I've been wanting to build a G***er for quite some time now. Beings I've owned my 54 Hardtop for nearly two years now, I'm ready for a little bit of change. I'm very tempted to go the straight axle route, but I would be driving this car on the street more than the strip, so I'm also willing to try the I Beam lift under the front. I also really couldn't see myself radiusing the quarter panels. Which brings me to the question of how wide of tires are the cars that don't have radiused quarters able to run. I'd love to see a few pictures of some cars you guys might have owned or seen. I could use all the inspiration possible.
Put 5 inch I beam between the front end and frame Want have to Change any thing and will drive same as always and can change back any time. I did it on a 52 years ago worked great
I have a set of old G60-15's mounted on 8 1/2" wide coke bottles. Tread width of 9", section width is 10 1/2" and they are 27" tall. they fit in the wheel well, but are close on the outer side. The rear is (for now) an earlier S-10 4x4.
I just stuffed some aluminum 15x8.5 American Racing under my 53, I did have to cut the inner side of the quarter panel out. If you look inside the rear quarter there is a perfect stamped radius on the panel, I followed that stamping to create enough space. That said prior to these wheels I had pair of 15x8 steel wheels that cleared with no problem. I am running a 54 inch backing plate to backing plate rear axle from an s-10 blazer. I have a 235/60/15 on the rear, a 245/60/15 would have worked also. Godspeed MrC.
The rears of these 49-54 Chevrolets will take a pretty good sized tire IF the right wheels are used. No pics, but 51 Bus Coupe with P295-50R15 on 15 X 8 Cragar S/S rims on the rear, and 15 X 4 Cragar S/S with 165R15/86S on the front; the big and little look, give the "illusion" of bigger tires in the wheel wells, and the car being higher up. On the rear we used coil wrapped overload shocks meant for the 55-57 Chevrolets, and the front was blocked up using 16, 2 inch spacer nuts, a larger diameter than the longer grade 8 bolts/nuts used so they would "slip through". Then we welded in some side plates for extra stability that have 1 inch "spot welds". Raised the front just enough, that with the shorter tires, it looks higher, and with the wider rears tires it has that, "do these tires make my rear end look fat?" look. And it handles fine without a lot of stiffness because the front suspension is still "stock". The "I-beam lift" just looks too "amateurish", and thrown together I think, but it works, and a lot of guys have used it. We even kept the front bumper, but removing that also makes a car look higher. It's all about "deception" through "perception". I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
So if I end up doing the I beam lift I won't have to do anything but actually put the I beams in place? I won't have to change anything on the steering etc? And as for the rear end, I've got a 57 chevy rear that I believe is 61" end to end. If I could fit as something like a 10" or 9" slick I'd be more than happy
This goes back to 1970. I had a 54 Bel Air that had a 55 rear axle under it. Ran chrome reverse wheels, 15X7's and had J70x15 Amoco SS 120 radial tires on the back, red stripe. Back then you could get a J width radial pretty easily. We sold them at Standard Oil stations. They were a bit of a tight fit and I did run my Delco air shocks at maximum pressure but had no rubing problems that I can remember but that was a long time ago.
The steering will work good without any changes the drag link to the steering box angles up to prevent bump steer when you raise the front it will angle down mine drove as stock I will find a pic
To mount the rear end housing, re-drill the leaf spring pin locator holes in the spring pads 1-1/2 inches forward, and 1/2 inch inward, to position the rear end in the wheelhouse, and spaced to the leaf spring pins. Drilling the I-beams will be a LOT of work, just in itself. These are 3/8 inch bolt holes, and there will be 16 holes in EACH I-beam, 8 upper, 8 lower, plus you will need 16 bolts/washers/nuts each per I-beam, or 8 very long ones. Hopefully, someone can post what they look like bolted in. Personally, I think it looks a bit hap-hazard, just thrown together, amateurish; but that's JMO; I know it's been done this way for 40 years or more, and it does the job. I wish I could post how we did it, but no cell phone or digital camera/scanner. Not saying our way is better, but it does look better. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
So Butch, you're saying rather than placing a big ugly/heavy I Beam under the front end, you used 2" spacers under each individual bolt to get the front up? Nothing more, besides maybe longer bolts? This car has the I Beam lift and I really, really like the way it sits, the stock front end gives it the straight axle look from a distance. I guess like Butch said "Deception of Perception."
We went to Tacoma Screw, a local supplier of fasteners and tools primarily for the aerospace industry, and got the threaded "nut" spacers in 1/2" I.D. thread so the 3/8" bolts would p*** through them; I guess you could get them longer than 2", but this started out as an "experiment" of sorts (I have the I-beams, but never drilled and used then). All the fasteners were grade 8. I just thought that I-beams looked a little off, as most that I had seen were not even finished off after cutting, and blowing the holes, with an O/A torch. Then, on the inside side, we used some steel plate welded in as additional support. Actually, in your two photos, with everything painted black, the I-beams are hardly visible, and would be even more hidden from view with a bumper and valance panel in place. I am a bit **** retentive when I build or put something together, and things have to function, but also look good/right. Another thing I did't mention, and it will give you another inch or so, is to use 49-52 uprights; Chevrolet calls them steering knuckle supports. They made them so the 53-54 cars would sit lower, and using earlier ones would raise a 53-54 car some. We tossed the sway bar out as it did't seem like it would really do anything after the car was lifted, but I see it in place in your photos. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
My car has the stock rear leafs. (re-arched) I had to drill the tie bolt hole on the main leaf a bit to the rear, and then I just flipped the rest of the springs around, front of the spring is now to the rear.
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