Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

That's what I did when I did a 4 1/2 front drop on my 67 GMC. I moved the sway bar forward and removed the frame mounts for the sway bar and just used the brackets that came with the bushings to mount the sway bar to the frame. But I like your idea about bending it to the correct angle to fit.
Posted via Mobile Device

I mocked up the forward position for the bar and it actually looks pretty decent. When I ran into this problem on the silver truck, the fix was much easier. I only needed to move the ends inward about 3/4". These would need to move a full 2" inward to allow the frame brackets to use the holes already in the frame.

Were there any side effects from moving the bar forward, Scott?

[sduckworth13]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

I mocked up the forward position for the bar and it actually looks pretty decent. When I ran into this problem on the silver truck, the fix was much easier. I only needed to move the ends inward about 3/4". These would need to move a full 2" inward to allow the frame brackets to use the holes already in the frame.

Were there any side effects from moving the bar forward, Scott?

Vic, It tighten things up considerably, the steering and handling was amazing.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Xeen]

If the company that manufactured the sway bar claims it will fit in the factory mounting locations on a 1968-72 c10 then it's the mounting location on the tubular control arms that are wrong, reguardless it puts you in an akward situation.

[Low Elco]

I hope so, that's the plan for LBT! Work looks great, as always.

[Vic1947]

Sway bar is ahead 2-0. After relocating the front brackets, the angle where the ends of the bar mount to the a-arms is way off. With the hardware pulled up tight, the driver side poly bushing is steadily pushing itself out of its bracket. At this point, either the front brackets have to be seriously lowered via spacer blocks or the ends have to be bent upward to match the angle of the a-arm pads. I am retiring to the living room to watch TV and drink beer.

[Vic1947]

Actually, a guy with a mill could build a pair of 15 degree wedges to fit under the U-brackets to correct the angle of the dangle. Stay tuned...

[Vic1947]

The sway bar is in. Used some scrap material to make a couple of 13 degree wedges to correct the angle mismatch between the A-arms and the U-brackets. With the bolts tightened to 40 ft-lbs., the bushings stay in place like they're supposed to. I have no idea how much the bar moves when cornering or navigating uneven terrain, but I'll just have to keep an eye on it once the truck is on the road. My main concern is that the end of the bar on the driver side is flush with the back of the bushing. I hope it can't deflect enough to pull out of the bushing. The passenger side has about 1/4" sticking out the back of the bushing so I'm less concerned about it. Fingers crossed!

[Vic1947]

As of 3pm this afternoon, CRLS's chassis was resting comfortably at Leroy's Frame Works in Independence. They assured me it would be right with the world when it leaves their shop. I reckon this means I need to fire up the HVLP and do some primer work and/or lay the rest of the fiberglass on the inner roof of the cab. Bring on the stink.

[Xeen]

Looks like it worked out great Vic.
Whats next on the punch list?

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Looks like it worked out great Vic.
Whats next on the punch list?

Tie rod sleeve clamps run kinda close to the sway bar brackets. Picked up some billet hex material from McMaster-Carr and plan to make my own that won't snag on anything. Not to mention the fact the stock ones are uuuugly!

[Low Elco]

Love the elegant solution, but we'd expect nothing less. I'll have to commission a set for LBT, If I ever get my shop emptied out. Thanks again for the help!

[Vic1947]

Tie rod sleeves are done ...plenty of clearance now. Should have bought the small diameter jam nuts from Speedy Bill. Making my own didn't really save me any $$ when you consider the time spent milling down the flats. But, hey, they're in and ready for the alignment shop one of these days.

Next up is to modify the eBay sourced, "high quality, made in the USA" alternator bracket to replace my prototype. Beginning to think there is something seriously wrong with me, as I was unable to grasp the "high quality" part of the description. No problem, though, it will be fine after some time with the welder and belt sander.

[gdavis]

You might not have savied any $. But it sure does look clean. ood work there man.

[69CST-V]

Very tidy parts. Looks great.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Xeen]

Wow Vic those tie rod sleeves turned out super nice, if I didn't know better I would think a computer made those, very nice precision work.

[bguild]

Originally Posted by Xeen

Wow Vic those tie rod sleeves turned out super nice, if I didn't know better I would think a computer made those, very nice precision work.

Vic is a computer (-;
Posted via Mobile Device

[mcbassin]

Very nice work Victor! You and I think alike, if we can make it....why not. Keep the updates coming.

[Vic1947]

Had to stop off briefly to work on some sprint car parts, plus my in-lows are here from Seattle for a few days, but still managed to get a couple of items off my list.

Alternator bracket v2.0 is done and more to my liking. Need to detail out a few edges and it will be ready for the chrome shop along with the other brackets.

Also, Chip (LowElco) suggested I relocate the rear shock mounts using square tubing, so my brother-in-law, Rick, and I went to Metal by the Foot and picked up a length of material and fabbed them up using a print I found on the forum. I apologize to the member that posted it for not giving credit where credit is due, but I've looked high and low for their user name and all I could find was the link to the drawing. My center to center distance for the bolts was 6" instead of 5-5/8", but the rest worked perfectly. Shocks now have a much better angle at a cost of under $10.

[Low Elco]

Cool! Looks good, I'll get the # for the Sensatracs off Yeller. Man, does it work good with them on it. Thanks for the help again, the rockers came out good!

[67c10rustbuket]

Shock mounts look great Vic. I did a different version where you re-drill higher and farther back then trim the existing upper mounts but this version does get a much better angle. I also made some lower mounts. Did you change the lower mounts too? Did you happen to notice if your upper mount holes in the crossmember were at different locations? On mine the driver side upper mount was .75" closer to the frame rail than the passenger side. I was scratching my head for a while as to why on one side the shock fell into place and the other was way off. I ended up drilling holes on one side to make them an equal distance from the frame rail on each side. I wondered if GM did this on purpose considering the way the rearend would twist on acceleration but maybe I was just thinking too hard. Great job as always, cant wait for some more high quality work!


PS - I believe the guy who made the upper shock mount drawing was "lakeroadster". He is no longer a member here but is on c10trucksdotcom... I believe he is an engineer. You should check out his thread "C notch based on strength" I will se if I can find it. Oh and I fixed the LINK and linked the drawing.

[67c10rustbuket]

Check this out! "frame notch based on strength" He is very intelligent dude but apparently lacks in the public relations department from other information I found...

[Low Elco]

Gratuitous Pic- Vic's truck at the Nats!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Shock mounts look great Vic. I did a different version where you re-drill higher and farther back then trim the existing upper mounts but this version does get a much better angle. I also made some lower mounts. Did you change the lower mounts too?

No, the shocks cleared the axle and the angle was a lot better than what I started with so I left it as is. I'm hoping the Sensatrac shocks Chip recommends provide the additional control to allow me to skip relocating the lowers.

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

you happen to notice if your upper mount holes in the crossmember were at different locations? On mine the driver side upper mount was .75" closer to the frame rail than the passenger side. I was scratching my head for a while as to why on one side the shock fell into place and the other was way off. I ended up drilling holes on one side to make them an equal distance from the frame rail on each side. I wondered if GM did this on purpose considering the way the rearend would twist on acceleration but maybe I was just thinking too hard.

You know, when I lined up the holes in the new brackets, I felt the edge of the bracket on the driver side "bump" one of the frame reinforcing plates which it didn't on the passenger side. I used 1.75" square tube instead of 2" and it didn't overlap, so I didn't think anything about it and assembled it in the existing holes. After reading your comments, Rick and I went to look at it and he said, "Holy crap, I didn't even notice that!" Rick (nuclear engineer brother-in-law) is now on a mission to figure out the "why". We flopped open the factory assembly manual to the frame measurement pages and will see if it sheds any light on the situation. One of the first things we did was use string to check the rear track and it was off by about an inch which was weird. When I set the panhard bar, I used the distance from the frame rails to the tires as my gauge. That is apparently not the hot tip. Will keep you posted.

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

- I believe the guy who made the upper shock mount drawing was "lakeroadster". He is no longer a member here but is on c10trucksdotcom... I believe he is an engineer. You should check out his thread "C notch based on strength" I will see if I can find it. Oh and I fixed the LINK and linked the drawing.

Thanks for the assist on the link, Dan! My URL was apparently pointing to a local image instead of the one stored on the server. I'm really gonna like this internet thing when I learn how to use it.

[Low Elco]

If you use that drawing, pop your OE mounts off and use them for a template for your mounting bolts. LR has a '63 (65?) I believe, and the pattern didn't match up. Also, the shocks he recommends, while well researched and OK on the surface, turned out to be crap in our case. I switched to a Monroe Sensatrac LT for a '97 Mercury Villager (Mountaineer?) (I think) I crossreferenced the numbers and can't remember how. And WOW, what a difference! Works totally awesome now, er, dude. Anyway, worthy mod.

[Low Elco]

Hmmm. How did you measure for rear track? I just went off the frame rails, now ya got me wondering.
Posted via Mobile Device