Technical Lifting a 1955-57 Chevy's Stock Suspension

I am 100% in agreement with High5. Just put a straight axle under your stock frame. That's what I did with my 56 210. Hell I am still running the stock steering box. This thing is an absolute riot to drive and I feel it has the right look.

 

I was going to do the same thing to mine but was concerned about possible axle to crossmember contact going over rough parking lot entrance's and the occasional, unavoidable pothole, so I decided against it. After seeing your Killer looking Ride, I wish I would have stuck with plan "A"! How much clearance do you have between the axle and crossmember? (Not meaning to HiJack, just curious)

 

I just went and measured, I have 2.5" between the bottome of the crossmember and the top of the axle. I have hit a few pot holes and some nasty Northern MN road bumps and I have never felt it touch. Forgive the mess, I gotta pull the oil pan and reseal it.

 

I made the mistake of telling my dad to put J C Whitney lift springs in my 57' while I was in Vietnam. He took my car to a local shop, they had a hell of a time getting the front coils in, I think they told my dad to never bring it back again. I got home from Vietnam in Dec of 70. Car looked cool. He did a ton of work that year, keep us close thru hard times. Drove it around for a couple weeks, rode rough but I didn't care! Anyway got ready to got to Norton AFB in Calif. Loaded up and headed west. Got on the Penna. turnpike at Lancaster. Got her up to speed all was well. I was in the passing lane and went into a gentle right hand curve. The road surface was concrete. Every seam I went over made the 57 jump closer to the guard rail! Not cool! Turned off at Harrisburg and headed home. Put my 57 in the garage and flew to Calif. Bought a 68 SS Camaro. Later in life I built my 57 into a race car. I had the front sheet metal off on jack stands. Took the ball joint nuts off but wouldn't release, gave the top a-frame a shot with a sledge. Boom the spring hit the garage wall and shot back at my head. Scared the crap out of me. Needless to say I tied down the spring on the other side. Good I did. Young and dumb!!!

 

Hell, I don't mind the mess. Most old Chevy's are "Territorial" anyway! Lol!
2.5" doesn't sound like much, but if it doesn't hit, it doesn't hit. That's all that matters! I really dig the car. The stance is perfect!

 

Best introduction to a story I've ever heard. That's awesome.

Those pictures of the stacked spindles are really cool. I didn't know that people use to do this, and I've been around this hobby for a long time. Learn something new from time to time. I really like the concept because if you ever get tired of it you can bolt an original spindle back on and be back to normal.

As for placing a straight axle below a stock frame, the axle I have is from a 1949 Ford F1 so the axle itself has a drop factored into it already. I guess if I went with taller leaf springs that it would work. I'll have to think about it. Not a bad idea though.

 

The simplest and easiest [most correct way] is to raise the spindles .

But do it properly and not the Hack-Job example I posted earlier.
You only need 2 spindles to make 2 raised spindles , and not 4 to make 2 as most do it.

But there is one added expense........you need to change all your upper and lower ball joints over to "spherical bearings" or "Tractor joints" if you want heavy duty.
Decent spherical bearings can take the loads .These are common on McPherson strut uppers in competition cars.
The reason for spherical bearings instead of stock ball joints is you need a bolt to go right through it.
You bore out the tapers so they are straight . Bore it the same ID as the spherical bearing ID and compatible bolt size.
Get some thick wall round tubing cut to the desired amount of the height raised [x4] .Also bore these to the desired bolt size.
Weld these tubes to the spindles [and heat treat them if you want added reassurance]

Example 1 [attached] shows this. It will increase track width due to KPI [king pin inclination] moving the datum line further away.


example 2 [attached] has a bit more milling involved.
The tops and bottoms are faced to be perpendicular to the datum line. And the tapered holes are also
bored parallel to the datum line.
Again the tubes are welded on [but they are now parallel to the datum line]
This method keeps the track width as before, and the king pin inclination is also the same [parallel]


When cutting the tubes in a lathe, taper one end so it serves as a "misalignment washer" against the spherical bearing.
This method hasn't addressed the bump steer issue, but there are many ways to correct this [dropping the drag link or raising the steering arms]
You can also add a gusset to the lower tubes from the spindles.

This sort of modification was very popular on early formula cars [uppers] to alter the roll centre.
Here is an example of an adjustable upper where they stacked different tubes each side of the spherical bearing [a Lola]

 

This is from under my 55 Thunderbird Gasser: untouched for half a century.

 

So how do you attach the a-frames to the bearings and spindles I understand you use bolts but the holes in the a-frames where the ball joints go are to big for bolts do another drawing. Thank you!

 

Lots of input on here about the easiest way to raise the front up. . . . Including cutting and welding spindles!
409 coil springs to raise it up and ball joint spacers to keep the wheels from tipping in HAS to be the way to go. Done in a day for way less hassle (and less scary than welding spindles)
Oh yeah don't forget to have it aligned when you're done. Good luck

 

You either machine up [or buy] Spherical bearing "Cups" so the bearing is held in with a circlip .
On a 55-57 lower A-Arm the cup is pressed in from underneath so the inner lip of the cup is load bearing [at the top].



On the upper A-Arm you can simply weld the cup to the A-Arm [common on race cars] Or weld the cup to a laser cut flange and bolt it in.

These spherical bearings can take a lot of load. I've seen them support 1200 lb/in springs is a McPherson strut arrangement.
55-57 Chevy's are in 25% of that.

 

Wow, look at the welds....

 

I just found this. Do you see what I see?



This picture is from the 1960s. This guy did a body lift. Look at the spacers under the radiator support.

 

I wonder what he did with the steering column and clutch linkage, if you lift you have to lengthening. Maybe he did a lot of rabbit hunting. Lol

 

Field car? What's a field car?

 

What about the rear leaf springs and body bushings, any lift tips?

 

QA-1 adjustable coil overs and Ball Joint spacers

 

I have been a welder for many years . This is not for a garage welder . Welding on a forging can spell disaster . The welds should be xrayed and magnafluxed .Dont get me wrong , it very doable but needs to completed correctly .

 

Wow , I’m not pleased with this . The stacking is a way to do it , but don’t let this person do the welding , for you . I can’t see it well but I betting it’s not the best