GM Truck Suspension Compatibility

[Fabrux]

I'm trying to figure out what years are compatible with the suspension on GM pickups. For example, GM used the same rear suspension on 2WD trucks from '60-'72 or so. Is the front suspension similar from 1960 all the way to 1988? Are there differences? I know Ford used the same TIB front suspension setup from 1965 all the way to 1996.

I'm trying to determine if the whole chassis or even just the front suspension from an AMT 1960 C10 or Revell 1964/65 C10 would be an accurate replacement for the Revell 1977 C10...

[mistermodel]

A 1960 has torsion bar front suspention.so it would be no good for a later year.I cant say how many years the torsion bar set-up lasted

[Fabrux]

Looking on the LMC online catalogues the front suspension looks to be almost identical from 1963 up to 1987; not sure if that is the case.

[Ace-Garageguy]

If I were trying to find out that info, I'd also do google image searches of 65 Chevy C10 chassis...

...and 77 Chevy C10 chassis, etc....though this is an '80...

Though these images aren't definitive and I don't have time to do the search for you, it's pretty obvious both vintages have independent front suspension of quite similar design, and solid rear axles. The frame rails also appear to be very similar.

There's a huge amount of info available on the web to answer this correctly, in case no one knows from experience. Good luck.

Edited May 13, 2013 by Ace-Garageguy

[Guest Johnny]

A 1960 has torsion bar front suspention.so it would be no good for a later year.I cant say how many years the torsion bar set-up lasted

I believe through 1962. I know grandma's 62 had torsion bar.

[tktom24]

My brother-in-law, who only drives the older chevy pickups told me that the parts will be same from 87 back into the 60s. I have found that Hollander exchange manuals are a big help. They will cross reference the parts to show what year and model the parts will interchange.

[Fabrux]

If I were trying to find out that info, I'd also do google image searches of 65 Chevy C10 chassis...

Here we have a 65-66 cab with a 73-87 bed; talk about confusing! Makes you wonder if the chassis is a 67-72

Thanks for the replies, gents! Looks like I'll be trying to fit a 64/65 chassis, converting the rear axle to leaf springs.

[Longbox55]

I can help out on this. The torsion bar suspension was '60-'62 2wd, with 2 different designs. The light version was used on 1/2 through 1 1/2 tons. There was also a heavy version used on 2 ton and larger, which has a different design, the main difference being the torsion bar is attached to the upper control arm, rather than the lower.

In '63, GM went to a coil spring front suspension on light models (1/2 -1 1/2 ton), heavy trucks went back to I beam. This basic design was used through '87 ('91 on Blazer, Suburban, and some 1 ton models). Of note, the 1 1/2 ton models went back to I beam in '73, though I have seen the IFS on later 1 1/2 ton based motor homes. While there as great interchangeability with the '63-'87 suspension, there were changes in it over the years. The main changes occurred in '71, with the addition of disk brakes. The balljoints, tie rods, and spindles are different. A later change was the adoption of rubber control arm bushings. The '71 and later suspension is also about 2" wider that the older suspension.

The '88 and up is a completely different ballgame, no parts interchange.

Out back, the same basic coil spring trailing arm suspension was used '60-'72 on Chevrolet 2wd 1/2 and 3/4 ton, with '60-'66 being virtually identical. The main difference between the early and late versions is the way the panhard rod mounts to the axle. The early version mounts to the axle, the late mounts to the trailing arm. 1 ton Chevrolet used leaf springs for those years, as did most GMC models. Leaf spring rear suspension was also an option on Chevrolets, almost always with a Spicer 60 or 70 rear axle.

[Guest]

I know Ford used the same TIB front suspension setup from 1965 all the way to 1996.

Ford didn't use the same setup from '65 to '96. '65 to '79 used an I beam that had to literally be bent to adjust camber. '80 to '96 was totally different. It was switched to a C shaped beam in order accommodate the axles for the 4X4's (TTB). The 2wd's had an offset king pin on top to allow camber adjustment and a ball joint on the bottom.

[Longbox55]

That's not totally accurate. The later 2wd TIB still used forged axle halves, the main difference being that the newer design used balljoints for both the upper and lower (no kingpins on top) with an offset bushing in the upper for camber and caster adjustment. The radius rods are also different, earlier models were rear steer, later are front steer. The TTB axles were fabricated, and had a center section that bolted to the left hand swing arm.

[Fabrux]

Good to know! Replacing a 65-96 Ford 2WD chassis with a 97-03 version for a 1:1 build seems like a better idea all the time.