78 front end under our 66 chevy

[smithjm]

Anybody have an opinion about this? We have a 66 1/2 ton that we are trying to figure out an economical way to put disk brakes on the front. Our buddies @ the local salvage yard are telling us that a 78 1/2 ton front end/w disc brakes will fit under it nicely but were looking for some un bias opinions. Would it bolt right up or would it require alot of modifications? Of course, they have one /w everything including the booster they are willing to fix us up with cheap-but if it won't work it won't be worth it no matter how cheap it is.

[65Gregg]

It will bolt up, I used an 84 suburban crossmember & booster on my 65. As i recall i had to elongate/enlarge 2 holes. Take everything you can with the crossmember, you can use brakelines, steering box etc. I think there is a section in the FAQ devoted to this upgrade. Good luck.

Gregg

[tripleD]

yes it will bolt right up!! 73-87 half ton is direct bolt up.two holes have to be oblonged.yea what 65 gregg said.its a easy cheap upgrade.it will work on trucks 60-72

[Captainfab]

Yes it will work, but be aware that you will have a 5 x 5" wheel bolt pattern on the front and 6 x 5.5" on the rear. This can be taken care of two different ways 1) change the rear end or 2) change the front rotors. Here is a thread that will shed some light on the front disc brake swap.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=disc+brake

[Chevy Fleetside]

Heck.. If you don't feel like changing the whole crossmember, you can use to original 66 and bolt up the control arms. You will want to use the whole steering linkage also though. Here are control arms from a 75 bolted on a 65 crossmember. The later model crossmember have bigger u bolts.

[DPowell]

Do it. You'll be glad you did.

I did it on a '66 short bed that I had. It was well worth the effort. You'll probably have to drill holes in the frame for the idler arm but overall it is a pretty straight forward job. Before you put the new front end under your truck, its also a good time to replace the bushings, ball joints and tie rod ends.

[67Mach1]

I assume that this could also be done with a C20 front end from the later years?

How about this? Can you use the 1/2 ton parts on a C20 to convert to 5 lug with disc?

[chevytrucknut]

Thats the easiest way to convert to a 1/2 ton. I have 2 '65 c10's that have 71-87 front upper and lower control arms,spindles,steering and brake set ups. The 8 lug rear end is another problem. You'll need to find a c10 rear end with gears you need. Later years will work but you need to buy the kits to weld on new trailing arm pads and a panhard bar. If you find a 6 lug rear that bolts up you can also have the lugs changed to 5x5 and have the hub turned down to fit the wheels. I just had this done for about $165.

[GMCMG]

You might check Craigslist or something similar and try to find a whole chassis. That's what I just did for my '66 frame project. Gave $150 for the whole chassis (from a '82 half ton), and now I have the 5 lug rear end, too. I agree with the 'rebuild it while you're working on it' - I had several guys suggest that to me on this forum while I'm doing mine - it may be newer than your truck, but it's still 30 years old! I just hit 30, and I know my joints don't work like they used to!

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by tripleD

yes it will bolt right up!! 73-87 half ton is direct bolt up....

For point of reference 72 is where it started with factory disc brakes, but those are going to cost more usually.

Going forward to the next generation, 73-87 trucks, 73-82 Blazer, and 73-91 Burbs all have the same front suspension. There are a gazillion of these years out there so the prices should be cheap.

As noted this will give you 5 lug disc brakes. You can either convert your rear axle to 5 lug, or convert the front to 6 lug. This might be a time to consider a rear disc conversion too.

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

For point of reference 72 is where it started with factory disc brakes, but those are going to cost more usually.

Going forward to the next generation, 73-87 trucks, 73-82 Blazer, and 73-91 Burbs all have the same front suspension. There are a gazillion of these years out there so the prices should be cheap.

As noted this will give you 5 lug disc brakes. You can either convert your rear axle to 5 lug, or convert the front to 6 lug. This might be a time to consider a rear disc conversion too.

71 was the first year for front disc brakes.

[67Mach1]

I forget , but didn't they go metric on the stud threads at some point also. Not sure when that was though. This is somethign you could change but if any one knows what year that was it would help.

[Captainfab]

As far as I know that wasn't until '88 for the pickups and '92 for the Blazers and Suburbans..

Originally Posted by 67Mach1

I forget , but didn't they go metric on the stud threads at some point also. Not sure when that was though. This is somethign you could change but if any one knows what year that was it would help.

[67Mach1]

You may be right, I think I may have confused when i put newer chevy rims on an older truck and could not use the stock (to the rims) lug nuts to make use of the center caps. They were metric.

[Chevy Fleetside]

The 81 I picked up as a parts truck is being delivered today. I am going to take some pictures and maybe even video when I do the c 20 to c10 swap into my truck. I am going to probably rebuild it first unless it is all still good.