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

[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?

[74NovaMan]

Found a nice article for lowering these trucks:

http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/chassis-suspension/low-buck-lowering-square-body-chevy-c10/?sm_id=social_aumohotrodsshub_default_20160722_64079596&adbid=10154716961834523&adbpl=fb&adbpr=16240699522%20-%20photo-01

Gives tire sizes for the stock rims as well. At almost 5 inches in the front and 7 in back, it's pretty well slammed.

[74NovaMan]

After all that messing around, we still have a transmission leak toward the front. The rear leaks seem to be stopped. I think I'll check the seal at the dipstick tube next. Yesterday we did actually use it as a truck. It was a short trip and it reminded me just how much needs to be done just to make it a comfortable driver.

[74NovaMan]

The front u-joint was OK, but the rear was smoked! So we replaced both.

[74NovaMan]

Thanks for the tip Dan. I've always wondered what to put there.

A couple of weeks back we installed the new trans pan and bolted the trans mount to the trans (it was just sitting there with no bolts). This weekend we bled the brakes and installed a new tail shaft busing and seal as well as the speedo gear o-rings. I scavenged an old output shaft yoke from my parts pile to rectify the problem with this one:



We had fluid leaking out that hole in the center and the shaft was scored pretty badly. The "new" one addressed both of these issues.

[DanStokes]

A silly question but did you apply a SLIGHT bit of lube where the shoes slide on the backing plate? Given that I started doing these in Buick dealership, customers would come back griping if you didn't because you sometimes get a squeak when applying the brakes. I use a tiny little bit of anti-seize. Just a tip if you need it.

Dan

[74NovaMan]

Still need to adjust the shoes and bleed the new cylinders then off to transmission leaks.

[74NovaMan]

Better side: