The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun '60-62 C20/30 Crossmember swap, keep drum brakes?

Hi,
I was wanting to use a 71-72 crossmember and suspension since many parts are used into the 80's.
It looks like there were no front drum brakes on 71 and 72 C20 or 30 trucks?
(or no one makes the parts any more)
Is there a way I can use my original 61 brakes or will I have to use a 63-70 front end?
I want to use drums to keep the old appearance vs. obvious late model look of discs when I (and others) peek underneath.
Thanks
Pete

I think your best bet would be to use a '63 to '70 IFS. Or maybe you can use a '71 to '87 IFS and swap to the drum brake spindles from an earlier truck.

OldSub,
I was coming to that conclusion myself.
I guess the only good news is that most people look for C10s, so maybe I'll find a C30 stripped of body parts for cheap.
btw: Were 8 lug wheels optional on C20s?
Thought I've seen both 6 and 8 lug 3/4 ton trucks.
If I find a C20 with 8 lug wheels, it's just as good as a C30? (for the xmember and suspension)

Thanks
Pete

C20's are all 8-lug. The 3/4-ton trucks that have six lugs are all different models.

You might want to do some part number checking. The one year I've researched was a disk brake model, but on it it seems all the front suspension part numbers were the same on both 3/4- and 1-ton trucks.

All the earlier 1-tons I've seen converted to IFS using this suspension used a 3/4-ton instead of a 1-ton.

Well I now have a 67 3/4 ton front end to do my crossmember swap into the 61 C30 Panel truck. Needs the usual cleaning and painting and I'll have to see how good the working parts are.
Since I'll be removing the whole front crossmember and the crossmember for the bellhousing mounts is already loose I was wondering about structural integrity.
This is an assembled truck minus drivetrain.
Seems pretty obvious I should leave torsion bar mount in place for now.
I could bolt the B/H crossmember back in.
Maybe a temporary support so body weight doesn't move front of frame around?
Any thoughts?
Thanks
Pete

I'm not real familiar with the structure of the torsion bar frames, so I don't have a good sense for how much it might move. If you feel its at all loose then yes I'd suggest putting in some supports before taking it apart.

The later frames seem pretty stiff to me, and I would not be worried about one of those while making a crossmember swap.

OldSub
This truck being it's a 1 ton doesn't have the X-member like the 1/2 tons.
I think it's called a ladder style frame.
I bought a 69 auto trans crossmember off eBay because the measurements seller took seem to be pretty darn close to bolting right into my 61's frame.
(My drivetrain is a 2 speed O/D bolted in front of an SM465 w/ parking brake.
It's longer than OEM and would have run into torsion bar crossmember. Nobody thinks I should hang all that off the bellhousing - so the truck gets a trans crossmember.)
I think bolting the bellhousing/motormount crossmember back in temporarily is probably good enough.

Thanks
Pete

I've heard of an OD that goes in front of a SM420 but not an SM465. Is this the same thing?

I agree putting the bellhousing crossmember back in is probably a good idea.

What kind of front mounting are you going to use? The '61 type really needs the bellhousing crossmember to keep the motor standing up straight. Are you converting to side mounts?

Yes, same OD unit, see:
http://advanceadapters.com/product/1941/760002M-27.html
Note: It's cheaper to order through Summit.
I'm using side mounts from a mid 60's Chevy.
Saw somewhere to bolt mounts to engine and after it's all lined up mark holes on frame.

I didn't realize that unit was still available and for so many different transmissions. Advance Adapters says shipping will be delayed till March and Summit says December 11. It makes an interesting alternative to something like a Gear Vendors and at about half the money.

Sounds like you're already on track with the engine mounts. That approach should work fine provided the motor you are using supports side mounts.

What motor are you using?

Yeah, I got scared off by the price of the Gear Vendors unit for sure.
I think the wait was around three weeks when I ordered the Advance Adaptors unit.

I have a C30 Panel, so I want more work truck than street rod.
Really, the idea of twin sticks for two trannies seems pretty cool too.
It's getting a 292 so side mounts are pretty easy for that frame.
I'm thinking the holes that are already in the 67 crossmember should give the proper location for the mounts.

Pete

I agree. I don't know what the 292 mounts look like but if they are anything like the V-8 mounts on a '72 they will bolt to the crossmember and the top of the frame. If your 292 mounts are from a '67 it should be straight-forward to use the mounts to determine where the holes in the frame need to be.

I'm pretty sure the 292 mounts are not the same as the V-8 mounts since the 292 has staggered mounts. But the design is probably similar.