Hey guys, I bought my 55 pickup about 2 years ago, and havent done much with it since. Ive been thinkin about ditching the leafs in the back and putting in a 4-link with bags and a c-notch. I would like to put bags up front too. I bought this truck from a guy who didn't do the clip job, and he didnt seem to know much about the truck, other than he vaguely rememebers hearing from the original builder that a 70's Buick car was the donor, but wasnt sure. This makes sense because the truck has a buick 350 motor (casting #'s say 75'), and a buick tilt column. I did some research soon after I bought the truck and concluded that it probably had the venerable 70-81 camaro clip. The enigne mounts are home-made so a camaro clip kinda made sense. Also, this clip was pinched and welded were it meets the truck frame, so the tell-tale long skinny subframe "extensions" from the camaro are missing. BUT! after comparing a few camaro clip pictures to mine, it just doesnt look the same. It is a front steer clip, the A-arms look identical to a camaro, but the are a few extra holes here, some missing there, and it has a steering stabilizer (havent seen one of those on a camaro clip). Anyway, it looks 98% like a camaro clip, but with a steering stabilizer, a few minor differences, and surrounded by buick parts. I cant find a good pic of a GM X-body pic to compare. Im stumped. I just need to know what kit to buy so i can bag the front of this beast. (and yea, the Buick 350 leaks like a pig, i know) Anyway here are some pics, thanks for any input.
Maybe a Sklyark ? the stabilizer is throwing me off, don't remember if the Skylark/Chevelle/GTO had them or not.
Only Gm, I ever remember with a stabilizer is a truck, Maybe it's a truck, Is it a 5 on 5 bolt pattern on the wheels?
Looks like a 4.75 bolt pattern. A little google research and we may have a winner with a skylark. Apparently, the skylark, firebird, and camaro have all the same subframe in the 70's. AKA the X-body. The skylark was a 2-door, the Apollo a 4-door, and the first year of the Buick 350 motor was 75... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buick_Skylark
Seems like the apollo subframes had the huge frame horns in front like the caddy seville. And the seville had the big lug pattern like the c10 pick ups, 5 on 5 and the monster frame horns.
Pretty sure the apollo had the same subframe as the skylark in those years. and I am almost positive it didnt have a 5 on 5 lug pattern. according to the info in the link, the name changed from apollo to skylark for the 2 doors in 75 but the 4 doors in the same body style kept the apollo badge.
Im confident that I have a 75-79 skylark/apollo clip. Its an x-body design, which includes the 75' and up nova, which is the same as the 70-81 camaro. Gotta love GM! X-body past 75' = 2nd Gen F-body. I looked at a 70-81 air-ride technologies installation manual and my clip matches their camaro exactly (except for an extra hole near the shock mount bracket). Id imagine the steering stabilzer was absent from the f-body for a sportier feel. http://www.ridetech.com/instructions/docs/ARF6600.pdf
The Jalopy Journal
