How can I fix super high front end?

[team39763]

I stripped my truck and put in a slightly lighter motor and now my front bumper is almost 14" from the ground.  It just doesn't have the mean attitude that it had before.  It had some rake to it before I did all this work on it.  It has 2" drop springs already.  I figure spindles will only drop it 3", so what else can I do?  Could I cut a full round of the coils?  I even thought about the air ride front suspension, but it's a little pricey.

[Captkaos]

lighter motor?  What was in there before and what is in there now? 
You could could 1/2 a coil and check it and then cut as needed.

[team39763]

It had a iron headed 350 with all accessories and A/C.  I put in the aluminum headed 6.0 in there along with pulling out all the stuff I didn't need(wipers/motor,inner fenders, speedo stuff,A/C, horns,etc).  There's no seats, no A/C ducting, relocated battery, no gas tanks, no dash, and no power steering.  The motor is only gonna run an alternator and water pump.  How much can I get away with cutting?  It already has 2" drop coils.  Can I cut off two full rounds?  I heard that it'll make the tires wear unevenly.

[Captkaos]

Don't cut more than 1.5 coils off MAX from a stock spring, the ride it going to be AWEFUL.  I would get dropped spring and cut them if you want it lower, still I wouldn't cut more than 1 coil off a drop spring either.

Yours is gutted like mine is right now, but I plan to put alot of that back in.  Mine needs 1.5-2" of drop to get it back down.  I am putting one of our chopped crossmembers under it to get it back down.  I went from a 454 to a 6.0L, of course I don't have a core support nor any steel on the front of the truck as I am using a fiberglass tilt.

Are you planning on drag racing it?  If so, you probably want the front to be even or higher than the rear for weight bias.  Unless you are using a 4 link that you can dial in to move your instant center

[team39763]

Yeah, I planned to drag race, but I wanted it to have a cool stance for cruising around town.  What about coilovers? 

[Captkaos]

Get some caltracs (located here in our catalog: http://store.73-87chevytrucks.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=7&Category_Code=SUSP) and cut a half coil out of the drop spring and check, but don't got more than one.  (cut it off the bottom)

Or you could get one of our chopped crossmembers that will lower it another 1.5" (with a few steering mods)

[VileZambonie]

Lowering spindles is key #1

Cutting coils makes the suspension sag and it will affect alignment and ride quality BIG TIME. Go with a lowering spring and the drop spindles. If it still isn't low enough some drop A-arms will do the trick...

[team39763]

Yep, definately want those cal-tracs.  I have a few more things to add to the truck, then we'll see if it settles.  Then I think I'll cut 1 round off the coils, then probably look into the drop spindles.  Are there any coil-overs that fit our trucks?  If I can get the front end low enough, I'd get a flip kit and throw some cal-tracs on with it. But I need it to have that rake to it.

[Captkaos]

If it still isn't low enough some drop A-arms will do the trick...

I don't recommend doing that.  Using dropped control arms combined with dropped spindles will cause your suspension to violate scrub, the suspension components will be lower than the rim with the tire flat, especially if you are using 15" wheels.  Plus they aren't designed to work together.   

I have cut coils for years before dropped coils were available back in the early 90's, and never had any alignment or ride problems, but I also never cut more than 1 coil off, this was the general accepted practice for dropping vehicles for years.

What do you have right now as far as drop?  I was thinking you had more than a stock truck.  If you don't have drop spindles, get them or control arms, if it isn't low enough add dropped springs.

[team39763]

My truck just has a 2" drop all around(drop coils and drop shackles).  But it sits really high right now. I think coils and spindles will get me close to what I wanted up front.

[Captkaos]

I would go for 2.5 or 3" spindle if you already have drop coils, depending on the amount of drop you want.