Lost My 65

[LostMy65]

She was so beautiful when I bought her in 82.
Then, the teenager I was, treated her badly and totaled her.
When I rebuilt her, I rebuilt her as a shortbed stepside on the 62 frame.
Here is the only picture I have of her - after I wrecked her. We used to go mudding a lot.
Anyway, she was originally a longbed fleetside.

[Braunschweiger]

You only learn to appreciate things when you're older, they'll have a lot of fun with the truck again, but they won't do the really wild things anymore.

[LostMy65]

Been working on the alignment.
Took her for another spin today.
Shimmys at about 45 mph but goes away at around 55.
Going to keep working on the alignment using this thread:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=399479
.
Also going to try a different set of wheels and replace the idler arm.
I want to get her driving safely before reinstalling the body panels.
.

[cwcarpenter98]

The weight from the panels will affect your alignment numbers just a smidge. Might not be enough to notice, but I would want all the usual weight on the truck before getting that final alignment dialed in. I bet people give you some funky looks for driving around like that

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

The weight from the panels will affect your alignment numbers just a smidge. Might not be enough to notice, but I would want all the usual weight on the truck before getting that final alignment dialed in. I bet people give you some funky looks for driving around like that

Maybe I'll put a couple sacks of concrete on the inner fenders - one on each side. Just kidding..
.
I do like the easy access like I have it.

[350TacoZilla]

I like the long bed transition man it looks good so far. I started out looking for a short bed stepside to try and get as close as I could to a truck my parents had bought years ago to use as a play toy and run around but after looking and finding a 3\4t long step I kinda came to the conclusion that the long bed would probably serve me better as an all around truck. Sometimes plans change for the better and it can always be put on a short bed chassis down the rd or even shorten the 3\4 chassis like some do to get the short bed.

[LostMy65]

Working on my front steering linkage and ordered a new Moog idler arm.
I guess I forgot I used the 66 idler arm support bracket.
I could just order a 66 3/4 ton idler arm that has the bend, but I'm going to just switch out the bracket to the 73-87 so I keep the whole suspension as 73-87 - rather than having some 66 parts and some 73-87.
The 73-87 idler arm bracket hangs down lower than the 66s.

[LostMy65]

I went back and found the posts when I upgraded to power steering when my 65 was on the 62 frame.
You can see the difference between the 66 and the 73-87 idler arm support bracket.

[LostMy65]

And here is the new 73-87 idler arm next to the 66.
I just need determine what the difference in drop is so I know what height to set the 73-87 bracket at.

[SkinnyG]

Just make sure the center link is horizontal.

[LostMy65]

Another I just remembered from doing it before is to keep the draglink level and parallel with the front crossmember.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by SkinnyG

Just make sure the center link is horizontal.

Yep, I just remembered that.
I missed your post.
Thanks

[LostMy65]

As I guessed, everything aligns with the original, I just need to raise it some to get the draglink level.

[LostMy65]

Well it still wobbles.
I'm going to try changing the wheels.
.
Also, it pulls to one side when I hit the brakes, and then jerks back the other way when I let off the brakes.
They are power disc brakes.
I could understand if they were drums and I needed to adjust the shoes, but I don't know what to adjust with the discs.

[LostMy65]

Found this for it pulling while braking:

Originally Posted by CUSTOM/10

If it pulls right when braking I would check the left front calipar. It might be frozen and not working causing the truck to pull towards the side that is working.

Gary

.
Another said if the left hose is collapsed, then it pulls to right when braking with disc brakes.

[SkinnyG]

And a caster imbalance can cause a pull under braking too.

[LostMy65]

I guess the confusing part is it didn't drive like this before. Definitely no wobble.
I'll keep trying things. If changing the wheels gets rid of the wobble, then I'll feel like I'm making some progress.
But hey, it starts and runs nice.

[LostMy65]

Changing the wheels didn't change things one bit. I'm taking a break on this for awhile, but I'm thinking now it may be the front wheel bearings. I'll hopefully have time this next weekend to look.

[LostMy65]

Went to take my truck for a drive after several months.
I thought wow, how good the brakes were.
I forgot I put a booster behind my drum master cylinder.

[pdxhall]

Did you get the front end wobble solved?

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by pdxhall

Did you get the front end wobble solved?

I guess I forgot to give an update about that.
I got a little tired of trying to figure it out, so I put everything back on the 62 frame. I don't like my 65 becoming unusable for too long. I'll probably give it another try next summer. I'm less tolerant of Portland's cold weather as I get older. I need a heated shop.

[pdxhall]

I understand the weather thing. I spent too many years dealing with that. I'm glad I got away even though I'll always have a connection to the NW.