The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline five lug conversion

I just bought a 66c10 project truck that has been changed to five lug. Also it has been changed from coil springs to leaf springs in the rear. I would like to go back to coils. Can I remove the axles and backing plate and drums and put them in a regular 66 rearend?

It'll depend on what the rearend that is in it now is. If it's a Truck 10 or 12 bolt, the axles shafts can be swapped (no need to change the backing plates, they are the same), but they will require shortening and regrooving for the C lock as the '70 and earlier axle housings are slighly narrower. I beleive the amount they need shortened is about 3/4".

It is a 12 bolt now with the leaf perches on top. Not sure what year. What do you thing about the leaf conversion? It looks fairly good but Not stock

Doesent anybody talk on this forum???

Sorry, meant to get back with you on this. I guess the question would be; Are the factory mounts still there for the coil spring suspension? There should be a pair of spring pockets, two mounting points for the trailing arms, and a Panhard rod mount. If they're all still present, swapping the stock style suspension back in should be realtively easy. If not, you may have to track down some parts. I beleive the trialing arms are avaialbe new, as they're more or less the same as what you'll find under a Nascar stock car.

Yes the two mounting points are still there. I would change back to the orginal if the five lug axles would work. It has the disk brake set up on the front.

You can probably get away with getting the control arms and Panhard rod, plus the springs, then add the mounting pad to the axle that's already in the truck. That would save some work and cost. Just took a look, there are a few sets of the trialing arms on ebay, right around the $200 mark, and it looks that the Panhard rod is available new for around $125. I also saw a tubuar set of of trialing arms, a bit pricey though.

Thanks sounds like a plan to me. I am going to restore this truck as soon as I get done with my 79 bronco. I found the protect o plate in the glove box today. I could not believe it. Cant wait to start the re build.