1953 Chevy Truck Steering Upgrade, Tie Rod Ends & Drag Link

Out With The 70 Yr. Old Tie Rods & Drag Link, we put modern day tie rods & drag link in the 53 Chevy Truck, and use a highly sophisticated alignment tool

[@robertjordan3270]

Very well done, thank you for sharing

[@jd774U]

great video and information. i have to do the same thing on a '49 3600

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Cool cool, it will drive way better when your done👍

[@fiddlerpin]

Nice video. I have to do this on my 56 3100 truck. I’m going to grind off the ball stakes and press out the studs.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

There you go that will work, thanks for watching

[@EnglishCharlie]

Just referenced your video with the guy at the machine shop!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Cool buddy

[@davidryan573]

I did the same upgrade on my’57, the sticks are a good idea, glad it drives better.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Yes I have always set the toe in on my VWs works real 👍 good

[@Volfandt]

I like your toe-in gauge. I also like how you got the balls out of the brackets. Not to let the cat out of the bag but I came to similar results via a little different avenues. Goes to show there's more ways to skin a cat, LOL. Good job Mike.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Yes , I have done my VWs that way for yrs and they always drive great, I’m glad you didn’t have to go to the machine shop to get the ball studs out, hope to see how you did it on the next video

[@donshotrodgarage1717]

Very informative video! I love the look of the early Chevy trucks and the old Stovebolt 6 sounds great!👍

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thank you Don, yes the 6 cyl and 4 speed is a blast to drive, going to put a new R&P 3:55.1 in a couple weeks, right now top speed is about 40, the new one should get 60-65, should be good video, coming soon, thanks for watching

[@donshotrodgarage1717]

@@DesertRatFabrication Yeah that should make a world of difference. You do a good job at the description and coverage on your video's. I love the look of your truck. Looks 100% authentic.👍

[@jcrean3]

Appreciate the video! This is next on my list!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thank you for watching, made a big difference in the way it drives

[@amcdrywallllc6808]

very intelligent 👍 sure many hours of work

[@DesertRatFabrication]

thank you very much

[@Geoduck.]

Dave linked your video so I visited from there. This is great stuff and your camera work was fine. I completely understand how the steering all works but would never have attempted this before viewing the videos. I see we are in the same neck of the woods. Des Moines Washington for me I think you are north of that.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thanks for watching, yes Edmonds

[@49GMC]

love the chrome reverse wheels too!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thank you 427 Belair

[@TruckThisGarage]

Getting fancy on the intros! I like it 😎

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thanks Joe, yeah getting a little better

[@TruckThisGarage]

@@DesertRatFabrication you are doing awesome man. Pat yourself on the back! Seriously excellent work man. ☺️😉

[@DesertRatFabrication]

@@TruckThisGarage thank you very much my friend that means a lot to me, you really helped a lot on my editing

[@TruckThisGarage]

@@DesertRatFabrication A Thank You also means the world. ☺️ love seeing people succeed. We will meet up soon enough and that will be even more fun 😉

[@rustedjunkgarage3316]

Nice job ,, doing the same on my 55 Chevy Truck.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thank you very much, I will come over and check you out

[@mike-yu6lp]

Should I do new drag links or modern tie rod ends on my 1950 Chevy 3100? Seems like the modern ones worked out good for you.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Yes definitely go the new route, thanks for stopping by

[@TruckThisGarage]

Shared Facebook, Twitter, Insta, and Pinterest! LoL if you don’t have these accounts I’d be sure to add them to share your content! My 2cents 😉

[@DesertRatFabrication]

how do you do that

[@TruckThisGarage]

@@DesertRatFabrication just copy the link and paste it.

[@TruckThisGarage]

@@DesertRatFabrication actually you have to hit the share button first then select copy link. Then go to for example, Facebook and paste the links

[@DesertRatFabrication]

@@TruckThisGarage ok thanks Joe

[@IronHorseGarage]

Very cool truck!!!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thank you, yes I was lucky to find this one

[@EnglishCharlie]

Great video, I'm going to be doing something similar with my GMC 3/4 only switching the side on the pitman arm to move the steering box outboard to allow fitment of the V8. I'd love to know what you think of my gmc videos.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

As you know by now, I like them Charlie,lol

[@ericruiz2174]

Beautiful truck!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thank you Eric

[@douglashart5059]

Thanks for the video! One thing you didn't mention...where did you get the new ball studs? I assume that you put the kind with the threaded posts in for the new replacements? What size is the new balls? Thanks again!

[@DesertRatFabrication]

I covered that in the video, the ball studs are discarded, and went with the modern style tapered, like a ball joint, it’s covered at the 7:55 on the video, thanks for watching 😀😀

[@douglashart5059]

@@DesertRatFabrication I guessed I missed that part I guess. I'll rewatch it.

[@martyparra2580]

I have a 1940 master 85 with the same suspension, where can I locate the tie rod ends like yours

[@nickpanhead7209]

Great video, how did get the measurement to make up your stick. And when you had that gap between the stick and tire, the other end was sitting against the other tire ? You post a lot of good content on these old Chevys. Thanks

[@DesertRatFabrication]

You have to sneak up on it , front then back , back and forth till you get them close , then you can get your 1/8 toe in, and set the distance before you take it a part and you are al ready close to start with, hope that help, did my own alignment on my VWS, works great

[@nickpanhead7209]

@@DesertRatFabrication good job thank you

[@DesertRatFabrication]

No problem Nick, thank you

[@19rocket53]

Where did you get the new style drag link and tie rods from?? Interested in doing the same on my 52 Chevy truck..thank you

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Both, Chevs of the 40's and the Filling Station Chevy truck parts, hope this helps, Pepinos

[@19rocket53]

Thank you!!

[@idahofabricator8710]

Great job on the steering upgrade, before the upgrade did you ever get the infamous death wobble?

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Steven, that is a two part answer, lol, I never had the death wobble, in part maybe because I still have the 411R&P so top speed is about 35-40, I have all the stuff to do the swap to 355 R&P, as for the steering it was all over the road constantly correcting it was bad, but now it drives very nice, I think it likes the 1/8 inch toe in and new parts, I’m really happy now , and don’t have to think about steering when I’m driving the truck, your 53 is going to be very nice, I really enjoy your videos, talk to you soon 👍

[@ericruiz2174]

Thanks Very helpful.

[@DesertRatFabrication]

Thank you Eric, hope your having a great weekend

[@ericruiz2174]

@@DesertRatFabrication lot of fun and learning from this experience with our 54 chevy 3100

[@weshallmark7730]

I saw that he mentioned the drag link, with modern style ball joints, were available through 40's chevys website. I was able to find it does anyone know where I can locate one?

[@DesertRatFabrication]

It’s called Chevs of the 40’s the phone number is 360 816 0211, and the Filling Station 800 841 6622, hope this helps