This weekend,I set the body back on the frame of my 50 Dodge Coronet.I subframed it with an S10 clip.As you can see from the pix,it is drastically too narrow.Besides that,I bought 2" dropped spindles,dropped springs,new ball joints,and all control arm bushings.The rear has stock springs dearched 3",and 3" blocks.It looks like a friggin' 4x4.Talk about taking the wind out of your sails.A friend of mine used an S10 rear on his 50 Coronet and it looked fine.Obviously he used the wider rear from a 4x4 S10.I have also seen pix of an S10 sub on a 50 Plymouth,no problem.The rear is a relatively easy fix,as I have a 10 bolt posi from a 70-something Firebird.We did the subframe with the body off because we cut the frame under the front seat.Th S10 framerails slid right inside the 50 framerails.At the time,I didn't know the S10 2WD rear was narrower than the 4WD.Another STUPID,STUPID,thing I did was,do the job by simply looking at pix of other cars and not taking measurements of my own.By the way,it could easily use about 4" wider on both sides,too much to try with wheels and spacers.Wheels and tires are also new.Please don't laugh,my sanity couldn't take it right now(lol).Any suggestions? Fuzzy
If it's as bad as you say (I don't see any pics), it sounds like you will need to start over with a larger car subframe. Or if you are skilled enough cut the S10 frame in half and move each side out the needed distance. If you do this you absolutely positively HAVE to make sure everything is square and level in the side-to-side, front-to-back directions. You have to be meticulous about it and it's still not the best option. You can resell the drop spindles and other supplies to any one with a S10.
First off pics would help, but for your front why not try wheels with more offset? You could pick up at least a couple inches that way. Still may need more, but it might help? In order to get the frame down enough you may have to put a Z in it. Or cut out the S-10 and go with a Camaro sub. Not only wider, but they also curve up to get pretty low. I know you have heard it before, but measure twice, cut once.
Atleast the wheels are centered in the wheel wells..Does it already have the dropped spindles in it ? Try some different off set wheel first before you go hacking it apart....
i'd set it on the ground with the suspension at ride height....and go from there....looks like a reversed rim would work wonders.....though i have gotten some of the 2" spacers for a couple buddys that have done this clip swap....maybe check on flipping the rear main leafs..... brandon
Oh **** that really does take the wind out of your sails. I'm sure you were really excited about setting those fenders back on and grinning ear to ear about your progress. I would say do it right and cut it out and start over. Perhaps if you were to cut the cross-members out after and add the 8" in or see if a Fatman or Camaro cross-member will give you the desired width. Then fab up a sub section that flair out 4'' each side to connect the s-10 frame rails to the 50's. Ahhh it all seems like a great deal of work damn it!!!!! These s-10's are really starting cause trouble. Just kidding Good LUCK!
Brandon,the car is on the ground in the pix.Yeah it's that high! If it can be fixed with wheels and spacers,I will probably z the sub.That was one thing I thought about,and there is a fairly easy spot to do it.I still have a lot of room in the firewall and tunnel area.
Hmm. If it was my garage, I'd say it's time for a beer and cigar, and ponder the situation. I hope you hang in there with this project. Some problems aren't as bad as they first seem. Since you're at the peak of this learning curve, it might be a good time to vow not to be whupped by no pile of metal. Good luck!
Hey-before you go to cutting, have a 200 pound buddy stand on the front rais then take a loob-cause that's approximately how much metal you're missing. and besides...Wider wheels would look *****in. (realizing neither is a great answer, but hopefully it cheered you up a bit.)
z it & bag it, ive got a camero sub under my caddy the wheels are in a little bit more than stock but still looks good
i dont want you to think im doggin' ya for your choice.. the S-10 frame..but just so i know you had no other choice..I have to ask..What was wrong with the original frame?
When you installed the control arms with the new bushings in them, was the suspension hanging or was it sitting on the ground? Seeing as how you're missing alot of front end weight, (engine, trans, rad & coolant) loosen off the control arm bushings, install simulated weight of engine and trans, then retighten the control arm bushings. It might be that the bushings are bound up. It's worth a shot...
Look at your lower A arm position. They should pretty close to horizontal. If the ball joints are lower than horizontal, you have more room to come down. That ****er sure is tall...but I swear, you can fix it. Give more info and some more pics, and we can figure it out. On the good side, if you get her down where she belongs, the skinny trac width will be ALOT less of an issue. It will even help to not rub the fenders when you turn. Good luck, -Abone.
It looks to me like your wheels are set with an even offset.If it were me I would put a jack under the a arm unbolt the wheel and slide it out to see what looks best then shoot for a close offset compromise. I really think that you would notice a difference if the front was a little lower. Don't beat yourself up though it happens in one form or another to all of us. pool
Actually the old front end was in decent shape.Th e guy I bought the car from had put the 318 in it but the left manifold was sitting on the steering column,and the right one was hitting the frame.In retrospect,I should have reworked what he did,and put in a disc brake conversion.The front end was lower than it is now.I just went out to the garage to check out the upper arm shaft.I knew not to tighten them until there was weight on the front end,but I had them fairlly snug.I loosened them up and bounced it a few times and it dropped a 1/2 ".Does that apply to the lower ones also?If it does I'll try that after work tomorrow.Right now 3:00 A.M. is not that far away to get up for work.I really appreciate all the help everybody! I'll take a few more pix tomorrow.Thanks again. Fuzz
You can also cut one coil off the front spring. You will be adding more weight to the car, a radiator full of water is heavy, not to mention the rest of the sheetmetal, and bumper. It will settle some with time too. I would finish it up, and put spacers on the front wheels. Dean
Slightly tongue in cheek, but you could split the body right down the center and narrow it up, then raise the floorpan and drop that body down where you want it... There are a couple of people on ebay that specialize in custom made spacers. I would think it would be no problem to get a 2 inch spacer on each side. Even though the tires and wheels are new, I think the car would look good with wider reversed rims anyway, a relatively inexpensive fix compared to some of the other options presented, and certainly less work... Definitely take a step back and take some deep breaths for a couple of weeks before coming to a conclusion.
I would finish puttin it together. I bet you are missing close to 200lbs with all the accessories on the front of the engine, exhaust, rad, core support, bumper, and all the sheetmetal.
those wheel are super shallow.a wheel spacer and some more offset to the outside and you'll probably be cool.it's easier to fix a too shallow problem than it is to fix a too wide problem.there's also the old lowrider trick of extending the A-arms if all else fails.
well with more weight or a coil cut off the springs the a-arms will push the wheel out a little more but it will also pull the wheels back. those S-10 arm are mounted at a pretty good angle. If you aren't running drop spindles, get some. Drop spindles will move the wheels out 1/2" on each side. Check your stance again, hopefully it will need to come down a little more, cut a half a coil off and get those arms parallel to the ground, that should push the wheels out even more without pulling the wheels back to much. I have bagged many S-10's and I own 4 of them right now, if you have any other questions feel free to ask. P.S., I have some drop spindles
time to cut it off and go with a camaro, this time take some all thread in place of the shocks and pull the suspenion down to ride height, lower controll arms flat to the world, set the car frame at the height you want then figure out the connection. bad engineering by the installers is what gives sub frames a bad rap. dont get into wideing/narrowing a sub frame choose the right one for your application.just write it off to experience gained good luck.
Drop the car to ride height and check your wheel placement then. They should move out as the suspension moves through it's arc. As mentioned before offset wheels, wheel spacers, etc. are good ideas. Also check some of the roundy-round manufacturers. They build all kinds of weird a-arms; narrowed or widened to manipulate the track width of a car. Good luck.
And, put the grille and the other fender on. While I'm sure it's still gonna be alittle narrow, you might have that front fender pointing out too far. You wont' know for sure how bad it is untill you mock it up with the grille and the other fender on.
Have you had the front springs out? It is very easy to get the front springs installed without having the spring seated in its pocket. If the front springs are not in the pocket correctly the front could be at least 2 inches high. If the springs are seated in the pockets correctly hang 100 pounds or so off of the front of each frame rail to get an idea of how much it will compress the springs once it is finished. Lowering springs are cheap and easy to come by.
I'm not too familiar with your specific application, but I do know of a ton of rides that benefit from the spacers additional reach. The extra angle will make it easier for the cars weight to ride comfortably on a stiffer spring. (don't cut the springs yet, but if you have to, a spacer will help the ride) As already mentioned... I would take a step back and stare at it with a cup of coffee in your hand... just look and think... then estimate some of your missing weight and add some ballast to the working frame... and keep looking... You have obviously taken a lot of time, money and effort to get this far. Take a deep breath and do your best not to rush to any decisions.
Looking at the pics I dont think its as bad as you thought at first blush. Get the weight in it and try some reversed wheels. It should be about right. Most guys get the tires TOO close and end up cutting expensive rubber on their fender lips and hearing rubbing noises when they go around corners and hit bumps. Just proceed calmly. I've always found that things like this have a way of workin' out.
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