77 C10 Front end into 66 Burb Help

[GBCustoms]

Ok Guys, I picked up a 77 C10 to switch over the front suspension and disc brakes. First question, do I have to switch the cross member also? It looks like I could just mount the control arms up to the 66 and and hook up the 77 tie rods to the 66 panhard bar and skip on down the road. I know I have to drill a couple of new holes and elongate a couple, butthats all right? thanks for any help!!

[Sonic65]

Originally Posted by GBCustoms

Ok Guys, I picked up a 77 C10 to switch over the front suspension and disc brakes. First question, do I have to switch the cross member also? It looks like I could just mount the control arms up to the 66 and and hook up the 77 tie rods to the 66 panhard bar and skip on down the road. I know I have to drill a couple of new holes and elongate a couple, butthats all right? thanks for any help!!

GBCustoms,
I have a '65 pickup and I did not need to swap out the cross member. The upper and lower control arms bolted right in (see my Brake Conversion album).
I found that the my '65's suspension components were smaller than the beefier '75's making it difficult to inter-connect. I just swapped everything out, but I also went with power steering and power brakes. I swapped out rear-ends to upgrade and keep the bolt patterns the same. Keep the shim-packs together and transfer them to your '66 in order to keep the alignment within range.
John

[GBCustoms]

Originally Posted by Sonic65

GBCustoms,
I have a '65 pickup and I did not need to swap out the cross member. The upper and lower control arms bolted right in (see my Brake Conversion album).
I found that the my '65's suspension components were smaller than the beefier '75's making it difficult to inter-connect. I just swapped everything out, but I also went with power steering and power brakes. I swapped out rear-ends to upgrade and keep the bolt patterns the same. Keep the shim-packs together and transfer them to your '66 in order to keep the alignment within range.
John

Thanks For the info Sonic. What is "everything" tho? I have factory power steering, do I need to pull the 77 steering box, pump, lines, pitman & idler?

[Sonic65]

Originally Posted by GBCustoms

Thanks For the info Sonic. What is "everything" tho? I have factory power steering, do I need to pull the 77 steering box, pump, lines, pitman & idler?

GBCustoms,
My truck had manual steering, so I used the 75's gearbox as well as all the other components....pitman, idler, center link etc. I found there was a difference in hole diameters between the 65 and 75's components. The fact you have factory power steering makes your setup different than mine. I do know that AutoZone lists different part numbers for a 65 than a 75. I would pop a tie rod loos on each truck and take some measurements of the parts and note the difference.

By no means am I an expert on this subject, I only know what I had to deal with. Also, I bought new tie rod ends, idler arm since they wear and I did not want to put loose parts on my truck. Not to mention all-new MOOG bushings, etc. I basically rebuilt the front end during this particular conversion. I used the 75's brake lines and proportioning valve and brake booster. I bought a rebuilt master cylinder.

John

[GBCustoms]

Hey guys I need some help! I was trying to replace the control arm bushings before putting the 77 C10 Front suspension on the 66 Burb, and destroyed one of the lower control arm shafts. So i began looking for replacement pieces and found that C10 control arms are worth more than gold!!! The C20 arms completely ready to go with bushings and ball joints are only $75, But the C10 ones are upwards of $400 The shaft kit alone is $180. Does anyone know a cheaper route or am I just screwed?

[Sonic65]

Is there a wrecking yard nearby?

[kchampagne]

You can try this guy located east of Pueblo, CO. He has a ton of stuff, but his prices are normally a rip off. Worth a try.

http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/5884567594.html

[GBCustoms]

Yeah I figured checking the local yards would be the quickest and easiest. Thanks for the Craigslist ad too!

How did you guys go about removing your lower a-arm bushings?

[Sonic65]

Originally Posted by GBCustoms

Yeah I figured checking the local yards would be the quickest and easiest. Thanks for the Craigslist ad too!

How did you guys go about removing your lower a-arm bushings?

Air punch/chisel is what I used. I was careful not to sccratch or dent the lower control arm.

[Sonic65]

Originally Posted by kchampagne

You can try this guy located east of Pueblo, CO. He has a ton of stuff, but his prices are normally a rip off. Worth a try.

http://denver.craigslist.org/pts/5884567594.html

Also try:

https://www.partshotlines.com/