73-87 spindle and axle swap questions

[Cheeseman]

I have purchased a set of drop spindles for my stock 69 C10 and upon purchase I discovered that these are the 73-87 spindles with the disk brakes and 5 on 5 lug conversion. Will these work in conjunction with my stock 69 front cross member/suspension etc or will it all have to be swapped out to a 73-87 assembly? I have read through a lot of the threads but I am not able to get my head wrapped around if I can just swap in different tie rods and ball joints into the 69 assembly and get these spindles to work or if I need to swap in a complete new 73-87 set up. The set up I purchased comes with the brakes etc with it and it is 5x5 pattern, so would my best/most economical route be to just get the 5x5 axle shafts and swap those into my factory 69 housing? Thanks for any assistance.

[lolife99]

Read this:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...68&postcount=4

If you need more help,... I will be glad to answer.

[lolife99]

This is the part that applies to you the most,... but read it all.

73-87 Crossmember Not Yet Installed:
1) Your donor 73-87 crossmember came from the factory with disc brakes.
* This swap is almost a direct bolt in, with just a few holes to drill/elongate.

2) The preferred method is to use all of the 73-87 steering linkage:
* This includes the centerlink, inner and outer tie rods, idler arm and steering box. (A great way to gain P/S)

3) If you must use the 67-70 steering components, you will need to change the tie rods:
* The 67-70 inner and outer tie rods are a smaller diameter (5/8") vs. the 73-87 tie rods larger diameter (11/16").
* The 67-70 tie rods are also the opposite thread direction of the 73-87 tie rods.
* 67-70 inner is RH thread vs. 73-87 inner which is LH thread.
* 67-70 outer is LH thread vs. 73-87 outer which is RH thread.

3.1) So to connect the 73-87 spindle to the 67-70 steering centerlink you must use a:
* 67-70 outer tie rod (LH thread) in the inner location.
* connect that to a tie rod "conversion sleeve". (these are sold by many aftermarket suspension companies).
* use a 73-87 outer (RH thread) to connect to your 73-87 spindle.
* Again,... it's much simpler to use all of the 73-87 steering components.

4) Connecting the 73-87 rubber brake lines to the 67-70 steel lines, may require steel line fabrication, or brass "inverted flare" adapters.

5) You can also just swap all the components, from the a-arms out,... and leave your original 67-70 crossmember in place.
* This will require you to completly disassemble both the original 67-70 suspension and the 73-87 donor suspension.
* This is also a good time to clean, inspect, replace or rebuild any needed components.

[Cheeseman]

Thanks for the info Keith, it appears it will just be easier in the long run to swap in the 73-87 cross member and not all that big of a job since everything is ready to be torn down. Other than just boring a few holes out and a few new ones it should be an easy weekend job....right? HAHA!

Under #2 it talks of using the steering box from the 73-87 set up. I have PS on my 69 so would my current PS box work just fine with the 73-87 linkages-pitman arm?

Thanks again. I need to make it down that way one of these days

[lolife99]

I think your '69 steering box will work fine on the 73-87 centerlink.

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by lolife99

I think your '69 steering box will work fine on the 73-87 centerlink.

Correct.