If you have been following along closely, which we hope you have been, you remember from the last issue that we stripped the rear frame rails of all the factory parts and installed a new Performance Online full cell on Project Raven. This will give us the ability to remove to factory gas tank in the cab to gain a little more legroom as well as evenly distributing the weight of the fuel towards the rear of the truck. That part of the project went smooth as expected, but now its time to get a little more technical. The original coil spring suspension on these trucks worked as good as expected back in 1965. They were able to haul a large load and absorb the bumps in the road without bouncing the driver all around the cab. Practical and purpose built was the name of the game back them, but with today’s standards of ride quality and performance, that old technology just doesn’t cut it.
Typically in the past guys would have to make major modifications and perform intense feats of engineering to upgrade the complete suspension of their classic. They would transplant suspension from more modern vehicles into their grandpas old hay hauler and pray that it all lined up like their buddies said it would. Sometimes it worked, sometimes you were left stranded on the side of the road with an upset wife waiting for a tow. Luckily those days are gone and engineering masterminds have solved the scenario. Now you can simply call up your favorite suspension company and tell them your year make and model. They give you a few different options from coilover suspension to air ride to choose from. Once you have a plan in place, a simple swipe of a credit card is all it takes to be on your way to a modern suspension makeover for your classic C10 truck. In our case with project Raven, we turned to the experts at Classic Performance Products, and we couldn’t be more impressed with this amazing company.
We went with CPP’s front coilover conversion that is fully adjustable from standard ride height to a 3-inch drop. Being combined with the CPP Modular Drop Spindles we are able to get a full 5-½-inches of drop without sacrificing ride quality. CPP also offers tubular control arms that are designed to make adding coil-overs easy. CPP’s rear C-Notch kits paired up with CPP Totally Tubular™ Trailing Arms are the perfect rear suspension package. Both kits include necessary mounting hardware and are available as an upgrade to CPP’s popular Pro-Touring and Complete Performance Package Kits in either black or silver powdercoat. Installation only requires standard hand tools and no major fabrication, provides a clean look, maximum clearance and consistent performance.
Pairing this suspension with a set of 22-inch Delray wheels from Detroit Steel Wheels is the perfect combination of old-school look and modern performance standards. MobSteel manufactures large-diameter steel wheels for classic and modern truck right in the heart of Detroit, MI. Their formula for success is simple: hardwork. Through building the highest quality product, and keeping to a blue collar budget, their goal is to raise the standard for modern day street machines without breaking the bank. Long live Detroit!