need a little guidance
 

Ok, long story short. I bought a 69 sb last year and completely rebuilt the front end suspension. The prior owner had installed a 73+ crossmember and all of the matching components, ie steering brakes etc. Well I bought a new bed for it and when I went to put it on, I found out that he had cut the frame down on a long bed truck and he had cut it 3 inches to short. So I went and bought a 68 sb truck to replace the frame. Here is my question. Should I stick with all 69-72 parts from this point forward, or just use the crossmember and brake system from the original truck (73+)? The lower left arm on the 73+ crossmember has a pretty good sized ding in it, other than that, its all in good shape with brand new top quality parts (MOOG). I sort of want to stick with period correct parts so that the truck is all the same year. However on my new donor frame, the brakes are drums and all the suspension needs replaced. If I stick with period correct parts, I want to run a set of porterbuilt arms. But then I would need springs, brakes as well as spindles. On my 73 crossmember, I have brand new belltech 3inch springs as well as new rotors and new 2 1/2 inch drop spindles. I dont want to wastes all that money! Opinions please!

On another note, the new frame has trailing arms. I was looking at the ece drop member, trailing arms and pan hard bar. I was thinking I would need 6 inch springs and 1 inch blocks to get close to a level ride height. Does that sound right to you guys?

Re: need a little guidance
 

Swap the current front end parts over to the new frame if they're recent/fresh. Otherwise rebuild what the new frame has.

For the rear, do 5" springs & 2" blocks w/the ECE truck arm x-member. OR, Porterbuilts truck arms & T/A x-member for better performance (less bind, greater adjustability, & better scrub line because you can eliminate the need for blocks.

Re: need a little guidance
 

Right on. Thanks bud!