couple questions for the 78 cheyenne 1/2 ton

[n2mb]

i have one sitting in my garage that i am about to tackle a modest rebuild on but have a few questions

originally it was a diesel but somewhere along its life a 400 small block was put in.
i have dual tanks still which i think i am going to keep but not sure yet but thats a minor detail at this point.

as of right now it has hydroboost brakes which in all honesty i cant stand. its nice when im towing my boat (23 ft cc 4500 lbs) but i think standard brakes will do just fine
..any thoughts?


whats involved in converting to a vacuum booster? can i use the same gearbox? i realize the pump is different and i will need a master cyl and booster.does anyone make a kit for it?

because it was a diesel bohemoth i have the heavy duty suspension. i want to drop it about 2" front and back. who do you guys reccommend for chassis parts? should i just replaced everything with a regular suspension? im going to start ripping the truck apart tomorrow in hopes that i will be able to tow my boat with it by june.

also whoever converted it to a 400 jury rigged the living turds out of it so i think i need to get all new pumps and brackets. is there possibly a kit for that?

do you guys suggest using any particular vendors here?

thanks in advance for any answers

jay

[n2mb]

ok i guess ill just figure it out

[USSkoval]

Why don't you like the hydroboost brakes?

How would you like the truck to ride? Firm? Soft?

[N2TRUX]

If it were me, I would stick with the hyrdoboost brakes. They have serious stopping power vs vacuum assist. When it comes to springs, I would look at Summit Racing for a set of 2" dropped springs. That should give you a nice ride and looks too.

[n2mb]

Originally Posted by USSkoval

Why don't you like the hydroboost brakes?

How would you like the truck to ride? Firm? Soft?

its not that i dont like the hydroboost brakes but the more i think about it i think the better i am with them. i know they stand up to towing myboat with no problem so maybe i should just stick with it.my pump blew out and had to stand on the brakes to stop which is why i started thinking about changing it. plus it makes the engin bay look cleaner without it. i guess ill just redo it and make ss braided lines for it.

Originally Posted by N2TRUX

If it were me, I would stick with the hyrdoboost brakes. They have serious stopping power vs vacuum assist. When it comes to springs, I would look at Summit Racing for a set of 2" dropped springs. That should give you a nice ride and looks too.

being that the truck was originally a diesel it has the heavy duty suspension.i forgot how many but i wanna say somewhere between 8 and 50 springs..ok maybe not that many. 2" drop sounds about right where i wanna be. do they make a version of the heavy duty springs with a 2 " drop?

i was looking at i think its classic parts (or something like that) and they have a front end tube control arm kit thats looks real nice but it would probably be cheaper to just blast the old ones and powdercoat them and put new joints. any suggestions for bushings? o.e. or poly?

[n2mb]

and thanks for the replies! i just put the truck in the garage and im set to start on the project. i was going to start tonight but a friend just had their baby and gonna go see them at the hospital. tomorrow im going to start ripping the front end off.

[USSkoval]

I'm no expert, but it you wanted to keep a firm ride, you could go with drop spindles. Or if you would like it a bit softer, go with regular 'ol lowering springs.

I just don't know if lowering springs would actually be softer than your stock springs or not. Sometimes they can be fairly stiff, but my experience in this case is only with other vehicles.

[n2mb]

holy crap... i just started ripping it apart last night and man do i have my work cut out for me.. i really should take a bunch of pics of the mess. gonna need lots of metal, lots of wiring and most of all lots of patience lol . thewiring is an f'ing disaster! my best bet is probably going to be to rip it all out and get a painless wiring kit or make my own harnesses. i want to tuck all the wiring anyway. im definately going to need a service manual. does the factory service manual have both body and wiring diagrams in it or are there two seperate manuals?