I thought I would share some photos of my 76 D100 project. These are before it was lowered, after it was lowered with dropped lower control arms and cut springs, and finally after I went back and tossed out the cut springs in favor of Bell Tech Dakota 2 inch dropped spindles and going back to the stock original springs.

It rode horrible with the dropped lower control arms and cut springs. It bottomed out all the time. I had maybe and inch of suspension travel even after cutting 2 inches out of the bump stop bracket. The alignment angles for the upper and lower ball joints was terrible, the outer tie rod angles were terrible. The upper control arms would hit the steering shaft on the drivers side. It drove ok on a smooth roads but smooth roads in Michigan are few and far between.

So far with the dropped lower control arms and the dropped spindles, it rides much better, I've got 3-4 inches of suspension travel. The alignment angles are better, the upper and lower ball joints are more in-line. Also with the outer tie rod end going from the bottom of the steering arm on the spindle that angle is perfect. However, now the lower control arms less then 3 inches off the ground. The lower shock bushing is less then 2 inches off the ground. I've drug the shocks once in the few days I've driven it recently. I ran into some clearance issues using the Bell Tech spindles with the dropped lower control arms. But worked past them.

The stance is exactly the same as it was with the dropped arms and the cut springs.

7698177-suspension.jpg (2458 downloads)
Last edited by jstollfu; 05/08/13 04:31 PM.