Opinions on frontend swap

Suspension, Brakes, Tires, Wheels steeringetc..
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john67d100
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Opinions on frontend swap

Post by john67d100 »

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I posted a few years ago on my truck it's a 67 D100. My grandpa and me did a frame off restoration in 2000. The truck now has 38k actual miles at the time it was restored it had a little over 32k. We checked the king pins and they were like new and the rest of the suspension components were in excellent shape as well. The truck had been parked for many years when we bought it and we jumped right in to taking it apart. We did get the engine running but did not drive the truck before hand. The frame was sandblasted and painted the brakes were redone and new shocks installed. The rest of the front suspension was taken apart and cleaned and painted and reinstalled. After we put the truck back together and took it for a drive it was apparent that something was not right. It seemed to dart left or right when you hit an uneven spot in the road or a pothole. We checked everything and it seemed to be all tight except the steering box. It seemed to have a lot of play in it. I found a rebuilt box and swapped it out. That seemed to help some but didn't solve the problem. I know that it is not going to drive like a newer vehicle not having a swaybar and the manual steering. It just seems something isn't right. When you are on a two lane road and pass a car it makes you nervous. I have driven other straight axle trucks and they drove nothing like this. I have swapped tires and wheels had the frontend aligned and checked everything countless times. I guess the question I am wondering is do I swap out the axle for a newer one with the sway bar and replace the king pins and the rest of the frontend parts just for piece of mind. I have a 1987 front clip I cut off that could be an option also. I am open to suggestions. I really want to drive this thing more but it really is a hand full to drive.
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PwrWgnDrvr
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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

Post by PwrWgnDrvr »

Is that u in the pic helping grandpa with the resto? :lol:

Might try increasing the caster with shims under the leaf springs.

john67d100
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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

Post by john67d100 »

No, that's my nephew.

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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

Post by earlymopar »

john67d100 wrote:
img002 new.jpg
I posted a few years ago on my truck it's a 67 D100. My grandpa and me did a frame off restoration in 2000. The truck now has 38k actual miles at the time it was restored it had a little over 32k. We checked the king pins and they were like new and the rest of the suspension components were in excellent shape as well. The truck had been parked for many years when we bought it and we jumped right in to taking it apart. We did get the engine running but did not drive the truck before hand. The frame was sandblasted and painted the brakes were redone and new shocks installed. The rest of the front suspension was taken apart and cleaned and painted and reinstalled. After we put the truck back together and took it for a drive it was apparent that something was not right. It seemed to dart left or right when you hit an uneven spot in the road or a pothole. We checked everything and it seemed to be all tight except the steering box. It seemed to have a lot of play in it. I found a rebuilt box and swapped it out. That seemed to help some but didn't solve the problem. I know that it is not going to drive like a newer vehicle not having a swaybar and the manual steering. It just seems something isn't right. When you are on a two lane road and pass a car it makes you nervous. I have driven other straight axle trucks and they drove nothing like this. I have swapped tires and wheels had the frontend aligned and checked everything countless times. I guess the question I am wondering is do I swap out the axle for a newer one with the sway bar and replace the king pins and the rest of the frontend parts just for piece of mind. I have a 1987 front clip I cut off that could be an option also. I am open to suggestions. I really want to drive this thing more but it really is a hand full to drive.

Cosmetically, the truck sure looks nice. You mentioned that the kings pins were "like new". What about the king pin bushings and the overall slop (clearance) between the pins and bushings when assembled? If the bushings weren't replaced and either reamed or honed that is one possible problem area. Also, sometimes you have to put more load on things to accurately check them for wear or fit so if things were just checked after disassembly, you're not necessarily going to catch everything. The same is true with tie rod ends. Were those replaced? How about the drag link? You replaced the steering box but is it set correctly? I've been through all of these parts and assemblies when dialing in my truck but so have many others here and several members have and have had many Sweptlines so ask-away. - EM

john67d100
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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

Post by john67d100 »

I guess the big question is how do other peoples trucks drive? What I mean by that is rebuilding the original stuff the best way to go. The only other sweptline I have driven was a 1971 that we had and I don't remember it driving like this one. The best way to describe what I mean is when driving on a straight piece of road you are constantly steering the truck I may be exaggerating this but you are steering back and forth about 1/4 or more of a turn of the steering wheel both ways. I adjusted the rebuilt box when we put it on but that was about 7-8 years ago. It has not had very many miles put on it since.If you hit an uneven spot it gets worse. So do you rebuild what you have or cut your losses and go with the later axle or cut the frame and use a newer clip? I know that the newer clip is a big job and requires a lot of fab work. I can get a 69-up axle and redo the front with it but is it worth the effort or solve all the problems with the newer clip? I have seen the crown vic. swap but I don't care for the narrow trck width. I also saw the new bolt in crossmember kit avail. but didn't care for the price.

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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

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pm sent

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Txas2step
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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

Post by Txas2step »

That is a great looking truck. A correctly rebuilt manual gear box, ball bearing king pins, good drag link,new tie rod ends, new leaf spring bushings and you have an excellent riding sweptline. I did all that to my '61 shorty and it was easy driving. I see Bud Thorp( powerwagon54) sent you a PM. He is the master at rebuilding the steering box as well as an excellent source for parts and knowledge on these trucks. :2cents :Thumbsup
61 shorty 170/ 3spd 3:91(sold)
66 lwb 318 poly/727/4:10 (sold)
67 shorty 318poly/4spd 3:55
68 ute 318/3 spd/3:55(sold)
70 318/727/3:23
66 d200 225/4spd/4:10( military)(sold)
68 d100 383/727/3:55

john67d100
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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

Post by john67d100 »

I really like your trucks Txas2step I guess you answered my question. I have been in the car business most of my life and my Grandpa and me have worked on lots of trucks over the years but this is the oldest Dodge we have done. I had the only one on the road around where we live for years. Sweptlines aren't a hot item around here. The truck is a slant 6 and it had a 3spd on the column originally. I swapped it out 8-9 yrs. ago for a 727 and a 68 auto column. I am ready to make it drive better and really want a V8 and A/C. I have a 69 383 I want to put in the truck if I can get it driving better.

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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

Post by earlymopar »

john67d100 wrote:I really like your trucks Txas2step I guess you answered my question. I have been in the car business most of my life and my Grandpa and me have worked on lots of trucks over the years but this is the oldest Dodge we have done. I had the only one on the road around where we live for years. Sweptlines aren't a hot item around here. The truck is a slant 6 and it had a 3spd on the column originally. I swapped it out 8-9 yrs. ago for a 727 and a 68 auto column. I am ready to make it drive better and really want a V8 and A/C. I have a 69 383 I want to put in the truck if I can get it driving better.
My 65 Series I drove just as you describe yours does when I got it (also slant 6 with 3-speed). I rebuilt the steering box, bought an NOS drag link off of Ebay, replaced the kingpin bushings and had them honed to size, replaced the tie rod ends, added urethane leaf spring bushings, replaced the steering "Rag" joint, replaced the tires, wheel bearings, etc. It drives great and no longer wanders down the road. Steering effort feels like it has power steering. I suspect you're not too far away from being at the same result and it's just a matter of some further inspection and testing to find the culprit/s.

- EM

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Re: Opinions on frontend swap

Post by Conrad »

I've been reading reading reading and what's obvious to me now is that if you have independent front suspension, you could have a badly misbehaving passenger ___ and you may not even notice it. I bet on a solid axle truck on a country road with uneven pavement you'd have your hands full with a loose passenger wheel bearing.

I'm assuming all your components are fine, and you have radials on all fours, and are using oil-filled shocks that have proper travel. Set your toe-in to 1/4" and see if that makes a difference, if it does back it off a little.

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