78 C20 - Front End Rebuild - Advice Please

[LukeSkywanker]

Gents: Getting there with my Square. Fresh 350 Rebuild THD 400 Trans, runs great except it drives like a squirrel.

Want to go through the front end and have no clue. Looking for recommendations for Upper & Lower Control Arms, Ball Joints, etc. Sources/Part #'s.

Already did the springs and sway bar bushings in poly. I heard somewhere they make lightweight arms. Any direction/suggestions greatly appreciated. I could pull this all apart myself, but would rather have a shop do it with parts I provide.

Semper Fi to any Marines out there.

[mongocanfly]

well you don't need upper and lower a arms...unless your just wanting new ones.. take it to a good front end shop that does alignments and replacements....most times they'll get discounts that you cant....let them determine what you need to replace and do a alignment....

[Dead Parrot]

Take it to a good shop and tell them what you want done and that you are planning on keeping the truck for a long time, otherwise you may get a "just get it somewhat safe" bid based on you trading the truck off in a little while. A lot of folks want the minimum work bid and a shop may make that assumption on a 40 year old vehicle.

I did that with my 75 years ago and they did ask the "How long are you keeping the truck?" question. About $700 later, it drove like a new truck with the steering wheel straight. They replaced upper and lower bushings, ball joints, a couple of tie rods, sway bar bushings and a broken sway bar bracket and aligned it. Dropped it off on way to work, picked up that evening after work. Don't know what parts they used but several years later, everything is still tight and good.

If you have a tilt column, those 3 screws in the bottom inside under all the guts can cause a lot of slop if loose.

[LukeSkywanker]

Thanks, mongocanfly. Excellent advice!

[LukeSkywanker]

Appreciate the advice!

[Alex V.]

I use Moog/Monroe, or AC Delco when it looks like the better option. No "unit replacement" necessary on these, all the control arm bushings, ball joints, etc. are replaceable.