Camaro front clip on a 65

[halfadeuce]

I purchased a 65 short bed a few months back and slowly been working on it to get it road worthy. Its pretty much a hack job that some one put together but it has a lot of potential. Currently I'm working on the front end. The guy i bought it from said the front clip was from a Camaro. He wasnt sure the year, but so far parts off an 81 have worked. I have replaced the upper A arms with some QA1's from Summit, 2 inch drop springs and bilstein shocks. My problem is that the Pitman arm is coming in contact with the center link. It has power steering and when you turn the wheel you can feel it bind. I have noticed that the pitman arm has a bit of an angle to it. I was able to look up the casting on the pitman arm and it looks like its off a 76 firebird, not a camaro. If i swap the Pitman arm to the Camaro one which is straight and not angled, can this fix the binding issue? Also, how does the length of the pitman and idler arm affect steering? Any help will be appreciated.



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[awbrown]

Could it be the wrong arm ???

[Chevy Fleetside]

Kinda looks like a mixture of parts. Some of those look like they are original to the truck especially with the mud build up.

[halfadeuce]

I don't think they are original truck parts, everything fits pretty good with the exception of that pitman arm. Just hoping that with a straight Pitman it will clear the centerlink.

[4dalulz]

you could get a dropped pitman arm. that might help. CPP has them and Im sure Summit has them.....not sure if that would help or not.

[4dalulz]

it has a two inch drop and that might be enough to clear..

[Captainfab]

I guess I am just not understanding what the issue is. How can the pitman arm interfere with the center link, aka draglink, when it is bolted to it? Or is the pitman arm having an interference somewhere else that I can't see. It's hard to tell with all the dirt, grease and oil all over.

[PGSigns]

The one picture looks like there may be a problem with the drag link and the tie rod. No where do I see pitman arm issues in the pictures. Can you put it in the position where it is having a issue and post it?
Jimmy

[halfadeuce]

PG Signs I think you are correct, I got under the truck this mornig to take some pictures and noticed that at ride heir the pitman arm is indeed higher than the center link and that's what's rubbing. What do I need to change?

[Captainfab]

In those pics it looks like the end of the draglink is touching the inner tierod? Are those lowering springs in there? If so, that would raise the inner tierod up a little. It is also possible that something is bent in that front subframe. You might try grinding a little on the end of the draglink. But you have to be very careful that you don't remove too much material from the end of the draglink or it could fail.

[PGSigns]

One of the problems you run into when you have a truck done like this is you have no idea of what parts got mixed and matched when it was done. From your pictures it does not look like a Camaro draglink and from what I can find on the web the Camaro tie rods have a bend in them near your pinch point. If you google Camaro drag link you will se what I am talking about. It looks more like a truck link. That could be one of the issues.
Jimmy

[halfadeuce]

thanks to a couple of you who mentioned it wasn't the pitman arm but the centerlink or tie rods. Sure enoue the driver side tie rod was not correct. It was a straight tie rod and required a camaro tie rod with a little arc to it. I replace the inner and outer on the drivers side and no more rubbing.



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[PGSigns]

Good to see you figured it out.
Jimmy

[Mathew21]

Great update