Lift kit

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Sammesserli99

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k10
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Hey fellas I am currently tearing apart a 80 k10 and have been contemplating doing a 6” lift kit on it. Im wondering what brands are better than others? What’s the difference between getting one with blocks vs getting on with just leaf springs? Is 6” lift a noticeable difference? Thanks in advance for any help.
 

Raider L

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@Sammesserli99,

I'm surprised you haven't been buried already with references from all these 4X4 guys on here. I'm not a 4X4 guy, I'm a street machine/hot roddin' guy. You will be getting it all from them soon. I have learned a few things from them though that you don't put more than a couple of inches of blocks under either end if you want to raise it up. That's the skip the right way of doing a lift although there is a limited use of blocks in some instances. If you want do a lift you do it with the suspension, "flip kits", longer springs, etc.. I enjoy reading about what these guys do though it's educational and they have done it all. There are some incredible 4X4 trucks these guys have on here. So give it a bit and I'm sure you'll be hearing from them.
One thing, I hope you've got a good camera or good at taking pictures with your phone because we want lots of pic's!! What are you doing, what does it have now, where do you want to go with it, and how much are you willing to put into it, and how many sources of parts do you have? Pic's, pic's, pic's!
 

Sammesserli99

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k10
Engine Size
350 sbc
This is what I currently have. It’s an 80 K10 that I purchased from a guy in Texas. Judging by the change under the seat it hasn’t run since 98. All the leafs in it now are broken in half so I need new ones anyways. I am just looking for something to give it a nice stance but also ride nice for the wife to enjoy also. It won’t be driven everyday but it will be enjoyed for sure.
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Bextreme04

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If you don't want it to ride like a dump truck, your options are a bit more limited. What you choose to do will mostly depend on budget. Tuff Country EZ-rides or Skyjacker softride springs will be the most economical springs with a decent ride. If you don't mind throwing down $2k on just the springs, then ORD or Deaver springs will be the absolute best ride you can get. A shackle flip is a good option as well, but you will need to make sure you can set your rear pinion angle properly afterwards. I have a 1980 K25 I just went through this with. I moved my rear spring forward mounting point towards the front 4" and installed 97 K2500 springs with a 4" ORD shackle flip. That 4" flip required an 8 degree shim to get the pinion angle back to where it should have been, which is obviously not ideal. You need to be ready to either shim or cut and weld the spring perches or else you will have a driveline vibration. Lots of people will do something like a 4" softride spring in the rear with a 2 1/2" shackle flip. That will move the pinion very little and keep the arch lower on the springs, which makes it ride better. The other thing to keep in mind is that you likely have 52" rear springs. You can order 56" rear springs and when you do the shackle flip just put the rear mount in the right position for those springs. Front springs would just be standard 6" soft ride leaf springs and you will want HD shackle hangers. The front shackle hangers are renowned for being flimsy and bending. They are also shorter on the early years and let the spring eye bang into the frame. ORD sells a heavy duty shackle hanger kit that is 1/2" longer and made from 3/8" steel.

You will also need a 4" raised steering arm for a 6" lift. Any more than that would require a drop steering arm as well, but 6" should be fine with just the steering arm.

You will also need longer front and rear brake lines. Even a 4" lift puts the truck up too high for the stock brake lines. ORD sells the extended lines and they are very high quality Crown lines.
 

dvdswan

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Big question is... What are you going to using the truck for? DD, dirt road driving, mild off-roading, boulder bouncer.

This is a key question you need to ask yourself. Budget and time are your next questions you have to deal with.

IMO, if you have a nice budget and agreeable time frame, I would ditch the thought of a spring lift and switch to a 4-link/coilover lift. Ride and abilities are greatly improved.
 

shiftpro

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Everything Bextreme said...

I would consider 4" lift springs... smaller can of worms. You can lift the body 1" but please NO MORE.
First choice is Tough Country.

If you're interested in a rear shackle flip, and your transfer case has a CV joint on the end, all you need to do is point the rear diff at it. So your rear pinion would be pointing up and a striaght driveshaft all the way to the CV on the TC.


 

Sammesserli99

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Engine Size
350 sbc
If you don't want it to ride like a dump truck, your options are a bit more limited. What you choose to do will mostly depend on budget. Tuff Country EZ-rides or Skyjacker softride springs will be the most economical springs with a decent ride. If you don't mind throwing down $2k on just the springs, then ORD or Deaver springs will be the absolute best ride you can get. A shackle flip is a good option as well, but you will need to make sure you can set your rear pinion angle properly afterwards. I have a 1980 K25 I just went through this with. I moved my rear spring forward mounting point towards the front 4" and installed 97 K2500 springs with a 4" ORD shackle flip. That 4" flip required an 8 degree shim to get the pinion angle back to where it should have been, which is obviously not ideal. You need to be ready to either shim or cut and weld the spring perches or else you will have a driveline vibration. Lots of people will do something like a 4" softride spring in the rear with a 2 1/2" shackle flip. That will move the pinion very little and keep the arch lower on the springs, which makes it ride better. The other thing to keep in mind is that you likely have 52" rear springs. You can order 56" rear springs and when you do the shackle flip just put the rear mount in the right position for those springs. Front springs would just be standard 6" soft ride leaf springs and you will want HD shackle hangers. The front shackle hangers are renowned for being flimsy and bending. They are also shorter on the early years and let the spring eye bang into the frame. ORD sells a heavy duty shackle hanger kit that is 1/2" longer and made from 3/8" steel.

You will also need a 4" raised steering arm for a 6" lift. Any more than that would require a drop steering arm as well, but 6" should be fine with just the steering arm.

You will also need longer front and rear brake lines. Even a 4" lift puts the truck up too high for the stock brake lines. ORD sells the extended lines and they are very high quality Crown lines.
 

Sammesserli99

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k10
Engine Size
350 sbc
Wow that was a lot more than I was expecting when attempting a lift. I may not be ready for all that. I’m still in dismantling stage and just looking at my options. I definitely like the lifted look and may just end up doing a 4” lift. Seems like that is standard and the easiest to do. Thank you for all the great information
 

Bextreme04

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Wow that was a lot more than I was expecting when attempting a lift. I may not be ready for all that. I’m still in dismantling stage and just looking at my options. I definitely like the lifted look and may just end up doing a 4” lift. Seems like that is standard and the easiest to do. Thank you for all the great information
4" all spring lift is easy bolt on stuff without much issue. Companies like skyjacker and Tuff Country will ride well and sell you all the required parts like brake lines and steering arm with the kit. You should be able to clear 33-35" tires with just a 4" kit if you aren't doing serious off-roading that is fully flexing the suspension. An ORD sway bar disconnect kit is also a nice to have item that will help the ride.

ORD sells everything you need for suspension. This is the page with a full kit, just select your options. The only thing not on here is the steering arm or crossover kit. https://www.offroaddesign.com/square-body-chevy-k5-k10-k20-4-standard-lift-system.html

Here's the steering arm.
https://www.offroaddesign.com/4-raised-steering-arm-for-73-87-91-gm-trucks.html
 

Sammesserli99

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k10
Engine Size
350 sbc
Thanks Bextreme. I appreciate all the info. Definitely leaning towards 4” lift. Glad to hear it will be pretty easy to pull off once I’m ready. Still tearing down, fixing a little in cab rust, putting in a motor and going through all the rest of the drivetrain components. I will take pictures and keep my build post updated.

Happy trucking man.
 

45tt

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I went with a ProComp 2.5” lift and up two sizes on the tires (31” to a 33”) for 4.5” of overall lift. I don’t use mine for off road and I wanted it to still fit in a standard height garage opening. It rides fine on pavement but I later added a ProComp double shock stabilizer to the front because it felt just a little loose.

Pics were right after lift, wheels/tires were installed (around 4yrs ago). The front sat a little high at first with the new springs that came in the kit. Over time the have settled and the truck sits level now.
 

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Sammesserli99

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350 sbc
I really like the stance on that one plus it would be a bonus if it fit in my garage for sure
 

Raider L

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#45tt,

That's a nice truck. It's got that strange burnt yellow '70's color that GM used along with the scalloped striping and graphics. Yeah, I like the way it stands. Some guys were trying to talk me into doing a 4 X 4 truck when I was deciding what to do with my truck before I rebuilt it. But, to late, I was already tainted way back in elementary school.
When I was in the third grade this guy used to come by the school yard and hand out free theater tickets for Sat. matinee's at a theater he ran. He showed up every time in a purple bucket T with everything. And he wore jeans, some colored t-shirt, motorcycle boots, and his hair was long, black and combed back in big duck tails. I'll never forget that. I loved his car. I didn't even know what it was called and one of the kids told me what it was. The bug was implanted in my head from that day on!

It was in my mind and it came out when I was in junior high school. My grandmother moved and living next door to her were full blown hot rodders with the most beautiful cars especially the guy whose mom's house it was. He had the most beautiful '57 Chevy I've ever seen. It was candy green and white and chrome everything.
Then he sold that and ordered a factory, might as well been a factory race car. It was a '65 two door Biscayne, coach Black the cheapest color you could get because he spent all his money on the engine and suspension. He ordered it with a 425 h.p. 427, Muncie 4 speed, 4.10 gear, heavy duty suspension, factory headers, those special built cast iron ones with the down tubes into one end for the exhaust pipe, factory mags, and factory fiberglass hood with two pins to open it. It didn't have a heater, to much weight, no carpet just that old gray trunk mat on the floors, still to much weight, no radio, why have a radio when that 427 purring would be all you'd need to hear. It did have a back seat but the upholstery was some grey plastic weave and vinyl. Cheap, but a super bad a** factory speedster.

He took me for a ride one day, and if my grandmother had found out she would have killed me, 'cause she thought they were all a bunch of criminals and hoods. But I'm telling you that dang thing flew off the street. When he stomped it, it literally stood up and lept down the street with a roar! I bet you it was the perverbial car that you couldn't grab a ten dollar bill on the dash between gears! When he had his foot in it, it just mashed you into the seat, hard. It was that bad. Man that car was fast! And he knew how to drive it to. He was a hot rodder.
 
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Sammesserli99

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denver colorado
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Sammy
Truck Year
1980
Truck Model
k10
Engine Size
350 sbc
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Alright guys after pulling the rear end out I got my leaf springs off. Wondering if someone can tell me how high of a lift kit was on this truck? These are the rears. Leafs with blocks and shackle locations. Thank you.
 

Bextreme04

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Truck Model
K25
Engine Size
350-4bbl
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Alright guys after pulling the rear end out I got my leaf springs off. Wondering if someone can tell me how high of a lift kit was on this truck? These are the rears. Leafs with blocks and shackle locations. Thank you.
Just measure the block. Those look like factory rear springs to me. The lift would have been all due to the block.
 

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