Well ive been thinking of making my truck safer by adding power steering, power brakes and disc brakes. My step father had a 85 c10 he had turned into a pickup bed trailer about a year ago. I was talking to him about what he had done with the front of the frame. He told me it was sitting by the round top and if i wanted it all i had to do was take it! So tomarrow while we are there for xmas im going to go look at it. If i remeber right it has disc brakes but i think they are the light duty ones (1" instead of the 1 1/4") but that just means i have 2 choices i can keep it like it is and stay with the 5 lug or upgrade to the HD spindle and buy the after market 6 lug hubs. Im thinking it will just be easyer and cheeper to just stay with the 5 lug. I have a local shop that can and will redo my rear axles cheep enough to make them 5 lug to match. So here is my plan... Bring frame home Remove A frames ( top and bottom) and spindles Remove my A frames and bolt on the new ones from the 85 (I've read this can be done) Then replace steering linkages with 85 parts and buy the mounting braket to mount steering box to frame. Now as far as power brakes im going to see if there is a way i can use the booster and master cylinder from the same 85 c10. If not there is a guy that makes brackets to bolt 1988 boosters to the fire wall. Then just got to figure out master cylinder. If anyone knows weather this will work or weather im goin about it all wrong please let me know. And any ideas that you have done would be great.
Yes it can be done quite easly. I took the cross member from a 85 and bolted it over to my 66 . It fits the frame fine.just have to drill a couple of extra holes. I like this method because the A-arm and everything transfer without modifcations. As well as front end alinement. Kilroy was here!!!!!
Well while we were over there i got to look at the fram section he has and i think it might have th HD brakes? I measured them and they were around the 1 1/4". So i might get luck and have the correct spindles for the 6 lug rotor convertions? Anyway it has everthing there. The ps pump, gear box, poportioning valve etc.. will have to have the rotors turned and have to have the calipers rebuilt but its all there! And as far as i can tell the booster my be good but the master cylinder is toaste. It had a fire under the hood and of corse its a plastic resevor master cylinder. Oh well beats having to buy every thing. Now just got to wait for a better day to go get it all. And he also gave my kid his 94 regular cab long bed 4x4 pickup! Water pump locked up on it and shot the fan off and ate the radiator. So easy enough fix. He just went out and bought a 07 4 door desial to replace it. Farmers? Lol!
Farming Has CHANGED ! As I used to have to search the Town Dump for useable old tires.... Strip used parts of other brand vehicled that had been settling into the muddy lower pasture for 20 years.... Keep up the good works and don't be in any hurry to machine those rotors ! .
Brake Service Most Mechanics have been taken in by the rip off aftermarket's B.S. spread to see as many new parts as possible , Me , I have decades of Factory & Dealer Training including lots of Bendix training and they all say DO NOT turn the drums nor the disc rotors unless there's a noticable pedal pulsation or the drum is worn bell mouthed . Even when the old shoes were allowed to run metal to metal . The reason is : the drum or rotor is designed to have a certain metal thickness so it dissapates heat well , as soon as you machine it , this heat rejection ability is compromised . Sometimes , in elderly vehicles , the drum brakes are *so* marginal by design , they should never , EVER be machined , ony discarded .
I get ya now. But if i can not aford to buy the 6 lug rotors from cpp I'm going to have my dad turn them. He has been doing them sence before i was born. I did have him do my drums on my 64 gmc when i first put it together. He only takes enough off to smooth them and if they are to bad ill have to buy new ones any way. And if thats the case hello 6 lug rotors.
Oh yeah i forgot. I'm going to go as many new parts as posible. My list of new parts for sure are as follow. New upper and nower a arm bushing,and ball joints. New beqring through out. New calipers and pads. New shocks. New brake hoses and lines. New master cylinder. New power steering hoses. Qll tat equals around $140. ( i work at a parts store now so i get every thing or below cost. So got no reason not to go new) And cpp sells the 6 lug rotors for $129 + shipping. So I'm figuring around $300 to put all new/ rebuilt front end and power steering and power brakes. That my goal anyway. We will see what happens.
The 63-66 a-arms can also be used with any other spindle (71-72 or 73-87) with a simple ball joint change. The upper and lower ball joints and outer tie rods must match the correct year of spindle you choose. You will need a "conversion" rubber brake hose to connect your disc brake caliper to your existing steel brake line. Keeping your original 63-66 crossmember allows to to leave the engine and transmission in place. No need to remove drivetrain. No need to temporarily support the engine, while removeing the crossmember. Complete disassembly of the front suspension also allows you the ability to clean, inspect, replace or rebuild all the individual components. Sense you are toatally blowing everthing apart to replace bushings you are better off using the `65 crossmember, they use steel bushings which hold a better aliagment with less deflection, keep tract off all aligment shims as to their placement on the arms as you will need to put them back for the initiall aligment at the shop.
Yeah i think im planing on keeping cross member. But want to use the 85 A arms so i dont have to grease every thing all the time. And when i do this i plan on useing all the steering componets from the 85. And as far as brak lines im not to worryed about that cause ill use the ones from the 85 or make new ones. i know ill already have to make some. Im going to upgrade booster and master cylinder so its all 85. I know ill have to drill a few holes and reroute some lines but im ok with that. As long as its safe and done right ill be happy. Thats the most inportant thing!
Ok last weekend i got my power steering bracket from POL. (Perfomance online) so i was able to upgrade to power steering. A friend gave me a power steering pump and bracket along with pulleys off a 71 c10. So i had to change to the short water pump and redo my alternator to the drivers side. But no biggy it works great! Only thing i had to do to the pump was change the pressure out let from the standard fitting to the metric. And i was still able to use a stock 85 chevy hose. Just had to bend the side going to the gear box a little more so the hose didnt touch the pulley on the pump. Now I'm tearing down the front end on the 85 c10 frame section i got. I have every thing removed but the A arms and spindles. I'm at a stop because when i try a jack up the A arm so i can remove the spindle the whole frame section moves! So any one got any ideas on how to remove the A arms on just a frame?
And on a side note look what else i got giving to me. 71? Booster and master cylinder. And some sail panel bling! Some one put a screw up in the top corner of them but I'm not goin to bitch about free stuff! I test fit the booster and it will stick out like 20 inches from the fire wall. Not sure i like that? May have to modify it and make a differant bracket? Any ideas on doing that would be great! Thanks
Normally we use the weight of the vehicle to compress the springs when removing the springs, so now you`ll have to rent or buy a spring compressor, compress the springs just enough to take the pressure off of the a= arms, them loosen the spindle nut just a couple of threads and smack it with with a BFH, be sure to hit the nut so you don`t damage threads. This nay take many hits before it pops loose. The booster bracket GM mage severak differant ones, go back to the wrecking yard and look at mid sixties and up had shorter brackets, both car and trucks....
Power Brakes ! You're going to LOVE that power brake setup ~ yes it sticks out a ways but this is so the " Monkey Motion " bell cranks can reduce the pedal pressure to almost nothing...
That may be so but i don't like the way it looks. It damn near touchs the alternator! Lol! I do have the booster off the 85 c10 also. But there is only 3 inchs differane in the two of them. Can you just mount the booster straight to the fire wall?
Power Brakes Yeah , I hear you ! my truck had the basic non power MC and it was small , now I too have this l o n g FUGLY thing sticking out but , it's also stopping on a dime now and my old beat to crap legs & knees like it *much* better .
Well found out last night niether of my boosters are good. The 85 is Shot and the 71 has a leak. oh well ill find something.. lol.
Power Brake Booster Can't quite afford a rebuilt one ? . That was my out as I drive my truck daily , hard , far and wide....
