1990 OBS shortbed - Project DirtyRed

[DirtyRed 90]

I removed just the overload spring on mine one time. One of the worst things I did to it suspension-wise.
No progression to the spring rate. Start to play & get to pushing hard in the twisties & it would blow through the travel & the axle tubes would be bangin' on the bump-stops.
You could replace whatever ones are missing, but it's easier to just replace the hole spring pack. Either a wrecker set or new, which from what I understand, aren't all the expensive.
I've always worked on vehicles with the idea of getting it to be running & driving correctly before beginning any modifications.
That way you'll have a known baseline.
If any mod does create a prob, you'll know what created it, instead of questioning whether or not any issue was pre-existing before modifying, & the modification just made the problem more pronounced.
Get it right first. Then...mod the hell out of it!

I can't help but think about all the things I've towed or hauled with this truck over the years when I needed to borrow it. I'm just glad I never had any issues with it. I'll see what I can find.

Was the 89-91 shortbeds different from the other 88-98s? The belltech drop kit says I have to have an alignment kit for the 88-91s, but that shouldn't have anything to do with the leaves should it??

 

[sewlow]

Gm used the same leaf springs across the C1500 400 production, whether 4x4 or 2x4.
I have no idea about lift kits. (Lift kit? Ewww...Bite yer tongue! Lowlife for life! )
The only diff between the years is that the early trucks, either just '88/'89 or '88/'91, I can never remember, use a smaller front rotor. Important to know when ordering spindles. They're specific between the big & small sizes.
You can upgrade to the larger brake spindles, but that requires the larger rotors. IIRC, the calipers are the same for either/or, but don't quote me on that one!
After all this is done, an alignment is mandatory.
No idea what an alignment kit would include.
Probably, maybe, more than likely, the camber knockouts have never been punched-out on your truck. That will also have to be done, especially with the lowering.

 

[sewlow]

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Requires a special tool.
Your alignment guy can do this. Just make sure he checks to see if they're done before he does the alignment.
Most good shops do.
The alignment requirements are going to be more than just a 'set-the-toe-n-go', job. Choose your front-end guy wisely.
Look for a shop that does work for the track guys. The HotRods & Kustoms. They'll 'get it'.
The crew at WalMart won't.

 

[618 Syndicate]

Good information from @sewlow here, I'm looking forward to seeing how you progress.

 

[618 Syndicate]

I thought about starting with the wheels initially, but I was afraid that if I dropped it after, I'd be stuck with having to make the wheels fit a drop if it's too low. I wanna maintain performance as much as possible, but gotta have that street stance..

I meant see if you can throw some on just too see what it looks like. Borrow some.

 

[DirtyRed 90]

You guys are all over it. Thanks for all the really solid advice

 

[sewlow]

I lowered mine before I bought the tires & wheels.
Drove the truck on the 15's until I finally did decide on the ones I wanted.

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I told the sales guy (actually, the Co.'s owner.) what I had & what had been done to it.
He handled the rest. Off sets & tire sizes. It was his suggestion for the staggered fitment.
'SDWheels'. also d.b.a. 'Steve's Discount Wheels'.
I ordered them on a Monday & had 'em the following Tuesday.
Shipped from Chicago, across the continent & a border. In a week! For $1800.00. That included lug nuts & locks, shipping, cross-border fees & duties, & taxes.
The local yokels wanted anywhere from $3 grand up to $3200.00 for the exact same set-up, + 30-60 days for delivery.

 

[sewlow]

Good information from @sewlow here, I'm looking forward to seeing how you progress.

Thanks!

 

[1989GMCSIERRA]

Looks good to me as is. It’s a bit old school which I like. Everybody has 20+ wheels. Be different. Most wheels today are are ugly as crap. Keep the Cragars. Run some 275/60/15
Personally I removed my side moldings. And I always wanted them back. When yiu remove them after this amount of time you’ll have ghost stripes as the paint underneath will be new and the rest will have some fade. I would keep the moldings on the truck. I wouldn’t do too much to the truck. A factory stock GMT400 is getting harder to find all original. Most are modified or went through multiple owners who each added their own “custom mods” ranging from tasteful to tasteless. Or simply beat the stuffing out of a “old truck”

 

[DirtyRed 90]

Looks good to me as is. It’s a bit old school which I like. Everybody has 20+ wheels. Be different. Most wheels today are are ugly as crap. Keep the Cragars. Run some 275/60/15
Personally I removed my side moldings. And I always wanted them back. When yiu remove them after this amount of time you’ll have ghost stripes as the paint underneath will be new and the rest will have some fade. I would keep the moldings on the truck. I wouldn’t do too much to the truck. A factory stock GMT400 is getting harder to find all original. Most are modified or went through multiple owners who each added their own “custom mods” ranging from tasteful to tasteless. Or simply beat the stuffing out of a “old truck”

Thanks for the tag. I appreciate where you're coming from. Sometimes when you keep factory designs for the entire life of a 30 year old truck, it starts to do more harm than good. For example, the side skirts were coming off. The body had been rusting out where they were mounted and some of them were barely holding on, which of course left holes. The molding is in the same shape. It was in the sun all the time at my grandma's house so the paint already had kind of faded to that bittersweet orange-tint that the old red goes to. Clear coat is peeling and chipping all over the place and rust is starting to form at the base of the hood. So as much as I might like to keep the old school look, the paint and body need addressing. The only classics that can really be preserved are ones that are entirely garage kept, or rebuilt to factory spec.

I don't particularly care for the molding bc it looks beat to hell. The skirts were tacky. The grill has this fake chrome lamination on it. The bumpers are probably salvagable, but I haven't decided if I won't go with a sleeker looking roll pan.

Here's a few updated pics. You can see what the skirts did coming off. I've removed the bed rails, skirts, and tool box. Replaced head lights and tail lights with LED fixtures and lamps, also changed out those pesky sideview mirrors which kept moving on me.

Rims ordered and I can't wait to slap those babies on. I will tailor fit the drop to the rims.

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