Hi Im new to the forum. I've got a 1981 toyota pickup LB and I would like to lower it about 3 inches. What parts do I need to get this job done? I would like to keep the original wheels but that might change. Also I want to go for a rat rodie look.

 

There's a couple ways of doing it. Some ways are easy, some ways are more streetable, and some ways can get expensive.

Personally, I used belltech lowering leaf springs in the back, and they are awesome. In the front, I loosened the torsion bars, and its... not so awesome. The front is bouncy (which, to be perfectly fair, may come from the fact that I don't slow down for bumps or potholes and have annihilated the shocks). On my truck (an 82), I'm of the opinion that I need to upgrade to stiffer springs and get stiffer shocks to perfect the ride. I could always be wrong, and your mileage may vary.

The absolute budget way is to just loosen the front torsions and cram some lowering blocks between the rear axle and leaf pack (or, remove one of the leafs and let the resulting looseness lower it for you). Your resulting ride quality may vary.

Some of the more technically 'right' ways to do it include airbags, suspension swaps, and varying degrees of welding. I have no advice or experience with these (yet).

Finally, you could let the air out of your tires. That should get you about 3 inches.

 

Thanks for the reply.

To loosened the torsion bars how do i do that and which nuts do i need to loosen? i've been searching on old forum posts with images but most of the pictures were already deleted.

 

Ya, #$@&%* photobucket.

Have a look here. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/8...1518-how-torsion-bar-suspension-lowering.html