Projects Updating front end

This company (BOP Parts) has lots of disc conversion kits for older BOP cars.
I am looking at using one of their kits for upgrading my (kingpin) 57 Pontiac.
https://www.bopparts.com/

That Down Right Fab stuff looks interesting too:
https://www.facebook.com/p/Down-Right-Fab-61574038423579/

 

^^^^ BOP Parts disc brake kits list early 50s on. Down Right Fab uprights. Bought 2 sets.

 

Looks like you can un-bolt the lower spring plate mount, and add a spacer to easily lower car a bit, if you need to.

 

Just got a quote for dropped uprights $1000 for a pair. Ouchie!!

 

Yep, dropped 2K on 2 sets.

 

Neither the horsepower and torque nor the age of the technology bear on the suitability of your suspension setup for your purposes. Weight, anticipated speeds, and braking power do.

There is nothing wrong as such about kingpin-style IFS. Lateral forces on the kingpin bushes are a bit greater than on ball joints, due to the bushes being closer together, but the kingpin bushes represent a much simpler, more easily fixable, bearing solution. More parts mean more potential failure points in principle, but again, because the parts are simpler you have more control over the point where that failure might happen. And there may be an advantage in not having the control arm geometry tied to the steering axis, depending on specifics.

It's two philosophies of machines: the cuckoo clock is one extreme, a very large number of extremely simple parts. The mobile phone is the other extreme, a very small number of extremely complex parts. (Hence, being compelled to go about with a mobile phone on my person I've set my notification tone to the sound of a cuckoo clock!) The fact that the OEMs are increasingly going for the latter doesn't mean that it'll perform better for your purposes. The decision comes more out of considerations of the OEMs preferred industrial-economic model. I suspect that a cuckoo clock done well, i.e. better than historically, would be better for hot rodders.

I take it the Buick IFS uses Delco lever-arm dampers as the upper control arms? That, I'd say, is the weak point. You'll need additional damping — but again, there is an opportunity to gear the additional damping to a specific suspension movement mode. There is a company in the UK who convert Armstrong lever-arm dampers to modern shim-stack valving, apparently to good effect. I don't know if anyone is doing the same on Delcos. Still, there is only so much fluid displacement to work with on lever-arms, much less than monotube telescopics.

 

In late 80 father & I drove & drag
His 40 Ply coupe with stock front end
Close to 500 hp , 3,500 converter
12 bolt on the stock leaf springs,
Braking seemed to be like any other
4 W drum , after having 40 since 75 ,
Now around 96 father wanted disc , so we wacked front off installed mid 70 front end , I do not think drove as good
As the Original.
Now knowing more then I did then ,
With thinking I could of came up with
Miss matched parts from several different vehicles to adapt a set of rotors and calipers to the original spindles.

 

Why? People put Nailheads Olds, Caddy and Chevy V8s in these cars back then.

Are you going to Laguna-Seca and trying to set a closed course record or are you driving it on the street with an occasional pass down the drag strip?