Well, its been a while since I've posted here, but I saw this thread and thought I could add something.

I have a 66 1 ton and I swapped a 73 front crossmember. IIRC, 73-87 will work. I didn't have to swap the cross member, I could have just swapped the control arms and steering assembly. The control arm bushings are the same. The ball joints may be the same, but I went with the '73 ball joints. All the steering replaceables were for '73. Shocks for the '73. If you swap the CM, some drilling to add 1 hole and oblong another is needed. The steering assembly from the later model is required. It would help a lot to bring the sway bar to the older truck, also.

Your old rims will probably not fit. The older hub centric wheels will not fit over the later hubs and the calipers will be too big to fit into the wheels. But you needed new wheels anyway.

You will have to replace the brake lines and the proportioning valve for the 2 circuit system (disk front-drum rear).

If you plan on putting an LS engine in, then you will want the SBC motor mounts with the cross member.

Good luck, its a great upgrade.

Dave.

Last edited by 65 WonTon; 04/12/2014 12:43 PM.
Dave.

What's the last thing a red neck says, "Hey guys watch this."
What's the last thing a redneck hears, "Go ahead Bubba, you can do it."

Build plan: 65 Chevy one ton, 5.9L Cummins HO, NV5600 six speed, 2wd 1972-1987 IFS disk front, frame off restore/mod, custom dump/flat bed, Alcoa rims, Dana 70 3.73:1 duals drum rear, plush interior, Guards red with Marine Corps decals. Donor is retired 2002 Ram 2500, 194K miles.