hey guys back again.... AND NEEDIN SOME REAL KNOWLEDGE.

[wheatlandbrawler]

hey guys its been a while once again. as you can see ive been a member for almost 3 years now but the army is determined to make an example out of me lol. but im home again for a while and its back to work on my 68 short wide c-10.

while i was gone i had the truck tarped and setting at my dads. he needed to make room for his new build up and he shoved it out side. didnt have enough antifreeze and came home to the side of my 408 cracked.... bummer. so no big deal decided to build it bigger and badder. while i have the drive gear pulled i decided to swap my front suspension to a early 80s model. a arms cross member the whole 9 yards.

my questions are.... WILL IT WORK? my truck came factory with disc up front. and the new set up i have has a manual gear box so away with the power steering. from what i have been told thus far it should bolt rite in. whats your guys thoughts on this? PLEASE HELP.

[gcburdic]

home sir....thanks for your service....

Not sure if your 68 would of been factory disc....they weren't produced that way till 71, so someone must of upgraded it....

My understanding is the 73-87 x-member should bolt right up....I think you may have to drill 2 more holes....see this thread (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=381785) where I asked the same question....I've been told that you could actually change the ball joints, tie rods, center steering linkage, spindles, rotors, calipers, etc instead of the whole x-member...

hope this helps...

[Original67]

I just put an 84 front in my 67. everything is a direct bolt up but a hole on each side. It is about 1/8 of an inch off. Used a torch and enlarged the hole. Used the reinforcing plates from the 84 to help things out and I was good to go. I will take some pics of it after the swap of the cross member this weekend and post it on my thread.

Good luck to you and btw Thank you for your service. Its because of people like you that we get to build these truck.
Thanks,
Jason

[my67chevytruck]

curious, if you already have discs, why upgrade to another crossmember that has discs? i dont see any advantages... any front xmember for 1/2 73-87 will work for you.

[wheatlandbrawler]

well thanks for the update on the factory disks! i was under the impression it came that way. my truck was a airforce runway truck. i have the papers on it. my dad got the truck with spotlights, disk brakes, heater, AC. then someone wrecked into it and it became my project ever since i was 16.

thank you very much for your gratitude in my service. its people like you that keep me going back for more. 11 bang bang HOOAH!

it would be easier to change the whole x-member as opposed to swapping while i have the engine and trans out. from what i can tell i think its only 5 bolts on both sides. and im not doing it for the disk brakes lol. im doing it because the ball joints, lower drivers a arm is bent and the front end shimmy's real bad. the new one has new ball joints, discs, manual gear box. and new bushings. and tie rods. so thats why im doing it. and the pics would be greatly appreciated! any additional info and if you could mayb show me wich hole i need to open up more. so i dont have to wait till its in to cut it out. thanks so much guys. this is why i come here instead of anywhere else haha.

[wheatlandbrawler]

and since im doing the whole x-member i should be able to use all the stuff that came with it including tie rods, rite?

[wheatlandbrawler]

oh and gcburdic your truck is absolutely beautiful..... I LOVE THAT COLOR. man you did a nice job! theirs a ton of pictures floating around of my truck but i dont know how to track them down. so i guess i should just post a whole build thread on her. oh and sorry for the 3 separate reply's.

[wheatlandbrawler]

bump. doing this weekend need as much info as i can get. thanks guys.

[my67chevytruck]

there are 14 bolts total if i remember correctly, you can see the xmember pics in our 67 build thread, 12 bolts will line up correctly, you will have to elongate 2 holes to get the last two in. i used a carbide tip burr on my cordless to elongate the hole and finish mounting it to the frame. use everything from the donor, steering , tie rods, center link, i think the brake line end may be different thread but dont hold me to that.

[Original67]

Originally Posted by my67chevytruck

there are 14 bolts total if i remember correctly, you can see the xmember pics in our 67 build thread, 12 bolts will line up correctly, you will have to elongate 2 holes to get the last two in. i used a carbide tip burr on my cordless to elongate the hole and finish mounting it to the frame. use everything from the donor, steering , tie rods, center link, i think the brake line end may be different thread but dont hold me to that.

that would be exactly correct. The ubolts for the lower control arms are thicker on the donor truck than will be on your truck so it is best to do the hole swap. It only took me about 20 mins to do it. The cross member that is. I had a torch though so it was faster than drilling. If you need pics still I will get them. but you cant really see much now that it is all bolted up.

[gcburdic]

Originally Posted by wheatlandbrawler

and since im doing the whole x-member i should be able to use all the stuff that came with it including tie rods, rite?

Not sure if you know the history of the 73-87 x-member, but I would suggest at least new tie rods, a-arm bushings, shocks, brake shoes, etc with quality replacement parts

Originally Posted by wheatlandbrawler

oh and gcburdic your truck is absolutely beautiful..... I LOVE THAT COLOR. man you did a nice job! theirs a ton of pictures floating around of my truck but i dont know how to track them down. so i guess i should just post a whole build thread on her. oh and sorry for the 3 separate reply's.

Thanks man....I appreciate your compliments!!!

[wheatlandbrawler]

THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH! i have some pictures to post if you guys want to see them. i ended up replacing all the bushings in it. but had no access to a new drag link, or tie rods. i c notched the cross member boxed it in and did some structurally savvy cuts to lightin it up a little more. i ended up saving 63 pounds but in a race truck 60lbs off the front is like adding 120 to the back. but i couldnt have done it so easily without your guys info. thanks again guys!

[wheatlandbrawler]

pics of the front end before paint and bushings up in my build thread. hit the link to check em out. and thanks once again guys.