1979 Chevy Pickup Suspension - Father Knows Best

If you're doing a similar job on a vehicle that's had little or no maintenance, remove scale and corrosion from the bushing shaft with a wire wheel or at least, a handheld wire brush.

Since this truck had original ball joints, Jason got a grinding disc to remove the old joint's attaching rivets. He ground down the heads of the rivets, and drove the shanks out with a hammer and punch.

Next, a little mild persuasion was necessary to separate the ball joint from its 25-year resting place.

The new PST ball joints simply bolt in place. Just be careful not to damage the grease boots while you're working.

The new bushings were driven in place, making sure they were seated far enough into the control arms. As a word of caution, these bushings can be pressed in, if you have access to a standard shop press. However, we're not in the habit of doing them on a regular basis, and don't have all the correct fixtures to secure the arms and line everything up. You'll find that control arms are awkward to keep steady (and properly aligned).

With the rebuilt upper control arm bolted in place, the spring and new PST spindle came next.

Always use your old tie rods for length reference when assembling the new ones. Set your new assembly as close to the original length as possible, that way, the front end won't be too far out of whack when you drive it to the alignment shop.

The caliper assemblies bolt right to the previously installed brackets, and your new brake lines are a snap to swap out, as well.

PST's G-Max front sway bar adds a great deal more control and stability, and requires just a slight amount of work to bolt in place of the smaller-diameter original.

Moving on to the back, you can easily see that this truck had a long-standing problem with leaking rearend fluid. You may also notice this one sports a heavy-duty rear axle package, so it's equipped with a Dana rear, even though it's only a 10-Series truck. On either side of the center section there's a factory weld that mates the actual center housing to the axle tubes. Somehow (like abuse maybe?), both welds were cracked, and gear oil leaked like crazy. Speaking of crazy, somebody tried to epoxy the welds-didn't work too well, though.

And finally, you'll remove the axle's "C-clip," and ultimately, slide the axle out. The old brake backing plate will be your last obstacle before installing the new PST rear disc conversion package.

It's not a bad idea to replace the axle seals. They're not supplied, but easy to change, and you'll appreciate the peace of mind.

Your rear calipers feature a single 45mm piston, and integral parking brake assembly. Once they're tightened to the mounting brackets, all that remains are your fluid lines.

The U-bolts securing the springs to the rear axle will likely take the most muscle to remove. But, a long, half-inch breaker bar, and/or a length of pipe (for more leverage) should be all that's needed.

PST's 4-inch rear lowering springs feature less than half the amount of leafs (over stock) and they're engineered with less arch, as well.

PST custom tailors the proper lowering shocks for each application, also. Though we missed our photo-op of the fronts being installed, the change-over is simple, no matter which end of the vehicle you're working on.

Finally, this hot hauler gets a G-Max rear sway bar, as well. According to the instructions, drill two holes in the frame rail on each side.

Then, your end links and bushings bolt together. The lower bushings (not visible) are seated to a small bracket that bolts to the spring mounting pad.

The completed system sure looks better than before. The folks at Magnaflow cured this truck's formerly illegal California smog status. Then, by installing the complete PST front and rear suspension and brake upgrade components, this truck will handle better, ride better, and stop better.

Now, everybody knows you can't send a cool kid out in traffic without a cool set of wheels and tires. In this case, a set of Cragar Forged Alloys (18x8) from Weld Racing complemented the look of this truck perfectly. Our friends at Anaheim Wheel Center mounted and balanced this new set of Nitto NT404 Extreme Force radials. We settled on 255/55R18s, front and rear.

You have to admit, this high school hot rod looks great. Once we install an interior kit, some weatherstripping, and a few cosmetics, this puppy will be better than new