About year ago I bought a '51 Chevy tudor with a 305/350 and a frontsteer camaro subframe.Done right but too wide. What options do I have other cutting it out and starting over? Are there rims inset enough to correct the problem? I'll be using caps so rim appearance isn't an issue and wide tires aren't in the plan. How about narrow A arms? I'm open to ideas........
What year Camaro did the front clip come from? Good friend of mine did the same swap with a 73 Firebird clip and the Poncho clip slid into the 51 Chevy frame making a perfect fit.
i'm guessing one of the circle track places can and does make narrowed A arms. someone like stockcarproducts.com maybe. lots of the late model circle track cars use 2nd gen f body front frames.
there are really to kinds of gm sub frames front steer and rear steer. the only real differences are in the front frame rail bumper mtg area.you can spend money and get the wheels in the fenders but you will still have a less than desierable deal. my choice would be a replacement frame w/must 11.
I'm in the same boat as you. Mid 70s firbird sub frame in my 50. I don't have a rear axle for it yet, so I'm still thinking about what to do while I finish my basemet remodle First I'll try 4x4 S10 wheels. I found 2 15 x 6 with 205 75R15 on them for free [WHOOT] apparently you'll need a thin wheel spacer to clear the tie rods If thats not enough, find some skinnier tires and/or section the a arms a little. Heres some other threads for ya http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=193780 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=80822 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61255 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60754
Yep, you are correct. S 10 4X4 steel wheels 6"wide. I used them on my subbed 50 plymouth and squeeked by. I still have a pair of those wheels if anybody needs them.
HEY! There is a place called "Just suspensions" (as seen on the back page of my new hot rod) that in the fine print mentions narrowed control arms "for wider tires"- meaning they probably narrow the trackwidth by a fair amount. www.justsuspensions.com give 'em a shot! 975.OO That's ninehunnertandseventyfive freakin dollars! perhaps you should narrow the ones you've got.
LOL THATSAHELLUVALOTASCRATCH! Took a break from the ba*****t and slapped the s-10 wheels under it. 1) yuppers, need a thin wheel spacer. The tie rod end just hits the wheel. 2) the big fat off road tires are a bit big they'll rub the fender at ride height. Maybe something a bit skinnier, say a 195 I got a question... Where does your sub frame sit compared the the stock frame? It looks like mine was just rolled under and welded on. The rear most flat section of sub frame is sitting under the stock frame. I'm starting to think it's not going to be low enough unless I roll 55 series tires
If you have good welding skills, you can narrow your existing a arms. Takes some time and patience but can be done. I had the same problem on my 52 sedan that has a 76 Camaro sub. I narrowed the arms 1" and then found wheels that were 6" wide with a 4" back space giving me 2 more inches of room per side. It is still tight but can live with it. I removed the arm and ball joint, fastened the arm to a table. Be sure and keep the arm fastened to the table so angles can be duplicated. Then measure the angles where the ball joint fastens, checking the angles at 90 degrees apart so after the ball joint socket was cut out, it could be rewelded in at the same angles. When the socket is cut out, cut enough material out towards the center of the car to allow room to trim an inch off and move the socket inward. You'll have to study the arm to decide where to make the cuts so it will line up when putting it back together. I don't think there was room to go more that an inch. Trim the inch of metal from the cut out socket, fit it back in duplicating the angles. Tack weld the socket back in keeping a check on the angles as you go. I finished the welding of the parts together, ground everything smooth and worked the outer edges to make it look unmodified. Hope this helps. Bob
Yep. I got a 53 Chev With a 72 Camaro Sub. I got The Narrowed tube a arms from fatman or some such.. Definitely helped. I wanted to run some wide whites but needed real skinny tires. For Bias ply would be looking at something like 560 x 15. on radials need 80 series tires from the diamondack catalog. . And even with that still get little wheel rub when the wheel is cranked and going up a driveway. wheels are15 x 5s with the max backspacing.
Bob, Tracked ya down on hotrodders http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/journal.php?action=view&journalid=18396&page=1&perpage=5&reverse= sure as hell, mine is going to be to tall. I gota cut it loose and copy your "z" Thanks Bob
I see I can't hide my street rodder side. I did my subframe this way for extra strength. I have a slighly warm 425 Cadillac engine in it now but have the stuff to put together an injected 500 so the frame should handle it. I trimmed the bottom of the frame to fit on top of the subframe which I kept intact. There is several feet of weld on each side so strength of the joint should not be an issue. I have not seen a sub frame done this way but it all went together well and is solid. Was even able to use the Camaro trans crossmember in its stock location with a little modifying. Bob
The Jalopy Journal
