74 NovaMan's 1979 Chevy Truck - LS Swap - 5/6 Drop

[74NovaMan]

Seems I heard someone say once - "if it don't go CHROME IT!"

If it's garage art, it may as well look pretty!

[cstmwgn]

During:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1121992[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1121993[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1121994[/ATTACH]

Seems I heard someone say once - "if it don't go CHROME IT!"

[74NovaMan]

During:

[74NovaMan]

Last weekend we picked up the grill, headlight buckets and turn signal lights from a 75-78 GMC. We were hoping to install the original style 73-74 grille pictured above but the hood latch bracket and the mounting brackets for that year are different from 75-80. I'll chase those down eventually. In the mean time we have this:

Before:



After:

[74NovaMan]

So last time I went to drive the truck, it would not move because the transmission leaked out too much fluid. Today I finally had some time to work on it so instead of working on the transmission leak, I swapped out the grill. We picked these up yesterday:

[silver_bullet]

My thoughts exactly...

[74NovaMan]

Chris, I'd do the flip kit without the shackles, to keep the truck with a little rake. forgo the c-notch, add some progressive bump stops, and some air helper springs...then you can tow/haul to the truck's original weight rating. [ATTACH=CONFIG]n1115765[/ATTACH]
http://www.streetsideauto.com/p/ener...dword&gclid=Cj 0KEQjwlNy8BRC676-W0JezxbwBEiQA4Ydg0Xz_IP7DIl3Gd_T6AfciBml_pm1MKLaF0 _Ug6uJ1QPwaApv98P8HAQ
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1115772[/ATTACH]
http://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index....5d3ccd8db86684

That approach is probably more sensible. If I use the air helpers, maybe I can loose a leaf or 2 to get a little extra drop and a softer ride when empty. Thanks,

[74NovaMan]

I may not be thinking about this right but, if 10% of the trailer load is on the tung and the loaded trailer is 6000 pounds. Then it's 600 lbs on the hitch. Would you let 3 of you buddies sit on the tailgate or stand on the bumper if the truck had a c notch.

If I'm concerned about the scenario above (and the question is: should I be?) I certainly shouldn't trust it while hauling 6000 pounds down the road. At a minimum I think I'd weld a plate on the open side of the frame rail at the "C" for extra insurance. Thanks for the input.

[silver_bullet]

Chris, I'd do the flip kit without the shackles, to keep the truck with a little rake. forgo the c-notch, add some progressive bump stops, and some air helper springs...then you can tow/haul to the truck's original weight rating.
http://www.streetsideauto.com/p/ener...dword&gclid=Cj 0KEQjwlNy8BRC676-W0JezxbwBEiQA4Ydg0Xz_IP7DIl3Gd_T6AfciBml_pm1MKLaF0 _Ug6uJ1QPwaApv98P8HAQ

http://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index....5d3ccd8db86684

[Russell]

I may not be thinking about this right but, if 10% of the trailer load is on the tung and the loaded trailer is 6000 pounds. Then it's 600 lbs on the hitch. Would you let 3 of you buddies sit on the tailgate or stand on the bumper if the truck had a c notch.

If it's slammed all the way you might need air bags to bring it back up when loaded or 3/4 ton / over load springs

[74NovaMan]

Thanks guys! Keep the input coming!

Would air shocks work to handle the extra load?

[1badmonkey]

i would hook up your trailer, put a car on it, and do some measuring to see how far the truck drops from the weight.

your truck will look great, but not sure how user friendly it will be.....

do it, worst case, you pull the shackles and put shorter ones in!!!!
you'll need a receiver hitch and one of these.. 6" rise ball mount

[DanStokes]

Assuming that the job was done properly (I'd weld the kit in) I can't see why that would impact trailering ability. I haul with a lowered Dodge (though no C-notch) and it works great.

Dan

[Deaf Bob]

Supposedly c-notched done right are as good as stock..
That kit looks like it addresses the problem, but man there are lots of holes in it..
One of my dualies was c notched and the c misses the axle.. No other plate added but cut pipe in the c..
I am using a different frame to fix it and plan to box the upper part before adding the c..

[74NovaMan]

To accomplish the drop above, I would need to do a C-notch. This is the kit referenced in the article:



If you installed the C-notch above, would you use the truck to haul a loaded car trailer? Would you weld in the C-notch? Do I need to limit the drop to retain the original frame (no notch) if I want to haul a loaded car trailer?