Anyone who has driven a K5 Blazer, a Jimmy, a Suburban or an old K10 at highway speed knows the feeling. The wheel never quite settles, every expansion joint arrives twice, and a long drive leaves you more tired than it should. Nothing is wrong with the truck. It is doing exactly what it was designed to do, for roads and speeds that no longer exist.
These trucks were engineered when 55 miles an hour was the national highway limit and a pickup was first and foremost a tool. Engineers chose a solid front axle and stacked leaf springs because they were tough, simple and cheap to fix. Comfort at 75 was never part of the brief.
With a solid front axle, the two front wheels are tied together, so a bump under one tire rocks the entire front of the truck. Leaf springs have to locate the axle and carry the load at the same time, which is why the rear hops and skates on rough pavement. At 55 that was tolerable. Run with modern traffic and it turns into constant correction at the wheel.
That combination is what a Frame-Werx chassis is built around. The chassis bolts to the factory body mounts, so the truck keeps its original look while it drives like something built this decade.
Read more on modern ride quality for your restomod truck, or build your chassis and see the total as you go.
