Last month, we wrapped up the much-needed front brake and suspension upgrades on Vinnie Venturelli's '65 Chevy C10. Once we set it down off the lift and took it for a quick testdrive, the improvements over the old, stock brake system and manual steering were monumental. The new disc brakes grabbed evenly and firmly, bringing the old hauler to a quick and reliable stop, while the new power steering box not only swung the old pickup 'round the corners with ease, it also ensures that the truck won't float across the lane like a vehicle with worn-out steering components can be prone to do.
One thing we discovered when Vinnie's truck was in the air was the fact that the old trailing arm components were starting to show their wear. The front bushings on the trailing arms were shot as were the bushings on the stock track bar (Panhard bar). This allowed the rearend to wallow in all kinds of different directions which, coupled with a pair of worn-out shocks, gave the impression that the truck was crabbing as it went down the road.
To solve Vinnie's C10 ailments, once again we called up the guys at Performance Online (POL) to see what they had to offer up for the old hauler. Knowing we wanted to drop the rear of Vinnie's truck as well as make the aforementioned upgrades, they recommended swapping out the tired and twisted trailing arm setup with their new '60-'72 Chevy truck Tubular Trailing Arms mated to their bolt-in dropped crossmember. No welding or modifications are necessary to mate POL's Tubular Trailing Arms to a factory C10 rearend, nor are they necessary to mount their drop crossmember, which is designed to bolt in the same location as the stock item.
While we're making changes out back, we figured we'd upgrade the stock Panhard bar with POL's Adjustable Trac Bar, hanging everything from a pair of 4-inch lowered coil springs coupled with a pair of matching dropped Nitro shocks mounted off of POL's Shock Relocation Kit.
When it was all said and done, not only did Vinnie's truck stop and steer 10 times better than it ever did, but we sorted out the crabbing problem that stemmed from the worn-out rear suspension components and we gave it a much better stance thanks to the 3.5/4-inch drop combination.
01-02 POL's new Tubular Trailing Arms (#TTA6072) are designed with performance and strength in mind, featuring 2x3-inch, 0.188-inch wall rectangular steel tubing construction. With a tapered design for maximum strength and minimized weight, these new trailing arms are much stronger than their stock counterparts and the Delrin bushings offer zero deflection, solving half of our rearend play problem.
03-05 Made from 1⁄4-inch steel plate, POL's Drop Crossmember (#DDX6373) is designed for increased ground clearance and improved suspension geometry on short-wheelbase trucks with a 4-inch or more drop utilizing trailing arm suspension. The driveshaft hoop design improves shaft clearance, while the exhaust cutouts leave plenty of space for tubing up to 3 inches to pass through the crossmember, retaining much needed ground clearance on lowered trucks. Bolt-on trailing arm mounts allow for future upgrading to POL's anti-squat bracket kit.
06 POL's Adjustable Trac Bar (#ATB65-72), featuring Polyurethane bushings at both ends for a zero-deflection operation, can be adjusted for a perfectly centered rearend that remains centered throughout the suspension's articulation.
07-09 To replace the sagging springs in Vinnie's ride, we'll be using POL's 4-inch lowered coil springs (#RCS603D4) coupled with a pair of matching dropped Nitro shocks (#RS6372D4) that will be mounted via POL's Shock Relocation Kit (#RSRK6372).
10 Here's the stock crossmember where the original trailing arms mated. You can't tell from the image, but the bushings are smoked, allowing the trailing arms to move significantly in the mounts.
11 The first task at hand is to remove the stock suspension components, starting with the coil springs...
12 ...and ending with the removal of the trailing arms from the rearend and crossmember.
13 We're going to tackle the removal of the crossmember in two parts. First, the center section is cut out using our Miller Spectrum 625 X-Treme plasma cutter. Don't be like Jason and wear gloves when you use the plasma!
14-17 With the center section removed, it's time to knock out the rivets and remove the rest of the crossmember. The stock rivets can be stubborn, but we've found that by cutting a "+" sign on the heads, then, using a chisel to knock the heads from the rivet body, the rivet itself can be driven from the chassis.
18-19 With the old crossmember removed, the new POL Drop Crossmember can be bolted into place using the stock rivets holes and provided hardware.
20 Next, the bolt-in trailing arm mounts are fastened in place...
21 ...the Delrin bushings installed in the ends of the trailing arms...
22 ...and then the arms are bolted to the mounts.
23 The provided U-bolt fastener kit is then used to attach the trailing arm to the stock rearend.
24 With the rearend located via both trailing arms, the adjustable Trac Bar can now be installed using the stock mounting locations and provided POL hardware.
25 Installing the Nitro 4-inch dropped shocks is next, using POL's shock relocation kit in the process. These reengineered mounts help maintain proper shock angle on lowered applications such as ours by improving the shock angle, thereby increasing the effectiveness in dampening the suspension movement.
26 POL's Adjustable Trac Bar features up to 11⁄2 inches adjustment over the stock, fixed Panhard bar, an important feature when it comes to dialing in your rear suspension.
27-30 The 4-inch dropped coil springs are one of the last items on the install list and are fastened to the chassis and rearend using POL's coil spring retainer cup kit.
