I'm SO lost on this build regarding steering

[AustinBelair]

So! Let me preface this by saying, we (Myself and my parents) had 2 of the same trucks (66 C10 big window fleetside short bed) and we built up one of them into a "show truck" and just did a refresh on the other to make it street worthy for my older parents to drive.

2 kids, job changes, both parents having cancer (still do) and ton of other stuff happening over the last 6 years, my memory is very weak on what parts I used on what truck and what worked then and what didn't etc.

So, both folks are sick and decided they wanted to LS swap this last 66 we have (Sold the other one to pay medical stuff) and just make it a SAFE cruiser for them to enjoy while they can.

I feel like I have let them down because my mind is just so frazzled at this point that I don't know what I'm doing with this thing.

So here is what I DO know:

CPP drop spindles
Eibach (I think) front 1" drop springs
1.25" square body rotors and single piston calipers

I do NOT remember:

What spindles I bought (63-70, 71-72 or 73-87)
What tie rods I have
What center link I have
What Idler arm I have

I bought them a new Borgeson 12.7:1 performance sttering box and capnfab steering bracket. I had to mod the capnfab bracket because it was wobbly and wouldn't quite clear the Borgeson box.

I installed the bracket today with the box and bought the CPP pitman arm that I read that I needed.

Nothing lines up at all and it would, the center link would hit the crossmember in a major way.

I just pulled the center link and tried to flip it, nope, not working.

I am tempted to pull the CPP drop spindles and buy the modular spindles they offer in the 73-87 style and run all 73-87 steering BUT I don't know how to adapt the 73-87 1.25" disc brake setup to those spindles AND I cannot for the life of me, find a center or drag link for a 2wd 73-87 C10.

[AustinBelair]

Ok well nevermind then. I'll figure it out

[SpudWrench]

interesting. looks like maybe idler are and power steering need to go forward? factory cross member?

[AustinBelair]

Originally Posted by SpudWrench

interesting. looks like maybe idler are and power steering need to go forward? factory cross member?

Factory, yes sir.

[duramax55]

hi Austin sorry to hear about your folks but stay positive. the only thing i can help you with is on my 62 I changed the whole cross member from a 75 and used all 75 components only had to drill a few holes otherwise everything coming together fine. Hope this helps.

[scottofksu]

Hang in there brother! You have the centerlink installed in the correct orientation and the tierods installed correctly. I found this in another post by VictoriaHardware describing differences over the years in idler and pitman arm lengths. Use it to measure yours to identify it and see what length of arm would cause the correct steering geometry. Lastly, over the years tierods were over different diameters as well with 11/16" rods used for 71-87 and 5/8" rods for the 63-70 model years. Identifying your tierods should identify your spindles and centerlink and allow you to determine if your issue is the idler/pitman arm. I have also heard about issues between frame bracket and steering boxes causing this issue as well. Good Luck!

Pitman Arm length (center line to center line)
60-66 all 5.374" K6086
67 all not 100% sure ?
68-72 manual not 100% sure K6130
68-72 power 5.137" K6131
73-89 manual 5.157" K6142
73-89 power 5.059" K6143

Idler Arm length (center line to center line)
63-66 all 5.9" K14
67-82 all 5.394" K6096T
83-89 all 5.394" K6247T

[AustinBelair]

Originally Posted by scottofksu

Hang in there brother! You have the centerlink installed in the correct orientation and the tierods installed correctly. I found this in another post by VictoriaHardware describing differences over the years in idler and pitman arm lengths. Use it to measure yours to identify it and see what length of arm would cause the correct steering geometry. Lastly, over the years tierods were over different diameters as well with 11/16" rods used for 71-87 and 5/8" rods for the 63-70 model years. Identifying your tierods should identify your spindles and centerlink and allow you to determine if your issue is the idler/pitman arm. I have also heard about issues between frame bracket and steering boxes causing this issue as well. Good Luck!

Pitman Arm length (center line to center line)
60-66 all 5.374" K6086
67 all not 100% sure ?
68-72 manual not 100% sure K6130
68-72 power 5.137" K6131
73-89 manual 5.157" K6142
73-89 power 5.059" K6143

Idler Arm length (center line to center line)
63-66 all 5.9" K14
67-82 all 5.394" K6096T
83-89 all 5.394" K6247T

Ah ok this should help! I couldn't find measurements so we shall see

[SCOTI]

The CPP modular spindles require a caliper adapter bracket for using the OE style 1.25" discs. It's a similar style of bracket used when swapping to aftermarket big brakes.

[AustinBelair]

Yeah I'm tending to other stuff on it for the LS swap now and just kind of left the front suspension/steering stuff alone since I'm not real sure. I need to find an idler arm bracket for a 73-87 but apparently nobody makes them new and there are almost no junkyards around here.