front suspension rebuild.....

[hewlett2002000]

ok so as some of you know im putting my truck together. i need some help with a front end kit. my truck has disc brakes from a newer model truck on it but i dont know exactly what year. when i bought brakes for it i said 72 and those worked. if i get a complete front end rebuild kit from lmc for a 66 will everything fit? or do i need one for a 72 or a mix of the two years? also the kit from lmc for the 66 says it comes with a sway bar bushing set, but my truck does not have a sway bar. is that just in case it is needed?
the kit from lmc comes with....

1 polyurethane sway bar bushing set
2 upper ball joints
2 lower ball joints
2 upper a-arm rubber bumpers
2 lower a-arm rubber bumpers
2 outer tie rod ends

$149.95


ill add inner tie rod ends because i need them. $19.95 a piece. i also need the adjuster sleeves. $8.95 a piece. they have two adjuster sleeves listed, one has ps beside of it, i assume this means power steering. i dont have power steering now but i will in the near future. will i need to get the ps ones?

i appreciate any help yall can give me.
thanks,
John

[soba_03]

I guess that you didn't do the front end swap yourself. With this assumption I would say go to your local auto parts store and ask for a ball joint for a 72 and check and see if it looks like what you have if not ask for the one for a 66 and see if that is the same. This will at least give you an idea what you have on the front. The control arm bushings would probally be the same as what ever year ball joints you get. That should get you in the ball park...

[jchav62]

If I remember correctly, you can run 72 spinldes on 63-66 trucks by only changing the ball joints. All the a-arm bushings and anything else are probably unchanged. If you were to buy the kit, I believe you would use everything but the ball joints. You may want to check if the tie rod ends are interchangeable from 66 to 72. Good luck!

[Fred T]

Best thing to do is to dismantle one side (At least) and take the parts to the parts store. If you can, go to a store where there is an old man behind the counter. They should be able to look at the parts and tell you what they are from. At times you will get lucky with this service from a box store, it usually is available at a locally owned store.

The same logic applies to the on-line vendors. Are you talking to someone who actually uses the parts, or just someone getting paid to take your order?

[83burban]

You will need a combination of kit components so get different parts separately.

1) Lower ball joints will press into place as long as you have a 63 up arms, so get the appropriate ball joints for the SPINDLES that you are using

2) Uppers will bolt into place in the uppers, so get the appropriate ones for the SPINDLES

3) A sway bar isn't necessary but it can help with ride characteristics if your drive your truck hard in turns (I will when my drives) so unless you have a sway bar or intend to get one leave those out and get them later.

4) The tie rod ends will need to matched as well. Your inners will be for your year truck and the outers will be for the SPINDLES. You will likely need a custom tie-rod adjuster sleeve, since later years have different thread counts and sizes than the earlier 60's.

5) I highly recommend that you find out what year your brakes and spindles are from, both for ease of finding parts in the future and for safety, it just simply isn't enough to say that you got brakes for a 72 and they worked.

Hope that you found all of this helpful - Before I left home I installed disc brakes onto my 63 using all 75 components so I know what you need.

[hewlett2002000]

i have a 84 chevrolet that is my parts truck. would it be easier to just swap the complete crossmember and suspension with the 84 the rebuild the 84 front end?
John