Advice on '67 C10 springs, steering, brakes

[Dan67]

I'm fairly new to the Board and have had my '67 C10 for two years. It's my first of the '67-72 family of trucks. So far I've replaced the tired original 283 with a new 350 4-bolt, installed a new clutch, new U-joints, shocks, brake lines, m/cyl, exhaust, etc. I am not (currently) restoring it; I just want it to be a dependable work truck. And I have a few questions for those of you who really know these particular trucks, since I don't.

1. For more comfortable city driving, I was thinking of swapping to power steering. I have a lot of aftermarket catalogs that sell parts and kits; it looks like the only hard-to-find parts are correct brackets and pulleys for the P/S pump. The pumps and power steering gears are readily available. My question: Is this swap more difficult than it sounds? Seems like I just have to unbolt the manual gear, split the pitman arm off, install the power gear, attach the pump to the block somehow, figure out drive belt routing and connect the P/S hoses. Right? And it looks like the P/S pump for my 350 would mount just below the alternator, which is mounted on the upper left (driver's) side of the engine. And is it difficult to find those brackets and pulleys? I don't have many opportunities to get to a junkyard, and I bet everything's picked over anyway.

2. I replaced the shocks last year, but the suspension still feels very soft. It has coil springs all around. How hard are the springs to replace? Do I need a coil spring compressor or other special tools? I've only worked with leaf springs in the past.

3. The truck will probably need ball joints and tie rod ends at some point soon. Same question... Are the ball joints easy enough to do yourself without days of hard labor? If I wanted to swap to front disc brakes (and keep the 6-lug pattern), would that be a good time to do it, since it's already apart? I'm willing to lay out <I>some</I> cash, but would rather not break the bank.

Sorry for all the questions. I've looked through the discussion board archives and found lots of useful info, but I just wanted to get a better sense of what I should be doing with this truck. I don't want anything radical; no drop-spindles or major modifications... Just a dependable, tight ride.

Thank you!!!

Dan67
South Lyon, Michigan