Corvette Suspension on a '57 Buick?

Here is a nice installation article (OK I might be a little prejudiced)

the rear;
http://www.customclassictrucks.com/techarticles/0508cct_chevy_corvette_irs/index.html

and the front;
http://customclassictrucks.automotive.com/62642/0509cct-1955-chevy-series-2-truck/index.html

and a panel truck;
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/articles.asp?page=tenarticle&aid=3092

 

I hear you on the $$$. Just a couple quick notes. The 57 Buick lower ball joint has .062 play built into it and there is a procedure in the manual to check it. So it may not be shot.

The time tested BCA 57 suspension upgrade listed using these parts:
Lower A arm: Buick '59-'60 (w/o air ride), 1185792 (R), 1185793 (L)
Upper A arm (w/ shaft): Buick '58-'60, 1193956 (R), 1193957 (L)
Spindles: Buick '58-'60, 1388196 (R), 1388197 (L)
Upper ball joints: Buick '58-'60, 1388875 (R or L)
Lower ball joints: Buick '58-'60, 1388876 (R or L)
My 59 Buick still has all the original joints and bushings, so you might be able to scrounge these used and they'd still be good enough to just bolt them on and go. It's supposed to be an easy swap and may be the cheapest route.


Does anybody know if the CP30101 drop spindle mentioned here can be made to work with a Buick?
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/1937-1957_Buick_Oldsmobile_Pontiac_suspension_upgrade
If this works that would give you disk brakes and tapered bearings.

Most clipped 57's use the 70-81 Fbody/75-79Xbody because it's the best match. I've commuted almost 300,000 miles using one of these and can vouch for it.

 

Well, I'm not really worried about the difficulty of the clip, I'm having a local shop/buddy do most (if not all) of the heavy lifting.

I'm kind of leaning toward the Camaro at this point, due to availability and easy bagging.

I'll have to check out the Jag stuff, though. Has anybody bagged that set-up? If I'm not mistaken, zman's isn't bagged?

 

You are probably sick of me chiming in at this point. Have you thought about setting your OE chassis aside and putting a basic chassis under it on a caprice frame or a custom job with a GM clip?

 

Of course not, I want all the input I can get.

I hadn't seriously considered it, no. How much fabrication has to be done to get it to fit properly?

 

resell value, another reason against the full chassis swap. The clip is seen as an upgrade. A full chassis swap seems to not. And is a ton more work.

 

I disagree. Retaining the OE chassis unmolested in a 1 yr car would be worthwhile. You would need to do some research on what might be a good donor, so that you had no need to modify the body, but fabbing a new one wouldn't be difficult. It would cost more than clipping the OE frame, but it would be a better outcome.

 

Does anyone have the curb weight for a 57 Buick ?

.

 

The smaller 2 door hardtop like mine was 4100-4200 lbs. I'll check the manual tomorrow.

 

3955-4500 lbs depending on model and body style.

 

I thought it might be in that range...not sure that I would be looking for a Camaro front stub. Yeah, I know, they're popular, just like the MII. But, for a DD I would be looking for something bigger, similar weight range.

.

 

Like?

 

I've got a 90 lincoln town car,
and this video always gives me bad ideas.
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talk about a cruiser.

TP

 

Well...since I'm not a gm kinda guy I don't know which specific make/model would fit/work best but I would start looking at 80's or 90's full size gm cars. Drag out the tape measure; look at track width first, then compare the shape and width of the frame at the firewall, see how the front suspension is mounted to the frame. I'm sure Texas has plenty of u-pull-it type yards and since gm made alot of cars in the 80's and 90's then the odds are in your favour of finding a donor. You might also check craigslist: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1427695483.html

By now I had hoped that someone would have provided details of a similar clip job...given the cost of parts it seems unlikely that you are the first to consider the project.

Here is a site with some vehicle weights: http://www.crashtest.com/explanations/archive/crash.htm

Keep us posted on what you find.

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@zibo: Yikes! That looks like a lot a pretty deep project.

@73RR: I'm sure a lot of people have done it. Although I suppose the demand for that kind of a clip is a little less HAMB friendly than some others that have been mentioned.

 

Don't count out the Jaguar...

 

If you want i.r.s. set up for your Buick and look around for I believe '92-'95 T birds,they have 8.8 diff and posi units are cheap for them and most have disc brake set ups. They are right at 62" wide, I paid $300 for mine with posi and abs disc brakes

 

If you're worried about the the 70-81 Fbody/75-79Xbody subframe being too light, it was used in the Seville which porked out at around 4200 lbs. I think that's pretty close to the weight of your 57. The track width is around 61" which is wider than your '57's 59".
The downsized 77-up full size B body is also 3800-4200lbs and 61 1/2" or so track width.

 

Your car is safe. The 'hamb-friendly' issue usually rears its head on parts listings. If MII and Camaro clips are ok then anything is fair game. And like Zman, I am also fond of the Jag parts. Start checking around and you'll probably find a dead sedan for a couple hundred bucks. Alot of threads have been started on Jag swaps, dig in!

Good Luck.

.

 

My only concern with the Jag parts is the difficulty in bagging them. I haven't done much looking, but I wouldn't imagine it's the easiest thing to do.

 

I would do a regular rear and not IFS if you are going to bag it. Either an early 60's center section in your rear end and some trailing arms or a 4 link.

 

I'm leaning toward a triangulated 4-link. Using my rear-end with a different center section is definitely a viable option.

 

It,s probably already been mentioned but I have had many cruises, in many Buicks of all sizes, years and models, and with a mild lowering a 'stock' suspension was just great for cruising. My opinion is, for real
deep lowering most "all" suspensions would need special engineering.

 

Well, I want to be able to put it on the ground. (Yeah yeah, I know it's not a proper stance.)

Even if I didn't I can't afford to rebuild my front suspension, so either way the stock has got to go.

 

I have installed C4 IFS's in a 50 Merc and a 56 Ford F100...the Merc got a clip and the F100 got the FlatOut Eng crossmember. After doing each I would offer some lessons learned: the engine in the Corvette sits WAY back so the IFS is designed to sit forward of the engine. What this means is that the rack and pinion sits above the crossmember and in most cases interferes with the oil pan and/or harmonic balancer. I have halfway decided to scrap the Merc frame and go with a different IFS setup, the F100 is still a go but it will need a recessed firewall to gain the engine clearance I need. Here are a couple of pics...

 

Thanks for the post, that's helpful info.

I think I'm leaning away from the 'Vette stuff.

 

I know this is a old thread but thought I would add this info in case anyone was interested. Here is my 57' Buick Super with 87' C4 front suspension. I used a Flat Out Engineering crossmember for 36-54 Chevy truck. It measured 29-1/2" which is exactly what my frame measured in between the frame rails. I used a 57-64 Olds/Pontiac 9.3 rear and made all my own brackets for the triangulated 4-bar. My engine is a 1966 425 Nailhead. Thats a 66' 401 I used for mock up and the two piece drive line is out of the same 66 Wildcat that the 401 came from. I also used a 57' Olds 98 dash.

 

I'd drive that!
TP