Thanks

[JRANGER]

hmmm just curious but do these older truck have to have a spring compressor like the newer vehicles? Just thinking for my future lowering

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by JRANGER

hmmm just curious but do these older truck have to have a spring compressor like the newer vehicles? Just thinking for my future lowering

No. Shorter drop springs are pretty easy to install. Stock length springs are a bit more of a challenge but a compressor still isn't required.

[Conundrum]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

3" spindles for sure. Cut 1-coil & see where things wind up or just buy some 2-3" drop springs. I don't like more than 2" of coil drop because then theres very limited travel w/the factory bump-stops in place. You can trim them, replace them w/something shorter, or remove them all together; but then you run into issues w/the tires buzzing the top of the inner wells or the lower control arm bushings hitting the road on moderate dips @ speed.

Another option w/the spindles & shorter springs/bags is an aftermarket front x-member or notching an OE x-member. These allow for some additional drop that won't impact suspension travel. Of course, these alternatives aren't as easy as just opting for shorter springs either.

It just depends . . .... Do you want uncompromised drop or are sacrifices acceptable? If sacrifices are acceptable, what's the cut-off point?

I agree.
I have drop spindles, cut coils, I sectioned my crossmember 1.5" and a did a 2" Z on my truck. The crossmember and the Z are probably your best choices if you are wanting to go lower, but both take some work. You can also notch the frame around your crossmember to raise it up instead of sectioning it. DJM may make a drop control arm if you want to go that way.

I lived in the thumb (Port Huron) for a short bit.

[tc4x4]

I think that I will stick with my original 6/8 plan right now and maybe in the future once I get this build under my belt I will go lower.

But out of curiosity who makes a front drop member for a 1 ton?

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by tc4x4

I think that I will stick with my original 6/8 plan right now and maybe in the future once I get this build under my belt I will go lower.

But out of curiosity who makes a front drop member for a 1 ton?

Porterbuilt can (does?) make a C20/30 crossmember.

As far as the 6/8 plan, C20's/30's sit higher vs C10's. A 6" drop on the C10 means getting rid of the bumpstops or suffering through very minimal suspension travel. Since the C20/30 sits higher, that same 6" front drop may be acceptable & have some travel while keeping the bumpstops.

The notched factory x-member or a Dropmember would allow more clearance @ a similar drop height (or allow you to go lower w/the same spindles & springs depending on the goal).

[glimmertwin01]

nice truck, once you got the frame cleaned n prepped I would go with POR15 satin..its semi glossy and will stay that way if not exposed to sun.. since its a frame if should be an issue.
suggestion time
would it be easier to install a 1/2 ton front cross member? if that baby was mine Id convert it to a 4x4..but thats me.. for someone in the RUST/ SALT belt u got a great solid truck.. western NY trucks that old are CRUSTY as im sure they are in MI
good luck

[tc4x4]

Yeah its hard to find a truck around here new or old that isn't just covered in rust. This thing was a good find. I think that I said earlier in the thread that I have had 4x4's in the past and this time wanted to do something really different from what I'm use to. Not many truck like this around here at all. EVERYBODY lifts there trucks, people have no perception of dropping trucks round here and would just call it stupid.

I want to show people other options out there that can be done. What makes it even more unique is that this truck is a 1 ton! Lowering a 1 ton around here is even more absurd.

I'm really looking forward to see where this project will take me. I really want to get a rendering done of this truck. Something to hang on the wall.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by tc4x4

Yeah its hard to find a truck around here new or old that isn't just covered in rust. This thing was a good find. I think that I said earlier in the thread that I have had 4x4's in the past and this time wanted to do something really different from what I'm use to. Not many truck like this around here at all. EVERYBODY lifts there trucks, people have no perception of dropping trucks round here and would just call it stupid.

I want to show people other options out there that can be done. What makes it even more unique is that this truck is a 1 ton! Lowering a 1 ton around here is even more absurd.

I'm really looking forward to see where this project will take me. I really want to get a rendering done of this truck. Something to hang on the wall.

Lowering is no different than lifting one sky high. How many lifted trucks never leave the pavement? What's absurd is a truck that can't be used as a truck. As long as you can drive it & load it up when needed, it's functional.

[tc4x4]

I'm hoping to start something around here. There are a lot of car clubs but not a ton lowered trucks.

[tc4x4]

The axle, leafs, shackles, and hubs are all out being sand blasted. I'm glad the POR 15 came in today because I can get metal prep and paint on the parts before the surface rust has a chance.

I got a chance to start on the POR 15 tonight and I want to let everyone know that I think that It is almost harder to do when the frame is in better condition. I had a lot of the original rubberized under coating that was sprayed on in the 70's still left intact and in good condition. I went ahead and wanted to do tall the steps leading up to the POR 15 paint so that I did it once and right the first time. So I started with the marine clean. I thought that this would go a lot faster but a good outcome can not be rushed. I had my wife's help tonight which was nice because scraping all the old grease and undercoating off really tested my patience, but she kept at it and got a lot done. We decided that we were going to do another coat of marine clean and let it sit all night tonight and then scrape and clean more tomorrow. Then if need be do a third coat. We were using the marine clean at 2:1 ratio with water.

So its going really well, and another package came in today. The rear flip kit. This thing is heavy duty. All grade 8 hardware. I did have one question though, would you all coat the parts with POR 15? (keep in mind that everything is getting a coat of chassis black semi gloss).

I'm starting to think I'll call this build the Husband and Wife build. She has been out there almost every time I am, once we get the kids down.

Here is some pics of the the parts and progress...

[tc4x4]

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=506935

I put this link in my build to keep all my info together. Also for anyone else in the future looking for info that might help. Its the link to a thread I started about the the correct spring saddle to have with your kit if you have a c20 or a c30.

[madcow75]

I guess maybe I should have told you I power washed my frame first before marine cleaning my frame with hot water.

[tc4x4]

So where do I start. I don't have a lot of time to get a ton of work done on the truck all at once, so my time to update you guys is very minimal. I got the axle sand blasted and painted with two coats of POR 15 and then I top coated it using their topcoat.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but the disc brake conversion went really well. It was a good learning experience. I put in all new bearings, races and seals. I also replaced the pinion seal. When I got the leaf springs back from the sand blaster I noticed that one the the springs had a crack in it, so I replaced that one and the other side also. I didn't want to replace both sides, but I'm pretty sure that it would of sat uneven. So I got them all painted and put back together. I went from nine springs to six springs. And I replaced all the hardware with new grade eight stuff.

I was looking at the axle saddles that came with the kit and they were the wrong ones. You can see in the picture that the front is the right saddle Western Chassis had to resend and the back ones are the wrong ones. I had to weld these ones on slightly to ensure that they would not move.

Here are a couple pictures to get you started but I have more updated coming. If you guys have any questions post them up, and I'll try and answer them. I hope this build will help other newbies who are trying to drop their one tons.

[tc4x4]

A couple of leaf spring shots.

[tc4x4]

The disc brake conversion kit that I bought was the diy4dx.com kit. It is beefy and fits pretty good, but there was only one issue. When trying to install the calipers, the outer brake pad was to tight and I could not get it over the rotor. This was due to the disc brake bracket being to far away towards the in side. So I put one washer of a gap on the inside of the disc brake bracket. It made the spacing near perfect. Here is a picture maybe you can see the washers and what I did.

[JRANGER]

How much was that kit? Looks great!

[tc4x4]

The kit was 380.00 but this cost me a lot more. Paint, sand blasting, new parts with no core exchange... As far as western chassis, they are nice but I had a few things that weren't so great. They sent the wrong spring saddles, and also the U bolts were WAY to long leaving me with no threads. So the saddles and u bolts were wrong, that was about half the kit. So I had to buy new u bolts.

[tc4x4]

I think I got about 30'' or 32'' u bolts when i needed 20''.