Boy I love the torsion bar front end on my '62! Took it to the alignment shop to have the front done, and added "Hey, can you crank those torsion bars down 2 inches before you do the alignment?" Sure, no problem. Free lowering.
But that doesn't help you.
The fronts can be lowered pretty easily: Get a coil spring compressor (do NOT remove them without a coil spring compressor. They're a pain to use, but beat the hell out of broken ribs), remove the springs, and either find a buddy with a chop saw, or rent one from Home Depot, and cut the springs. The front coils should not be tapered, so you can cut a round out of them. Start with a single round, then remove half a round at a time, re-installing them after each cut until you find a height you like. I wouldn't go more than a couple inches, thoug, because you will screw up the geometry. Also, to clear the fenders (like someone mentioned earlier), try going with a factory-type back spacing on the wheels. I just installed factory steel wheels on my truck, and gained a TON of clearance between tire and fender. Removing/installing the springs will be time consuming, but a day spent doing this will be worth it.
Also, cutting coils stiffens a spring--your front end will firm up. If your springs are original and worn out, this can be a good thing.
For the rears, they're tapered on both ends. You can't cut them.
Don't heat them and let them collapse, either. It'll ride like crap, and it's very hard to make both sides even.
New rear springs aren't that expensive. Get a couple of street truck magazines and call around to some of the "generic" low-rider suppliers--the ones who have several pages of adds for every kind of truck--and shop around for the least expensive springs. They're not nearly as expensive as you think.
And changing them will be very, very easy. I swapped the rear springs in my '62 Suburban in less than an hour--and that was with about a foot of clearance between the garage wall and the truck on the driver's side, so I was moving really slow while I did the work.
Dead simple, and should fit your budget. Just lower it a few inches, and you'll be very pleased.
-Brad
