...anyone done it??? i'd like to hear your advice and see any pics you might have. i've got the 54 crossmember and suspension here now and i can already see that the steering hooks up quite a bit differently and that i will have to drill new holes in the frame to put the 54 clip up in there. i'm lookin for advice and info from people who have done this swap... thanks.
i didnt do the clip swap ..but i did put the 54 spindles,backing plates, drums on my 39 chevy which is the same as a 47...had a **** load of problems at first then figured out what the problem was...my drums was seating on the backin plates pinpointwed the problem to be the drums were warped..but i was told tonight at a cruise in that a corvair is the perfect clip for 39 to 48 cars..swap over perfectly
I was curious more because of the weight thing. Although in the late 60s/early 70s when guys were first exploring IFS on those new "street rod" thingys, the corvair front end was about the only game in town, aside from the Jag.
dont no..thats what the old guy was tellin me...he didnt go into detail about it..i will find out tho..he has alot of 39 chevy parts he wants to unload on me..goin to his shop sometime this week..will keep ya posted
My buddy built a 37 P/U with the Corvair crossmember. It's very easy. Just weld some mounting tabs onto your existing frame to bolt the Xmember onto. The same holds true for the 49-54 Chevy crossmember. Both are not really "clips" by my definition. They are just unboltable crossmembers that hold all the suspension. My recollection of the 49-54 stuff is that it worked pretty well but at that time it was hard to find upgrades for the brakes $$$ and the cars usually sat higher than we wanted. Check the 70s magazines for event coverage and you can see how high the average rodded 37-48 Chevys sat. There are probably kits for the brakes now and I believe you can get dropped spindles but in the long run it might be cheaper just to go with a MII kit. My buddy hated his Corvair front end and finally put in a MII kit. He couldn't make a U turn on a 4 lane highway let alone a 2 lane. Both are a hell of a lot easier than "clipping" the frame with a Camaro/Nova subframe.
I tried the Corvair under a 38 Chev sedan and hated it. It was wide and ugly. I used a 53 Chev IFS (done by CharlieChops in Muskegon) under my 37 Chev coupe for years worked great until I put radial tires on it and it was all over the road. With bias tires it was fine. I think the problem was with my adapted power steering setup tho and not the front suspension. GM used these IFS in vettes up to 1960 or so. I cut a coil from the springs and it rode great and sat fairly low. Disk brakes are avaible for these front ends now but I finally went with a MII because I had access to the parts for cheap.
Did that front end so long ago I can't remember any of the details at all. Mike probably wasn't born yet - LOL. Charlie
What's the advantage in swapping in a 54 front suspension? Both are IFS, but the 54 doesn't use knee shocks? I was planning on swapping in 54 brakes into my 48, and thought about the whole front suspension, but it sounds like more work than it's worth... unless I'm missig something
the 47 does not have the "Bendix" style brakes where as the 50 (maybe 49 too. i forget.) on up do. that is the biggest advantage i think. plus it'll convert the front end to 5 lug wheels and since i'm getting rid of the stock trans, torque tube and 6 lug rearend and putting in a Nailhead, 4 speed and 10 bolt rear i can run 5 lug wheels all around. plus my stock front end was so terribly worn out it would have cost me nearly $300 in parts to rebuild it. this 54 front end i got for FREE and it has reasonably low miles on it. i'll be putting air bags under it so i'm not too worried about the height. plus it'll be a taildragger so even if the front does'nt go as low as the rear it won't be a big deal. ...and they do make dropped "spindles" for the 54s...
Well, it would definitely be better brakes... and maybe a bit lower due to the "slightly dropped" spindles they intro'ed in 53. I've wondered about this swap before, too. Also, I wonder if it would work to sorta notch the bottom of the 47's frame, then mount the 54 suspension in (still bolting it in) to lower the car a bit. You'd probably hafta do something different with steering if you did this (or raise the engine), but IMO the really weak part of the 49-54 design is the goofy center-point steering... I'd be looking for some kind of alternative anyways. When I still had the original front end under my 52, it really handled surprisingly well... I can't really say that the MII was a huge improvement (The R&P steering is way better, but the ability of the car to go around corners, etc. is only marginally improved...).
Mike, 51 was the changeover year to Bendix brakes. If you swap the backing plates, all the bendix stuff will transfer to the 47... maybe you need the spindle, too. I have an article on it somewhere.
It works, but the 54 crossmember ends up tipped to the front which gives you no caster, and will drive like ****. You either have to build in a wedge to compensate, or just swap the backing plates and drums. The only reason people used Corvair front ends is because that was all that was available at the time. They have wimpy ball joints and steering boxes, and are not suited to a car as heavy as yours. It is possible to swap for Chevelle spindles & brakes if you use Corvair truck ball joints, but the steering is still a problem. A lot of guys adapted rack & pinions which you could do, and then after all this work and money, you still have obsolete suspension. Save your money and put in a Mustang II, and have a car that will be enjoyable to drive, as well as safe for you and the people you are driving near.
mike, at first I couldnt understand why you wanted to do this.. now I read that the 54 parts were free, and I still cant figure it out.. wouldnt the 54 stuff be worn out as well? and if your gonna do all this work.. why bother with old stuff? I vote for mustang II as well..
anyone even remotely suggesting a corvair front for anything other than a corvair is still wearing bell bottom pants and a "street is neat" cowboy hat. the 54 stuff was free? dis***emble it, clean everything up, turn the drums and sell it all individually on ebay. people will even buy the wheel bearings. I recently did this with a 53 front end. this should net you around $200.00, if not more. the only way I would recommend this swap is if the free 54 stuff was completely rebuilt already and your front suspension is dangerously worn out. if that were the case the only thing to think about would be the correct caster... the front "clip" would need to be angled most likely... other (better) alternatives. dropped spindles and disc brakes on the original suspension... or the best fix... a mustang II. worth every penny.
i got a mustang 2 over in the corner but its for my 54 chevy...the 39 knee action ****in ****s..so the 54 clip has to be better than that 39..i figure with the 54 clip and a manuel R&P it will be much much better than the 39 ********
the 54 has to be better than the 39. well... depending on condition that would be correct. I don't mean to sound like an ***hole, but seriously... if you could manage a 54 front suspension in anything with rack and pinion steering you wouldn't be here asking questions, you'd be answering them. FAT MAN FABRICATIONS does not offer a 49-54 rack and pinion option because they have not been able to design one that works correctly. these are builders. engineers. they have sold 40,000 plus mustang II front suspensions. if there was an easy low buck steeering option for 37 54 chevies they would be selling it. call 'em up... they are good people.
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