RE: [ihc] Slight lift to older Travelall

["John M. Adams" <jma@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mac @ TRIAD [mailto:mac@domain.elided]
> Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 10:05 PM
> To: jma@domain.elided; ihc@domain.elided
> Subject: RE: [ihc] Slight lift to older Travelall
>
> i just went out and measured for you.  the rear axle appears to be pretty
> well centred on the springs, but the front...  is not.  measuring from the
> centre of the spring mount bolt up front to the leading outside axle tube
> edge, i get about 22-1/2" or so.  from the rear shackle bolt to
> the trailing
> outside axle tube edge, i get 17-1/2".  so the front axle is closer to the
> rear of the spring than to the front of the spring.  this is
> probably a very
> important bit of information to have (i did not know it wasn't
> centred), but
> what effect this has on which axles and springs you can use, i do
> not know.

Ok, so that's like my '67, and with Allan's assurances, I've stopped
worrying about that one.

> mostly i was just concerned with axle swaps between similar model trucks.
> my intention was to recommend upgrading your springs and axles to
> those from
> a similar year/series truck as what you have.  see if maybe the
> springs (and
> axles) from a '66 series A through '68 series C 1200 would fit your 1100.
> you'd get the lift you want and better springs out of it.  it is possible
> that other year/series springs and/or axles will fit your truck
> as a direct
> swap/bolt-in, but that seems like it might be a bit more complicated than
> simply finding a donor of a similar year and series to what you already
> have.

One of the things I'm wanting to do with the swap is improve my steering
radius. So sticking with the 60s trucks is likely not worth the trouble - I
would only get the extra height and capacity. I'm getting from Allan and
other posters that a 1210 or 200 front end will bolt right in to my '67. So
that's what I'll look for if I do the swap. If I can't find a donor right
away, I will likely follow Tom's tip about the Chevy lift kit in front, and
taller blocks in back.

> as Allan E pointed out, there really is no compelling reason to change the
> axles if you don't have to.  just changing the springs should be enough to
> suit your purposes.  the heavier axles might be nice, but finding brake
> components for the heavier stuff seems to be getting more and
> more difficult
> as time goes on.  my axles are from the same era as the 1110 ('69 to '73),
> and i'm told that finding replacement drums for my 12"x3" drums front and
> rear is going to be very difficult if not impossible if/when they
> wear out.

This is a good point, though I'm not sure how easily I could find
replacements for my own drums at this point. Add to that the fact that I
just replaced the R&P in my rear, and there's a compelling reason NOT to
swap. Except for the steering... I might have to do some serious mixing and
matching here...

> the closest i've come to the kind of swap you're talking about is
> taking the
> rear hardware from a '66 1500A and putting it under a '60 B122.  i believe
> there were more changes and differences in the '74/'75 years compared to
> every preceding year than any other model change, so you may have more
> difficulty adapting those parts to your truck than working with '69-'73 or
> even older hardware.  again, i'd say your best and safest bet is
> going with
> a '66 through '68 1200 for your donor.  maybe others can tell you
> how to do
> it with a later truck.
>
> and finally, in answer to an earlier question, i believe it was 1968/1969
> that the change was made to 8-lug in the 1200 and 1300 model trucks.  i'm
> looking through my Crismon book, and all the 1200s and 1300s for 1967 and
> earlier have six lugs, whereas in 1969 they show 8 lugs.  the pictures for
> 1968 are inconclusive, as i'm having trouble getting a good look to see
> whether they are 6 or 8 lugs (look like 6, but i'm not positive).  if
> current information is correct, there is almost no hardware left available
> in that older six-lug pattern anymore.  i am do not know, but others can
> tell you how easy or possible it is to convert those older 6-lug axles to
> 8-lug and/or convert from drum to disk brakes (here we go, opening another
> can of worms).

I think I will just avoid the 6 lug altogether, so you can keep your worms!

Thanks, -John A.

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