suspension questions for 1 ton to 1/2 ton conversion

[chevytruckjerry]

Hey group, its this guy again. Earlier this year I had issues with a 1968 1 ton dump with 250 inline and sm465 that I got for free from a graveyard. Got it running, and now she's my daily driver! But now I have a host of new questions.
I want to ditch the dump box. The floor is rusted beyond belief, the pump and ram leak, and its just heavy as heck. The entire suspension is shot. I need balljoints, shocks, tie rods, you know the drill (the shocks are original factory!!!). The tires are also shot, and the rims are so badly rusted in the welded seams that they are actually bent out of round, so when I tried to balance them at work they wanted to take 5, 6, sometimes 8 ounces of weight just on one side LOL! So I want to slap 1/2 ton suspension on this truck now, since the parts are a little cheaper, but then I can also put some 15"x7" 5 lug wheels on it (american racing torque thust d's). Also want to do the 2" drop coils and 2 1/2" drop spindles, all wrapped around some 235/60/15 firestone firehawk indy 500's.

Part One:
My question to you's guys, is, what my best approach for putting the Early Classics Enterprises 2 1/2" drop spindles on is. Can I install those spindles on 1 ton balljoints, or do I need to use 1/2 ton balljoints, and if so, do 1/2 ton balljoints fit in 1 ton control arms? If non of the above is true, then I figure I can get ahold of some used 1/2 ton control arms, since they look like the cross shafts mount the very same way as my old '68 project did. Or are 1 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1/2 ton control arms all the same or are they different?
Usually I would just order one side's worth of parts and if they fit, I would use them, and if not, I would send them back. Since the economy took a crap, I cant afford to do that!

Part Two
Right now, I'm just worrying about the front suspension since the balljoints are so worn they are not safe. The rear suspension, since it is originally a cab and chassis truck, is heavy duty leaf spring hung dually rear axle. For the rear, instead of converting completely and extremely expensively to coils and trailing arms, Im going to find a cheap (and yes I know WEAK) 10 bolt rear end out of a junkyard truck, and weld on my own spring pad and shock mounts. I was planning on flipping the spring mount to the bottom to lower the rear. Does anyone know if the 10 bolt rear ends from '73-'87 2 wheel drive trucks is around the same track width as the 1/2 ton rear they used to put on the '67-'72 trucks? I would like to use the same style wheels on the rear as the front, but in the rear I want to use around a 15"x10" rim, and larger tires, like a mickey thompson street legal DOT slick. Just wanted to know if anyone knew if the later years half ton rear end would be too wide. Its just a lot easier and cheaper to find 73-87 10 bolt rear ends than finding a 1/2 ton axle from a 67-72.

Again, thanks for your time and patience in reading this long long long question. Just trying to have fun dropping this ride right down to the ground.

[Longhorn Man]

I am not familiar with the ins and outs of the front end stuff. I DO know the 1/2 ton spindles will not slip inot a one ton ball joint. I know it has been outlined on here, as far as what you can use that is on your truck, and what you need to swap out.
I usually say, just swap out the whole cross member. You get everything from one truck, you know what to say when getting parts at the corner parts house, and you know it'll all work together. You'll also be able to swap to power steering too.
The 10 bolt in later trucks is either the same width as an early 70 to 72 (which is 3/8 inch per side wider than 67 - early 70) or at least it is VERY close. As a light duty one ton owner (my 70 one ton) i would highly recomend removing most of the leafs in your spring pack. Take the dump bed off, and go around the block... you'll see why I say this.

Don't forget you'll need to upgrade your master cylinder and proportioning valve to a disk/drum set up, and you can expect issues. You'll have to relocate one of the shock mounts on the rear axle, not to big a deal since you are welding on it already. You'll need drive shaft work since the distance from the carrier bearing to the diff yoke will not be the same, hoses and mounting tabs, both front and rear will not work like stock, a shackle kit and/or a C notch will be needed out back if you plan on just doing an axle over leaf flip, some sorting and brain storming may be needed... don't expect it to be just a nuts and bolts job. Very doable, but not a weekend project.