Lowering the front and rear

[Mondos78baby]

I’ve come to finally get the controls arms off and now I’m putting new ball joints away bushings and so on I’ve come to the point of taking side finders off and hood. Anyone know what I can or how to measure my current spindles and rotors to see if the truck was lowered already I know to cut a spring off one but one but what’s the real measurements of the spring to say drop it 4 inches in front? 5-6 in rear? Also if I cut the springs as per instructed by a member of this chat group what would the spindles be and or rotors ? As well as calipers and rear breaks installed what’s the best I could get keep in mind I only shop at “Napa” not auto zone lol also I took some pictures of what id like to do to my truck however I’m not cutting the frame up if I have too I’ll build a new kit to drop safely and not take the value off my truck

 

[MarineOne]

Cutting spring will lower it however ride will be atrocious as everything is way out of geometry. But some drop spindles to minimize howmuch spring needs removed. On that generaly half a loop is about 2 inches

https://www.cjponyparts.com/classic-performance-products-front-disc-brake-kit-with-oe-style-2-1-2-drop-spindles-for-5x5-lug-pattern-chevrolet-c10-1973-1987/p/7387SWBK5O/

Also FWIW I've had less defective parts / longer service life out of autozon parts

 

[Mondos78baby]

Thank you for that reply I want to take one ring off and if so with your advice what spindle would I use for that I see way to many so I thought I’d ask you all out there

 

[Mondos78baby]

Sorry just realized that’s the site you gave me lol thank a mill what would you say for the rear ?

 

[Elliot W]

Sorry just realized that’s the site you gave me lol thank a mill what would you say for the rear ?

A flip kit would lower the back about 5". Some people say a c-notch is required for that, but I'm not planning on notching my frame with the drop (parts currently in hand). Will need shock extenders too. @bluex and @ChuckN have a thread in the suspension category on this with part numbers etc.

 

[ChuckN]

As @Elliot W said, I’d recommend reading here first- https://www.gmsquarebody.com/threads/wanna-slam-that-63-98-c10-c1500-lets-talk-about-it.38131/

Bluex goes into detail at great length for what works and what doesn’t.

There are people that choose to cut coils for lowering and made it work, but I didn’t go that route.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

From what I have heard, cutting coils will give you some drop, but at the price of ride quality. Spindles are more money but will give better results.
Another thing that will get you lower is tire choice. Our '78 Sierra C15 came with LR78/15(235/75-15 now) and by swapping to 15x8 factory wagon wheels and LR60/15 (275/60?)which is a shorter tire, the truck was immediately lowered like 4". And the wider tires looked great and helped the handling too. And the wheels sat "right" in the wheel wells, but there was still clearance. No rubbing....

 

[Scott91370]

Our '78 Sierra C15 came with LR78/15(235/75-15 now) and by swapping to 15x8 factory wagon wheels and LR60/15 (275/60?)which is a shorter tire, the truck was immediately lowered like 4".

The difference going from 235/75 (28.88") to 275/60 (27.99") is only .89" so I'm not sure how you dropped the truck 4" by swapping them. Should have only lowered you .445"


Mine has 2.5" spindles and 1.5" springs in front. Flip kit only in the rear and all four fender openings sit at the same height of about 26.5" off the ground.

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[bluex]

Again, cutting springs (up to 1 full coil for a C10/C1500) does not make the ride bad, this is an incorrect old internet myth that just won't die.

Ride quality is mainly dictated by the shocks an the available suspension travel.

HEATING the springs with a torch to a desired ride height compromises the metal, alters the spring rate an causes a bad ride regardless of shock selection due to the damage done to the spring and its ability to still be a spring.

These are two entirely different processes with drastically different results.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

The difference going from 235/75 (28.88") to 275/60 (27.99") is only .89" so I'm not sure how you dropped the truck 4" by swapping them. Should have only lowered you .445"


Mine has 2.5" spindles and 1.5" springs in front. Flip kit only in the rear and all four fender openings sit at the same height of about 26.5" off the ground.

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Maybe it wasn't 4" but it was noticeably lower. I'm trusting my memory from 40+ years ago....

 

[idahovette]

Cut one ring off of Kooper's S10 and a 3 inch block in the rear. Still rides pretty good, really don't care, looks cool!! Needs 245-60x14s for the rear tho.

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[Radiohead]

Love the wheels

I almost wrote rims. Gawd, I'm getting old....

 

[squaredeal91]

I call em rims sometimes allot

 

[ReefkoiC10]

If you flip the rear without spacers on top of the springs you could get away without a notch, but for the 7” lower (which just means 2” blocks on top, it needs a notch and the rear will just about be touching the bottom of the bed. In this pic I have it flipped and 2” spacer under the rear, 2.5” drop spindles and 2” lowered springs 20” wheels