C.E. leaf spring kit question 49-54 chevy

Has any one out there installed a Ford Explorer rear end in a 49-54 chevy car using ch***is engineering's leaf spring kit for Ford rear ends? I'm wondering if this is a bolt in deal, or if the spring perches on the axle will need to be moved.I do know the stock locations on the old tourqe tube are further apart than the Ford axle. any help appriciated.

 

personally I used the posies 3 " dropped springs, they work really well and bolt right into the stock shackles. I used a 4x4 s-10 rear (they are 4" wider than a stock 2wd)

I had to cut the old axle plates off and weld new ones on but that wasn't too big of a deal.

if you order those springs thogh you will need to specify whether or not you have a stock rear in the car.

if you have a non stock rear and you get the correct spring the center pin will be in the correct location.

hope this helps, PM me if you need too.

 

Not to be a *** but why the ford rear end any chevy rear end that is 55in backn plate to backn plate will work you will have to move the leaf pin back 2in wheel base sould be 115in.i did one for my 51 and used all the stock stuff way EZ to do.just trying to help good luck with your build.

 

Cuz' it was FREE and its a posi w/ sway bar and tuff as hell, and i know the vehicle it came out of, and did I say it was FREE.

 

Say no more,free is good!!!! like i said good luck with your build.

 

I measured my tourque tube at 54 in, Explorer at 53.5 in so it should fit nicely with room for a little more tire? I've been getting good feedback on these 8.8 Ford rear ends. search some of my other threads for build pics, and thanks for the luck.

 

Free is nice, but how many spares are you going to carry around with you? If you only want one tire in the trunk, WTF gymnastics are necessary to get the lug pattern to match on all four wheels?

If you have the bucks to dump on that CE kit I'm sure you can afford to come up with a rearend that will be an easier install. '55-57 Chevy and second-gen Camaro (and third gen Nova apparently) all have the perches in the right place, or close enough to fit. Between here and Chevytalk.org with a little searching there should be all the info on rearend swaps in these cars any human would ever need to know in an entire lifetime.


I mean, hell, I picked up a good '75 Camaro rear for my '50 for all of $50 with new brakes, new brake hose, and fairly new drums on it. Even has a chrome cover on it. It's going on the stock springs, a ***anium drill bit will make knocking out new holes a cinch.

 

Free is good. I don't care how much you pay for a part chances are it will not BOLT IN!

 

Not to be a pest, but measuring an axle for comparison sake to the backsides of the brakes is not going to be particularly accurate. Brake offsets vary from about 2" to 4-3/4" per side, depending on the make, model and year of the axle.

The only measurement that really counts wheel-mounting-surface to wheel-mounting-surface (or: WMS to WMS).

Surprises, after welding, can be troublesome and expensive.

 

WMS to WMS is 59.5" on Explorer, 60" on stock. I called Ch***is Engineering, they said spring pads need to be 42" center to center, so mine will need to be moved out about 1" for a proper fit. They supply the new 2.5" wide pads for another 16 bucks. Using my old springs is out of the question since they were heated right in front of the rear shackle to "lower" the rear of the car.

 

I installed their kit on my 51 poncho - everything bolted up perfect. I used a rear axle out of an S10 - just had to relocate the spring perches - no biggie. If your looking at adding it to a chevy, why would you order the ford kit though ?? I'd figure moving spring perches would be easier than relocating spring mounts.

Just my 2 cents !!!!

 

The kit is to install a ford rear end in a chevy car. Thats where I get cornfused. If the chevy kit bolts up to a chevy rear end, why wouldn't the ford kit bolt up to a ford rear. Anyway I may just s**** the ford and find a chev rear then bolt pattern will be same for wheels. Otherwise its another 500 bucks for rear disc brakes with chev bolt pattern. I'm running new disc brakes on front from chevs of the 40's. Sunflower swap meet is in 2 weeks, I'm sure I can find a decent rear end there.

 

Ch***is Engineering has a 40 year reputation of making kits that work. Roy Lewis spent many years designing every component himself, rather than knocking off another companies parts, as is so common in the Street Rod world.

 

For sure, I am very impressed by their products, and will use the kit no matter what rear end I use.