The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Front end rebuild? 59 1ton.

I have my jewel all apart, and the previous owner suggested I do the front end, and seeing how the fenders and wheels are off, this is probably the golden momment for what might be a stinky job.

Should I replace all the bits? King Pins? Tie rod ends, pitman arm, etc? Whaddyer think? Any suggestions on source?

Nice thing is that the old guy sez he bought conversion wheels to make the truck into a dually, but never did them because of the utility box. Now that I have the box removed, sounds like a great deal. Gift=free!

Yes.
I try not to, it usually gets me in trouble.
FIRST, get yourself a copy of the shop manual. It details what you will need to do in what order, and will also tell you if you don't need to do anything. I got mine from Chevy Duty along with most of the replacement parts. Some of the hardware may be available from your local parts store; it may be cheaper and you don't have to wait for shipping. Parts for the tonners are kinda rare, so don't throw anything away until you are absolutely certain you have the correct replacement in hand.

Everything is much easier with the sheetmetal removed. It's hard to repair what you can't quite see.

Thanks, first thing I did was get a shop guide. Problem is those old shop guides - are like:

King pin replacement.

1. Brace axle
2. remove lock pins.
3. remove king pins.

Know what I mean?

Although, there isn't that much more to it, as these things are pretty simple. Probably one of the reasons I took on the project.

Irwin, If you don't have a decent press (like 20 ton or so - around $100-$150 at Harbor Freight) . . . you might consider taking the axle to a machine shop that has a press and having them do it. I have done a couple of sets of king pins now in the last two months - one set for another bolter and most recently taking apart another set for myself and both sets were a real butt-itch to get apart - even with the press operating at maximum pucker factor. A press is a good investment if you can spare the change. Good luck!

Irwin, suprisingly you will find the old shop manuals for these trucks are very well written and use good English; not like today's Chilton's manuals; which are written for 6th grade reading level (not kidding).
It's well woth the $40 or so to pick one up. It will answer a lot of questions during your restoration.

One-ton stuff little harder to find than smaller parts. If you can get part number, I may have a king pin kit that would fit. I got three diff kits when I did my 50 till I broke down and got right one. Chevy Duty has lots of the big truck wheel cylinders. On the press, sounds good, not hard to pull whole axle out of truck, specially with front off. New u-bolts, spring pins and shackles are cheaper at a spring shop locally if you have one nearby. Brake shoes can be re-lined with your old cores if not down to metal. Just a good lubing of orig parts may make a difference if it hasn't been done in long time. On the dually, if you don't have the deep dish type wheels, it won't be a dually. The fronts have a big "spacer" like item on the drum to set studs way out so you can use the deep dish wheel backwards there. You can get deep wheels and put on back if the studs are long enough and inner wheel clears the frame and springs. They will be close there, and also should not rub tires to each other. Seems about that year, they had 19.5" one-pce wheels, as that's what I got to put on my 50 recently to rid my self of the odd 18". I would also try some 16" newer wheels to see if they go over the rear drum. They didn't on my 50, but it had OS brakes for it's year. That way, tires are easy to find in all diff widths.

Thanks GMC, I have not only the 58 chevy and 58 GMC shop guides, but the 59 supplement as well. I think I could use the parts manual though so I could put some of the terms together with the bits. I restored a 48 Indian chief pratically from the parts manual!

There is a harbor freight near here, but my garage is filling up with tools! I might just have a machine shop fit the bushings when I get the thing apart and get the replacements. I would think putting the bushings in the freezer overnight would help though.

Thanks GL, I haven't seen the wheels yet so I don't know what they are. The current wheels look standard - not deep dish.

Since this truck hasn't run, I am not sure how bad the front end but I might as well do it all and then I wouldn't have to worry about it. It was towed over here.

If I can find parts info I will contact you about the king pins. I tried to get to the chevyduty web site, but it seems like its down right now.