underslung chevrolet (new project)

heres what i am working with: im starting out with a stock 1932 Chevrolet 4 door sedan. this car was restored in 1961 and i am the 3 rd owner.


the tear down

 

a few more of the tear down

 

now on to the fun part. the cab is tucked away so i can get started on the frame.

 

on to the fun part.
heres the frame and a quick mock up

 

THAT IS A REALLY NICE CAR!!! id love to have a project that nice to start out with.

 

after alot of thought and consideration i decided this car was a great candidate for an underslung frame. so heres the mock up

 

If you can get enough ground clearance,do it.

 

You kids these days are kinda dumb, ain't ya? I hope ya don't wind up killing anyone other than yourself...

 

after a hard weeks worth of work here is what i ended up with today. repacked springs. 1937 juice brakes and reversed steering linkage. i have quite a few sets of rims but for now i m gona run the factory spokes.
this car was covered in grease! but thanks to that every thing was preserved and is like new.


also i would like to thank a very generous hamber 1931 s/x for donating the front brake set up, another axle for parts and a beautiful set of 37 steel wheels to the project. with out his offering this project could still be in the dark ages of push rod linkage and poor stopping.

 

Looks good,except I'm not digging the Tie Rod on front though.

 

im not feeling it that much either. but if i leave it in the back its gona hit the crank pullie. im gona stretch the frame about 6-8 inches and keep the grill behind the axel. i would like to run the hood top as well. im just doing some mock ups now and am still in the planning phaze so any suggestions are appreciated. another thing that sucks is i would have to make a top steer on the spindle similar to the cross link design, reverse the steering box with the front tie rod set up. ahhh decisions decisions. keep me up all night.

 

comments like this arent necessary and are unappreciated. the hamb is a great place so lets not rain on my parade!

 

Can't push the motor back a couple inches ?
Then squeeze the rad in between the axle and tie rod.

How about cross steer ?
Start with a rear steer box,turn it upside down,
then install the pitman arm facing forward.

Ford made a tie rod end,with an extra hole in it,to accept a drag link.
Some of the street rod guys run them on the right front,instead
of using the steering arm with two holes.Shouldn't be too hard to find.

 

Must be the Full Moon.

Underslung suspension has been done 100s of times,
quite successfully and safely.

They were even mass produced,I think the
company name was American Underslung.



If you don't know what you are talking about,please keep quiet.

 

so i still have a few things left for the front. a new cross member is in order. a small notch to the frame. and some angled blocks to correct the rake of the axel. also thanks to a close friend the car is going to have a set of 46-48 ford friction shocks up front.

 

a cross steer could work. in the last two pictures there is a ford axel in the back ground with a cross steer setup. it just got dropped off im gona have to investigate. i was planning on doing a cowl steering set up on this one. it would be great to use the factory box. as of now the motor can be put any where. i dont want to cut into the body at all except for the trans hump. Its a tight fit all togeather. the factory six was alot longer but there was plenty of room since the damn car looked like one of those donks! tomorrow ill head downstairs and try a few more things. im in no hurry this car is a real pleasure for me. ill keep you posted and thanks for your help.

 

Great start , I'm jealous ! and don't worry bout any haters their comments ain't worth a pinch of shit unless they explain themselves !

 

Just stirring the pot Ian...hehehe...I dig underslungs, and practicaly everything we do is unsafe...I just like taking a jab every now and then...everything looks good so far skotty, take your time with it man...

 

I'm curious , if your goin to put a small notch in the front did you try mocking it with the axle on top of the springs ? (like in your first frame mock)

 

thanks everyone for the nice words! when i first got this car a few years ago i let it sit. i wanted to have every part before i started the build. now 4 years later i have a complete air ride set up, tubular mustang front end, disc brakes, billet wheels, full billet interior, and a ton of other parts that i have no need for. the hamb bug got me, and bit me hard. i want this thing to look like it was built 50 years ago. the day i take it out and an old school rodder smiles and nods in recognition i ll know i have succeeded.

 

well if i put the axle on top of the springs it would make the frame sit even lower. im going to fabricate some angled blocks that serve a dual purpose. one is to correct the axles rake. it should sit between 5-7 degrees back, currently its sitting 5-7 foward. two it will bring the frame closer to the axle and give me a few more inches of clearance when the motor and cab etc weigh it down. the notch would be on the top of the frame rail so when the car rebounds it wouldnt hit the axle. just gives it a bit more travel.

 

lol thanks man, its cool i have been a punk my whole life too =)

 

I mean't without makin it underslung..

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Looks great.I like a guy,that's not afraid to jump right in with both feet! And a Chevy guy too!

 

looks good so far

 

Who the fuck cares if you dont appreciate it.get over it.... quick . ,underslung? why dont you just put air bags on it and call it a fucking rat rod .
The whole chassis design you have there is total fuck up.
And lose the fucking ford grill it will suck on a chev especially with SBC in it. Pity to see a nice Chev fucked up by a fool.

 

Pity? fool? Who are you Mr. T? Go back to your '84 Chevy Van by the river.

How is the chassis design a fuck up? Back up your words. The "whole chassis design" isn't even done, notice the back half isn't touched yet? I guess next time we'll just Z the frame to wazoo to get that nice stance with the parallel leafs.

And that ford grill is a piece of shit from the swap meet that he just uses for visual mockup. I suppose he's going to run that styofoam engine as well?

As for the safety of underslung - I have no idea how this is unsafe, the frame will have just as much ground clearance as any other rod

Keep up the good work Scott...

 

I don't get the rat rod comment. Looks good, just be careful with that setup, they always made me nervous looking at them.

 

Scrubline? or is it just me?

 

I've been running an underslung chevy for a couple of years now.No issues at all.Works great and is more than most narrow minded ford traditonalists seem to be able to comprehend.The lower center of gravity and the more stable ride of parrallel leaf springs will let you corner like a slot car.A frame notch is not necessary.I've argued this on this board before.As the car hits a bump the shackles move to cause the spring to arch upwards, like pulling a bow.The axel moves away from the frame.It won't hit the frame on rebound or need a notch to clear the frame.The spring would have to turn itself inside out for the axel to contact frame and that isn't going to happen.You can also set the angle of inclination with the spring mounting locations and may not need a wedge. You need shackels in front on the spring, longer than the solid mount in back,this sets the angle.Thats how mine was set up.It ain't rocket surgery.The less drop in the axel the more scrubline clearance you'll have. Good luck and don't let the boo birds deter you.
see shackel and angel of inclination set up in photo.The longer the shackels the more angel of inclination at the kingpin.

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