1971 C30 Stock Spindle and Rotor

[jaydude132]

Hey guys, i'm new to the forums and the 67-72 trucks. My previous experience includes an 83 C20 and I have an 87 K30. Anyway... I purchased a '71 C30 dump truck in very good condition with 80,000 original miles last saturday and I was driving it yesterday and the wheel bearing went out and I had to get it towed home.

I started tearing into it today and the news is not good. The outer bearing was completely destroyed and the castle nut was seized to the smaller diameter portion of the outer bearing. It was very hard to remove the nut, but it finally broke loose with an impact wrench. Unfortunately, it destroyed the axle on the stock spindle in the process. The threads are also ruined. The rotor assembly itself where the bearings sit inside may also be toast.

Can anyone on here recommend where to find stock spindles and rotors? Maybe it's just me, but I can't find stock ride height spindles anywhere. It seems like the only spindles available are drop spindles. The rotors seem just as difficult to locate. Ive never seen a rotor like these before. Its like 8" wide between the rotor itself and the end of the lugs.

I have briefly noticed some people saying the front end can be replaced with newer parts from 73+ trucks. Are these direct bolt-on parts? I'm hoping some of you could give me some pointers. I'm really grasping at straws here and I've been searching high and low for replacement parts. I'd like to get this back together as soon as I can because I plan on actually putting this dump truck to work as a dump truck.

Thanks in advance everybody!

Jason

[SS Tim]

Might want to start here
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...68&postcount=4

The service and overhaul manuals are linked in my signature.

For a truck that has adveraged less the 1800 miles a year over its life (that you have owned less than a week) I'd suggest some major PM before comercial use or any work approaching its rated limits.

[jaydude132]

I actually had the day off today to go over the truck and do rear differential fluid, tranny fluid, engine oil, hit all the lubrication points, and check everything out but then this happened. After having it apart, it looks like nobody ever greased these bearings. Poor things look like someone took used engine oil and poured it on them... The outer bearing was a mangled mess, the inner was still ok, but it still wreaked havoc on most of the parts.

Thanks for the link though, ill try reading through some of that to see what i can find!

[old Chevy guy]

Hey Jason, Welcome to the board! I recently did the Brake swap on my 71 C20 to run the bud wheels on the front to match the dual wheels I'm running on the back. You didn't say if your running Bud wheels in front but I'm assuming you are since its a dump truck. I put spindles rotors and calipers from a 78 C30 on mine and it was a direct bolt on installation. The only thing I had to do was modify the rubber brake hose location a bit. I kept all the a arms ball joints and tie rod ends, everything bolted right up perfectly. its a direct fit for 71-72. The spindle and brake setup from C30 73-87 is what you need, also the same set up is on G model vans(box trucks, campers, mini busses) is also the same up to 95 I think. You may be able to find a used 71-72 spindle on the used parts board. 71-72 C20 and C30 bud wheel or regular rim trucks are the same part. I may even have one I could sell you, BUT if your rotor is junk they are hard to find. I couldn't find any new ones at all. The race is removable and can be replaced if that's all that's wrong. I opted to go with the newer setup because I couldn't find any 71-72 bud wheel style rotors. the 73-87 rotors are still available new from Auto Zone and I'm sure other places too.

[jaydude132]

old_chevy_guy,

Thank you for all the info, that is very helpful!

After looking a little closer at it and having time to clear my head (i was pretty frustrated when i first saw the damage) i think the rotor is fine and the spindle may be ok. The main issue is the threads on the spindle are ruined from the castle nut.

Do you guys know if the the thread size is 27/32"?

Im wondering if i could run this die over the spindle, get the threads straightened out, and be back in business. https://store.snapon.com/Master-Spin...e-P652821.aspx

Now, after looking at your photos, that is exactly how my rotor looks. Is that because of the bud wheels? Like, why its so wide/long like that. I almost wonder now if a previous owner already upgraded the front end when the truck was rebuilt.

I'll add some pics here too. The one pic is after i cleaned up the axle with some sandpaper. I actually had to sand it down to get the new bearing to fit. The new bearing now fits the shaft and i think i only need to fix those threads now.

[Jeff's bowtie's]

That's a nice truck you bought I seen it on cl and thought it was a good deal. I have a 72 C/30 with bud wheels on it if your interested I would sell all the parts off it spindles & rotors for $100.00 I live near martinsburg wv thanks Jeff

[jaydude132]

Originally Posted by Jeff's bowtie's

That's a nice truck you bought I seen it on cl and thought it was a good deal. I have a 72 C/30 with bud wheels on it if your interested I would sell all the parts off it spindles & rotors for $100.00 I live near martinsburg wv thanks Jeff

Sending PM!

[old Chevy guy]

That is a good looking truck. I bet those bud wheels a original equipment. Looks like a good deal on the parts from Jeff. Is that within driving distance from where you are? If not the shipping could be killer. Those rotors weigh a ton !

[jaydude132]

Originally Posted by old Chevy guy

That is a good looking truck. I bet those bud wheels a original equipment. Looks like a good deal on the parts from Jeff. Is that within driving distance from where you are? If not the shipping could be killer. Those rotors weigh a ton !

haha yes, luckily its not a bad trip to Jeff's. I couldn't believe how beefy some of these parts were!

And yes the truck is very clean. The previous owner only drove it 500 miles in the last 8 years. My previous two trucks were an 83 C20 with a 6.2 Diesel and I still have my 87 V30 454TBI which is great, but the rust is ridiculous. This time around I made sure to buy something that was absolutely RUST FREE!

After getting all the fluids changed and some other preventative maintenance done, it'll be time to go over the entire underside of this truck with a nice coat of POR-15 to make sure no rust ever starts.

[El Dorado Jim]

Welcome to the site, I love your truck, glad to see you got alot of help to get it fixed, that's why I love this forum.....Jim

[midniteblues]

hey jaydude, there is a jy in meyerstown called grebles that has 2 square body trucks with all those parts on it yet.
thats the closest jy i know of too you with those parts.
they are very reasonable on their prices.

there are more of those setups around in jys but further from you...btw welcome and nice truck

[jaydude132]

Thanks for all the compliments and warm welcomes. This forum seems to really have a ton of valuable information. Ill check out that junkyard in meyerstown as well, cant hurt to have some spare parts laying around. Now, is there any advantage to going to the 73+ spindles/rotors or is it simply because they're easier to come across than the 71-72 parts?

[midniteblues]

Originally Posted by jaydude132

Thanks for all the compliments and warm welcomes. This forum seems to really have a ton of valuable information. Ill check out that junkyard in meyerstown as well, cant hurt to have some spare parts laying around. Now, is there any advantage to going to the 73+ spindles/rotors or is it simply because they're easier to come across than the 71-72 parts?

i would say parts are easier to come by and sometimes less expensive.

I have scoured many jys in my area and there is some 1 ton 67-72 stuff around but most times its drum brake stuff.

there is alot more square body 1 ton stuff around than 67-72.

plus most times at a parts counters still have square body stuff on the shelf whereas 67-72 stuff gotta be ordered.

pretty sure most p van/ box trucks /step van
use the same parts also...these are plentiful in the j yards.

i think the only differnce may be the 73-87 control arms use rubber bushings.
pretty sure everything else is the same.

[old Chevy guy]

You don't have to change the control arm. Just keep the 71 parts there change the spindle. The parts are easier to get and the brakes are supposed to be better. That setup uses the JB8 setup. Not sure how much better but the rotors are thicker if the counts for anything. You can still buy the newer rotors new. I couldn't find anybody that sold that 71 rotor for the bud wheel setup.

[jaydude132]

Got the parts from Jeff today, but ran into an issue. I really wanted to swap the spindles only and that be it, but the new spindles dont look the same as the ones on my 71. My 71 has calipers that bolted into place, but the 72 parts I received from Jeff dont use the same calipers. I think they're wedge-type (i think, if thats right. I believe the same as my 87 K30).

Do you guys know if there was a difference between 71 and 72 and or if possibly one of these trucks was already upgraded to the newer style spindles? Here's a picture of what my truck has on it now.

[jaydude132]

Found these: https://westernchassisinc.com/1960-8...eight-spindle/

They look like they may be the ticket. I will have to call them up on Monday.

[old Chevy guy]

I think somebody must have already swapped jeffs truck out to the newer 73-87 style. They use the wedge brakes. The spindle will be a direct swap. Did you get the calipers with them or no? The wedge calipers are only like $30 change at auto zone. The brake lines I used were like $18 apiece.

[old Chevy guy]

The ones in the link are c10. If you want just the stock 71 spindle I could probably sell you one. I have at least 3 pairs. It would get you going for now. Long term if you do the swap you will be able to readily get new parts. That's your only advantage to the upgrade. And now you have the newer parts.... So

[jaydude132]

Originally Posted by old Chevy guy

I think somebody must have already swapped jeffs truck out to the newer 73-87 style. They use the wedge brakes. The spindle will be a direct swap. Did you get the calipers with them or no? The wedge calipers are only like $30 change at auto zone. The brake lines I used were like $18 apiece.

I could do that, I was just really hoping to not have to start unhooking brake lines now too. Hopefully that doesn't sound too lazy... haha. But if thats what it comes down to, thats what i'll do. From Jeff I got the entire front suspension of the truck, just cut through the frame and I got the whole thing (control arms, sway bar, steering box, spindles, brakes, even the wheels/tires still on) so everything is there.

I saw that the ones in the link were for C10, but do you guys know if they are different than the C30? I was going to call Western Chassis on Monday and ask them if they knew. I'm starting to wonder if the previous owner who restored my truck may have not used all C30 parts in the restoration. But again, I'm also new to these trucks so this is a learning experience here for me.