THE RIDLER LOVE AFFAIR
July 16, 2024
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THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
SUBTLE AND SMOOTH
The path old hot rods travel is often an amazing one; some hot rods saw a world of change in their many years of service, while others remained hidden from the saws and torches, thus saving them from mutilation and lackluster workmanship. The ’34 Ford on these pages is one such example of a car that maintained its integrity through nearly three quarters of a century. Finding this jewel was a dream come true for John Cox, when he bought the coupe as a driver and realized it had lived an easier life than most, even though its original chassis had been modified.
BLOWN AWAY
In 1994, Denny and Dawn Johns picked up a ’55 Chevy two-door sedan. Along with Dale Johns, the couple runs Van Buren, Arkansas’ D&D Specialty Cars (479/414-2654), so it was no huge deal to think they would quickly rebuild the ’55 into something very special; after all, they had sold the car and its rebuild to Ed Johns, Denny’s father.
But about a year later, a major tornado tore through Van Buren, and along with most everything else, it left the ’55 demolished from bumper to bumper. Since the car wasn’t the only thing destroyed in the tornado’s path, it took a back seat as the Johns family rebuilt their homes and their business. Then in 2003, Ed sold the ’55 back to Denny and Dawn, and the couple decided to rebuild the car for themselves. Apparently the original plan was to build a nice driver, but once under way, Denny says, “We couldn’t find a good stopping point.” So they didn’t—stop, that is—until three years later.
PONY RIDES
Growing up in a “car family” is always interesting, as many of you reading this can attest. Having raised two kids in a household dedicated to vintage automobiles, this author is an authority on the subject.
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Drop It Right
Lowering Your C10 the Quick and Correct Way
Author
Dave Hill
Story & Photography
Introduction to the C10 Series Chevy Pickups
The C10 series of Chevy pickups is generally accepted as being the best-looking early pickups from the land of Bow Ties. But the one problem is that the factory fit them with roughly the same ride height as a 4×4. We suppose the guys who bought and used these trucks as trucks liked them that way, but the rest of us prefer them down in front. Having read nothing but truck magazines all your adult life, you know that there are many ways to lower a truck, from melting the springs with a torch all the way to installing forged aluminum IFS A-arms. We’ve read a couple of magazines ourselves and can tell you the safest, most affordable, and simplest way.
The Evolution of Dropped Spindles
Dropped spindles have been around for decades, and even the dropped forged units have been around a long time. But before that, they were modified stock units with the spindle shaft cut off, raised on the backing knuckle, and welded back on. It wasn’t the safest way to go about this objective. No doubt you can remember some nasty-looking wrecked trucks you’ve seen in the junkyards, the ones that look like they went over a cliff. That’s exactly what can happen with non-factory, welded-up spindles.
Importance of Quality Spindles
The parts that connect the front wheels to your truck are no doubt the most important components on the whole vehicle, so you should never take a chance with welded, modified parts spindles. New forgings from quality manufacturers are very cheap life insurance, as they are engineered and designed to exactly fit your truck and guaranteed to do just that.
Step-by-Step Installation Process
The installation we’re showing here may look intimidating to anyone who’s never done it before, but if you have the average set of tools and equipment, you have nothing to worry about. This job was done in under two hours, which would have been closer to one hour if we hadn’t been in the way, photographing the process for this article. You will notice that the coil springs aren’t shown in our photos. This truck was slated for a total rebuild, including new springs, so the old ones were discarded earlier. Follow along as we show you how it’s done. Have a nice drop!
1. For anyone who’s not familiar with an independent front suspension spindle, here’s how one looks. You’re looking forward under the driver’s-side front fender with the wheels turned to the right. The spindle shaft is barely visible behind the upright on the left. The top and bottom of the spindle are held to the A-arm by ball joints. An arm extends to the steering crosslink to rotate the spindle left and right. You’ll see more as it comes apart.
2. Here’s the new Western dropped spindle for the driver’s side. You can clearly see the ball joint mounting bosses, the steering arm, the spindle shaft and the disc brake mounting ears. If you can turn a wrench, you can put these on your truck.
3. Our subject is a clean ’70 C10 two-wheel drive with stock suspension, but the install is virtually the same on all these GM trucks. The installation is being done in a fully equipped shop by a professional mechanic with all the right tools.
4. Since our truck had the rearend out and couldn’t be set all the way back down, we devised this tape trick to show the change in wheel mounting height for our before and after shots.
5. Okay, this isn’t a true step by step. We figured that you knew how to remove the lug nuts and pull off the wheel.
6. The grease cup is easily removed with a couple of taps from a hammer and chisel. The mounting flange is deep, so you may have to work your way around the lip a few times.
7. Remove the retaining cotter key from the spindle nut.
8. The lower shock mount is easily forgotten. Pull it now before you find yourself trying to do so while holding up a loosened lower A-arm.
9. If you have a digital camera, grab it now and take pictures of things such as the brake assembly to eliminate reassembly questions later.
10. Pull the two retaining bolts and gently remove the caliper assembly. To avoid having to mess with the brake line fittings and bleeding the system, place them somewhere they won’t fall from. We’d even tie them up with wire.
11. Remove the big castellated nut in the center and slide off the rotor hub. Don’t drop the bearings.
12. The stone shield/ grease seal retainer should just pull off.
13. Here’s the completely exposed stock spindle upright. Note the low position of the shaft.
14. From this angle you can see the upper and lower castellated and pinned nuts holding the unit to the A-arms.
15. Most pro mechanics have toolbox drawers full of every size and style of wrench known to man, all hardly used. They get the job done in one-third the time using pneumatic tools such as this impact wrench, shown whipping the steering tie rod end nut off.
16. Using a pickle fork tool, separate the tie rod end from its tapered hole in the steering arm.
17. Don’t forget to remove the cotter pins. The nuts come off much easier that way.
18. The impact wrench makes short work of the upper A-arm ball joint nut. Don’t expect the spindle to fall off. It’s held in place by more pressed-in-place tapered joints.
19. Next comes the lower nut.
20. This pneumatic pickle fork makes the pin separation far too easy. The original springs were torched out previously. If you’re working alone, clamp or tie-wrap them in place so they don’t fly out. Remember, when removing springs, they are under tension until separated.
21. The upper taper joint popped just as easily.
22. As soon as that upper taper pops, you’ve got one greasy, heavy, sharp-edge spindle assembly in your hand.
23. Now we have the chance to compare the two spindles side by side. Obviously the clean one is our new Western dropped unit.
24. A close look at the Western dropped spindle with the measuring tape standing on the lower A-arm ball joint mating surface shows a distance of 3.50 inches.
25. Measuring the stock spindle in the same way shows about 1.50 inches, hence a 2-inch drop. Raising the spindle lowers the truck, because the actual suspension remains stock while the wheel center (spindle) moves upward into the fender, thus lowering the truck a like amount.
26. Now would be a good time to put the solvent brush to work to clean up everything. Since this truck was going to be blown apart for a total rebuild, that step was conveniently skipped for our photo shoot.
27. Installing the new spindle is a simple matter of reversing the disassembly steps, starting with the upper ball joint bolt and nut.
28. We skipped installing the coils for now, but when you do, be sure to use a spring compressor. Otherwise, one slip of the jack and you will have a recoiling spring bouncing around the shop. Reattaching the lower A-arm looks simple, but you’d better get some help for this step.
29. With the new spindle in place you can see how the raised spindle will drop the truck, since the wheel will now mount 2 inches farther from the ground.
30. When reinstalling the ball joints and the steering linkage, be sure to replace all the cotter pins with new ones.
31. Yikes! Look at that brake line. Even if it weren’t damaged, after 35 years it’s wise to replace all four of them.
32. You’ve gotta love the look of new parts. The only downside is how bad they make everything else look. Naturally, while you’ve got the frontend apart, you’ll give everything a close inspection and replace what needs it, right?
33. We’ll replay this earlier shot with the masking tape in place to make it easier to see the difference with the truck up on the lift.
34. That wheel is higher up in the fender, which means the truck will sit lower when let down. Granted, 2 inches isn’t a radical drop, but remember, these dropped spindles will have little effect on the original suspension in terms of ride and handling. Plus you have all-new parts holding on the wheels, which is an awfully nice feeling once you’ve more than tripled the original horsepower—as we just know you will.
Editor’s Note
Got a classic car or truck you want to lower for that perfect stance but prefer to leave the hard work to the pros? Look no further than the experts at R.S.Restorations. Renowned for their specialized skills in customizing C10s, they deliver the impeccable low ride that enthusiasts crave. Trust them to transform your vehicle into a head-turning masterpiece.
