Momma's Grocery Getter Suburban Project

[66chevy43]

Okay now you have me hooked and signed up for this one! I also saw that listing on Craigslist out of Woodburn. Nice to see someone take it on and also have the approval from the WIFE.

[kerber63]

A buddy of mine had a front end assembly taking up space in his shop that he offered to me for free. He said he thought it might have been out of an '85, but couldn't remember because he'd had it so long. I told him I'd take it and bought bushings and tie rods. I figured it wouldn't hurt to get them, since it wouldn't matter if he was off a couple years. Turns out it's a 71/72 setup, so the new parts won't fit. Oh well, it was in decent shape so I decided to work with it.

[kerber63]

I did all the math and found that I'd spend more money on replacing all the spindle-out parts for a '72 than to buy a new '63 disc conversion. So the plan is to rebuild the '72 control arms and use the center link to make a power steering swap a little easier in the future. I know the '63 outer tie rods and '72 inner tie rods aren't compatible, so I'll rethread the '72 inner. I tried it on the old one and it turned out perfect. I'm hoping to be able to sell the '72 spindles along with my old front end assembly as a bolt-in kit for anybody local who might be interested in it.

[kerber63]

I tore the '72 front end apart and bead blasted the control arms. I pressed in '63 ball joints in the lowers. I got some por15 and used metal prep on the bare metal. It worked great, etched the metal to help the paint adhere. I sprayed por15 on the frame of my pickup when I built it, and it was some nasty stuff when airborn. This time I brushed it on the control arms and it was much less hazardous to my health. About 5 oz. did all 4 control arms.

[kerber63]

Uppers after blasting and etching.

[kerber63]

Lowers after blasting and etching.

[kerber63]

Uppers after por15.