The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks 62 Front Coil Springs, worth the swap?

Seems the tech Tips section is down for some of that information so my question stands as is. Is it worth the trouble to switch the front suspension from Torsion bars to Coils? Pro's and Con's? Any info is appreciated

You'll get lots of opinions. Mine is that it's a COMPLETE waste of time and money. The torsion bar suspension is superior in ride to anything else out there. Go drive a restored example of each and let me know how they do. The only reason to switch out is to get disc brake kits to fit easier. And that is also a waste of time and money in my opinion. You can get great results from high quality brake shoes and proper repair of the brake system.
Some components from torsion bar systems are more expensive that coil spring frontend counterparts. But those parts are still less money that throwing out the whole system and replacing it with another.
You could always go and buy a '63 if it makes you feel better. Anyway, that's just my opinion. There will be others.

I did the crossmember swap on my 1960 GMC back in 1997 specifically to get rid of the ball bearing front wheel bearings. When these trucks were new ball bearings were the industry standard and cost about $5 per side for both inners and outers. Now they are closer to $100 per side and made of inferior materials and don’t last as long.

What I didn’t know at the time is that the hubs can be changed to 1962-63 hubs (I’m not sure which) that came with tapered roller bearings to begin with. For a locally driven truck, there’s nothing wrong with the original suspension. As K10 points out, the parts are more expensive but the ride quality is superior, and adjustable. And once everything is replaced it will probably last another 40 years before needing attention.

My truck is a hot rod and I wanted 5 lug wheels, so the disc brake swap was the way to go. It was also a long distance freeway daily commuter, and I wanted the benefit of the disc brakes. The only real advantage beyond the improved braking is if you want to lower your truck. There are far more options available in the aftermarket for the coil spring suspension. Many owners with t-bar suspensions simply back off the adjuster bolts to lower the front end, but if done to excess the adjuster arms themselves hang down far enough to be a road hazard.

Should you choose to do the swap, here are a couple of links that show how I did mine. The first link is the suspension swap and the second pertains to engine and transmission mounts. You can click on the photos to see them in a larger format:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=366850&highlight=front+suspension

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=369663&highlight=front+suspension

I swapped out my OE 61 torsion bar frontend to a OE 63 because the cost to rebuild the 61 was over twice the cost to rebuild the 63. Plus, i like the idea of roller bearings over ball bearings as Mark pointed out. The swap itself did not cost me anything, The complete 63 front end was given to me and you could probably find a similar deal if you look around. I even have a extra complete OE 66 front end you could have for free if you were closer.

Swap it. The torsion bars are old school on old trucks.You can't get parts or up date brakes or bearings.You also can't lower the truck for a short time without a lot of work.

Thanks for the info,as far as i know the suspension isnt in all that bad of shape, to update, or restore the t-bar setup does everything have to be replaced or can parts be freshened up? Also Mark what did you use for the rear end for 5 lugs?

Only the worn parts need replacement,. After nearly 50 years the ball joints, tie rod ends, and idler arm probably need replacement. And as long as it's apart new control arm bushings are probably in order. An advantage of the later design is the rubber control arm bushings. They are more comfortable and much easier to replace. Some of the 60-62 parts can be hard to find and cost an unbelievable amount compared to the 73-87 items. But once replaced they'll no doubt last another 50 years or more, especially since collector trucks aren't beat on like these trucks were when new.

My 1960 GMC came with a Dana 44 rear axle. Since these remain very popular with the 4 wheel drive crowd I didn't want to change it. I had the axle flanges redrilled to 5x5, the locating stub turned down to match the smaller hole in the center of the late drums, and slipped on the later 5 lug finned drums. Should you decide to go this route, be careful shopping for drums. There are a variety of drums shown for the same applications, many with different dimensions. Make sure the spacing from the inside mounting surface to the back of the braking surface is the same as your original drums and they’ll fit like a glove. The fins make the drums look much larger but the internal braking surfaces are the same I believe all the way back to 1951. The later drums offer the advantage of extending the fins completely beyond the back surface of the backing plates. This cuts down on the amount of dirt and crud that can find its way into the brakes.

I'm not sure which ratio i currently have in the rear-end, havnt had the time lately to really check. What i do know is the truck is just the 305 big 6 with the 3-on-the-tree gear box, and seemingly a base model truck. What kind of options do i have for a posi rear-end? Really going for a close-to-factory street rod i can use for a daily driver, curious as what route would be best to go with on maybe a 5-6k budget over next couple years and majority of work done myself.

First priority on the rear axle is to determine what you have. Being a GMC it is likely a Dana 44. This link will help with identification:

http://coloradok5.com/axleguide.shtml

If you do in fact have a Dana 44, just do a Google search on “Dana 44 limited slip” and you’ll find pages of information on what’s available.

There are many aficionados of the V6. If you check in on the Jolly GMC site you’ll likely get a great deal of advice to keep the stock drive train. If you want to restore the truck, I would highly recommend joining their forum.

http://www.6066gmcguy.org/

The GMC V6 truly is one of the most over engineered engines ever developed. It is a torque monster built to last for hundreds of thousands of miles. It’s also very heavy (I believe over 850 pounds) and gets rather poor gas mileage. Many owners upgrade to a 2 barrel Holley carburetor for improved performance and ease of tuning. A complete rebuild will likely cost well over $3,000 and some of the parts are hard to find.

IMHO none of these points necessarily make it a good choice for a daily driver. These issues are what convinced me to swap to a small block Chevy almost 20 years ago. Chevy parts are dirt cheap and readily available, the finished vehicle accelerates faster and gets much better mileage. And the extensive aftermarket offers many affordable options from alternator brackets to intake and exhaust manifolds.

I’d suggest before turning a wrench, spend a generous amount of time analyzing how you want to use the truck when it’s finished, and if you would gain more pleasure from a pure stock fully restored truck or a street rod. That should help decide the correct path.

Thanks for the input Mark, I'm definetly going more HotRod path, as I already have a running sbc crate motor just waiting to go into the truck, mainly just for the mileage since it's going to be my daily driver. One question i do have is what parts can i swap from an 85 Monte Carlo? Have an entire running car that is donating the motor, and if possible anything else before getting scrapped for the metal value. I'd love to use its rear axle since its a limited slip 3.73, but I'm unsure if its as wide as the stock axle on the truck, or if the front suspension could be used.

Hopefully other members will provide their opinions so you're not just listening to my input, but unless you’re an experienced fabricator, I’d suggest the most useful Monte Carlo components are:

• Engine with all accessories
• Transmission if it’s a type you want
• Driveshaft (which may need modification)
• Intermediate steering shaft (between the bottom of the steering column and the steering box – should you choose to upgrade to power steering you may be able to use this part).
• All the light bulbs and electrical components including the brake light switch.
• The steering column is a matter of choice. If it’s clunky and ugly you may not want it in your classic truck, although many do use these newer style columns.

Theoretically you can also use the entire wiring harness out of the car. I did this long ago transferring every piece of wiring and bulb socket from a Nova to a 46 Ford. In the end I was sorry I wasted so much effort. I spent as much money buying spools of inferior wire at the parts store to splice it all together as it would have cost for a decent aftermarket kit, so I don’t recommend it.

Unless there is something wrong with your rear axle, if the truck turns out to have a Dana I would rather keep that than swap to something else. The Monte rear axle could be used if the wheel mounting surface to mounting surface is close to the original truck width. If it’s narrower this could be compensated by custom wheel offset, and might allow for deeper wheels. Swapping axles will require stripping all the brackets and welding on new perches. I think CPP or Early Classics may sell the correct perches with the angles engineered in. You need to find someone that knows what they’re doing to weld on the new mounts so the housing does not warp causing bearing problems in the future.

A front suspension swap to a 73-87 would be far easier than trying to use the Monte Carlo. Again, if you’re an experienced fabricator, the truck could be sub-framed by cutting off the front of the Monte at the firewall, and welding it to the front of the truck frame. This is effective, particularly if you want to substantially lower the truck. But I’ve also seen many street rods ruined when this wasn’t done correctly. You’d need to do a lot of measuring to see if the two frames are close enough dimensionally to make this practical. For me, I would rather do something I can bolt together than trust the results of cutting my frame in half.

Which is why I purchased my '53 for so few dollars and now it sits on a later year frame.......

Very informative thread , although this is my third " old "truck it is the first with coil springs . Perhaps it is because its younger than I am.