1981 C10 2" Lift Question

[Jeff Heller]

New to the forum and this is my first post...

I've inherited my grandfather's 1981 2WD C10 Custom Deluxe recently. 81k original miles. I'm the 2nd owner. Its was his farm truck and the first car I ever drove. As you can see, it sits like a 2WD. I'd like to bring it up slightly with a 2" lift and 33" tires. It will be garage kept and driven on the pavement around town. No off-roading.

With that said, I've read (on this forum) that a 2" lift shouldn't require a lot of additional modifications (brake line extensions, etc). Also read that at around 4" a lot of adjustments need to be made due to geometric changes.
Is that accurate? Is 2" a "safe" start, relatively?
What else could I expect? Any surprises?
Also, does anyone sell a 2WD kit?

Again, this is all new to me so I'm trying to manage my (and my wife's) expectations.
I know it needs some mechanical TLC as well but I'm here about the lift.

Thanks all, and glad to be here!

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[mcarlo86]

Do you know what gear ratio that pickup has? My grandpa had one that looked just like this, only blue. It had 3.08 gears and a 305 V8 with 225 75R15 tires. It was a dog with that combo and those tires were little. If you are considering 33" tires, you probably will want at least 3.73 gears and maybe even 4.11's if it has an OD transmission. I would assume you could get taller coils for the front and add a leaf in the back to get 2". 31X10.50 15's look pretty good on 2wd's and wouldn't be quite so wild for that 305.

 

[Ricko1966]

My personal opinion, the truck is going to be street driven your just doing it for the look.Do a 2inch body lift don't go too big with your tire because you don't have the gears or the horsepower.A 2 inch body lift should be the same 2wd or 4wd I used to run around with some guys that made their own, drilled holes in hockey pucks and bought longer mounting bolts.I wouldn't recommend that hockey pucks don't hold up long term.But a 2 inch body lift is just stupid easy and the truck will still ride and drive like stock.

 

[WamboJambo]

I just chucked 2" lift blocks in my 1978 C10's rear suspension, was cheap and easy and gave it more of an aggressive "rake" with no real negative impact. Is an easy start. I've done a good bit of research on lifting the front and it seems considerably more difficult, something about sourcing spindles and springs from a C30? Lots of writeups about this very process on these forums. Here's a really good thread (on another forum http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=447061) that looks fantastic, but is quite involved and may be more than you're looking for (and was definitely more than I wanted)

 

[shiftpro]

New to the forum and this is my first post...

I've inherited my grandfather's 1981 2WD C10 Custom Deluxe recently. 81k original miles. I'm the 2nd owner. Its was his farm truck and the first car I ever drove. As you can see, it sits like a 2WD. I'd like to bring it up slightly with a 2" lift and 33" tires. It will be garage kept and driven on the pavement around town. No off-roading.

With that said, I've read (on this forum) that a 2" lift shouldn't require a lot of additional modifications (brake line extensions, etc). Also read that at around 4" a lot of adjustments need to be made due to geometric changes.
Is that accurate? Is 2" a "safe" start, relatively?
What else could I expect? Any surprises?
Also, does anyone sell a 2WD kit?

Again, this is all new to me so I'm trying to manage my (and my wife's) expectations.
I know it needs some mechanical TLC as well but I'm here about the lift.

Thanks all, and glad to be here!

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Welcome to the site Jeff and honestly I'm not sure if your truck is 2x or a 4x. I'm guessing it's a 2x as you call it a C10... K10 is 4x4.

So, you lift a 2x by replacing your front springs with a set from any square body with a big block. If you want more, a BB with AC. The to raise the rear, either a helper spring or blocks or air bags, depending what you want to use the truck for.
They love it and imo handle better with the big springs up front.

33" tires look cool on a 2x but they will rub. They will rub on a 4" lifted 4x with slight twisting. Now I understand a 2x will most likely not get too much twisting, and not all 33" or whatever tire sizes are created equal. For example, the more aggressive a tread is the more sidewall it has and they are knobs that ruin your day when rubber meets metal.

And as mcardo above said, your rear gear ratio and transmission needs to be considered.

 

[Rusty Nail]

Kinda hate to get in here, every single guy before me gave you such excellent posts.

There's not a bad option up there.

I too think 31s is a better choice tire and always considered lifting a 2wd to be done with springs in the front and blocks in the back.
You can reasonably get near 2 inches without headache .

 

[Craig 85]

I used Air Lift air bags in the front coils and a 2" block on my C20. 33x12.50x16.5's & 9.75" wide wheels with minor trimming.

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[WamboJambo]

Oh yeah, I forgot pictures of the 2" lift blocks.

Before:

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After:

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[Catbox]

Yup.
Big block springs.
Mine is a big block A/C truck.
It has had 33's on it, but the rubbed the front fender trim something awful when turning.
This may be different if you don't have the big block in the truck.

Here is my truck with the 33's on it and a whole load of wood in the bed.

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And here is the truck sitting on a set of 31's and nothing in the bed.

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The 31's look far better and less comical on the 2wd trucks to me.