Ok I know this topic has been beaten like a red headed step child but the info is conflicting . I've seen where some do a 3" block drop in the rear and 2" coil cut in front Or the same but 2" drop coils ... Or even 3" drop coils Here's the question .... I've seen some say that with the closed drive line and stock front end that anything more than a 2" drop starts to have poor side effects . Some say its doesn't start until 3" + of a drop . Jamco ( yes with ****py cust service ) sells a 3" block and 3" drop springs Eaton doesn't sell 3" drop . I called them up and they said more than 2" messes with geometry and driveline . Sooo which is it ? What do the people of HAMB say about their real world experience . Thanks in advance guys ! It's my last thing to finish before I am on the road
I was hoping for 3" drop front and back but really was looking for drivability input before I start ordering parts
We used to go a lot lower than that back in the day. This is my ol' Fleetline, lowered 4" in back with blocks, homemade dropped uprights and 2 coils out of the front. It did take the guy at the alignment shop awhile to get the camber back in. Never had any "geometry" problems, but steep driveways or speed bumps - you had to learn how to drive one of these. Oh, and it didn't bottom out much either, unless I had a carload of kids in it and ran over the tracks too fast.
I made some lowering blocks for the back springs (easy to do) then used air shocks (not bags) with a build in cheap compressor to raise or lower it.. Worked real well and was very inexpensive...
Huh well that's good to hear ! I'm trying to find a happy between what I want , what my wife will let me spend and being able to put two kids and the wife in there for a cruise with out it bottoming out on a pebble in the road . It sounds like I should be pretty safe at 3" drop all around
Hdonlybob - I like the idea and your stance . What size blocks did you make ? What air setup did you use ( what shocks , did you use an air tank / how was it plumbed in ? ) Thanks for a new way to maybe go with it !
I built this on the low buck side...and started with only the body and bare frame from the firewall back.. I used ~2 1/2" steel blocks that I had made where I worked and just bought longer "U" clamps.. As I had to make new shock mounts, I just welded in the stuff I needed and bought pick up air shocks from Auto Zone... Bought an air compressor from an old Cadillac (others had it too) that was used for the constant leveling that they had and plumbed it into the shocks... No tank. Ran the compressor wires to a toggle switch in the dash. Then it got a bit complicated for my old brain, as I could easily raise the back end up, but how could I lower it back down ?? Simple.......just bought a bunch of plastic air tubing (matching the air shocks) and ran two lines up and under the dash...then mounted a relief valve with a toggle switch in the dash.. WALA...want to drop the rear end...push the toggle to let the air out !! Want to raise it, push the other toggle to run the pump.. Worked extremely well, and total cost including the shocks was under ~$100....
That's pretty darn impressive ! Did you have to research which air shocks would work for the travel for your chebby? Do you recall what truck they were for ?
Dug back thru some old pics, as I built this some time back...only one I could find was this one.. If you look toward the top of the gas tank, on each side you will see the top brackets for the shock mounts attached to the square tubing... I adjusted the length to match the shock work correctly. You also can see the air lines. I attached the compressor to the top of he trunk just under the back window. This is a picture of work in progress, so don't knit pick the stuff going all over
Gonna have to put air on hold until I can convert to 12v . I have the drop springs and blocks in hand , 3" . Man those spring seats on the rear leafs are a B*%#* ! Mine are seized solid ! I heated them up ,i PB blasted , I beat on them and called them dirty names! I figure I'm gonna have to cut them off but not sure if I'm better off cutting the ends off ( if I can get to the drum side ) or go through the bushing . Anyone else have to do this job ?
Any info on your air shock set up would be greatly appreciated! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
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