I have an '85 GMC. I want to lower the truck. Not "lowrider" style but just a little lower than it is. For the front I was planning on buying drop spindles. Unless there is a cheaper way??? For the rear I am not sure what to do. I was going to put the lowering leaf spring mount on the rear but one of the box cross members is in the way. I could cut and box the cross but I was told another way to lower it. I was told to take the axel out. Flip it over and put it on top of the springs. The guy that told me this claims there is nothing else you have to do such as brakes. Is this true? Can you really just take it out, flip it over, put it back in, and be done? Jason www.TherkelsenRacing.com
The front: yes, spend the money for spindles. They keep the geometry of your suspension correct so you don't have to buy tires all the time. You can get lowering springs but from what I've heard you don't want to go more than 2" with just springs on these trucks. And for a decent set of springs you aren't saving much money of a set of spindles. As far as the rear, in a way, yes that's one way to lower the rear. Most companies will sell kits that do this (called "flip kits"). In actuallity you aren't taking out the axel and putting it over the springs... you take the complete spring assembly off and raise the axel then put the springs under. These kits usually contain some longer U-bolts and various things like that to make everything fit. However if you don't want "lowrider" style you probably don't want to do that. Flip kits usually lower quite a bit (like 5" and up). It's been a while since I looked at all the parts, but believe what you're after is a lowering shackle and hanger kit. Most of the big places have them (jegs, jc whitney, etc.) I think you can get up to 6" lower going this route (for more than 4" its recommended you notch the frame for clearance issues and hauling weight). Hopefully this helps... like I said I haven't looked at the stuff in a while. Some brands that I remember looking at: belltech (kind of expensive). Western Chassis (which is what I was planning to go for... seemed like a little bit of extra work, but cheaper and you could get more options if you mix-and-match).
Thanks for the info. I am looking to go 2" in the front. So I am guessing 4" in the rear. Looks like flipping the axel would have been way to much. Glad I asked. Thanks again, Jason www.TherkelsenRacing.com
