I am looking to buy my first real "hot rod".. I'm looking for a 53 or 54 chevy and found someone selling a 53 not too far away from me. I need advice on whether I should buy a 53 chevy that has a Z28 front clip. I know that most people do Mustang II on the front end. Here is what the owner said about the upgrades: " THIS 1953 BELAIR 210 COUPE HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH A 1979 Z-28 FRAME CLIP IN THE FRONT. THIS CONSIST OF POWER DISC BRAKES, A 355 CHEVY SMALL BLOCK, AND 400 TRANSMISSION. IT ALSO HAS A 10 BOLT REAR END OUT OF THE SAME CAR AND THE FACTORY Z-28 WHEELS. THE MOTOR RUNS STRONG AND THE TRANSMISSION WORKS IN ALL GEARS, I HAVE DRIVEN IT SEVERAL TIMES. THE CAR HAS HEADERS AND NEW DUAL EXHAUST. " A few questions I am wondering: 1. Will i ever be able to put a stock steering wheel without too much modification? The car has had the tilt column swapped with the one from the Z-28. (worse case scenario is I would design an adapter using CAD software and have a machine shop make the part) 2. Will stock rims fit the bolt pattern on the Z-28? I really want to get the stock rims with WWW tires on there 3. Will I be able to lower the car 4-5 inches in the front and rear with that Z-28 setup? I'm guessing using lowering blocks in the rear and cut coils or heat them on the front?? 4. Am i better off with a car that has MustangII? I'm hoping to get a good deal on the car. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
By the way it reads, the work has been done. Have you "looked" at the car? does it need to be lowered? Steering wheel may work, some tilt colums are the same spline as the early units.
The only thing you need to worry about with a camaro subframe is whether or not the steering is front or rear. The rear is a ***** to deal with. I sub framed my 53 and then bagged it. Rode great. Kritz, here on the HAMB has it now and cleaned it up...looks pretty good these days.
sounds like the 53 is built more as a modern "street rod" than as a traditional cruiser that you have in mind. The bolt pattern on the wheels is the same, but the disk brakes might not clear the original 53 steel wheels. To keep the steering wheel/column looking stock, you probably need to build a column that will duplicate the original, and connect to the new steering setup under the hood. Tilt columns are kind of big and fat compared to 53 chevy columns, and it wouldn't look right to just put the original steering wheel on it.
I have those brakes on mine, they clear the 14s fine. I'd be concerned with the width. I saw a 50ish ford at the shriner swap meet, and the camaro clip made the www tires almost stick out like reverse daytons, defin***ely a polished turd. make sure its a good fit
My biggest concern would be the quality of work in the subframe install. I've seen some nice ones-- and some real hack-jobs that I wouldn't want to share the same stretch of road with. Also check the alignment of the front sheetmetal too. (I'd be very hesitant to buy if the front fenders, hood, and radiator support aren't already in place.) The later Camaro subs had a slightly wider track than the stock 53. You can usually compensate with wheel offset. If you want to go real low, keep this in mind as you'll need to maintain tire-to-fender clearance. There are airbags and dropped spindles available in the aftermarket for these clips. And the stock wheels would use the same 5-on 4.75" circle as the Camaro, so you're good there. Don't heat the coils... almost always a bad idea. You can cut 1-2 colis from each spring, tho. (Use a grinder, not a torch.) As for the steering wheel, I'm pretty sure the stock wheel will have the same splines as the later column, but it will have a goofy step from the ugly column to the pretty wheel. The best solution might be using the stock Chevy column & wheel, but cut it off somewhere between the steering box and the firewall, then put a bearing or delrin bushing in the end of the column housing (with a bit of column shaft protruding), then a couple of u-joints & double-D shaft to hook it all to the Camaro box.
I think you need to act faster . The cars you have told us about are almost two weeks into them before you even have decided to look at them.Ebayers and HAMBERS dont want to wait that long to sell them, If they did they would use one of those hot rod selling sites you see... My advice- look at the car right away if it even holds your interest. Might look better/worse in person .If you like it go from there- you dont want to let one get away just because you waited too long. Dont worry - they ARE out there....Good luck
I put the same basic setup under a 51, worked out well...did have to narrow the from subframe a bit to make it fit RIGHT...changed the rear springs to lower it in the rear, lowered the front with cut coils and by positioning the subframe in the desired location. If the work on this car is done well, you should have no problems and a well riding and driving car.
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