First post, hello.

I did some searching threw here briefly before I joined, I read threw each post in the "static drop...how low are you" or whatever thread, and there are a few, actually pretty much all, of the trucks in there were very good looking. I'm looking to lower my 88 a bit, but not slam it. I also want to get rid of the ugly looking stance of the truck and how it's raked- I can't stand it. I think, if I'm remembering correctly, the truck in the thread that I saw that I liked most said he was on a 4/3 drop running 2" drop spindles in the front.

I'm very mechanically inclined, expert on motors, but I'll admit I don't know **** about suspension or lowering. Are there kits out there? I have access to all tools, welders, cutters, etc. Options? Thanks guys.

 

welcome to the site! glad you made your way to us.

easiest way to get a cheap and effective 3/3 or 4/3 drop is ease down on the front torsions, a ball joint flip, combined with a shorter front shock set, removed or shaved down bump stops. rear, you can easily do a 3 inch block and will even out the ride. yes, there are some side effects fo doing a drop via torsions as they get softer but it gives you the results you are initially looking for.

now, if you have the cash and wanna take it in a better more reliable route...... you can do a one or a combination of the following things. you can look around for some belltec drop spindles wich will render you a 2 inch drop alone. this is a simple but slightly longer process to drop the truck up front and will not require you to change the length of the shocks. stock length shocks will be fine. you can also do a DJM 3" lower control arm drop wich will net you a 3 inch drop just by the altered desighn in the control arm. either of these methods will require you to re-align your truck after its done so keep this in mind. this i believe is a much easier process than the spindle and is nearly if not cheaper than spindles. rear, you could go with belltec 3 inch drop leafs but will hinder your ability to carry heavier loads of more than 500lbs unless you get a set of air shocks to help for loads. you can also still go with drop blocks of any size.

now, if you really wanna set it off, you can combine all of those above mentioned methods and parts and render anywhere from a 5/5 drop to a 7/7 drop. if you take a look in the build section for 84-88 and look under "project lo-lux", that is my build and i go through exactly what i have done and thorough pictures of what results the process renders.

good luck on your build and if you have any questions, feel free to post up and ask.... or you can PM me as well. ill be glad to help you out.

 

quick question alex... which is better, the control arms or spindles?

 

Thanks for the welcome! To be honest, between reading around the fourms, and especially the 'static drop' thread, I was figuring SD YOTA would be the one to reply with the warm welcome and with the handful of information. Thanks brother!

As to money, it's not a problem. I'd like to do things right the first time. I don't want a hack system. I'm looking for something thats a proper drop, rides smooth and looks good, too. As for alignments, thats no problem, my buddy works at a shop that does alignments. For the hauling side, I don't think I will have a problem, because the only thing I haul at any given point is my dirt bike, which is 220 +/- lbs, and on occasion, 2 bikes, which is still around 500lbs, and other than that I just carry my shifter carts which weigh alot less.

I *tried* to do some research before finding any forums, and looked around on some kits and parts, but like I said, I don't really know sh*t when it comes to suspension. I did find some company, I think it's Belltech, that has a set of 2" drop spindles for my 88 (http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/Belltech/Spindles/Belltech-Spindle-Set/601819/) My question is, is this the correct drop for the front? It says 2", I', sure I'll want more. What do I do about the back tho? Thanks for all the help!


P.S. This is the truck I like. I'm planning on running some 13-14's on some ROTA's maybe. I'm not planning on running bling bling big chromie rims. There was a very, very nice looking truck in that thread, that was running 18" chromies. He said he was on a 5/4 1/2" drop, but looked just as low as this 4/3" Is it because this guy in on 14's, vs. the 18's?




***-Photo Courtesy of 'tyme fo play'

 

to be honest, if i was to start all over again, i would do LCA's (lower control arms) first. you get more drop for the $ (+1 inch more than spindles) and i belive is much easier than installing spindles....... (less involved)

Erik- no problem buddy.... glad to be of some help.

certain wheel and drop combinations may give off a slight illusion...... a truck with bigger say.... 18 inch wheels with less drop may look lower than a truck with 14's with more drop because the 18's fill in more of the wheel well. all depends on how you look at it. tire sizes also play a big part.

as for the "correct" way to drop your truck... spindles are a good way to drop the truck.

if i were you... i would get the DJM LCA's for the front however. i think you get more bang for the buck. i got my DJM arms from Summit racing for $207 shipped.

here is the link for the arms...
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DJM-CA2855L-3/

for the rear i would do the 3" drop leafs (either belltec or AIM ind.) and a set of air shocks for your leveling needs.

link for leafs...
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1984...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

SD, thanks again for pointing me in the right direction, AND giving me the links as well! I really appreciate it

So, if I were to (well, I will) purchase those Lower Control Arms, and install them, just that kit alone will give me the drop I'm looking for? Onceeee again, I don't know much about suspension. Just installing a different type of LCA's will drop the front a bit? What about my suspension I've got on there now, the shock I mean. They are just about new, am I going to have to toss those and get different ones? And what about the rear. Just buying those drop springs will lower the back end 3" as well? Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I HATE the stance of these trucks and how they sit raked, it's ugly! I'm assuming this is why 99% of drops I see lower it more in the back.

For what it's worth, I'm planning on running some 14's, or 15's with small tires. Looking for some deep dish rims, like BBS's or something. But, I don't know what I can get in there. Stock tires come 14x6, with a 5x114.3 bolt pattern with a Low/Medium offset. Let me tell you, I'm having a hard time picking out some rims with these options, with the correct offset, and wide enough. I can't seem to find anything bigger than a 7.5" on a 14&15" tire. Maybe because they don't plan on a small, wide tire going on these? Awh, puff, I don't know.

 

Welcome to the forum! I just wanted point out that drop spindles are not compatible with the wheels you plan to run, so that would be another good reason to go with the LCAs. As far as I know you need 17 inch rims or bigger for drop spindles.

 

That picture you posted is pretty low. I was that low by adjusting the torsions with DJM drop arms in the front. In the rear I had 3" blocks and removed the middle leaf spring and turned the overload upside down. Put in a small C-notch and it was great. Also you can install the Control Arms in an hour or two with hand tools, 30 minutes with air. Really easy, no fighting ball joints.

PS-I just bagged my truck and am selling the Drop Arms. I can include the 3" blocks if needed also. Hit me up if you're interested.

http://www.toyotaminis.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2892

 

I believe the picture you posted is the 14" steelies with the 89-95 hub caps =]


i have 3 of those, and 1 of the 4 is broken

 

Alright, I believe you and am going to go along with this. But, part of my wants to know why so? Why is it that you have to run 17's or bigger with drop spindles? Is it how they are made or something?

 

Also, I changed it up. I'm going to be dropping my 92, not my 88. Decided I'm going to keep the 88 as the play toy, and make the 92 the show truck. It's a long process, been there done that, but it's gotta start somewhere. Is it the same princibles for the 92 as the 88? It's the same exact truck, but manual, and *obviously* newer. Thanks guys!

 

the drop spindle moves the center of the wheel offset from the brakes, and the brakes wont fit in the rims.

 

suspension wise they're the same truck.

 

Please excuse my rust...

I think the reason is because of the lower ball joint, visible in the left/center of the pic will hit the rim. Either that or the lower control arm near where the ball joint is bolted on. The wheels are turned almost all the way in the picture and you can see that it clears by a bit, but if the spindle were a couple inches higher there might be a conflict there (a couple inches behind the ball joint). I am not sure about that castle nut that is visible in the top right of the pic, it might be a problem too, or the rod end that it is threaded onto. There may be some offset of wheel in a small diameter that would stick out far enough to clear these parts and still not hit the fender, but I have never heard of one.

 

if i were you erik, i would pick these up off him.... its a good starting point for your drop. easy and effective parts to get you were you wanna go.

as for your stock shocks you use them, there is no need to replace them since your travel will not be hindered by the drop. you will still retain your full shock cyle.

 

Since I haven't actually managed to find a picture of the lower control arm .. and hav not found one that is listed for the 85 (torsen in lower) would the LCA's work in mine?

 

Thanks for all the welcomes, guys!


As for the drop, I mentioned I will be doing my 92, since this is going to be my project truck. Earlier posts stated that all the suspension is the same. I'm not one to ignore a response, but would also like to hear from another source that this is true before I go ahead and get this project started. On another note, I'd really like to run a small rim/tire combo, because I like the look. I can't seem to find anything I like, and combined with not knowing what will fit in the first place, I'm kind of stuck. Can anyone give me me combo's, and maybe pictures? And for the picture I posted, I don't know what happened to it. It was a picture of a blue truck on some 14" steelies, the member it belonged to was 'tyme fo play'. It was a very nice looking truck.


On a side note- this project truck is going to be a flat bed. I don't know what I'm going to come up with yet, something cool though, we'll get it done. Anyone seen a custom flatbed? The guys over @ yotatech.com wanted me to lift it

 

I just want to point out that this isn't correct. I am running drop spindles on 16's because I absolutely had to. Stock control arms literally slammed the upper ball joint into the top of the wheel at full droop. I kid you not, it was just a couple inches travel. I switched over to belltech drops and it completely solved my problem. Matter of fact, my buddy is running 15" high offset wheels and he too got drop spindles, though his is a 79-83. 13's would push it for any spindle if they are a FWD spoke style wheel, but for 15+ you can run spindles no problem.

 

Thanks for pointing out my incorrectness. I still don't really see how a wheel offset far enough to clear the ball joints and control arms is going to clear the fenders, but apparently it is doable... Maybe you can snap a pic of the inside and outside of your wheel so we can see the clearance with your setup? 16" rims I could see fitting as a tight squeeze, and maybe some offset 15" rims if the tires are small enough in diameter that they don't even go up into the wheel well (since with that much offset it seems to me you wouldn't be in the wheel well anymore, but rather under the fender...), but with drop spindles it seems like the tires would hit the fender.

I am sticking with my contention that you need 17"s. Maybe 16"s will work, but I think it would be prone to clearance issues. I would love to hear more input on this. If 15"s work with drop spindles there should be someone on here who can show us that it does and how.

Thanks for weighing in on this! I am eager to learn more about this.