Recently purchased a 49 Chevy business coupe I want to turn into a g***er. I think I'm leaning towards the Highboy look. I have been looking at the Speedway axle kits. Any pro's or con's on these? Heard some talk about the shorter length springs not handling as well. Any imput would be appreciated. popper John Lynch
Short springs harder ride an more chance of bump steer. If you screw up the pitman arm angle, lots of bumpsteer on any spring. the deciding factor is axle centerline forward
Really, I'm learning something new already. Ok I searched Hiboy and see the difference. I guess I was referring to where the whole g***er is up in the air not just the raked front end. popper John Lynch
Why not buck the trend and not go for that "nosebleed" look in the front. Nobody says they have to look that way, many cars "of the day" were level.
Here's my '49 Chevy coupe modified in 1964. The front suspension crossmember was unbolted from the frame and 4" riser blocks slid between them. You got the g***er look without sacrificing the ride. Just a thought.
G***ers were from your streeter that got a little too speedy for the street Street cars were always setting level right off of the showroom floor The higher it is the more un-safe it is at speed when the air gets under it and they start to fly I did not want to fly in mine and that is why it sat level, plus they just look better !! DND
People these days get confused between 70's street freaks (street machine fad): And 1960's gas cl*** race cars:
Having built a 55 Chevy Highboy back in the late 60's . Chevy van front axle and blocks in the back so I didn't have to radius the rear fenderwells. Then having to deal with the way it drove and trying to drive it to work everyday in Miami was not one of my better ideas. Ended up radiusing the rear wheel wells with Nomad fenderwells cut out of a Nomad that was in the junk yard and lowering it back down. Then it drove about like a 55 Chevy pickup. Had a 409 4 speed in it ,but Sunoco 260 was 31 cents a gallon so the 10 mpg was no big deal. A friend has a 53 Chevy with a spaced down crossmember like the one mentioned previously and he drives his everywhere.
I've seen where this can be done. I really like the look of the straight axle though. Is the handling and ride of the straight axle car that much worse? I think somebody mentioned longer springs help the ride but you are limited due to axle positioning. And I realize that linkage geometry is important as old sparks stated. popper John Lynch
For a lot of street driving and long distance running a U Weld it sway bar kit and power steering makes them handle fairly decent. Adapted a GM power steering box and added the sway bar on a 64 F100 put a slide in camper in the bed and drove all over the mountains . A well set up straight axle car will give you many miles of fun driving. A poorly set up straight axle will make you wonder why you did it in the first place.
Every straight axle car I either drove or rode in would "porpoise" something awful at every irregular surface to the road or after hitting a chuck hole. Back then you were more tolerant of things like ride quality and would disregard it. But as I have gotten older, I like to climb out of a car and not have to stretch to work out the kinks. I agree with southcross2631 that done right and you will be fine. My '55 Chevy has a van axle under it and the ride is pretty decent (due in part to an alignment shop installing it years ago). But I loved the ride to the '49 Chevy.
Post a pic of your car and I'll photoshop it with your ideas. Btw, a 409 and M-22 Rockcrusher would make your car real fun to drive, plus add a cool air to it.
I rode in the back seat of a car real similar to this in the mid '70s. 289 tri power, 4 speed w 4.88s. I can still taste the vinyl from when the owner lit it up on cold tires and we did a 360 right in the middle of town. It was one ill handling beast but when he could keep it straight it was fast as hell.
Lot of good suggestions already. I'll add that a 2" I-beam might be just right getting the front up a little if you decide not to go the axle route. One other thing, these cars in the style you're after scream for rear wheel well radius IMO. Goes so well with the rounded lines of the car, shoulda been that way from the factory IMO!
Around 1970 a high school mate built a 50 (ish) Chevy coupe with IIRC a truck beam axle. This had a 327/365 horse engine, yep, a real one. It was paired with a B&M prepped 4 speed hydro. This thing was scarrry but damn did it haul ***.
Slowmotion, the bottom picture is the look I like but the front a little bit higher and then bring the back end up a little to level it out. Mad Mikey, As far as drive train I have a 533 cu. in BBC that we took out of my wifes rear engine dragster about 3 years ago that I thought I might freshen up and change the pistons to lower the comp ratio to something streetable. I also have a fresh turbo 400 with a trans brake I figured I would use. And for the rear end I'm kind of partial to 9" fords. Wheels will be something from Rocket is what I'm thinking. OahuEli, Waiting for the weather to clear so I can get it home then I'll get some pictures. We get snow here, Lol! Thanks everybody for your suggestions, your comments and help are appreciated. I have a 64 Nova that I drag race, and a 61 Bubble top that I built for street/strip but this is the first project of this type of my undertaking. Just want to build something not to fancy, flat black, period correct in looks and simple. Just a fun type old school appearing hotrod. popper John Lynch
DON'T put a Speedway straight axle under it, it's not tough enough for that size of car in my opinion. If your dead set on building it with a straight axle, get one from WAC. Cut open the rear fenders and let the tires hang out. If you want to make it look right, see what Quain Stott and the guys do, go here: http://www.southeastg***ers.com/
John, I'm sure you are hip to this considering your drag racing involvement. Nine inch Ford would be the rearend of choice for a modern high horse drive train but to appear period correct and hold up to big block power the 57-64 Olds/Pontiac rear is really what people would expect to see if they went to the trouble to look, I sure would. There are a few shops doing them again, here is one of the better known ones. http://fabcraftmetalworks.com
Please don't make another g***er abortion, 49-52 Chevy's belong in the weeds not jacked up at hick truck height. Why would you ever want to go to a worse suspension than a car had factory. Seems totally backwards to me. If you wanna do a drag car, do it right with independent front and back half the rear with a 4 link and 9" and let her rip. Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Period correct? Yes , if you can go with the olds rear, I love mine, and in your heavy car with big block, this is the rear you want.
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