got a plan together - not the cheapest but please let me know what you think

[neverwinter]

spoke to the mechanic again. i will be keeping this truck and wan to invest wisely. disks in the front seem widely approved -even by those with drums - as a pretty solid improvement.

i found a disk brake setup that will let me use my stock spindles (they are fine) for 375 plus ship. essentiailly the same as going to autozone, etc and getting the right parts plus ordering up the caliper brackets. ive done disk conversions before so i feel confident in doing it. for 599 i can get the kit with boosted master cyl and prop valve, all lines etc. need to decide this.

i will source either junkyard rims and tires or prob just go get the ones i want for the front and wait on the back ones till i am done the rear end swap.

will rebuild my rear drums. short money and good project. i can then hunt for a replacement 5 lug rear end for better gearing and to solve the leaky seal issue.

now here is my confusion. mechanic says i need a new drag link or center link. i asked why i cant just remove the slave setup and he said that one of the arms (pittman or idler?) wouldnt have any way of mating up? this is ere my memory is hazy and i am way confused. any clarification? if i do need a new drag link or center link are there any ways besides trying to soure a 1963 one?

thanks again
- jason

[Budman56]

hello never winter, is your truck a 1/2 ton or 3/4 and what year is it? Im doing the same thing but mine is a 65 3/4 ton all i could find is a kit made by cpp that will cost me 899.00. to convert the front. how did you get it so cheap.

[aerotruk63]

I'm confused as well the hydraulic assist did just that. It was the motion of the centerlink from the pitman arm aligned by the idler that activated the valves on the assist cylinder.

[Clyde65]

Just go buy you a JY front suspension from a 73-87 truck, the Center Link and Idler arm etc etc should come from the donor truck.

[neverwinter]

thanks all. and budman just look up cpp brakes online. i am going to call them today to find out exactly what is in the kit, etc etc. going to maybe hit a junkyard before buying things. i wish i could do a donor truck but the wife would kill me with another truck in the yard.

[kieth]

the donor truck is the only way to go, I bought a 91 burb, used the 350TBI, 700r4, tilt wheel, front disc brake crossmember, wiring harness, power brakes, proportioning valve, the engine was just rebuilt, as was the tranny, got tagged in the rf corner $1100.00
motor mounts, .....shift mechanism,,,,,,,,,,,it really is a cheaper option....Kieth

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G..._nS2QZT6-XL-LB

[neverwinter]

yeah i just spoke to classic performance and the kit i was looking at is to use smaller wheels and brakes. the truck version is 9 bills including master cyl etc. looks like its junkyard time or donor vehicle.

[Captainfab]

Unless you are wanting dropped spindles, and springs, a donor vehicle, or a complete '71-'87 front suspension from CL or a wrecking yard is definitely the way to go. Then replace just what needs to be replaced to make it safe.

[neverwinter]

thanks for everyones continued patience with my often confusing questions.

after crunching some numbers and with the wife's sorta blessing, i am going to get the rolling frame next sat. he still has all brake lines and power steering lines run, all the suspension and steering stuff is in place, and has good disks and drums.

my last concern for this purchase are the wheel sizes. he supposedly has either 3 or 4 inch drop spindles with 16 in rims 265 65 16. do you think these will clear the wheel wells with no issues? they seem to already be ok on the spindles as he was using the truck recently.

thanks again and ill be ordering up all the brackets from captain fab as well!

- jason

[Scot_Douglas]

They're probably 2.5" drops, with (maybe) shorted springs if he thinks he has a 3-4" drop up front. The tire size is about 1" larger in diameter than what I am running (I am at 28.6", yours comes out to 29.6") with about 5" of drop in the front - depending on the wheel backspacing, I think you'll be okay. I don't rub - plus my truck came to me with broken front springs and 265/7515 tires (30.6" tall) and didn't have any issues.

Do it!