Suspension Upgrade '66

Today on trucks, Stace and I put the woe in our classic 66 pick up with a front disc brake upgrade while we're

at it, we'll help it handle the corners by Bolton on a brand new suspension kit. Then it's time for a little Viva Las Vegas as we take you for a tour of the 33rd annual

Sema Show in the City of Lights. After that, it's back to the shop to fit big orange with a roll bar and lamps for those nighttime trail rides. That's all today on trucks.

Hello, everybody and welcome to this week's show for all of you guys who drive older trucks. Probably notice they tend to have more go than well, our old 66. So it definitely falls into that category. So we're gonna put a stop to that problem with a front disc brake upgrade.

But first, we're gonna get a handle on things by upgrading the suspension.

That way we can drive down the freeway at speed without feeling like we're driving the Titanic.

We're gonna use the kit from brothers custom truck parts that includes two inch drop spindles that'll lower our center of gravity improving handling and road manners. The kit also comes with tie rod ends, gas shocks, new coil springs, as well as upper and lower ball joints.

And once you have the wheels off, remove the stock drums,

the hub and bearings

followed by the brake hardware

before we can take off this backing plate, we need to disconnect the break hose.

Here's a tip, put a vacuum cap over your hard line to keep the brake fluid from running all over the place.

The last thing we need to do is remove these nasty old shocks.

So,

you know, it's a good idea when working on older trucks to make sure you clean up the suspension from all the grease and grind that builds up over time. A few quarters at the local car wash usually does the trick.

Yeah, if you think it looks bad now, you should have seen it before. I uh

rated Mill's piggy bank.

Now it's time to put a jack under the lower A R to compress the spring.

Then you can loosen the ball joint nuts and WP the spindle with a hammer to free up the ball joint.

The beatings will continue by using a pickle fork to separate the tie rod ends from the steering linkage.

Now, you can pull the spindle, then you'll need to lower the jack to get the spring loose.

Now, as you can see somebody put an aftermarket spacer in the springs to keep him from sagging, but these old boys are ready for the scrap heap.

As you can see, there's a major difference between the old stock spindle and the new one.

And look at this,

the tie rod arm is built right to the spindle for extra strength

and this of course holds a disc brake caliper. Now I've gone ahead and sprayed everything with Eastwood's chassis black to prevent rust. When you assemble your inner and outer tie rod ends, use the stock assembly as a gauge to get the alignment close enough so you can drive it to an alignment shop when you're finished.

Now, this is where a lot of how tours get scared, but this is where you can really save some money.

The stock ball joints are riveted in, just grind the heads off,

knock the joints out, then you can bolt. The new ones on.

The lower ball joints are a little different because they need to be pressed out.

If you don't have a press, take your lower a arm to a parts store and they'll pop them out for about 10 bucks.

Hey, Mel, if you're about done with those a arms, we can put in the spring and spindles. Let's do it, man.

What about yourself? There? Gotta get that jack in

there.

Ok.

Here you go, you

got

it. Go ahead.

That's good.

Well, now that everything's bolted down, you can go ahead and grease the ball joints.

You've got enough once the rubber caps. Start to pooch out.

Hey, Mel, don't put the grease gun away. You need to hit these tie rod ends. Once I get them cranked down, you got it, man.

And just by looking at this new hardware, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see we're gonna have a much better handling truck without losing the cool factor of the old 66. But remember, the suspension is only part of this project. We're also gonna bring our classic right in the nineties with a power front disc brake upgrade. But before we do, we need to take a break ourselves. Stay with us. We'll be back with more trucks right after this.

Later in the show, it's off to Las Vegas for a look at some of the hottest trucks on the planet. But now that our classic 66 will handle like a late model pickup, we need to be able to slow it down like one too

that front disc brake upgrades

up next.

Welcome back to the shop. Now that we have a new suspension, there's no way we're gonna put these nasty old drums back on. These are history. Speaking of history, older trucks are notorious for bad bricks, but brothers custom truck parts took care of that problem with their full disc brake kit

that includes rotors, calipers and pads, hoses as well as a power booster and master cylinder. And the really cool thing about this kid is that it uses late model stock, Chevy truck parts. So if you need to replace them, all you have to do is go to your local parts store.

Now, all new rotors are coated with a rust inhibitor that needs to be removed with a suitable cleaner.

You also need to pack the new bearings. I like to use this neat tool from the Eastwood company, then tap in a new seal before you slide them on.

Now, when you tighten down your outer nut, you want to put some preload on it,

so tighten it until you feel a noticeable amount of drag.

Now, the real drag is going to come from the calipers that hold the semi metallic paths.

Once you have them in place, connect the new brake hoses.

Any time you put on a new master cylinder, you need a bench bleed at first to get the air out of the cylinder. Now, I've unbolted the proportioning valve and I'm using the lines supplied with the kit.

We've lowered the truck so we can pull the old single master cylinder off that doesn't have near the volume as our upgrade. First thing you need to do is unhook the brake line,

disconnect the arm from the brake pedal and unbolt it from the firewall.

That about sums it up, doesn't it? I think so, man,

not the new master is a piece of cake. You just slide it into place

and line up these bottom holes with those in the firewall,

make a mark for the top holes and drill them out.

Once you've done that, it bolts right in

inside the cab mark and drill the brake pedal arm, make sure to watch your angle for clearance. So it doesn't bind.

Now, chances are you'll need to bend some brake lines, but don't get nervous. It's very simple.

This original line ran all four brakes. Now it's just gonna run the rear

for the front brakes. We'll use all new lines. Now, a cool trick is to use a coat hanger as a template for the proper length and angle of your lines.

For tight bends, use a tubing bender to keep from collapsing the line. Now, in gradual bends, a set of fingers will do just fine.

It's important when doing breaks to use a double flare because a single flare won't seal well enough to keep from leaking.

We're ready to run these lines.

It's all yours, man. Thanks, dude.

Now, don't forget the fittings are a soft brass, so don't over tighten them or you could strip them,

add brake fluid, bleed the brakes and you're ready to pull in the rings.

Now, since we had to put new wheels and tires on our old Chevy and Dunlop just reissued their GT qualifiers as well.

Who can resist that?

Add to that smoothies and baby moons that we got from Hunter's Custom Automotive in Nashville and we're ready to rock and roll.

Hey, stays before we hit the strip. I think we better consider some paint body work on this old. I do believe it's time.

Listen, don't go away. We'll be back with more trucks right after the break. I'll tell you what. It really dropped it down. Nice. Looks

good. So, what color should we paint it?

Black, black. Come on

up next on trucks. We'll take you for a tour of the largest aftermarket trade show in the country. It's the 33rd annual S

A show in the city of lights.

We tie the racing technology in together with that oe experience

and create the best,

most easily installed, most efficient product on the market and then put the image around it to bring it to the customer.

The

consumer today is looking to personalize the vehicle.

The vehicles are a lot more around. It means you have to style each piece to work directly with that particular vehicle.

Welcome to the 33rd annual specialty equipment market Association show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

S

is the largest trade show of its kind in the United States and its 3400 worldwide members are advocates for the industry players that provide today's drivers with the aftermarket products that will turn their vehicle into a one of a kind creation.

The consumer doesn't always know what all the options are and what we're trying to do at London is get that exposure out there so they know they can take a good looking truck and make it look a little better with a few pieces and that's what we're all about.

We've got a complete package of new image products as well as new performance products, both exhaust and ride control. We're trying to put this whole thing as a package together, not just a system of parts but a whole look, a whole image tied together with our racing program and, and we really got all the bases covered here this year.

Now, there's no doubt you'll see plenty of cool street rod and custom cars at

SA but Stace and I made the trip to check out what's hot in the light truck and off road market

since we spend so much time in the dirt ourselves and have a serious need for speed. We couldn't pass this up.

This truck is the 9697 short course four by four world champion

and it's fitted with the new 98 F 150 body style.

It's running a 4, 40 cubic inch Ford SBO V8 that's kicking out 780 horsepower and 750 ft pounds of torque.

Dymax race series header

and exhaust. Put the scream to this machine,

Rancho Suspension collaborated with Douglas Motorsports to custom build the entire suspension

for ripping across the desert in relative safety. There's a full roll cage, five point racing belts

and the radiator is beside the driver because you can't finish the race without either one of those.

Well, from off road to down the road trucks have been a part of drag racing since Bill Golden slapped the

hemi

in his little red wagon and started popping wheelies.

This team

Mopar Dodges dominating the new N hr A pro stock truck class with numerous first place finishes. The motivation for this missile is a 358 wedge head Dodge V8 by Patterson racing.

It also runs dual hauling cars. A custom made intake headers and exhaust that pump out over 900 horsepower

shifting gears is a G force five speed through an ace clutch. Finally, we end at the strange engineering rear end that allows this truck to chew up the quarter in just under 180 miles an hour.

Now it's time to put it into crews and people are always saying it's a jungle out there, but

leave it to a sport trucker to build the ultimate street for all

this rolling masterpiece was born in 99 Chevy Silverado. Then they added 20 inch billet, specialties wheels and mi

and tires

DGM suspension dropped the front five inches in the rear seven

and a stole grill puts teeth in the front.

The paint is an amazing house of colors. Five tone fade

with a cool leopard flame stripe that changes to a custom scallop.

The interior is a custom stitch matching leopard and leather that'll have you purring down the boulevard.

How about from one extreme to the other. This 99 Silverado is a concept truck that Tonk is going to make into a toy and

with an 18 inch lift, nobody's going to have to worry about a high lift to change the oil. This thing rolls on 44 inch swampers and custom made weld wheels

supplied the front and rear bumpers as well as the roll bar and it will be hell a

lamp shining bright at night. Sickens paint washed this beast in a red, orange to yellow fade. But the thing that really jumps out is every little boy's favorite name and that's Tonka. But as far as we're concerned, it's the hook that dangles from a super winch that screams, take me out to play.

Uh, trucks are great but what happens when you want to take a bunch of friends and a dog up, Mount Everest Ford might have the answer with the Himalaya concept vehicle.

This is a rugged go anywhere SUV that's based on the expedition

but continues to roll with a four inch lift worn winches, front rear and a totally unique front bumper brush guard combination.

The interior sports four recaro

buckets and the whole roof is a sliding cloth panel to let the sun in

or keep the rain out.

The rear has a small pickup area for storing camping supplies, gear or even a wet dog or two.

Of course,

sa is best known as a showcase for all the cool aftermarket add ons that are out there in the weeks to come. We'll feature some of the products that really caught our eyes. Don't go away. We got more trucks for you right after the break

up. Next on trucks, we'll pick Big orange with a roll bar and lamps to help show us the way after dark.

Welcome back to the shop just last week, we gave Big Orange here some extra bite with a locker and some ground grab and rubber. But let's face it a truck like this just isn't complete without a big old roll bar. And since we've always loved the look of Smitty built, we've decided to use their black double tube roll bar.

Now, I'm putting together the front main bar using the two side bars, the spreader bar and this plastic insert

slide in the five inch bolt to hold it together,

the rear goes together just like the front. Did you wanna make sure on the center bar that the four holes for the light tabs are facing upward and forward.

Next, take the little socket, put it between the two bars and push the two bars together.

Now, tighten the bolt just enough

to hold everything together so it doesn't fall apart on you.

And once you get the other side done,

you need to roll everything upside down.

Once you have it upside down, put on the base plates with the flathead bolts that come with the kit. Now you're ready to set it in the truck.

This way, you can mount the connectors and slide on the side bars

next square up the bar in the bed of the truck. Major tip, make sure there's no fuel lines or electrical wires in the way

before you drill your holes or you might be in for a nasty surprise.

Bolt it down.

Oh, yeah. And don't forget to tighten everything else up

since we like to blaze trails at night. These Casey day lighters we got from Ch

Ch Customs will help show us the way

installations of breeze. Just mount the bracket to the bar and bolt them on.

I've already mounted the bracket for the light switch and it's a simple three wire hook up. You have a ground, a

constant power

and an auxiliary power.

Well, Stacey is working on the electrical, I pulled the old battery so we can upgrade to this equalizer. That's got plenty of amps for those big old lamps. Not to mention it's much more durable for banging around off road.

Here's a tip,

use a little lock tight on the threads to keep the bolt from backing off.

As you can see somebody bent up these bars on some big old rocks. Mel it wasn't rocks, dude. Dang Hugo. Got my way. So what we're gonna do

is put on a brand new set?

Oh man. Big orange is looking awful stout. Now, why don't you kick on those lamps? Stace.

Oh,

yeah, just like the sun rising,

but the sun hasn't set on this show yet. Stay with us. We'll be back with truck gear right after the break

and now truck gear, parts, tools and equipment for pickups and sport utilities.

Welcome back, everyone. It's time for this week's truck gear up first is something that should really pique the interest of anyone who uses their truck for towing. It's the quick and easy receiver hitch by DM I,

it exceeds class four certification and the springs allow up to four inches of travel forward and backward, reducing wear and tear on your brakes, differential and transmission under a load.

It also extends seven inches from the frame and swings 12 inches from side to side for easy one person hook up for about $500. You'll never miss a hitch again with quick and easy from DM. I.

Now here's an item from Edelbrock that nobody should be without. It's called Power Bond. It's a non adhesive rubber tape

that bonds to itself to form a solid piece of rubber. Now, to apply it, simply stretch it out

and wrap it around the piece that you're fixing.

This stuff shrinks just a little bit to provide an airtight, waterproof seal on wet, dry and even greasy surfaces.

You can use this for emergency repairs on hoses, fan belts and it's UL listed. So you can even do electrical repairs

for about 10 bucks a roll. Power bond is pretty cheap insurance. Pretty cheap indeed. That's gonna do it for this week's truck here. Let's take a look at what station I have for you on next week's show,

Stacey and I begin the first of a three week series that'll turn Chevy's extreme S 10 into a muscle

bound sport truck wheel to wheel, supplies the kit and we'll supply the shoehorn that'll stuff a donor lt one under the hood. After that, we take you for a ride in the 99 Tahoe Z 71 before putting brand new boards in a 48 Ford. That's all next week on trucks.

Well, that's gonna do it for this week's show. We'll catch you next week. But where'd you get all the quarters to do that suspension? Man? Found them,

found them.

Yeah, I was going through my pants and the laundry and found quarters.

You don't know anything about that piggy bank.

I know what that means to you, man. I'm gonna mess with your piggy bank.

Had that piggy bank since I was like six. I know it was really cool, man.

It was really cool. Well, I've seen it around.

You just said you hadn't seen it. Well, it's been a while since I've seen it, but I've seen it. I mean, you've had it here.

Trust me. I wouldn't do anything in your p

swear if you messed up that.

All right,

I'm gonna trust you

every time. I trust you. Though something bad happens to me.

Like what, like Exor missing out of the truck getting,

you know, a

prisoner in a tael

cover. I don't know, man.

All right.

Trucks is an RTM production.