Build advise for a 59 fleetside

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by raycow

Don't touch the frame rails. Find a no-weld M-II crossmember and save all the stock suspension parts you remove. The only stock part you will have to sacrifice is the steering column/box (if you cut the column) so find another one to cut before you begin the conversion.

Ray

I'm not and MII fan, I used to own a pinto with the same front suspension. I already have the G body clip and most of the suspension parts. I have a several old coulmns

[fabguy]

Just an opinion but, how about a front clip out of a 71-72 C-10. They had disk brakes and the frame width and height are the same. Easier clip to do than a camaro by far. Mine is done that way and if I bag it the parts are easy to find as well as drop spindles. I always opt for the mods that I can walk into your local auto parts house and get parts easy, rather than wait because it is a special order orthe company went out of business. These trucks are easy to find still and relatively cheap too. The front ends on those trucks used almost no rubber bushings to replace, just grease her up and go. Also if you plan to bag it, go check out the 67-72 section here on this site to see how low you can get it. As I said, Just my opinion.
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[dwcsr]

I already have the clip thats based off a G body. It was sold by RB's obsolete and uses G or A body suspension parts. So the clip is set in stone with a G body A arms and S10 Blazer 2 dr spindles and C5 disc brakes.

[raycow]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

I'm not and MII fan, I used to own a pinto with the same front suspension.

Fortunately, the aftermarket M-IIs aren't anywhere near as bad as the stock Ford version with the strut rod. Even then, an M-II wouldn't be my first choice either if I were doing the conversion "for keeps". However, I thought you were looking for something that could be reversed in the event that you wanted to restore the truck to stock condition. There must be other crossmembers/suspensions out there that are better than the M-II, but I don't know which of them can be installed without having to hack the stock frame.

Ray

[dwcsr]

I can cut off the existing front clip in a manner that I can reweld in on. My plasma torch only removes .030 of metal so I could graft it back if I needed to but in reality it took so long to get to this point, I seriuosly doubt it will ever get returned to original.