I put one under my "40" Ford tudor back in 1975, I had to widen it to make it fit, I used a MG rack to steer it. I also put heavier coils from a 54 Chev. It worked ok except for a dart steer whenever-- IT-- felt like it, after a year of that I went back to the stock frontend with disc brakes,a saginaw box and Posey spring, it handled like a dream, ____if it ain't broke don't fix it._____________
I have one under my 70's built Essex. It's ugly, rides and handles like crap, and it sits too high. As soon as I can afford it I plan to replace it with a dropped axle.
I've got a pal with corvair front suspension under his A cdan. rides nice and the steering feel is good. Been under the car since 72'. Sorry no pics. The car is full fendered so it looks ok.
The old Vicky has a late (1965-1969) Corvair front end, installed in 1976. The Model A crossmember sits on top of the Corvair crossmember. I Vic almost 115,000 miles on this build, plus who knows how many in the Corvair. I had all the bushings and ball joints replaced a couple years ago as much of it was OEM. Corvairs were all front steer. I didn't like the Pinto rack in front of the Model A radiator. I converted it to rear steer with a Mopar rack. The Corvair steering arms bolt to the spindles, so I switched them - left for right, etc. In the end I used the hipo' steering arms, which are shorter and give a shorter turning radius, although it is still plenty LARGE. The ride and handling are fine. Most people think it is a MII. The fenders hide a lot. Corvair parts are available through Clark's Corvair in Shelbourne, MA. I don't have pics, but the Essex above is very much like what I have. PM me with your questions, and I will try to be of assistance. See you down the road, PHIL
My friend's '34 has an early pontiac tempest front end under it with the rack from some early 80's car. It was built in the early 80's and still on the road today. It has the turning radius of a semi truck.
I think it was a neat idea in the '70's and early '80's and just about everybody who uses them seems to like them. The only problem I would see is maybe avalibility of rebuild parts and it looks like someone above has that covered. Of course finding a Vair front end to use ain't as easy as it used to be either. Lastly, I think I would examin the reasons there were so many of those used back then to begin with. They were a fairly inexpensive way to replace an old solid axle with mech. brakes and worn out steering with relativly new, state of the art IFS, self-energizing brakes, improved handeling etc... Frankly I think there are better options today and because a Corvair IFS isn't exactly traditional I don't see any up side to using one. On the other hand, if I found a car with one in it that was put in X-hundred thousand miles ago with no issues I'd have to rebuild it and run it another X-hundred thousand miles.
We used 'em in the 70's because they were only 10 years old at the time, available in wrecking yards, unbolt as a unit, and were cheap. I had one under my '35 Dodge coupe with a Pinto rack and Vega springs. Handled good. Unless you're nostalgic for the 70's, there are better alternatives. I am trying to forget the 70's, which, given the drugs, isn't hard...
both mine and my dads cars here have 68 corvair front ends. i Dont like it on my coupe because it don't look right on a gasser. But they ride beautifully.
Have you got any decent detail pics of the front end installation in the A sedan? I'd like to see how you got it that low. I will be stuck with the IFS in my Essex for awhile and I'd like to lower it about 3".
Like Flynbrian48 said...We used 'em back then because they were easy, plentiful, and cheap. They got the job done. Also used Pacer and Opel units for the same reasons. Those units are not traditional, either, but will get you on the road for cheap...now, that IS traditional. lol
I got one on my '65 Corvair Think long and hard about designing a suspension around an orphan suspension... Balljoints aren't available except thru Kanter and a couple Corvair specialty places for $40+ each. Other parts are equally hard to find and expensive. Eric
I've got one to unload. They in my opinion just don't look correct. I'm going to be selling a complete 66 corvair setup for a model A at PIR in April. MG rack with 5 lug hubs. I unbolted it from a 31 A sedan frame. I'm replacing it with a 4" dropped I beam.
Once upon a time a guy bought a nice 32 Fordor at the NSRA Nats and brought it to Houston. It had a Corvair IFS under it with the early 71-72 clamp style R&P steering. He had a 'vette rearend put in it at a local rod shop. The wheels were Cadillac wires so he had to make wheel adapters. On a trip shortly thereafter one of the adapters left town and the wheel went into the fender and quarter...bummer. Trailered home, repaired and back on the road. Shortly thereafter on another trip the LH Heim joint connecting the rack with LH spindle of the Corvair IFS left town. This time the car rolled and was junk. Wasn't the Corvair's fault but... A friend of mine bought the wreck .The chassis went under one of the first 32 Phaeton bodies Dee Wescott made but with a conventional Ford I-beam suspension and the scraps of the body went to swap meets and patch panels for other projects. The Phaeton project was sold, the body was on numbers of chassis over the next 10 or so years at swap meets and car events around the Houston area but never got built to my knowledge. It sold a lot of chassis though. It may still be in someone's garage with my handprint on the rear wooden tack rail, who can say?
Dec. '64 Hot Rod had an article on installing a Corvair IFS in an early car. When I got my '34 27 years, it already had a '65 to 69 Corvair front. You have to screw with them, but they can be good frontends.
Been there done that and threw it away. They were popularized by Tex Smith in one of his how-to follow-me-while-I-build-a-car series. It was a 34 roadster I think. He told me that as soon as he got it on the road he ripped it out. His advise was not to jump on the first new thing you read about in a magazine. Wait a year and see if you can find anyone who actually did/used it and see how they like/liked it.
have over 200,000 miles on my corvair front in a 33 ford capri rack an pinion steering pinto station wagon v8 with air springs replaced origional that sagged real fast
I have one in my old Anglia, put it in over 20 yrs. ago. Had to cut a foot out of the middle and shorten an Opel GT rack and pinion. It has worked fine but there are much better options now available. Corvair parts are hard to find now.
If I had one I might try it, given a sensible application. Otherwise what's the point? If starting from scratch, I'd start with a up to date, proven alternatives that are considered more traditional. Traditional '70s? That would be someting from the 50s or 60s, with years added wouldn't it?
Okay, so here's my question since I actually have a Corvair. What all had to be done to adapt a Pinto rack to a Corvair front end? Did it turn well and have a decent turning radius? If it' a fairly simple swap, I might consider doing it since all of my steering bushings are shot and they are expensive to replace. Plus it's my daily, so it would be nice to have somewhat more responsive steering.
The Pinto rack to the Corvair front is not hard in a street rod, where everything is in the open. I'm not sure how difficult it would be in a Corvair with all the sheetmetal in front of the firewall to form the trunk, inner fender panels, etc. The Corvair is front steer, steering in front of the axle center line. So is the Pinto. The Pinto rack tie rod ends just connect to the Corvair steering arms. All those original tie rods and links go away. The steering column is disconnected from the steering box, which is removed, and then the column is adapted to the rack. If I had the Corvair and it needed repair, reproduction Corvair steering boxes are available from the street rod guys. Also, check with Clark's Corvair in Shelbourne, MA., they have pretty much EVERYTHING Corvair. http://www.corvair.com/user-cgi/main PHIL
I just took one out of an A coupe.It worked great but it just didn't look right.I just traded it for 2 cases of miller lite.We went to a dropped axle,It looks alot better.
The hot ticket now is the 03-08 Ford Crown Victoria front suspension. http://good-times.webshots.com/album/562648372VFJwCq?start=0 http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/756556-2007-mercury-grand-marquis-suspension-into-a-72-f100.html Greg
LOL, yeah that will look hot on an A. Lets see, stock A front end is 54" wide and the Crown is what, 64" or 65" on the track. That should stick the tires almost completely outside the fenders, perfect! Seriously, Corvairs were the Mustang II of their day. I have a friend in the Anaheim CA area that has had one in his A sedan literally since the 70s and still drives it regularly. His had the MG rack conversion and it bumpsteers a bit, rides a bit harsh, handles a bit soft but overall not bad considering the age and experience used to build it. He can't wait to change it out for a beam and hairpins.
Built this in '77-'78...still own it and it's still going strong at 130,000 plus miles...drive it all over the country (several times to Joplin for the the HAMB drags --drive it 13.5 hours one way, race it and drive back home for another 13.5 hours). I've rebuilt the suspension once (ball joints, bushings, etc.)...new coils about two years ago and am using a Pinto R & P (which I'm going to replace this spring cuz it's wearing out). The steering 'arms' are modified and moved closer to the tire rim to correct the Ackerman...and the turning radius sucks...but it's like anything else, you'll get used to driving it a certain way...the front end has never burned tires and it handles fine...no "darting" as said by someone else...if it's installed properly you shouldn't have any problems. I think if you put the Corvair under a fat fendered car you won't have any problems with it fitting...but a narrow square bodied car could give you problems. Will I go to a MII, or anything else...??? I doubt it...as long as it's not broken, why fix it...??? R-
I am familiar with Clarks, I ordered my speedo cable, turn signal parts and a bunch of other stuff for them. However, the gear box and parallelogram steering are very outdated, and I was just thinking the rack from a Pinto might help update the steering a couple of decades. Since I do drive it everyday, I am trying to do modifications that help drive ability, but don't change the over all look of the car. I've done LED tail lights for better rear visibility, I will be doing an HID head light conversion kit for better front visibility, and the rack would be nice for handling.
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