Front suspension conversion/ rebuild. powdercoat pictures

[Tx Firefighter]

This thread will move slowly due to how time consuming this kind of work is.

For my 63, I got a front frame section off of an 82 Suburban off Craigslist. This got me disc brakes, rubber control arm bushings, sway bar, and power steering all for 100 bucks.

I'm going to completely clean, detail, and rebuild with the best parts I can find. This truck is my keeper, so a little extra money and effort now will pay off in the long run.

[Tx Firefighter]

So far, I have ordered the following:

-Energy suspension urethane front control arm bushings
-New Moog ball joints, upper and lower
-New Moog tie rod ends, all 4
-3 inch drop coil springs
-Doetsch Tech drop front shocks
-Energy suspension urethane front sway bar bushing set
-New Moog idler arm
-new Moog pitman arm

Today I am ordering the drop spindles from Summit

End result will be a good handling suspension that is lowered 5.5 inches from stock and should last the rest of my life.

First thing I did was blow it all part and begin the grease scraping part of the job. This takes forever. Once I get it all clean, I will bead blast all of the parts and powdercoat them in 60 percent gloss black with silver powdercoat detail items.

The first parts that I completed were the upper control arms.

[Tx Firefighter]

I'm still waiting on UPS the deliver the rest of the parts.

I hope to have the whole front end of the truck done in about 2-3 weeks. There is an incredible amount of labor involved, detailing each and every one of these parts.

I will update with more text and pictures as I progress through the job.

[62 short step]

Looks very nice!

[SIR]

..looks like you have your work cut out for yourself. I've been told that urethane bushing "creak" if there not impregnated with graphite...is that true?,I put urethane cab and bed bushings on my 66 and in hot weather it will sometimes creak,sounds much worse than it really is...good luck with your project...have fun!!

[joe231]

very cool!
would you be willing to do this same coating job for someone?
what would it cost with the parts in the same condition as those before you started? I'm just weighing my options
would you prefer discussing this through PMs

[Tx Firefighter]

I'd be afraid to quote a number. I have probably an honest 6 hours in those two upper arms. Degreasing, pressing out bushings, grinding rivets and removing upper ball joints, bead blasting everything, coating arms in black, coating shafts and hardware in silver, pressing new bushings in place, reassembling shafts...

I figure to have 50 hours of labor in the front suspension alone by the time I'm done and 1200 dollars or so in parts.

[4dranch]

Nice work Kevin...

[joe231]

that is a lot-o-coin, but it will be a thing of beauty when you are done

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by joe231

that is a lot-o-coin, but it will be a thing of beauty when you are done

Awww, ain't nothing to get excited about. I figure I can build this truck as high quality as possible and still spend less money than if I went and bought a new KIA or something like that.

I figure to spend new econobox amount of money to have neat old truck to drive till I die.

[70k52wd]

Great looking work. Sounds like there will be no part of this truck that won't be restored. I've takin a real shine to the "knee knockers" ever since you got yours. I have fond memories of them in my youth. Subscribing to a slow build.

[northern 85]

Parts look great!! Sounds like you have a good plan for a build.

[joe231]

Hell yeah!

it should be quite the ride
and I disagree, it is something worth the excitement

[Tx Firefighter]

Bringing this one back out of hibernation for an update.

I have right at 30 hours of labor in the front end so far.

I removed the original suspension and crossmember.



Bare frame rails



I cleaned and POR15d the framerails in the suspension area. I will do the whole thing front to back, but I need this truck back on it's feet so I can roll it into my shop (it's on the concrete apron in front of the shop right now).

The front crossmember bolted in and needed two holes drilled and two holes oblonged a bit. It took probably 15 minutes to do that stuff. Nothing to it.

All control arm bushings are Energy Supsension urethane units. All ball joints are Moog Problem Solver stuff. Upper and lower bumpstop are Energy Suspension too.

All suspension parts are powdercoated in 40 percent gloss black.

Front springs are Summit house brand stuff, which is Ground Force stuff in a plain white box.




I also got the Summit brand sport truck shocks too. Again, plain white box, but inside they are Doetsch Tech brand shocks. Very nice stuff for unbeatable price.




Next step is to clean, rebuild, and powdercoat the spindles and brake stuff.

I wil update once the truck is on it's feet again.

[70k52wd]

What did you do to prep the frame for por15? It looks real nice.

[Tx Firefighter]

I used a twisted wire cup brush and an angle grinder.

[70k52wd]

If you keep it up like you are, I see how the truck will last the rest of your life. The first 15-20 years will be spent as a show truck. Then when you get a couple scratches, you might start driving it as a regular driver... It's going to be sweet.

[joe231]

I have read you aren't supposed to use a wire wheel on the metal before coating the metal with the POR, says it makes the metal shiney and the POR won't adhere well to it.....do you have prior experience using this method?

[Tx Firefighter]

I have never heard that. I've done it that way for years and never had any adhesion issues with it.

[72BlckButy]

Awesome work Kevin, definitely subscribed to this rebuild.

[4dranch]

Nice work, Kevin.
Looks sharp

[joe231]

Thanks for the info Kevin

[1stseries55]

nice work...

I am in the middle of the exact same conversion on my 65 (87 burb parts)

looking at your pics has me thinking I forgot something. On the upper control arms is the washer that I pointed to necessary?

I took those apart 6 months ago... don't remember if that was there or not.

[Alan's Classic]

Nice work Kevin. Shannon showed me the stuff you coated for him. It looks sharp.

[Tx Firefighter]

I think the washer is necessary. My theory is that it is there to protect the bushing from the shaft trying to shove forward under hard braking.