ok, a lot of people on here have been putting cl***ic trucks on s-10 and g-body frames. heres my question. im currently 10 inches off of the ground. engine is not in and im not running the running boards. this is the reason for it being so high. im going to be running a 250 inline 6. im wanting to get the ride heighth about 4 inches of the ground and would still like to maybe go lower. what is the best way to get my truck down this low? should i get lowering springs with drop spindles or should i just z the frame? can i just use bolt on lowering components and then just z the rear? im kind of stuck here. i can do the z, but the engine might stick up too high under the hood. thanks guys.
Well, a PICTURE of what you've got so far would be a help here...but if you're on an S10 frame, then the world is your oyster when it comes to lowering components! Everything from dropped spindles, to shorter coils and tubular control arms, re-arched rear springs and every sort of air-bag, hydro and four link rear suspension is readily available from the aftermarket! Places like SuicideDoors.com specialize in lowering components for mini trucks, and S10s are their bread and ****er! Buy a mini truck magazine and you'll be amazed at what's available through their advertisers for lowering an S10! From the sound of it, you may want to consider channeling your cab a bit, too? But for suspension lowering...you couldn't pick a more popular ch***is then the S10...LOTS of stuff at your disposal, and all very reasonably priced! It's the small block Chevy of ch***is!
well, actully used a 79 malibu frame but it is interchangable with s-10 components. with the rear coils taken out im 7 inches off of the ground at the back of the cab. the truck is chopped severely so channelling it might not be too much of an option and im not sure how well the 250 will fit. i currently have the original 305 from the malibu but i dont really want to use it. heres some pics.
You can use dropped spindles (2") and dropped springs (3"). I would put them in with your truck ***embled and then see if that is what you want for a ride height. You can trim a half coil off the spring and that will get you down about 1" more. S-10 springs are soft and lowered ones are softer so you might not have to cut a coil. For the back you dont have to Z the frame. Cut a frame notch and make some trailing arms that bolt into the front spring perch. You can then make some coilover mounts and make the back whatever height you want.
not sure if anyone is understanding that the rear does not have leaf springs. they are coils. and with the coils completely out its still too high.
spindles are the best way to go if you just want a couple inches. coils are much cheaper and would do the trick or a combonation of the two to get it real low. you could also bag it... did you see that Airlift is having the sale of a lifetime on the Crafter packs?? check out my cl***ified ad (i'm a dealer). i would'nt go so far as to "Z" the frame. it should be unnecesary with that setup and suspension and all the options available to you for it.
Looks cool! Many front end components interchange between S10s and G-bodies, so you can still get what you need easily enough. Out back, the G-body ch***is obviously uses coil springs in place of leafs, and already has a crude factory four link style suspension. The problem being, of course, that you can only go SO low before you need to "c-notch" the rear frame rails to allow travel for the rear axle. In a case like that, doing a "z" on the frame is a good way to get the vehicle lower without scarificng ride quality or interior room, but as you've already indicated, you can also create hood clearance issues with the motor when doing a "z" up front. Best to install the engine that you want to run and use it as a guide to let you know how much room you have to work with. Another point, make sure you keep your driveshaft angle and pinion angle in mind when you make your modifications. I can tell ya from experience that you don't want too much negative or positive angle, or you'll be chasing vibrations and harmonics from now till Doomsday! If you "z" the rear, you may have to "z" the front to help keep your driveline angle in check. Again, mocking things up as you go is a big help! That way you can see potential problems happening before they surprise you later!
Johnny, where you doin all your work at now.. Find a shop to work at? Truck sounds like it is progressing. S-10's have tons of lowering options. I would notch the frame and link in the rear, use lowering spindles up front with bags.. Then you could come close to laying frame then lift it to cruise. ...EVILT
if you wanna keep the coils in the rear (as apposed to bags) i'd raise the upper coil mounts till it's high enough you can get a decent length coil in there. even if it's a cut factory coil. the longer the coil the smoother the ride so don't cut too much off em. perhaps a "step notch" (mini truck for BIG C-notch ) would be a good place to mount a new cross member that would contain the rear upper coil mounts. a good pic of the rear suspension and the upper coil mounts would help me out alot in figuring out what to do.
Is the frame sitting on the axle? I was going to say keep your Malibu's trailing arms but use coilvers with the mounting points moved up. You could always do one of those huge bridge notches like the mini truck guys use. I was still typing when you posted about the Malibu frame sorry bout that.
does anybody know the heighth of a 250 compared to a SBC? this would help me so i can see exactly how much room i have with the hood down. if i go the channeling route i know i can drop where my feet are going and actually mount the seat to the floor. now that i have all the front sheet metal back off, its looking like ive got about 34'' from the top of the lowest spot on the front crossmember.
the engine compartments in those trucks is usualy pretty tall. i don't know how much your frame swapped has taken away from that but i'd guess you should still have plenty of room for an inline 6. they are a bit taller than a SBC but not that much. the carb sits off to the side on the 6 and it sits on top of the V8.
heres some pics, i hope they work... sorry it took so long. found out the room mate had a camera and the pics were too big
yeah. i think i'd do a big C-notch (maybe use 2x3 or 2x4 tubing) and then raise the upper coil mounts. that should take care of it for ya.
Johnny, I have S-10 drop springs, 1" under and 3" under. PM me if you're interested. I had them shipped to me and it was less than you'd expect. Thanks, Ed
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