Hey Folks ... Due to recent Heart Surgery, I'm needing to put Power Steering and Power Brakes into my project. I had planned on leaving it Stock and getting it into the booth for paint , but , plans change. Before painting ,I better get this done... so.... I have a 1962 Short Step ,235 -6 with lower spindles and disc's on the front...This is the Torsion Bar system. With all the web sites and info on the net , I'm confused ,, so I'm looking for real world suggestions for a company and or parts to use ,details ... thanks. I'm in Aurora ,Colorado... and if anyone knows of a guy that does Louvers in the Denver area ..I would Appreciate that info also ...thanks Ray
I did this same conversion on my 61 and this is what I did. First I went out and bought a mid 70's Chevy half ton basket case for 400.00 complete. then I stripped off the entire brake system, steering, rearend , trans, engine, motor mounts tranny cross member and upper a arms. Don't forget to save all the hardware and clips you will need them to make this job look finished and complete. I then took a 7/16" - 1" tapered reamer and used it on the spindles so that they would mate up with the stock torsion bar lower ball joint. I then used the newer upper A arms because they are the same dimensions as the earlier ones and they have rubber type bushings instead of steel sleeves and the correct upper balljoint. The steering box will bolt up to the frame with out an adapter with careful positioning and some 5/8" spacers. The steering link from the newer truck will bolt right up and the tow in will even be real close. Your stock 62 steering shaft will bolt right up to the late model box too. The late model brake booster M/C combo will bolt up to the fire wall if you make some mounting studs. What I did was use 3/8" grade 8 bolts with the heads cut off. I then position my M/C on the fire wall and marked the holes. Then I drilled the holes and counter sank them. This gave me a place to weld them to the fire wall so I could have a flat weld so that the booster would sit flat against the fire wall. The booster shaft needed to be lengthen to meet the pedal so what I did was use a coupler nut and a short piece of all thread and a rod end to make the connection. You must use a shoulder bolt when bolting the rod end to the pedal so that it will work smoothly and make sure that there is about 1/4" inch of play or your brakes will lock up and drag because the M.C. wasn't able to fully return. In the frame rails you will have to use a hole saw (I used a 2")and drill some access holes so that you can get the steel brake lines through the frame and make the connection to the rubber caliper lines. You will have to make a mount for the proportioning valve down low on the frame. To do this connect the stock late model brake lines which should be still connected to the proportion valve to the M. C. and where ever they end up that's where you make your mount (tweak them if necessary). For your motor mounts (for V8 only) you can use the late model mounts. Attach them to the engine and set the engine down in to the engine compartment. Before you do this though you will want to cut out the stock 6 cylinder rear cross member, you will not need this. Once you get your engine in the proper position tac the mounts in to place wherever the mounts touch the frame and cross member then pull the engine out. Now you can take a torch and a hammer and cut and scallop the new mounts and heat them and hammer them in to place. Then set the engine and trans in to the truck and take the late model trans cross member and work it over so that it holds up the rear of the trans. For the rear end you can use the late model rearend but it is 1 1/2" wider than stock. You can either get a mounting kit or cut all the mounts off of the old rearend and re use them, I chose the later. I also used an adjustable panhard bar because I lowered the truck and I wanted to keep the rear end centered. After I put the bed back on the truck I used an old school trick and bent the flanges up on the rear fenders and rolled a baseball bat between the fender and tire so that the tires would clear the fender. After I was done I parted out the mid 70's truck and was able to make all my money back. These are the finished pictures of my efforts....Big Tim
Necessary Upgrades Hand in there Ray ! . Keep that 6 banger too ! . Tim's method sounds pretty good to me . (all except the V-8 part )
Thanks Big Tim , Thanks for the explanation ....great job and whats wonderful is I understand it....lol . The problem I'm having is the retention of the the original Inline 6... I'm looking for a double crank pulley ,which are part of the harmonic balancer ..and that will solve some of my problem ... The other problem is the Standard Transmission ...years ago I changed the top loader to a Saginaw 4 speed ,which works great. My 62 has a duel master cylinder ... clutch and brakes..so I need to figure out how to keep the hydraulic clutch.and still get the power brakes I need. thanks again your projects are awesome... Ray
On my inliners I drill and tap the end of the crank then use a bolt and thick washer just like a small block Chevy. I do this to keep the harmonic balencer from walking off the end of the crank. If you do this you might be able to use a pulley from a small block and bolt it to the front of your harmonic balancer. I have seen a factory harmonic balancer with 2 shivs that will fit a 235/261 but I have only seen one and it was at a swap meet and it was very expensive. As for the clutch, you might try a late model reservoir setup that you can mount inside the cab. Maybe something off of a import or something. Sounds like a fun project....Big Tim
Thanks Thanks for that info....I'll look into that.. Hows about a little more info on your inlines...I have a and parts ,someday I'd like to hang a 471 on its side. thanks Ray
It has a Crower cam Split lift/split duration, custom made 4 bolt main caps I beam ground/shot peend rods with Arp rod bolts. The center weight was cut off the crank and the crank was balanced, the rods were weighed and it has a Aluminum fly wheel. The head was also ported and the valves were given a 3 angle grind, .120 off the head and .008 off the top of the block and 9.5 to 1 pistons. It has a custom made manifold with 2 x 350 CFM Holly 2 barrel carbs and custom made stainless steel headers I use a Super T10 Borg Warner 4Spd along with a narrowed 9In. with 456 gears and a locker. The rear tires are 31x18.50x15 Mickeys, It will do 102 MPH at 5000 RPMs. I usually shift out of 1St and 2Nd at 6000 RPMs. I'm gonna be pulling it out of storage pretty soon and taking it to the new house where I'm gonna be finishing it up, I think that after 35 years it's about time.... I have always wanted to try a blower set up on one of these 6's. There is a guy on the inliners page that has one in a sedan with a blower on it....Big Tim
Post #37 on the following thread shows how I did the hydraulic clutch and power brakes on my 1960 GMC: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=444502&page=2 For power steering I Used the REZ kit, because 20 years ago they made the only kit on the market. It wasn’t designed for the 60-62 frame, but a heavy wall steel tubing spacer for the forward bolt solved the problem. I believe either Early Classic or CPP now offers an adapter kit specific to the 60-62 frame. And good luck on the health issues. I had a heart attack last September, and it sure has required some changes.
Thanks much Mark ....I have gone threw your build a couple times now.... really a great job of writing this up...great ideas and insights...I hope to incorporate some of these myself .... thanks so much for this .. Ray
