[cwcarpenter98]

Originally Posted by Powered

Mr. Carpenter, if I understand correctly, you used stock ball joints for a square body in stock '60 to '66 control arms? Both upper and lower '73 to '87 ball joints will fit into my original '66 control arms? Then a '73 to 87 spindle can be used which will give me 5 lug disc rotors? I did not know the ball joints would go into my earlier control arms. I could use the spindles/rotors/calipers/steering/etc. from my donor '87 model. That may be the way to go here because I could replace the ball joints and have new ones and save some time. I want the disc brake and power steering upgrades for sure. That is the main objective at this time.

.......

So good brakes, power steering and some decent horsepower would do for now. Auto trans and A/C would be nice but not necessary. I really don't need a paint job either but I'll probably fix the rust and paint it. That'll be later too, after I get it back on the road. I think I can do these initial upgrades on a pretty reasonable budget too, thanks to the donor square body and 30+ years of collecting chevy parts. I'll try to keep this updated but please offer any comments. They really do help folks like me so I welcome them.

Yes, you understand correctly. Replace the ball joints in your stock arms with the correct squarebody ball joints to fit your spindles. The early squares all had 1.25" thick brake rotors. Later squares got the 1" thick rotors unless the 1.25" was ordered. I know the spindles are different between the two rotor sizes, but I don't remember if the ball joints are different.

Now the tie rod end on the squarebody spindle is a different size than the stock tie rod end for your 66. Since you already have the parts, the easiest way for you to get around this issue is to use all the squarebody steering parts, including the power steering gear, center link, pitman and idler arm, and tie rod assemblies. Forum member Captainfab makes a great power steering adapter plate to easily bolt up the squarebody power gear to your 66 frame. https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=332923
https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=347484


Additionally, another great upgrade would be to add a sway bar to the front. Hopefully your square has one already. Yup, that'll bolt up as well. Your 66 control arms should have the holes for the stock sway bar. If you don't have the holes in the frame for the frame side, you can attach the bar at the control arms (with the truck sitting on its full weight) and drill the holes in the frame for the frame stands where they land. https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=797321

One other thing you might consider to get better suspension geometry is to do the caster mod. It moves the LCA 3/4" forward on the frame to provide much better positive caster. It would definitely be beneficial with the switch to power steering. https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=501241

You got a smoking good deal on that square that provides a lot of the steering upgrades you want. You're definitely on the way to have a nice, budget minded truck to cruise around in for a couple years with the opportunity to take it to the next level after several years of enjoyment. I've been doing that with my 63 for the past 7 years. I'm just now getting ready to tear the truck down for rust repair and paint. My recommendation is to always enjoy driving the truck for awhile and then dig in to the cosmetics so that you can remember what it felt like to drive it and have motivation to finish the cosmetics so you can drive it again.