2wd front end replacement

[maritime_bowtie]

Hey,
I have an '87 c-10 2wd that i'm rebuilding. I already have the body complete, (new doors,fenders in & out,rockers and cab corners,box,tailgate...) and now i'm onto the front end. I have new upper and lower control arms,ball joints, inner & outer tierods, idler arm & pitman arm, but when i was looking at my cross member, it looks a little seedy. How big of a job is it to switch that out? Do I have to support the motor or what? I am stumped about how to go about this, but it has to be fixed, besides my annual vehicle inspection is due next month and i'm not sure if it will pass because of the "hole" in the front of it.Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

[CustomChevy]

YES, motor has to be suspended, other than that it is a straight unbolt and bolt back in. Definitely clean as much as possible and use some Liquid Wrench to help loosen frozen bolts. With the steering linkage removed from spindles, and brake lines disconnected, you can unbolt the entire assembly. Have the engine mounts unbolted and the engine suuported. Place a jack under the crossmember to support it when the bolts are removed. When changed out, you gotta reconnect and bleed the brake system.


Since you already have the a-arms, brake parts, and steering parts removed, it should be pretty easy. Should only take you a few hours to finish the swap.
Good luck!!

[maritime_bowtie]

Thanks alot Custom Chevy, I'll let you know how it turns out. It must be nice to live in a place with rust free vehicles.

[phantom dually]

I have good front crossember if you are interested. I custom fabricated a crossmember for my 83 by moving in into the frame 2" for the ultimate low. The kit was bought from turner enterprise out of California. Let me know what you think.

[phantom dually]

Here they are!!

[phantom dually]

Heres the crossmember I put in.

[maritime_bowtie]

Thanks, but actually I'm going to go pick up my new cross member later this week, its used, but it will clean up nicely, and besides that, can't beat the price. ($75cdn). Later, Maritime_bowtie

[CustomChevy]

phantom: that frame and suspension looks like it is coming along real nice. that rear bag setup looks pretty sturdy. keep on, keepin' on!

[1FaastC10]

phantom, are you planning on fabricating motor mounts too? since you just notched the cross, rather than seectioning out the whole thing, your stock mounts wont work.

[phantom dually]

Yes I am using a fabricated mount made by Turner engineering in California. They ran about $75 shipped and simply bolt to the crossmember. You will then use the 70's style motor mounts which bolt to the motor rubber and all. Let me know and i can post a pic for you.

[phantom dually]

Thanks for the props there CUSTOM CHEVY. I have been working on this for a while and never really planned on going this far. One thing lead to another and well you know the rest!!! I could hav been done by now and saved some money but i have changed plans in this process. I beleive now I am on track as I am not leaving anything undone on my quest!!!