[JimDirt]

Great , thanks for the tips and yea i know about Canada and rust , i was actually born in Hamilton Ontario , and actually used to travel to Canada with my dad every summer in this very truck starting when i was about 7 , till our last trip there when i was about 14 , i remember my uncle could not register his car till he patched the rust spots with sheet metal , i guess it was a common thing

I am most likely going to have to get one of those aftermarket steering boxes , because the one on this truck is toast , the slop can't be adjusted out because the adjuster screw is all the way in , its that wore out , and i would really like to put a tilt column in , so i will check the wrecking yards for a van column , i guess i will need to keep the measurements the same as the stock column/box setup so everything sits where its supposed to , i wish there was another box that would somewhat bolt up without too much fab work , that will work with the stock straight axle

I am going to measure the area ( i know i will have to remove a frame brace for the spare tire holder) , and start searching the wrecking yards to see what might work locally , otherwise , the setup dwcsr has looks to be pretty clean , all this depends on what works best for my budget

For lowering , i was noticing on the front straight axle and on the rear , that the leaf spring mounts and perches are integrated into the housing and axle , so i am guessing i will have to sawzall them off and flip them and weld them back on the opposite side so i can get at least a few inches drop , i figure if i can get the springs on the bottom of them , that will give me the drop i am looking for (3" in back and front) without changing the geometry much , i also noticed that there is some kind of stabilizer bar or shock that is missing from the front axle , as there is a post for it , but nothing there , so i will have to look into that

I found a dual master cylinder with booster that goes in the stock location , on eBay for about $165 , so i think i will go with that , i guess if you use a proportioning valve its for disk and just running the lines out of the cylinder is what you do for drum brakes .... correct ??

I appreciate all the input , i am not new to mechanics by a long shot , i am just used to messing with muscle cars , not old trucks where parts are hard to come by , and knowing what to use where , is out of my knowledge area , since i have never done one before , if it was a 60's or 70's Chevy Nova or Plymouth Cuda or Charger , i would not have a issue , i have had and redone/customized a few of those in my time , but the older trucks are a whole new animal , but i am learning thanks to all you people here !!