86 GMC 4” Rough Country to Deaver Springs 4”

[Craig 85]

Truck looks great. By chance could you list the size of your tire and wheel combination? Also the measurement from your axle center lines to the horizontal body line or the tops of the wheel wells?

 

[Hatchet54]

Your ride looks awesome. Not to go off-topic, but what side steps do you have? Never seen any quite like that before.

 

[Craig 85]

Your ride looks awesome. Not to go off-topic, but what side steps do you have? Never seen any quite like that before.

Those are some long out of production Dick Cepek steps. I found a set of NOS ones on eBay this past year after searching for 6 years.

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[rpcraft]

Are the links on the end of your sway bar just to accommodate the lift? and are they better then using the extension brackets that usually mount on the frame points? Seems like they might be a better method for having sway bar droop be proper and having the strongest connection on the frame...

 

[Hatchet54]

Those are some long out of production Dick Cepek steps. I found a set of NOS ones on eBay this past year after searching for 6 years.

Thanks for sharing. Those must have been worth the search cause they're pretty rad and I've certainly never seen another set. Congratulations, it's a sweet touch.

Sort of where I'm at with finding one of those old J & J steel visors. Maybe some day...

 

[Craig 85]

Are the links on the end of your sway bar just to accommodate the lift? and are they better then using the extension brackets that usually mount on the frame points? Seems like they might be a better method for having sway bar droop be proper and having the strongest connection on the frame...

He has a different brand than me; I used the the ORD ones that disconnect. I swear by this type of link step up. I had a K5 with a 6" Skyjacker soft ride kit, but it still rode rough as the sway bar end links were fixed the the springs.

The links allow the sway bar and springs to work at different arcs and eliminate any bind. My last 2 trucks have used them and they work great. Both trucks had Tuff Country lifts. The '79 K15 had a 4" EZ Ride with a small block and my K30 has a 454 with 3" HD springs. I expected the HD's to ride a lot harder, but they don't. I think because the springs are allowed to flex.

 

[rpcraft]

That makes sense. I sent a message to Deaver to get a quote on the front springs and ubolts yesterday. Pricey but if they give a good ride then I think I'd be OK with spending that money. I think I'd like to do the hanger flip in the rear and do the front springs but I'm worried about the springs height in front being not quite enough. Seems like the better way to go would be to flip the hangers first and do my measurements after and then make sure and get the springs specifically to match the height change in the rear. I think plenty of guys have done a similar swap though so I'll just read up some and see what others have had to go through. I think the difference up front for me though is there is big weight difference between an ls 5.3 and the BBC you have up there so it may balance out.

 

[Craig 85]

I usually run blocks on the rear of my trucks. The K5 was the only full spring I did. I don't beat my trucks, so it hasn't been an issue. On my K30, I wanted to keep the factory overload setup, so the flip kit was out of the question. One thing I don't like about the flip kits is that it moves the rear axle forward requiring you to recenter the axle in the middle of the wheel well. To give you a measurement off my K15 with a 4" lift, the horizonal body line to the center of the hubs was 32".