Closer Look: McGaughy's Suspension Drop Parts for 1960-72 GM Trucks

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There is not a truck guy out there that doesn’t love (or at least really like) the classic 1960-72 Chevy and GMC pickups. It’s a no-brainer, really. The trucks are good looking, are easy to work on, and were offered with goodies like small and big block V8s, front disc brakes, and even air conditioning and power accessories right from the factory. Small wonder the truck rags and show fields are packed with these vintage Chevvies and Jimmies.

A Little Background
The 1960 models introduced a very advanced suspension system for the day. In a market where straight front axles and leaf springs dominated, GM gave its 1/2- and 3/4-ton pickups a torsion bar front suspension, plus a coil spring rear suspension with two trailing arms and a diagonal link. This provided a comfortable, car-like ride while retaining a solid load-carrying capability (trucks were built to work, after all). The rear suspension was so good, NASCAR copied it for the Grand National (now Sprint Cup) stock cars—a suspension still competitive 48 years later.

Other than a switch from torsion bars to a more conventional front coil spring setup in 1963, Chevy’s 1/2 and 3/4-ton pickups continued with the same suspension through the 1972 model year. Most GMCs from 1967-72 got rear leaf springs (they were an option for Chevys). This commonality of design over a long production run not only makes these trucks easy to modify, it also means there are lots of restoration and performance parts available for them.

Which brings us to the subject of our story. Summit Racing has added lowering components for 1960-72 GM trucks from McGaughy’s Suspension Parts to its line. McGaughy’s made its reputation building drop spindles for GM’s 1973-87 “square body” trucks; it has since developed suspension bits for late model GM, Ford, Dodge, and Nissan trucks, 1955-57 Chevys, musclecar-era GM A-bodies, and first- and second-gen Camaros and Novas.

The one constant in McGaughy’s world is quality. The company engineers, prototypes, and manufactures virtually everything it offers right here in the USA. Its Classic Drop™  spindles, for example, are forged to McGaughy’s specs from 4140 chromemoly steel and CNC-machined in-house. Simply put, you won't get a badly-made part from McGaughy’s.

McGaughy’s line of components for 1960-72 GM trucks include:
• Drop Spindles: These spindles are CNC-machined from 4140 chromemoly steel and will set the front end of your truck 2 1/2 inches closer to the pavement. You can use the factory-style ball joints and tie rod ends, but you’ll have to convert to disc brakes. That’s a good idea anyhow, right?
• Coil Springs: Swapping out the stock springs for a set of McGaughy’s progressive-rate springs is the easy way to level out or lower your truck—or to get down on the deck with a set of drop spindles. The company offers 1 and 2 inch drop coils for the front, and 3, 4, and 5 inch drop springs for the rear. The springs come with a black powdercoat finish.

• Shocks: Shocks are an overlooked component of a lowering job. Use ones not designed for slammed vehicles and your ride and handling will quickly go to heck in a handbasket. McGaughy’s twin-tube shocks are valved specifically for use with the company’s lowering components, so your truck’s ride and handling will actually improve.
• Adjustable Track Bar: GM used a diagonal locator, or track bar, to position the rear axle in the 1960-72 trucks. The factory bar is a fixed length; on a lowered truck, the bar has a tendency to bind and try to pull the rear axle off-center as the coil springs compress. McGaughy’s adjustable track bar allows you to tailor the length to your particular suspension setup.
• C-Notch Kit: This kit allows you to get that extra couple inches of slam and retain rear axle travel by creating a notch in the factory frame rails. It’s a must for drops of 4 inches or more. The notches are a bolt-in; hardware, cutting templates, and instructions are included.

McGaughy’s also has other chassis bits for your truck, including front disc brake kits, power brake booster and master cylinder kits, and power steering pumps. The company is so confident of this stuff, it puts a limited lifetime warranty on the spindles and a one year warranty on the rest of its products. That’s like icing on your lowering cake.