58 Rear End/Axle/Front Hub 5 Lug swap ?

[JimDirt]

Was trying to find the answer searching , but could not find anything directly matching my search , i am going to try going in a slightly different direction than i had originally asked about when i joined a few months back with my dads 58 Apache 3200 LB Stepside

Now for the questions:

Do any OEM Chevy 5 Lug truck axles fit/swap into the stock 58 rear end ?? , OR , is there a complete 5 Lug rear end that matches for width(or as close as possible) that also match spring perch location ?? , in other words , a "direct bolt in" swap , or would any rear end/axle swap from anything else , fit ?? (Chevy truck OR car , as long as it fits/bolts in and is Chevy 5 lug) or do i have to buy a aftermarket axle ?

What i am trying to achieve , is to , as simply as possible , convert to 5 lug from 6 lug , as it seems my wheel choice would be easier to obtain by going to 5 lug rear and front , i would also like to know if any 5 lug hubs from any year truck/car would fit/swap to the stock straight axle ?? (or do i have to buy a aftermarket hub ?)

I am going to leave the ride height as is for now and not try to do as much (for now) to the truck , and get it back on the road before summer comes but with just what i am mentioning now , as i would like my 91 year old mother to see it on the road before she passes (hopefully she lives much much longer than next summer ,or longer than the next few years for that matter , but i would like to have her see it driving and somewhat close to how i had described it to be done , as that would make her happy) , I would like to go to a Chevy Rally wheel , but i like the looks of the older Camaro/Corvette/Chevelle , and Early (58) Impala Rally Wheel/Hubcaps better than the ones offered for the truck Rally's , so to have that , i need to be 5 lug

I feel doing this and a Column/box swap and a modern seat and a tank relocation and brake upgrade (power but still drum for now), will give me the looks/functionality i want and still keep the truck fairly close to what my dad and I had envisioned for it , and most importantly , keep the budget down which will allow me to get it back on the road faster , which will be a benefit for me since my budget is tight , this will keep the truck going in the direction i want with a fraction of the cost of major reworking of the chassis that i had been considering

While i am asking (i don't think i asked this before) , is there a Firewall brake pedal assembly that will convert/fit , that does not require major modifications to fit ?? (in other words somewhat "bolt in"), to get rid of the hard to access under cab setup , i was going to get a power booster setup to replace the OEM unit , but i am drifting towards just modernizing it to a firewall brake pedal setup , if its not a nightmare to do (without a welder) , or would i be better off sticking with the under cab setup but with the modern cylinder and booster ?? (either way drum brakes for now)

I am going to start searching for parts , but need this info to know what i can and can't do , and what to look for as far as parts , so by January i will be able to pull the truck into a stall in the carport (its going to be seriously cold), and actually start working on getting it back to road worthiness , so my basics for now would be Steering box/Column swap (still trying to figure out what box would be easiest/cheapest to do , keeping stock straight axle , so the column/box might have to wait , and just do everything else mentioned , for now) , a modern seat , gas tank relocation (bed side/fender fill) , and 5 lug swap (for now keeping drum brakes unless there is a cheap disk swap setup that will work and be within the budget), new Cam/Lifters , HEI Ignition , 1 wire Alternator , convert AMP to Volt Gauge , a new windshield , then new wood for the bed and get the body in shape and paint it (myself , as i am a former automotive painter) **but i can do that down the road as well** , and leave it that way so i can enjoy it for now , and start saving to do other things down the road , but have a road worthy/safe driver till then

Any help would be appreciated ...Thanks ...Jim

[paulspickupparts]

Many moons ago I had a 56 Chevy Pickup. I switched out the original hubs and drums with a 54 Chevy car which were 5 lug. I never did do the rear end. If you would do the front hubs to 5 lug you may consider having your rear axle shafts drilled to five lug . Especially if you have a good rear end. Depends what you are trying to do with other parts of your powertrain.

[Purcell69]

When I had my stock front axle, I found a kit that would bolt on disc brakes from a GM G-body passenger car (Cutlass, Monte Carlo, Regal) using a machined collar on the spindle and a bracket for the GM calipers. It was very simple and inexpensive. For the matching rear bolt pattern, I acquired a 10 bolt rear end from a 1982 Delta 88. The only thing required was to weld on two spring perches, which was about $20 through Jegs or Summit. The bolt pattern was small Chevy 5x4.75.

I know you are not wanting to weld perches, but there is no real trick to it. A cheap angle finder to set your pinion angle and clamp the axle and perches in place with the U bolts. Once everything is right, tack the perches, disassemble and finish weld.

-Joe

[JimDirt]

Originally Posted by paulspickupparts

Many moons ago I had a 56 Chevy Pickup. I switched out the original hubs and drums with a 54 Chevy car which were 5 lug. I never did do the rear end. If you would do the front hubs to 5 lug you may consider having your rear axle shafts drilled to five lug . Especially if you have a good rear end. Depends what you are trying to do with other parts of your powertrain.

The other parts of my powertrain are a 69 350HP 350 with a Turbo 400

So who would do the axle drilling/splining , a driveshaft shop ??

[JimDirt]

Originally Posted by Purcell69

When I had my stock front axle, I found a kit that would bolt on disc brakes from a GM G-body passenger car (Cutlass, Monte Carlo, Regal) using a machined collar on the spindle and a bracket for the GM calipers. It was very simple and inexpensive. For the matching rear bolt pattern, I acquired a 10 bolt rear end from a 1982 Delta 88. The only thing required was to weld on two spring perches, which was about $20 through Jegs or Summit. The bolt pattern was small Chevy 5x4.75.

I know you are not wanting to weld perches, but there is no real trick to it. A cheap angle finder to set your pinion angle and clamp the axle and perches in place with the U bolts. Once everything is right, tack the perches, disassemble and finish weld.

-Joe

My reason for not wanting to have to weld the perches , was not a welding skill issue , its the fact that at the moment , i do not have a welder at all , so any welding would require me to load up the truck and/or rear end and take it to someone and pay to have them weld it and hope the angles are correct when finished (and i live 10 miles from any town) , so if i do not have to weld , and can find something that is a direct bolt up , i would be happier , but i did not know if anything car or truck wise would just bolt up without modifications , which is why i asked if anyone knew if it was at all possible to just bolt up some other GM rear end , otherwise , i would have to swap out (again if anything else GM fits) the axles , or find aftermarket ones

[1project2many]

Here are a couple of pages for reference info:
http://oregonhotrod.com/Rear%20Axle%20Measurements.htm

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/tr...rd-axle-guide/

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...l_measurements

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/t...olt-in.213410/

92-93 Impala / Caprice axle isn't a bad choice for a near stock width axle. It will have a large 5 on 5 bolt pattern like older 2wd trucks and often a 3.42:1 gear ratio. Switch to 5 lug front drums, hardware, and backing plates from a 62-ish Impala and you'll have matching front for potentially short money. Rear axle will need leaf spring perches. You can mark housing for perch location and bring axle to welder for installation.

Another option that seems to scare folks is a Toyota pickup rear axle. 4X4 trucks use a six bolt pattern that matches the stock Chevy pattern. 2X4 trucks use a 5 on 4 1/2" pattern, similar to older Mustangs. Sorry, no quick suggestions for front hubs to match.

So who would do the axle drilling/splining , a driveshaft shop ??

I do my own. Marking axles and drums isn't terribly difficult. Use a compass to draw a circle on cardboard or manilla equal to the bolt diameter. Then set the compass equal to the distance between wheel studs and put the point on the circle and draw another circle. Reposition the compass to each intersection between the large and smaller circles and draw more circles. Ultimately you will end up with a point where three circles intersect for each wheel stud (and a lot of circles). Place the pattern over your drum / axle and use a center punch to mark the part to be drilled.

[JimDirt]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

Here are a couple of pages for reference info:
http://oregonhotrod.com/Rear%20Axle%20Measurements.htm

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/tr...rd-axle-guide/

http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/w...l_measurements

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/t...olt-in.213410/

92-93 Impala / Caprice axle isn't a bad choice for a near stock width axle. It will have a large 5 on 5 bolt pattern like older 2wd trucks and often a 3.42:1 gear ratio. Switch to 5 lug front drums, hardware, and backing plates from a 62-ish Impala and you'll have matching front for potentially short money. Rear axle will need leaf spring perches. You can mark housing for perch location and bring axle to welder for installation.

Another option that seems to scare folks is a Toyota pickup rear axle. 4X4 trucks use a six bolt pattern that matches the stock Chevy pattern. 2X4 trucks use a 5 on 4 1/2" pattern, similar to older Mustangs. Sorry, no quick suggestions for front hubs to match.




I do my own. Marking axles and drums isn't terribly difficult. Use a compass to draw a circle on cardboard or manilla equal to the bolt diameter. Then set the compass equal to the distance between wheel studs and put the point on the circle and draw another circle. Reposition the compass to each intersection between the large and smaller circles and draw more circles. Ultimately you will end up with a point where three circles intersect for each wheel stud (and a lot of circles). Place the pattern over your drum / axle and use a center punch to mark the part to be drilled.

But don't the holes have to be splined for the studs to hold ?? , otherwise they would spin when tightened wouldn't they ??

As far as the Impala , you are saying 5.5 , isn't standard pattern for cars (that used the Rally Wheels shown)5-4.75 ? , if so then the wheels i want to use (Camaro,Corvette,Chevelle , would not fit so i would be in the same position i am now with the 6 lug not working with those wheels

These are the type of wheels i want to use (i will not be buying these , its just for reference)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/15-Chevrolet...JWOCtY&vxp=mtr

This is the look i am trying to achieve , i know this style wheel/center cap was used since 1958 , or at least my brother had them on his 58 Impala Wagon and his 58 Impala

[1project2many]

The holes are not splined. The studs are splined and the OD of the spline is slightly larger than the ID of the hole. When you drive the hardened stud into the mild steel hub it will "stamp" a matching spline into the hub.

Impalas had rally wheels also. These days there are wheel manufacturers making repro rallys with 5X5 pattern.
http://www.classicindustries.com/sho...5x%205%20rally

[_Ogre]

6 lug wheels are available and imo your wasting money swapping to 5 lugs without updating anything
stock steel wheels with rally hubcaps and beauty rings look almost the same and will cost a lot less
updating the rearend is as easy as measuring the spring pad width and pinion angle and bring the axle to a welding shop
you'd have as much in updating a new rear axle as converting to different axles and wheels

a new steering box and column swap still involve rebuilding the king pins, tie rods and drag link
that is where most of the slop is, i suggest you do that first and see if you can live with the stock steering box
no column swap/steering box swap will bolt in and will require welding up brackets
new king pins are almost like installing power steering, except if you're parallel parking

as for a firewall brake booster, many of us do everything we can to keep the booster off the firewall
you'll need to cut up the wiring harness to move the voltage regulator and the main wiring grommet
once you get the brakes fixed so they don't leak, you only need to check the fluid level every blue moon
there are many companies that sell bolt in power brake boosters that stay under the floor
then you can add a remote firewall mounted reservoir

[JimDirt]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

6 lug wheels are available and imo your wasting money swapping to 5 lugs without updating anything
stock steel wheels with rally hubcaps and beauty rings look almost the same and will cost a lot less
updating the rearend is as easy as measuring the spring pad width and pinion angle and bring the axle to a welding shop
you'd have as much in updating a new rear axle as converting to different axles and wheels

a new steering box and column swap still involve rebuilding the king pins, tie rods and drag link
that is where most of the slop is, i suggest you do that first and see if you can live with the stock steering box
no column swap/steering box swap will bolt in and will require welding up brackets
new king pins are almost like installing power steering, except if you're parallel parking

as for a firewall brake booster, many of us do everything we can to keep the booster off the firewall
you'll need to cut up the wiring harness to move the voltage regulator and the main wiring grommet
once you get the brakes fixed so they don't leak, you only need to check the fluid level every blue moon
there are many companies that sell bolt in power brake boosters that stay under the floor
then you can add a remote firewall mounted reservoir

Its the center (hubcap) that i do not like on the truck rims , i have always liked the "car" caps , but the difference in the truck and car wheel is the center cap and how it mounts , and the main reason why i was wanting to convert to the car rim was for the center cap , the truck mounts to the outside of the center with 3 bumps , the car to the inside , so they will not interchange as far as i know , if i could get a truck rim with the center cap shown in the image in my prior post , i would stick with finding truck rims and 6 lug and be done , but from what i have found , they will not interchange (the caps) so that is why i was insistent on swapping

The kingpins were rebuilt not long before my dad quit driving it , everything had been rebuilt several times over the course of the 1960's on up when my dad first got the truck , as it was wore out then , the issue is the slop remained the same because the box is tightened down all the way , its completely wore out and can not be adjusted anymore and there is a 9 o clock to 3 o clock slop in the steering while driving , it was like this in the 70's when i first drove it , and its there and worse now , so i could waste money rebuilding the rods and kingpins again , but it will not fix the issue , and i want the "tilt" that was not present in the stock column , so to me the box is mandatory , so if i am doing that , i might as well do the column , and the steering can be turned easily with one hand while the truck is sitting , so it steers like it has power steering (using the large stock wheel and normal width tires) , i was under the impression that the outside frame later model truck box would swap by bolting on a angle iron as a bracket to the frame for the top bolt , which is all that needs the tab anyway , as opposed to welding on the "tab" that comes in the adapter kit , so i figured i could bolt it on , drive the truck , then later on down the road , when i do get a welder or have the truck drive-able so i can drive it complete to a welding shop and get the tab welded on then

For the brakes , that is what i wanted to know , is how difficult it would be to convert it , it sounds like i would be better off going with the unit i found on eBay for $165 its the corvette style booster and dual cylinder that mounts to the stock location , i would then have to rebuild the wheel cylinders , as the rubber is toast , and all the fluid is gone , i would guess i might have to replace all the rubber lines as well , since it has not had brakes since 2005

On the remote reservoir , are you saying it can be used with a dual cylinder master ?? , or is it a completely different setup ??

[dsraven]

just make sure the master cyl is for the type of brakes that you are using. drum front and rear would be different than disc front drum rear which would, again, be different than disc front and rear. you may also need residual valves depending on the height difference of the master cyl in relationship to the wheel cylinders.
if you use the steering box that mounts ahead of the wheels on the outside of the frame just be aware that your steering may not turn as far as before because the wheels may rub on the steering box.

[Purcell69]

I don't know anything about the remote reservoir setup. About 15 years ago, I bought a kit that bolts through the firewall and has a stainless steel backing plate that goes under the dash, to mount the pedal and uses a Mustang II brake booster and MC. I didn't have funds at the time for the MII parts, so I ended up using the booster and MC from a 1978 Ford Thunderbird. I had to re drill the stainless plate for the booster and the master cylinder ended up clocked a few degrees off level, but it worked like a champ. That was using the disc brake conversion on the front axle with the GM G Body rotors and calipers. For the proportioning valve, I got one from a mid 1970s Chevy truck. I took all of this out of my cab two weeks ago to use the parts from my donor Dodge.

I put the bracket, booster, and pedal in storage, but have no plans to reuse them. The master cylinder went with my frame when I sold it, keeping the brake system sealed. I don't know if something like this would work with the stock drum brakes. You would definitely need the proportioning valve for a truck that had power drum brakes front and back to make it work right.

As far as welders go, unless you are holding out for a specific unit, a used stick welder is pretty easy to find starting around $100 at garage sales, estate auctions, and CL. For wire feed, Campbell Hausfeld has a gasless wire welder for around $200. It is nothing fancy, just High and Low for heat ranges, but it will weld up to 3/16" steel in single pass and runs on 110v household current. I used one of these for 10 years and used it to build steel fences, two barns, mount my spring perches, mount my steering box for the truck box conversion, and lots of sheet metal work. I finally retired it when I was working on another barn and found it would go in to thermal shut-down mode after five minutes or so of work, and be unable to be used for 20 minutes or so until it cooled back down. In the beginning, it could weld for 15 minutes of constant use and then have to rest for 10. I got my money's worth from that little welder.

-Joe

[dsraven]

for a mig welder you can usually pick up a 110v fluxcore wire feed pretty cheap and some have allowances for gas hook ups later if you want. it is a kit you would buy with the gas regulator, hose etc. I know a few guys who have the lincoln set ups and they like them.

[JimDirt]

Originally Posted by dsraven

just make sure the master cyl is for the type of brakes that you are using. drum front and rear would be different than disc front drum rear which would, again, be different than disc front and rear. you may also need residual valves depending on the height difference of the master cyl in relationship to the wheel cylinders.
if you use the steering box that mounts ahead of the wheels on the outside of the frame just be aware that your steering may not turn as far as before because the wheels may rub on the steering box.

I was under the impression that any dual master cylinder will work , but that if its drum/drum you don't use a proportioning valve , if its drum disk you only hook up the front of the valve and disk/disk you use both sides ...is this not correct ?? . since for now the truck will be drum/drum , but in the future i will most likely end up with disk front and leave the rear drums

The type of kit i was thinking about was like these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160953028096...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/55-56-57-58-...871748?vxp=mtr


The steering box is i believe for a mid 70's model , i saw it on one of the topics in this section , it mounts basically in the stock location , except on the outside of the frame rail , i believe , and it has a triangle shaped tab that has to be mounted for the 3rd bolt to attach , and will work with the stock straight axle

This is the kind of kit i am talking about , i found this one on eBay

This kit lets you install a 1969-87 Chevy 2WD power steering box on the 58 frame

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1947-59-Chev...dVJNkc&vxp=mtr

Either that or i need to find a "Rebuild Kit" for my steering box that replaces EVERYTHING inside , then cut the column off and replace it with a tilt column

***and yes i am always looking for bargains on eBay***

[1project2many]

There are two considerations for the master cylinder. The first is that the bore diameter should be matched to the front and rear brakes to provide the proper brake bias. The second is that the reservoir needs to be large enough to supply fluid to the brake components. This is relevant when you switch to discs because as the brake pads wear the fluid level in the master will drop. Obviously if the fluid gets too low it will be bad.

[_Ogre]

On the remote reservoir , are you saying it can be used with a dual cylinder master ??

some can be converted and some cannot.
be wise choosing your mc and you should be able to convert it
i was able to convert my ford mc/hydroboost to a remote reservoir by reading thru the factory-five forums
iirc... the stock mc has a cast iron cap that could be drilled and tapped for a remote reservoir

[JimDirt]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

some can be converted and some cannot.
be wise choosing your mc and you should be able to convert it
i was able to convert my ford mc/hydroboost to a remote reservoir by reading thru the factory-five forums
iirc... the stock mc has a cast iron cap that could be drilled and tapped for a remote reservoir

So a "standard" twin master like shown in my eBay links on my last post , "could" work to use a remote reservoir because it has a metal cap ?? , or is there more to it than that ??

The reason i was wanting to get away from the under floor master was because the access hole is so small , the only other option i would think would be to create a larger hole/access panel with some sheet metal so at least any maintenance needed could be done with a bit more ease , i want to be able to work on the truck easily when needed , so to me the firewall mounted master would be optimal for access , that , was my reasoning for a firewall mounted unit , as i am assuming , to keep the brake system clean and for ease of access , is why the masters were relocated to the firewall in later model trucks , since underneath is anything but a clean environment for brake fluid due to moisture , dirt, and debris falling into the cup

[JimDirt]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

There are two considerations for the master cylinder. The first is that the bore diameter should be matched to the front and rear brakes to provide the proper brake bias. The second is that the reservoir needs to be large enough to supply fluid to the brake components. This is relevant when you switch to discs because as the brake pads wear the fluid level in the master will drop. Obviously if the fluid gets too low it will be bad.

The ones i was looking at (below) say they can be used for either Drum or Disk , so i am guessing either of these will work fine ??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160953028096...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/55-56-57-58-...871748?vxp=mtr

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by JimDirt

I was under the impression that any dual master cylinder will work , but that if its drum/drum you don't use a proportioning valve , if its drum disk you only hook up the front of the valve and disk/disk you use both sides ...is this not correct ?? . since for now the truck will be drum/drum , but in the future i will most likely end up with disk front and leave the rear drums

The type of kit i was thinking about was like these
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160953028096...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/55-56-57-58-...871748?vxp=mtr


The steering box is i believe for a mid 70's model , i saw it on one of the topics in this section , it mounts basically in the stock location , except on the outside of the frame rail , i believe , and it has a triangle shaped tab that has to be mounted for the 3rd bolt to attach , and will work with the stock straight axle

This is the kind of kit i am talking about , i found this one on eBay

This kit lets you install a 1969-87 Chevy 2WD power steering box on the 58 frame

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1947-59-Chev...dVJNkc&vxp=mtr

Either that or i need to find a "Rebuild Kit" for my steering box that replaces EVERYTHING inside , then cut the column off and replace it with a tilt column

***and yes i am always looking for bargains on eBay***

The steering conversion above is similar to what I used. In some ways, it was a big improvement over the stock gearbox/column assembly. I ran in to a bit of trouble with mine as turning to the right would cause the left front spring to arch upward, tilting the front end about 3-4". Turning to the left pulled the front spring up toward the frame, collapsing the spring about the same. Both of these occurred at full lock. Also, with 235/60R15 tires, I noticed some REALLY ugly bump steer. As best as I can tell, all of this may have been a result of error on my part during the installation, despite following the directions provided. Rather than live with that mess, I cut my frame and went to a Camaro front subframe.

The boosters and master cylinders you have linked to are both frame mounted with the reservoir under the floor. I thought you were looking for one that mounted on the firewall. One of those kits has an adjustable proportioning valve included, which would allow you to adjust the brake bias from front to rear, which may be handy if you are going to keep drums for now, then switch to discs up front later.

-Joe

[dsraven]

do some research before you pull the trigger but usually I think the disc front/drum rear brake masters have larger sized reservoirs for the disc section compared to the drum section, and the drum section has residual valves and the disc section doesn't. here is a quick blurb from summit racing that took seconds to find on google. some more research could be in order if you want the system to function properly.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today, we are going to answer your questions about disc brake master cylinders, drum brake master cylinders as well as the differences between master cylinders for power brakes versus manual brakes. So let’s start with disc brake master cylinders versus drum brake master cylinders. Typically a disc brake system is going to require more fluid to operate properly, so a disc brake master cylinder will simply hold more fluid than a drum brake master cylinder. On a drum brake master cylinder, you will also have residual pressure valve to maintain a certain amount of pressure at all times. This is to prevent air from entering the braking system.

So can you use a drum brake master cylinder on a disc brake system? We hear that question quite often. You can, but you are going to compromise some of your braking effectiveness, and the reason is simply because once again the drum brake master cylinder holds less fluid than the disc brake master cylinder. And again, that disc brake system requires that extra fluid to operate at maximum effectiveness. Also, that residual pressure valve that we told you about on the drum brake master cylinder is going to cause a little bit of a drag on the disc brake system’s rotor and that is going to affect the overall braking ability of the system.

Another question we hear is can I use a disc or drum brake master cylinder on a four wheel disc brake system and the answer is simply, no you cannot. You are going to need to use a special master cylinder design just for the four wheel disc brake system to get the proper amount of brake fluid volume and pressure to operate the four wheel disc brake system properly.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
is this (see pics) what you are talking about for power steering? I think these set ups limit the steering because the tire rubs on the box. the other set up uses a toyota pick up style box and mounts in the same place, roughly, as the stock box.

[dsraven]

here is the 400 series box. classic trucks did a feature on this install recently. you could go to their site and look in tech articles to find it. cpp sells it as well as some other suppliers.

[JimDirt]

Thanks for the info , its weird (or they just don't know) the sellers "claim" all you need to go from drum to disk (disk front/drum rear) is a block valve that gives more fluid pressure to the disk side , otherwise for drum/drum you just use the cylinder by itself and run the lines directly to it (front/rear) , so i will definitely have to do some more checking before spending any money on a power system

In the pics you posted , no , that is not where it goes , its not a front mount system , its supposed to go basically where the stock box goes , but to the outside of the frame rail , it gives the parts needed to "adapt" it to the stock straight axle , from what i understand you can use a manual or power box as they bolt up the same

it says it uses a 69-87 box
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1947-59-Chev...dVJNkc&vxp=mtr

It does not mention anything about tire clearance issues , or anything else having to be done to make it fit , just use the "kit" and bolt the box on and drive away , basically it looks like the CCP kit that supposedly does the same thing , what i am trying to do is get it "modernized" still retaining the straight axle , and suspension as much as possible , for now till i decide if i am going with a IFS and C-Notch down the road , but i want the truck to be a reliable driver , with some "updated" creature comforts , like tilt column , modern seat , relocated tank and fix/replace the stock steering box with something that does not require a half wheel turn to keep the truck going straight , as that is how it has been since the 60's

Since i am "fixing" the steering box , i would much rather have a tilt column , so this was the direction i was going , just the basics is what i am looking for , with a "redneck" work area kept in mind , so , (at the moment) no welder on the premises , no concrete floor to work off , no enclosed space to work in , just a gravel carport/shelter so to speak (this will be this way for a long time since the place is not mine to build a shop on) , i have a small shop that i have my workbench and tools in , but if i pulled the truck in there i would have to crawl out thru the door window to get out , its only 12x20 with a workbench on one side and a 5 ft tool box on the other , so there is no room to work at all in it , basically 2 dirt bikes and a 4x4 ATV in there and i have to squeeze my way around them to navigate thru the shop , so i am having to do things i can do with the "tools/work area" i have on hand , so the closer to something being "bolt on" the better , as soon as its in the budget i will get a small 220/135 wire feed , but till then , its all about bolt on to do what i want done

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by dsraven

here is the 400 series box. classic trucks did a feature on this install recently. you could go to their site and look in tech articles to find it. cpp sells it as well as some other suppliers.

Something like this would be money better spent for power steering. It bolts in to the stock location, inside the frame and uses the stock steering arm. Using a setup like this would negate any potential problems like what I experienced with the 1970s GM truck box mounted outside the frame and would use a much shorter shaft between the box and the column. The end result of that is your steering will feel much more precise, as the longer shaft has more play, due to flex.

-Joe

[JimDirt]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

6 lug wheels are available and imo your wasting money swapping to 5 lugs without updating anything
stock steel wheels with rally hubcaps and beauty rings look almost the same and will cost a lot less
updating the rearend is as easy as measuring the spring pad width and pinion angle and bring the axle to a welding shop
you'd have as much in updating a new rear axle as converting to different axles and wheels

a new steering box and column swap still involve rebuilding the king pins, tie rods and drag link
that is where most of the slop is, i suggest you do that first and see if you can live with the stock steering box
no column swap/steering box swap will bolt in and will require welding up brackets
new king pins are almost like installing power steering, except if you're parallel parking

as for a firewall brake booster, many of us do everything we can to keep the booster off the firewall
you'll need to cut up the wiring harness to move the voltage regulator and the main wiring grommet
once you get the brakes fixed so they don't leak, you only need to check the fluid level every blue moon
there are many companies that sell bolt in power brake boosters that stay under the floor
then you can add a remote firewall mounted reservoir

In reference to the Voltage Regulator , by going to the 1 wire alternator , which has a built in Regulator (and swapping the AMP gauge for a Volt Meter) , wouldn't that eliminate the Regulator and some of the wiring mess on the firewall anyway ??

And as mentioned in one of my quoted replies , the Steering Box IS the issue in this case , not King Pins , the truck sitting , steers like it has power steering (with the narrower tires it currently has) , its just the slop is there and i know from my dad telling me when i was 14 , that the box was completely worn out then (i was 14 in 1974) , this was when i first was allowed to drive the truck and he had to direct me as to the correct way to drive it because of all the slop in the steering box at that time , this was AFTER he had the king pins replaced , so i am betting the box is worse not better since then , so that is why i am so adamant about getting a "newer updated" steering box , and when doing so , going to a Tilt Column to gain some driving comfort

[_Ogre]

true, when this was my dd i left the regulator just for the junction points
the main wire grommet will be in the way though