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Blazer Front Coil Suspension Conversion - Mayday

CT-BLAZER

CT-BLAZER

1/2 ton status
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Has anyone ever done, or seen a front coil spring suspension fitted in a full size Blazer?

My project has been stalled for years for an adapter plate and I dread the thought of a harsh leaf spring front end .....

A cost effective conversion would be great.....if not, I'm going to create more open space in the barn, feed the old iron to my Cat and send the scat to the firey gates of a blast furnace to make a future Toyota. . . .

Thanks for the feedback.

IMG_20230531_135620841.jpg
 
The 2WD versions came with factory front coils
Scotts-Hotrods-82-C10-Blazer-2WD-stock-suspension-7-web.jpg



Coilovers and link suspension has been done many times on 4x4, but if all you want is a smooth ride you just need a set of custom leaves.
 
Researched Coil Overs... they were all one off customs... Shops wanted possession of the vehicle for a month ..... Naturally, they were on the opposite side of the country... costs became prohibitive.

Can't remember the name of one shop that made a bolt on kit... Crazy money ( 1/2 the price of clean Range Rover) ... no idea if their in business.. that kit had issues needing a raised suspension... And cross member concerns for a diesel engine.

I've yet to find anyone advertising custom leaf springs to ride as soft as coils or air ride....

I liked the ride quality of my Eddie Bauer Bronco... Nice comfortable riding chassis.

More inclined to think leaf springs are horse and buggy era thinking.... Manufacturer's dumped that technology way back going to coils and air ride way back...

Still remember going from leaf springs to coils on a Snow mobile.... It was like night and day.....then Air ride in the Yamaha was even plusher...
 
You are right, bolt-on isn't a good choice. I was trying to say they are made specific to fit the squarebody trucks.
 
Fabrication and welding is required but ORD has done a good job making it so the mounts all sit where they need to be and taken most of the guess work out of it.
 
Everything bolts together once you're done welding :whistle:

When you say smooth ride, it typically just means low spring rate with proper damping and enough travel you're not hitting the stops. There are multiple ways to achieve that. What the leaf springs can't do for you is control axle wrap and let you use a cheap front driveshaft. They also limit the approach/departure angle based on their length, which can be an issue when you are cutting the body and moving the axles a lot from the stock position.

So yeah, the ORD custom leaves are the easiest solution (bolt in). Probably the cheapest one is to put in some other leaf spring (like stock rear 52's), but that requires moving spring hangers and there are durability concerns. Or go find a 2WD chassis. I have no idea how those ride, but it seems like you could swap coils/shocks to whatever suits you. :dunno:
 
That would be interesting.
Use a 2wd chassis and adapt a spring pocket to the top of an axle. I don’t think it will like articulation, with the shock inside the spring though. Sounds like your first post was asking if there was any “ford or dodge” type spring/shock/radius arm kits out there.
 
ORD coil overs up front and their custom leaf springs out back (stock length) has been a badass ride for me in my 77K5. 2.5 Kings up front & 2.5 16" Bilsteins out back. It does require some work but so will adding ORD leafs, they flex really well and require shock hoops also for full travel.

Or use a TTB Bronco and the sky is the limit.
 
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doing due diligence, I contacted ORD..... what I found out confirmed my earlier suspicions ....

Costs for anything ORD is expensive

Coil Over kit is about $8500 delivered to the door....
Labor is about $6000 in a fully equipped shop....
expect extra costs to clean & refinish damaged paint

Problems: Kit interferers with OEM GM AC system.... can't have GM AC - not acceptable.
Kit requires a 2 - 4" minimum lift
AC / Climate Control resolve - unknown costs if even possible
Questions: Clearance Issues for Cummins Diesel engine - uncertain

Outcome - not acceptable

Custom ORD Springs

PRO: Uncertain if they will ride like a car / air ride
Cons: Cost $8k or so delivered
require a 2" or more lift

Outcome - I'm not convinced an $8k spring kit will give me the ride quality I want , nor do I want a lifted truck..


Resolve - NONE - just what I suspected from earlier searches. costs are 1/2 as much or more than a spotless used Range Rover.


This search was intended to see if anyone has used a Ford Bronco or Dodge coil spring type system and grafted it into a GM.... not sure if it's possible to install on an open C - Channel frame. It would be nice to use all OEM type parts for ease of accessing parts.

Cleaning off Blazer will be harder than saying good bye.... It's become a bench for a disassembled Do All Band saw... spray guns, parts & pieces of everything . . . . . .

I saved a big hole while doing deep test pits

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You've mentioned a range rover a couple of times... A leaf sprung old chevy is not that. You can improve the ride substantially with newer technology but there will be compromises IE: lift, expense, other modifications to make it all work together. You can do just about anything but if you don't have the ability you are going to have pay someone who does and that didn't come to that guy overnight so you are paying for knowledge, craftsmanship, experience ect.
Making these things work is part of the fun. It's not for everyone. If you want a rangerover then do that. Its comparing apples to footballs, It's not my thing but to each their own.
 
Wow, 8k for leaf springs! That’s crazy. I can tell you, I’ve personally had ord/alcan
leaf springs AND ord fourlink/coilover kit on my k5 and it wasn’t 8k combined…
 
I dtan
Fastereddie said:
Wow, 8k for leaf springs! That’s crazy. I can tell you, I’ve personally had ord/alcan
leaf springs AND ord fourlink/coilover kit on my k5 and it wasn’t 8k combined…
Click to expand...
I stand corrected... it was quoted 6 ,- $7000 +.tax delivered, for a complete spring ,/ suspension change.

COVID, materials increased, supply chain issues seem to have affected all prices
 
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