Project BackPay is the latest truck to go under construction from the guys at Auto Metal Direct. With a full rebuild in the works, this truck has a rich history and some questionable repairs that we will attempt to address, but more on that later. The plan is to keep this a running, driving project as long as possible before any major transformation takes place. In the meantime, we need to address the stance on the truck. We want the truck to have a nice street truck look to complement the new 20-inch Ambassadors from Detroit Steel Wheels. So, we turned to our friends at Belltech.
Whether you’re looking to change the look of your truck, replace tired rusty springs, or just upgrade the ride quality, Belltech Suspension has a great selection of premium quality components to do just that. All the way back in 1983, this company has been at the forefront of the sport truck scene. Since the launch of the drop spindle way back then to today’s complete line of lowering and lifting kits, Belltech has it all.
SPECIAL DELIVERY Belltech kit 952SP covers your ’63-’70 C10 Silverado/Sierra; coils rated for V-8 engine only; (requires converting to ’71-’72 disc brakes or equivalent) and will lower your truck 4 inches in the front and 5 in the back.
The front sits too high, and the back of the truck needs an upgrade, quick. We get started by blocking the rear wheels, jacking the truck up, securing the truck with stands underneath the frame, and removing the wheels.
We are going to get started with the front shock removal. It’s quick, easy, and gives us an early win.
We are using Belltech kit, Part #952SP, which conveniently includes new upper shock studs.
Let’s get the outer tie rods out of the way. Our BFH is missing in action, so the tie rod separator will do just fine.
Next, remove the caliper using an Allen wrench on the upper and lower bolts. Be sure to secure the brake caliper with a piece of wire, letting it hang from the chassis. This will prevent damage to the brake lines.
Remove the cotter pins on the upper and lower ball joint and pull the grease cap, cotter pin, and nut from the spindle pin to loosen the rotor hub assembly for removal.
With the hub out of the way we can remove the spindle from the ball joints. Support your lower control arm with a jack in anticipation of removing the coil spring. Then we loosened the upper and lower ball joint nuts.
With our ball joint separator and a few taps of the hammer, the spindle is loose from the ball joints. With the spindle free, lower your jack and the spindle carefully and the spring will come right out.
The Belltech coil springs slide right into the upper spring perch and settle into the lower control arm. Be sure to clock the spring until it fully seats.
Install the new Belltech spindle on the lower ball joint and tighten the castle nut. Follow the same procedure with the upper ball joint by tightening the nut and installing the new cotter pins.
We went with new outer tie rod ends. Position the tie rod end into place on the new spindle, replace the castle nut, and install the cotter pin. Before reinstalling the hub and rotor assembly, make sure your bearings are in good condition and packed with grease.
Reinstall the spindle nut to 12 lb-ft. Hand tighten the spindle nut and loosen just slightly to align the cotter pin hole. Reinstall the caliper. Make sure the brake pads are in the correct position and that nothing else interferes with the brake lines.
Installing the shock is a breeze. We prefer to install the bottom first using the existing hardware and then position the top and install the new hardware that came with the new shock stud.
Moving to the rear, we follow the same procedure to safely lift the truck onto jack stands on nice level ground. Position your jack stands underneath the frame as you will be maneuvering the rearend in this process.
We start by removing one end of the trailing arm at the frame mount. This will allow more flexibility to install the new coils.
Remove the rear shocks at the bottom and top; be sure to save the hardware.
Moving to the springs, check the spring retainers to make sure they are in good condition. Ours looked good so we will keep them in place.
We go back to our jack and lower the rearend enough for the coil spring to be removed.
The new Belltech 5-inch drop coil goes in place. We loosened the lower spring retainer to be able to seat the coil spring properly when in place. Install the rear Belltech Street Performance shocks in the factory location.
With the springs seated properly, we tighten down the spring retainers and tighten the shocks down to check for clearance.
With the rear of the truck done, we can reinstall the trailing arm and reinstall the rear wheels.
You can see what a big difference the Belltech kit has done to the stance and look of project BackPay. It really complements the look of those Detroit Steel Wheels. Our next stop is the alignment shop to dial in the caster, camber, and toe-in on the truck.
