Anyone recognize this lift? What is it?

[cptmoney]

I'd love to pull the lift kit entirely and lower it to stock height, but I don't want to purchase new front springs. I'd rather purchase some 33" tires and mount 'em on a set of oem rally wheels and call it good. The body needs some attention, so I'm likely going to leave it for now. Just make a cool driver out of it.

I'll let you know what I decide on the dual shock mounts. I think they're about to get jettisoned....

 

[Craig 85]

You definitely will need the steering arm correction to stop the bump steer. I've added the link to one at ORD. The part # is 70100. I know when I changed mine out, I damaged the cone washers that center the arm on the studs. Here is the GM part number for those (3965138). You need 3.

http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringcorrection.htm

Here's a picture of my '79 before I did the axle swap. It had a 4" lift with 33" tires. The rims were 15"x10". If you run rally wheels, which are usually 8" wide, you would probably have to do minimal trimming, if any. You may be able to see how mine were trimmed at the rear of the front fender. On the square bodies I've lifted (7 so far), I usually make a diagonal cut starting from the lowest wheel well trim screw and out at about a 45 degree angle into the fender. I do this at the front and rear of the front fender.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[cptmoney]

Hey, thanks Craig!

Will I have to cut the fenders regardless of which wheels I run? Or only if I run the 8" rally wheels?

Frankly, I'm not interested in cutting any fenders. I don't know that want to cut the bodywork and I'm not sure that I wouldn't butcher it to pieces! Although, with the rust being where it is, this could be a great candidate to practice on.

It's a bit of a numbers game for me as well. I can spend the money for a set of replacement front springs and return it close to stock height, or push things through to make the lift kit right and add the steering components and 33" tires and hack up the fenders.

I'm not building a show truck by any means, but my resources are limited and I've got to keep this within reason to be able to enjoy it. Just looking for the shortest route from point a to point b, to put this sweet truck back on the road.

 

[theblindchicken]

I used to run 32x10.5R15 Yokohama Geloander AT/S on a set of 15x10's with 4 in backspacing on no lift. Never had an issue rubbing on the streets.

Old 33" coopers on the same wheels rubbed while turning through a dip.

 

[Craig 85]

I always ran 10" wide wheels on my lifted trucks, so I'm not sure about rubbing with and 8" rim. The 33's you see in the pictures actually run small and are only about 32.5".

 

[bucket]

I'd just put a raised steering arm on it and run it. It's going to ride rough because of the front springs, they weren't really designed for comfort on the road. I also wouldn't worry about the shocks, they are old as dirt. I'm sure a bunch of worn out shocks do the same job as one good shock at each wheel. Just clean them up and paint them. And it does look like a 4 inch lift, which will work nice with a basic set of 33's.

 

[cptmoney]

Just because I like to waffle back and forth on every single decision I ever make......would C10/C20 front springs match the K10 front springs? Just thinking about my "return it to stock height" options......

Do C10 trucks even have leaf springs up front? Haha! I don't know!

The reason I'm asking is there's a super clean C20 for sale locally; I could steal front/back bumpers, power train, and front springs - all for a song. Put this baby back on the road and start killing bugs!

 

[cptmoney]

I'm having a tough time finding a set of 33" tires (and 10" wheels) that won't cost me close to 2 grand. I have a great set of 8" rallys, with near new 31" BFG that are ready to go. There's some extra coin I could spend on the power train/front springs right there....that's why I'm asking about the front springs.

 

[HotRodPC]

Just because I like to waffle back and forth on every single decision I ever make......would C10/C20 front springs match the K10 front springs? Just thinking about my "return it to stock height" options......

Do C10 trucks even have leaf springs up front? Haha! I don't know!

The reason I'm asking is there's a super clean C20 for sale locally; I could steal front/back bumpers, power train, and front springs - all for a song. Put this baby back on the road and start killing bugs!

2wd aka C series trucks are Coil Spring upper and lower A arm independent front suspension. As far as I've been able to tell, K10 has 2 or 3 front leafs depending on it's GVWR and K20's have 3, maybe some have 4 but I've not seen any.

 

[HotRodPC]

I'm having a tough time finding a set of 33" tires (and 10" wheels) that won't cost me close to 2 grand. I have a great set of 8" rallys, with near new 31" BFG that are ready to go. There's some extra coin I could spend on the power train/front springs right there....that's why I'm asking about the front springs.

Are you wanting a wider tire? What kind of tire you looking for? Radial? Bogger? etc. BF Goodrich makes an All Terrain Radial in a 33x10.50x15. That's what I wanted to run on my K10, but now going K20 I'm in a 16in rim so I can't run those. I prefer not to go wide but tall. There are advantages to skinny tires too. If you go with those, then maybe you can use your stock wheels and save some cash.

 

[cptmoney]

2wd aka C series trucks are Coil Spring upper and lower A arm independent front suspension. As far as I've been able to tell, K10 has 2 or 3 front leafs depending on it's GVWR and K20's have 3, maybe some have 4 but I've not seen any.

So if I was looking for a good set of springs, am I looking for 2-leaf? 3-leaf? Does the length matter? How can I tell if they're shot and worthless?

 

[HotRodPC]

Pretty sure all the front leaf springs are the same length in K10, K20 and K30. Maybe K30 is a little different but for sure K10 and K20 are the same and I do believe K30 is too, just not 100% positive.

 

[cptmoney]

Pretty sure all the front leaf springs are the same length in K10, K20 and K30. Maybe K30 is a little different but for sure K10 and K20 are the same and I do believe K30 is too, just not 100% positive.

What creates the spring lift then? The number of leaves? I sorta figured it might be extra length causing the springs to "buckle up" a bit more, creating additional lift.

 

[theblindchicken]

So if I was looking for a good set of springs, am I looking for 2-leaf? 3-leaf? Does the length matter? How can I tell if they're shot and worthless?

Fronts are 48in. eye to eye.

the amount of leaves doesn't necessarily matter since they could be different spring rates. Could have a 3-leaf pack with thinner leaves be a softer spring rate than a 2-leaf pack with thick leaves.

Stock springs have a negative arch to them when mounted. Just about any aftermarket leaf pack will have a positive arch. Even a 2" lift will be slightly arched.


Also, the powertrain from a c-series truck won't necessarily fit in the k-series since the transmissions are longer and not setup to mount to a transfer case. So you'd reliably only get body parts, an engine, and rear suspension out of it.

 

[HotRodPC]

What creates the spring lift then? The number of leaves? I sorta figured it might be extra length causing the springs to "buckle up" a bit more, creating additional lift.

The arch built into the spring is what creates the lift. Tighter arch will mean higher lift. If you know of a good spring shop, they can even re arch springs and make them do more of what you want. More springs usually mean more load capacity and rougher ride.