So my cousin wants to put 20s on the rear of this 71 and 18s up front. We are going to drop the back about 4 inches and then drop the front an inch or so to get a level ride height with the two different rim sizes.

Has anyone done this setup before?

 

that sounds pretty gay. its a mans truck not a puertorican edition chevy impala.

 

lol....I'm glad someone said it!

The *best* thing for these trucks is 15's! with some 35's!

 

well its going to be lowered 4". and its a 2wd truck, and its not mine I think it will look good lowered with larger rims, we are just trying to figure out what size is right.

this truck had a 5" drop with 16s up front and 17s in the rear. my cousin was thinking 19s and 20s or 18s and 19s

 

Sorry....I just don't believe in the "lowered" truck thing....

If that's what you want, you should be looking at a Ranchero, or El Camino, Or one of those Subaru Baja Dealies..maybe an old "Brat."

I just don't get the point of making a perfectly good truck into a pavement scraper.

 

its not going to be one of those bagged scraping the ground trucks. My cousin has a new f250 for towing and hauling duties. He has owned this truck for awhile and just likes to drive it around or on trips and wants something he can cruise in. He loves the style of the truck but doesnt need to use it as a truck(even though we are not reducing its ability to haul a full load or tow), but still would like to have it to haul things around like a motorcycle or something. Lowering the back makes it easier to load a motorcycle.

Personally im not into lowered trucks or big lifted trucks because it makes it harder to use but there is a happy medium in my eyes. I had a truck on 35s with a big lift and i was useless because it was such a pain to load anything in the bed and hard to get in and out of. my daily driver f150 is stock lift with stock size tires and is perfect for hauling.


the main reason i am lowering this truck(only the rear, maybe 1" up front) is to get a level stance back. so the rear will be dropped a bit more than the front then the difference in rim size will make up the extra. hopefully

 

I think the truck looks great the way it sits.

Not everyone wants a friggen mud slinging red neck rig that has whimpy 1970s 15 inch wheels with mub bogger tires and a gun rack across the rear window. Not all trucks need to be 4X4 and be in the air.

If he wants 20's on the rear and 18's on the front, why not get wheels with the current back spacing in those sizes and call it a day. You can even make some mock wheels with some heavy card board, to check for clearance if a shop wont do it for you.

 

What are you using to lower it?

 

This lowering wheel subject is getting out of hand once again , can't we all just get along and give helpfull info instead of demeaning info ? Build your truck the way you want it , and to anwser your question about wheels why not go with 20s and 18s , alot of the 56 trucks run that combo and it looks great , good luck .

 

Realy subtle builders use the 18s up front and 17s in the back.....

Think about it... A lowered truck how much of the rear do you really see?

Be out of the box if it is lowered it needs to sit level as lowered and rake are hokey...

Garbz

 

I've always wanted to go with the Mustang Cobra R wheels on a truck lowered as you are planning.... Main problem being of course the difference in bolt pattern.... Was thinking of someday doing some measuring and see how it would work out with some lathe and mill built wheel adapters/spacers and all the reverse offset on the Mustang wheels.... or install a MII front and redrilled axles on the rear... If the truck was lowered the correct amount and the stance was just right....could be kewl....

As for all the negatives, maybe someday others will realize that not all of us are worried about towing and hauling capacities and just want a nice cruizer!!!! I always regard it as good news when someone is going to do something new and unique to one of the bumpsides, sure would be boring if we all built them to look alike!!!!!!

 

old blue, im going to do a shackle flip in the rear and hope there is no frame clearance issues. if there is all put larger bump stops on because there will be no frame notching or mods for this truck. Some people just pull out leaves but i dont want to reduce what this truck can carry just to lower it. There is no definite on what the shackle flip will give me but 3-4" is a general consensus. Im not sure on the front yet, drop springs maybe but i dont know about camber adjustment. drop beams are big money. I have to see just how much the shackle flip will give me and if the rim difference will account for it. I think the setup is to run front shackles in the rear on opposite sides. I had a bunch of notes but my other comp crashed and i lost it. I think front perches from a 250 if i remember right.

As the truck sits now the rear fender well is about 1" taller than the front. That doesnt seem like a lot but on a long bed truck its noticeable. the front sits 29 7/8 and the rear 30 7/8. It would be nice just to have the springs de-arched an inch and throw some rims on it. My cousin is trusting me to make the call on the truck, he just gives me input on what he wants and i try to do the best with that.

72f100 4v. i think if we ran 20s with how the truck sits now it might not look right. i think the rims need to come close to tucking into the wheel well. at 30" a 20" rim would need to have 5" side wall.

Ive never heard of guys running a larger rim up front but it makes sense with the older trucks and the way the fenders are. Cool idea.


this truck here is running 22s and 20s but its bagged and lower than we are looking to go with this truck.



this is a dodge but its been dropped 6 up front and 8 in the rear on 17s and 18s



thanks to those of you who gave me some input. its appreciated

 

these come in 17s and 20s. i really like the torque series wheels and i think a black rim w/chrome lip would look sweet on a black truck.

 

Rim size alone won't account for a lower stance, be sure to watch what the overall diameter of the tire is, too.

On my '71 I got approximately 1 1/2" of rake using 15 X 8 wheels all the way around, and using different diameter tires front and rear...

 

Shift I wouldnt let the nay sayers bother you, alot of people dont understand that some of us want a slightly lowered sport truck look and we have second vehicles to do any real towing. I for one would never use my bump to tow anything other than groceries when I have a perfectly good 06 3/4 ton diesel. I say lower it but if you plan on driving it any amount of time I would put the same size wheel and tire combo all around so you can rotate them. I have mine lowered about 5" with 18" wheels and 225-60- 18 goodyear tires on them.