The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop How to upgrade 65 front end?

Hi guys, Im new to the board. Glad I found yall! I've had this truck 20 yrs and have not done much to it. It is a 65 stepside, I think it was a 6-cyl 3-spd on the tree orig, but had a 72 350 ci and floor shifter when I bought it. I think I would like to update the front end, pwr steering & disc brakes. Also install auto trans & A/C. I've changed the rear end before, and tranny a couple of times, and pulled the motor twice. but I never attempted front end work. Im a working man, not a collector. therfore on a limited budget. Whats the best way to go, Is there a yr mod truck that I can swap my body over to without a lot of fabricating. I don't know if I would be exp. enough to try and weld a front clip on. And I've seen the ads in magizines for new front end parts, i think about $2k. I'm kind of lost, having never done any susp. work, except changing shocks & brakes. Any advice or feedback will be greatly appreciated.

That model has a good stout front end under it. You don,t need any wild changes. There is a kit available to put 67 up power steering on & kits available for disc brakes. The 71 up disc brakes fit with some minor changes but you wind up with 5 hole hubs. There are lowering spindles out there too but I like stock height. Do some research there is plenty of info out there & parts. Jack the front wheels up under the a-arms & shake & pull the wheels & watch for any looseness. Replace any worn parts & line it up good & you will have a great driving truck.

if you want to lower the truck,you can get dropped spindles for around 230 dollars that will drop it 2.5" and allow you to bolt on disc brakes from a 73-87 c10.the front suspension is almost the same from 1963-87 power steering too.this is what i did.you can buy six lug rotors too.

It depends on how deep your pockets are. If you're on a budget and are willing to switch to 5 lug, find a front crossmember with power steering on a 71-87. You will have to drill some new holes, but it's almost a bolt in swap. If you want to go 6 lug, here's a link. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=35042

Try Classic Performance Products. They have lots of options. I bought parts off a '67 disc brake donor (swapped whole front cross member). This was pretty simple too.

I agree with Fred T a 73 thru 87 C10 will work awesome on the 58 thru 66 and its a easy install I bought one to install on my 51 but my frame is almost 2" to narrow and was told that its a perfect set up on yours because the frame is the same width as the 73 - 87. just drill a few hole and bolt it in !
Good luck
Todd

Now I feel a lot better! I've got to thank you all again. A while back I picked up a 76 with a blown engine for $200 and was going to transfer the P/Steering and piece together the brakes onto the 64. The more I looked at it the more I was thinking that the whole subframe should be swappable! Seems like I was on the right track now after reading your thread. So I should be able to order a set of the 6 lug disc to match my rear end, well the truck's rear end.