1964 c10; Granny-Low to Turbo-400 woes

[wiliweld]

Hello Family,
Having done a 4-speed to 400-th before on my '55 I was not expecting too many surprises with my '64 Fleetside but once I got under the truck and thought things thru I have have a few BIG questions that I hope someone has already tackled and is willing to help with.

(A) I see that my C-10 has a riveted in bell housing crossmember, of which I'll have to remove but is looks structural to the frames integrity with it being riveted vs bolted.

(B) I also see that my emergency brake cross member and all it's linkage is right where I'd suspect I'd need to put my Turbo-400 tranny mount. The emergency brake crossmember looks great for usage as a tranny mount but the emergency brake linkage would be sacrificed unless I could utilize the top of the crossmember for the tranny and the bottom of the crossmember for the emergency brake linkage. Thanks for any help.

[del]

(A) On autos from the factory, that cross member is left out. So remove it.
(B) For the E-brake, how about updating to the 66 -72 system (I own a 66) where the fancy cross member is not required? (Maybe someone who has done this will jump in)

Hope this helps, del.

[wiliweld]

Thanks Del,

I did not know about the '66 having a different, I've been a 55-57 passenger car guy since high school in the '70's and this is my first Chevy PU truck. For bell housing cross member, I agree -- just take it out. The fact it was riveted and went from "frame to frame" is what caught me off guard. One would think that a cross member right in the middle of assembly traffic would not be permanently riveted as this one is.

(question)
Could you by any chance find a snapshot (image) of the '66 e-brake so I can start thinking ahead as to what I'll need to do. As you know all the e-brake cables are fixed lengths and meant to terminate where the stock bracket is. Was not sure if I'd have to order '66 e-brake cables when going with the '66 e-brake system.

Thanks again.

[del]

Will try for pics tomorrow.

[del]

Here is the pics I took today. It is a work in progress, so excuse the mess.

I think this shot is similar yours, where the cable goes thru the frame.

On the passenger side is a long rod with a hook on both ends. Normaly hooked to the cable.

Next is two short rods just in front of the cross member that the swig arms formally bolted to.

A couple of shots of how the the brake cable is fabed into the newer leaf suspension.