Longbed Inspiration needed

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79dentside

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Hey all. Would like pics of your trucks with different wheel set ups/heights/mods.... anything. I am wanting to lower my truck and do the whole hot rod thing, but I am not sure I want to do that on a long bed. I’m stuck and need pics if you all don’t mind. The truck is ugly, plenty of “Patina” that I am in the process of clearcoating. So it will have a “rat rod” look no matter what I do.
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Just looking for inspiration and ideas because I am at a stand still. It NEEDS TIRES ASAP, but the tires I get all depend on if I stay stock or lower it.

Show me what you got! Thanks!
 

shiftpro

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The thing is Brandon, with a square body it doesn't matter what model or what you do (to a point! check out the WTF thread) you have a winner.
Long beds are just as sexy and just as beautiful as anything. Most of us here don;t like big wheels and ow profile tires but that is personal.
I don't like them because they are pretentious if I can express it this way. Low profile tires are for racing and cornering... not for life. AND they cost
way more than they should.
You stock rims with beauty rings are highly sought after btw...
 

79dentside

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The thing is Brandon, with a square body it doesn't matter what model or what you do (to a point! check out the WTF thread) you have a winner.
Long beds are just as sexy and just as beautiful as anything. Most of us here don;t like big wheels and ow profile tires but that is personal.
I don't like them because they are pretentious if I can express it this way. Low profile tires are for racing and cornering... not for life. AND they cost
way more than they should.
You stock rims with beauty rings are highly sought after btw...
Agreed! I am not wanting to do low profiles, if anything, meaty side walls. I like the wheels and want to keep them. This is my style. I stanced my 84 el Camino with staggered tires (275/60/15 & 235/65/15).
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I kind of wanted to drop the truck down and do some wide tires on the rear with a little rake, but I am afraid I won’t like it. So I am looking for what everyone has in general. I love the long beds, just need inspiration and ideas.
Opinions are valued and I look for ward to seeing your set ups, I just don’t know what will look good.
 

ali_c20

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I would do slightly bigger tires like 30" or 31" and a 2 inch drop.
 

79dentside

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Just my opinion.....If you want to hotrod something, do a Nova, Chevell, etc. Don't cut up and lower the truck.

I kind of agree with you. That’s why I wanted to see other set ups. The 350 has 24,000 miles on it, and the rear end has like 4.56 gears so I figured it was a good foundation for ‘something’.
 

TubeTruck

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The top 2 are my fave. Not a fan of the black and red one, but it's for inspiration? lol
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Old77

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:love62:
 

79dentside

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The top 2 are my fave. Not a fan of the black and red one, but it's for inspiration? lol
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I wonder what rear tire is on the gold one... I would only like a 2” or so drop if anything. But I like that staggered look. Thanks!
 

Old77

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I wonder what rear tire is on the gold one... I would only like a 2” or so drop if anything. But I like that staggered look. Thanks!
2" is just about perfect to get a nice stance but not too aggressive.
 

79dentside

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2" is just about perfect to get a nice stance but not too aggressive.

Thank you. A lot of people do the 4/6 drop and it just isn’t my style. Looks good, just not my style. Unfortunately, that’s what I see a lot of pics of, and not what I am wanting to do. Then again.... I don’t know what I want to do hahah.
 

Shorty81

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You have a very nice old Chevy truck. It will gain attention anywhere you go. It's your truck to build however you want to. If you lower it or not just as long as you are happy with and love it is all that matters. Just my two cents....
 

Old77

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Thank you. A lot of people do the 4/6 drop and it just isn’t my style. Looks good, just not my style. Unfortunately, that’s what I see a lot of pics of, and not what I am wanting to do. Then again.... I don’t know what I want to do hahah.
Well, from experience I can tell you that being as low as 4/6 definitely looks cool but does come with it's draw backs especially if driven on a regular basis. My 87 burb was lowered 5/5. I LOVED how it looked and it rode pretty decently (which you can accomplish as long as you get good quality parts and do it right) but being that low I had to be careful about speed bumps that were too tall and even large potholes were not all that awesome. I also had to decrease tire size so that I didn't rub and I didn't want to cut up anything.

With that said, if you stay mild with a 2" drop or in that neighborhood it'll ride and handle pretty close to stock but still have a nicer stance to it especially with the right wheel/tire combo.

You have a very nice old Chevy truck. It will gain attention anywhere you go. It's your truck to build however you want to. If you lower it or not just as long as you are happy with and love it is all that matters. Just my two cents....
Exactly what @Shorty81 said. Just do what you like and makes you happy. I like all styles as long as they aren't over done which any style can get "over built" if you're not careful :) The el camino you posted a pic of is just about perfect, though :drool:
 

Craig 85

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Here's a few more. No info on the first two, but the third said it had a 5/4 drop. No info in the tires and wheels.

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