Front track differences 67 vs 71 vs 73

[weim55]

I have a 67 that someone added what appears to be OEM front discs. There is a full 3 inch difference in the track width front vs rear. It makes the truck look pretty weird on stock width steel wheels. I've read there's an inch and a half difference 67 versus 71, but 73 and up? Anybody know these differences? Is there a chance someone swapped on 73 and up spindles? Is there a way to ID?

Thanks,

Steve weim55 Colorado

[lolife99]

Your truck came from the factory with a wider front track width.
What compounds your problem is the 67-69 (and early 70 model) trucks had a narrower rearend than the disc brake equipped 71-72 trucks.
By someone adding disc brakes it makes the track width differences ever worse.
But all the 67-72 and 73-87 came from the factory with a wider front track width.

This is why many people run a wider rear wheel/tire combo on the rear to help hide this issue.

[weim55]

Just to make sure I'm on the same page with you : A factory disc brake 71 truck is still going to have a track width wider in the front by an inch and a half then the rear with all factory components, same story with my 67, with all factory drum components still an inch and a half wider in the front?

Thanks for the reply,

Steve weim55 Colorado

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by weim55

Just to make sure I'm on the same page with you : A factory disc brake 71 truck is still going to have a track width wider in the front by an inch and a half then the rear with all factory components, same story with my 67, with all factory drum components still an inch and a half wider in the front?

Thanks for the reply,

Steve weim55 Colorado

Yes.
I'm not sure it's exactly 1.5".
The easy way to tell is to take the wheels off.
Measure front vs rear track widths.
To me it's very noticeable.
But most see it when they add lowering springs.
(a-arms "flatten out" as the spring gets shorter ie. making the track width wider than stock)

Add drop spindles and they get wider yet!
Except for CPP Modular spindles, (according only to CPP) they are suppose to keep the track width narrow.
By how much, and compared to what(?) no one knows.
I've asked many times.

[lolife99]

Here's an example of a truck with the early (narrower) rearend, disc brake swap, and 2.5" drop spindles.
This truck has the same size tires on all four corners.
See the difference in track width front vs rear?

[weim55]

Gotcha. Information about track with changing with the drop is an important bit I didn't think of it as well. I think The springs have been torched on this truck as well so it's much lower in the front. My intent is to return it to stock ride height so I'll measure it again when it's been corrected.

Thanks for the info.

The only other question I have is the track width wider on the 73 then the earlier models?

Steve weim55 Colorado

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by weim55

The only other question I have is the track width wider on the 73 then the earlier models?

I believe the track width on the 73-87 trucks is the same and the disc brake equipped 71-72 trucks.

[weim55]

The truck in your picture is exactly the same situation as my truck. It just bugs me and it's something I want to correct. I could do it with wheel offset but I still don't like that look. Thinking of putting in a matching 71 rear axle. It's a lot of work for a short gain........

Steve weim55 Colorado

[leddzepp]

I just did a front disc brake conversion on my 68. I also swapped in a 5 lug rear from a 72 so that not only the 5 lugs match, but the width matches the front as well.

[67ChevyRedneck]

The 71/72 track width's still won't "match" (they never did).

I don't know how far back GM went with this, but even a 2017 Silverado built today has a 1" narrower track width on the rear. Like mentioned above, it's usually not noticeable until someone sticks a wide set of tires on a 4x4 with the same size & offset, then it's easily noticeable.

It was quite noticeable to me on my 67 C10 (I had 15x8's all the way around) so I swapped the fronts to 15x7's with the same BS as the 15x8's and it looks way better.

[lolife99]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

The 71/72 track width's still won't "match" (they never did).

This is correct!

Maybe adding wheel spacers to the rear, would be an option to bring the rear wheels out the same as the front.
Personally I would run staggered wheel widths.
I like the front wheels tucked under the fenders,...

[special-K]

I never let such things bother me. To me it just looks like the front end tapers in or the body gets wider to the rear, like most muscle cars. We are looking at a mere 3/4" difference in 115" - 127". I think these trucks are a great design and that's why I like them.