Ol John Lee's gettin a new front end.

[Sharps40]

Very good news. Very little work to do to set the alignment. Only the right side needed adjustment and that was expected as I could see the tire slightly more toed in and noted the scuffing of the outside of the tread over the past 8000 miles. So, a check of all the specifications on the alighment machine, a tweek of the toe in and 2 extra shims on the right side upper control arm to tweek the camber and zowie bowie, this front end job is O-fish-ially completed. GoodWife Sharps picked up the truck and says it drives just lovely.

We're finishing out the estimates on the engine overhaul and with luck I'll be back at this good mechanics shop quite soon. Its nice to find another good local and spend my money in my home town.

[Sharps40]

This morning was the first good ride in Ol John Lee with all the front suspension work totally completed. There is quite a difference over the worn suspension that was removed.

Initially, the ride and performance was as expected for 49 years old. Loose, noisey, shimmy over bumps, wandering in ruts/grooves and plowing wide in turns. In addition, the right front tire suffered the loss of much of its outer circumference of tread over about 8000 miles of driving in 2012.

After replacing all the suspension parts from the frame rails out there was a significant improvement in the quality of the ride and the precision of steering. Most of the tendancy to plow wide in turns was gone. Bumps and holes no longer shocked the steering wheel but over several hundred miles of driving between the rebuild and alignment I noticed a few issues to add to the wear pattern on the RF. The tires howled a bit in turns. The truck still wandered a bit on the poorer portions of our county roads here in NC. After limbering up the suspension and getting some more greese in the joints, the steering pretty much returned to center when I let go of the wheel but I did have a noticeable snug spot hard left or right, can't recall which but I think it was on return from a hard left turn. Additionally, with the LF wheel straight on, the RF wheel was slightly but visably toed in to the left side.

So, off to the alignment shop with the 1964 motors manual alignment chart + the most reasonable looking specs drawn from the internet (i.e. the specs most in agreement on several sights, internet specs seem to wander as badly as the original suspension). In compairing the specs to those loaded in the machine, all three were pretty well in agreement so the shop went with the machine specs and also checked rear alignment. Shims were changed out on the RF on the rear of the upper control arm ending up with one shim vice the two originals I reinstalled. The LF requried removal of all shims from the rear of the upper control arm and addition of a shim to the front of that same control arm. I also noted tie rod sleeve adjustments necessary to correct the toe on teh RF and overall for both sides.

So, the verdict? Wow! I wasn't expecting to notice a change from rebuilt suspension to aligned suspension. But, given 40 miles of combined city and rural highway driving this morning I do notice a big improvement. It started backing out of the garage, even at very low speeds, the steering is considerably lighter and the sticky spot has disappeared. Once out on the road, quiet tires in the turns. I pretty much aimed for the known potholes and ruts on my route at speeds from 20 to 60 mph and can't force a shock in the steering wheel, neither can I find a rut that causes Ol John Lee to wander. The feeling when rolling is much softer, somewhat like powersteering but without the mushieness of power steering. I am confident at this point in the correct status of this new suspension (and brakeing system) and can highly recommend working an old vehicle from the rolling stock upward. (i.e. if the motor runs, focus on the safety and performance of the rolling stock before the powerpack and absolutly before any cosmetic issues).

[KVB]

Sharps40

I was wondering the torque for the various bolts and shackles throught out this job. What did you use as a reference for the torque for the upper balljoint, the upper & lower control arms, for the ball joints themselves. I have the 1963 manual, with the 65 supplement, but I do not see any torque settings in there. Almost all my parts are here now, and when the weather warms up, (-21C today, -22 tomorrow) I am going to get after it.

Thanks

Ken

[Sharps40]

There are no reliaable torque settings. I used the settings listed on the ball joint instructions where they were included. Other places I used specs for that size bolt, like the 9/16 shackels I upgraded. Finally I used the attached from another site, it seems to be the most well thought out.

Its from the chevy trucks page

http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com...que_specs.html

[CRGRS 66]

TTT
Found this thread when searching the forum for information on assembling the control arm shafts back into the control arms. This is an excellent explanation of the process. I did not see this on the FAQ (maybe it is there and I missed it), if it isn't there, it certainly should be.

Big hats off to Sharps for the excellent job on this thread

[Sharps40]

I did an update on John Lee Jr the 65 cause Ol John Lee got smashed about 2 months after the new suspension. I think the update might be in FAQ.

Go slow and careful and 3/4" drive wrenches are helpful.