60-62 | Air Ride Guide

60-62 | Air Ride Guide

Let's talk 60-62 C10s! I have always loved this year model truck. You can't beat a knee knocker cab with a pig nose hood!! So I began to wonder... "why don't more people build these trucks?" As I began to research this year model, I quickly learned, well... they're... different... We can start this guide there.

What's different about 60-62s compared to 63-66 C10s? I explain the differences in the steps below. I talk though torsion bars, x frame, and year specific frame components. 

Air Ride Shopping List

Here's a shopping list of parts you'll need to bag your truck! If you're on a budget, no worries! I purposely numbered these in the way I would order them. Simply click each item and purchase on my website. Each sale helps support more content! 

If you want to get it all at once without the hassle, check out the 60-62 Air Ride Bundle!

1. Simple.C10 Air Ride Kit
2. Velaworks Front Slam Kit
3. Disc Brake/ 2.5" Drop Spindles
4. Front 3" Drop Shocks
5. Simple Shocks or Switch Suspension Hood Hinges
6. Front Fender "Simple.Guide"
7. GMSS Front Fender Covers or Full Inner Fender Tubs
8. Velaworks DTC Rear DIY Slam Kit
9. Rear Step Notch and Simple.Bridge
10. Rear Bag Template
11. Simple.C10 Watts Link
12. Simple Rear Shock Relocation

Step 1: Planning Your Build and Air Ride Kit

Planning your build and purchasing your air ride kit is your first step! Watch "Airride 101" on Youtube to help you plan your build! On all my builds, I use the "Simple.C10 Kit" from Airslamit.  We teamed up to make baggin' a C10 easy! This kit includes the tank, compressors, and Airlift 3P System, which I highly recommend! 

Step 2: Torsion Bar Front Suspension

The main difference on the 60-62 front suspension is the torsion bars instead of coil springs like on the 63+ C10s. The torsion bar setup needs to be removed in order to install air ride. There are a few ways to accomplish this:

1. I offer a Torsion Bar Delete Kit from Velaworks that allows you to remove the torsion bar, then weld in the needed brackets to install a cup into your lower control arm. The kit comes with the brackets for the ball joint, lower cup, and control arm bracket, and upper bag bracket. In addition to the torsion bar delete kit, you will need to upgrade to disc brakes with drop spindles. I offer a kit specifically for the 60-62 control arms and ball joints! You can purchase that kit here: 60-62 Disc Brake + Drop Spindle Kit

2. Another option is completely removing your front crossmember and upgrading it to a 63-72 or a 73-87 crossmember. This would require some fabrication and a couple holes drilled. I found a great article on the forums explaining this installation here. If you install a later model cross member you can remove the control arms and install the Velaworks Front DIY Slam Kit. This kit includes the upper bag bracket and the weld-in cup that is installed on your lower control arm. You install this cup to be able to mount the bag directly to the bottom of the control arm to allow maximum drop with stock control arms. Watch the "Velaworks DIY Slam Kit Video" for a step-by-step guide. If you're not able to weld in a lower control arm pocket, another product that I offer that achieves the same goal is Porterbuilt Control Arms. They allow you to mount the bag directly to the bottom of the control arm, giving you maximum drop. They also come with an option to have them forward and narrowed 1 inch. Contact me first to make sure the best option for your wheel size and backspacing. You can watch the video below for more information. Just as a reminder, the larger diameter 2600 bag installs up front. You will install disc brakes conversion and drop spindles afterwards to achieve the maximum drop. 

3. The third options (and the option I'm using for my 1960 build "Sonny") is the 60-62 Porterbuilt Front Dropmember. This kit is a direct bolt in replacement that will allow you to fully lay frame on 22s. It includes the drop member, control arms, rack and pinion, sway bar, and steering components.

X Frame Rear Suspension - The 60-62s are known for their X frame rear suspension. The mid section of the frame has a large frame stiffener in the middle of the truck that can be hard to deal with while installing air ride. This doesn't cause much of a problem if you're installing air ride following my guide since we are using trailing arms in the rear. If you were trying to lay frame, the middle X hangs slightly below the rest of the frame and would need fabricated. 

  1. In our case, the only modification to the center section of the frame is notching the rear upper X area to have clearance for your driveshaft. Similar to a "topeless trailing arm crossmember on the 63-72 trucks, driveshaft clearance is vital. All you need to do is cut out a 6 inch section on the upper rear section of the X frame. Below is an example.
 

 

The following content is from my past builds. It's the same process but the frame is slightly different. As I continue the Sonny build, I will replace each step with actual 60-62 videos and parts!

Step 6: Step Notch and Blocks


Now the fun starts! Go ahead and order the Velaworks Rear DIY Slam Kit and the Rear Step Notch. The rear kit will come with a 4.5 drop block that you can cut down to whatever size you need it. If you're running 22's then leave it at 4.5, if you're running 20s, cut it down to 3.5 inches. If you are running smaller wheels and do not cut them down to size, you will run into whats called "scrub issues" where the U bolt hangs lower than the wheel and would drag the ground if you had a flat. The Velaworks Step Notch is a universal notch made for 60-62 C10s. It's a great design and is installed easily. Watch the "Velaworks Rear Notch Installation Video" to see how you can do it yourself! After installing the step notch you need to connect them together to enforce the frame. An easy way to do this is the Simple.Bridge that not only makes your frame stiffer, it allows movement for your watts link to travel without coming in contact with the bars.

Step 7: Installing Rear Bags

To achieve the maximum drop in the rear, you need to mount the upper bag directly to the frame. This has been one of the most difficult parts of baggin the back because you have to position the bag at a specific angle to be able to install hardware and your air fitting. To make this easy, I created the "Rear Bag Template"! All you have to do is cut out the template and it will help you drill your three holes perfectly! This was a game changer on my last build and I'm excited for everyone to use it. In the Simple.C10 Air Ride Kit, you get 2-2600 bags and 2-2500 bags. The smaller 2500 bags install on the rear of the truck. The template is made for any brand bag 2500 and 2600 size. 


Step 8: Watts Link

Since air ride allows us to adjust our suspension height on the fly, it's vital that our rear end remains centered at all times. Although a traditional pan-hard bar can be built to work correctly, like in this video, a watts link provides us with a system that keeps everything centered through full suspension travel. I partnered with Alex V Metalworks to create a "Simple.C10 Watts Link"  that is for 60-62 C10s with this airride setup. This watts link requires minimal welding! It's a simple design that works great. This was my first time installing a watts link and it only took about 3 hours total. Check out the "Watts Link Installation Video" for a step-by-step guide.
 

Step 9: Rear Shocks

Now it's time to install your rear shocks. I designed a "Simple Rear Shock Relocation Kit" perfect for these trucks! This will locate the bottom shock mount on the outside of the frame on both sides. From there you bolt in you shock, air out your truck, compress the shock all the way down, and make a mark where your upper bracket will be bolted or welded in. You do not want to use drop shocks for the rear of these trucks. They will limit your lift as you air up. I prefer to get the longest shock possible that will compress enough to mount to the side of the notch. 

Step 10: Air Management 

If you have made it this far, you're almost there! It's time to connect the electrical and air lines for your Airlift 3P System. My suggestion is to use your Airlift 3P Manual as a guide to know where each line goes and watch the videos I have linked. It's actually pretty simple. Hook up the compressor hot/ground, run both power/ground to battery, one line connects into the manifold, and the blue wire goes to an ignition, then you plug in your airlines. The hardest part is deciding how you want to run your wires and airline to make it clean. I like to use these 5/8 electrical clamps to keep things organized. I use the random factory holes in the frame to bolt these to, or you can drill holes where needed. In addition to the video linked below, check out my "Airline Organization" video. 

 

 

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