Need to adjust front ride height.

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

ZGJim

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Posts
11
Reaction score
7
Location
Jacksonville, ,AR
First Name
Jim
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C10 Scottsdale
Engine Size
350-4bbl
My '78 C10 has had the belltech lowering kit installed by a previous owner. In addition to the dropped spindles, they cut about 1 1/2 coils from the stock springs. I have new OEM springs that I am going to install in place of the old ones. With the current setup, the front tires rub on the fenders when the suspension compresses while the wheels are turned. I want to raise the front about an inch to get enough clearance to prevent the tires from rubbing. Is there a good rule as to how much change is created by cutting the spring? How much change do you get for each 1/2 coil that is cut? I know that I could roll the inner fenders, but the truck has the chrome trim around the fender opening and I don't want to mess with the chrome.

TIA
JIm
 

mtbadbob

Full Access Member
Joined
May 9, 2021
Posts
617
Reaction score
918
Location
Montana
First Name
Bob
Truck Year
1987
Truck Model
V20
Engine Size
350
A good way to make any truck ride like sh*t, hack up the suspension, but it's your truck...
 

ZGJim

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Posts
11
Reaction score
7
Location
Jacksonville, ,AR
First Name
Jim
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C10 Scottsdale
Engine Size
350-4bbl
Two inches per coil is about what I was thinking. Thanks for the reply.
I'm replacing 44 year old ball joints, bushings and springs, so I don't think it will be worse than before no matter what I do to the springs.

Ya'll have a wonderful day.
Thanks
Jim
 

ZGJim

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2022
Posts
11
Reaction score
7
Location
Jacksonville, ,AR
First Name
Jim
Truck Year
1978
Truck Model
C10 Scottsdale
Engine Size
350-4bbl
I finished the rebuild on the front suspension. We removed all four control arms and replaced all of the ball joints and the bushings with polyurethane bushings. The truck rides much better with the new pieces. The first picture shows the minimal fender clearance that we had with the old springs. They had approx 1 1/2 coils removed, and with the wheel/tire combo, the tires, which are 26" diameter, would rub on the fender if you hit even a small bump while turning. Not good for a driver. We replaced the front springs with new OEM small block spec springs. That resulted in the clearance shown in the 2nd picture. That was way too much. The stance wasn't right with the front 2+" taller than the rear.
We cut the bottom end of the spring by 3/4 of a coil and took about 2" off of the top coil so that it would fit into the saddle in the frame. The ride height has settled about 1/4" after driving for a few miles.
To get back to the origin of this thread, on the stock spring, cutting the coil yields about 2" per coil.
As to the effort for this job, it is a lot of work. Especially removing the old rubber bushings from the control arms. There is a video on the "Brothers Trucks" website that hints at what is involved in the bushing replacement. It just barely begins to show the scope of the job.

If I had it to do again, I would pay a suspension shop to do the bushings.

Still, am very happy with the results.

Ya'll have a great day.
 

Attachments

  • P1210192.JPG
    P1210192.JPG
    82.1 KB · Views: 72
  • P1210191.JPG
    P1210191.JPG
    98.1 KB · Views: 74
  • P1220193.JPG
    P1220193.JPG
    105.4 KB · Views: 72

Forum statistics

Threads
41,850
Posts
903,456
Members
33,362
Latest member
Dhatch84
Top