I saw a thread about this a while back, but now I can't find it. I have a 54 parts car I'm thinking about pullin the IFS off of to put on a 53 chevy pickup. Now understand this is a 0 budget build so a mustang 2 is simply out of the question. Is this a good/bad idea, and why?
Those front ends were a POS when new, and haven't improved since then. What's your reason to go that way??
im biulding a 55 chevy truck on a low budgit. i bought a complete 73 to 81 camaro subframe for 100 bucks including the rails all the suspension and brakes. this sub frame is what alot of people use there cheap and i have been told relatively easy to install. that would be the way i would go for your project
The '54 front end was good enough to be used under Corvettes for several years. Probably not the ultimate best, but I wouldn't call them a POS. In your cir***stances, I'd use it.
well I have a 54 car that im building also and im leaving it the oem front end. Im going to spring for fatman uprights at some point and figured the same could be done with my truck. Im open to other options if they are budget friendly also. One reason for going the 54 ifs route is I plan on leaving the stock 216 in the truck and I figured the 54 set up would make that relatively easy.
I also want the truck really low. Can the axle be flipped and the frame notched? Ive seen this done on a 50s F-Series truck.
This is probably the thread you were referring to. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=246915 I am going the same route with my 51 pickup, mainly because I got all the parts for cheap and I want my truck real low(not bagged, just low) and a drop axle just wasn't going to get me there. I have owned several 49-54 Chevy cars and they all had stock front ends and all drove just fine(if properly maintained). Here is a nice burb with bagged 49 Chevy car front suspension.
Go with the '54 front end, it's about as traditonal as you can get and works fine. There was no Camaro subs or MII's back in the 50's and this swap was done on a regular basis. You can get dropped uprights from Fatman's and probably other vendors. There's a guy here that has one in his '38 sedan and he adapted a R/P setup from a Honda (not traditional but works great). I went old-school on my '53, dropped axle from Sid's and removed 3 leafs from the front spring-pack, stock brakes and steering. Maybe not as low as you want to go though.
a late 70s camaro stub will be really wide if you want to go low, thus you limit the wheel selection. you won't have much room inside the frame for the steering box that the car front end uses. I picked up a jaguar to use the front end, sold the rest and came out ahead a few bucks. granted, it is also wider than a stock chevy front end, but I can turn lock to lock. just barely touches the fender lip, easy to clearance with a bat. Just throwing an idea out there.
Here's a couple more pics. I used a 3" dropped axle, I could've gone 4" bit was a little concerned about being below the scrub line. If you go to droppedaxles.com you can see several trucks there with Sid's axles.
that is my 54 GMC. i did it for the same reasons ( I got it free) and it gave me a major upgrade over the straight axle and it dropped it over 7 inches.
Im torn. both idea look good. waldo53 - thats actually a great stance. how far is your front bumper from the ground? noname-your thread is really great and i may turn to you for some pointers if i go that route.
I think it's a great idea! And those damn truck straight axles are junk and have no use anymore. Just gather it all up (steering arms, springs, etc) and put it in two or three boxes and I'll have my friends at UPS pick it up and get it out of your hair for you. Thanks!
I done two before you have to cut up your frame to get the crossmember positioned to set the caster right. If i was on a budget i would buy just the after market mustang ii crossmember look on ebay and speedway you can get them for under $300. Or use a stock one from the junk yard check craigslist too
"waldo53 - thats actually a great stance. how far is your front bumper from the ground?" 7" off the ground
OK, Here's what I'm using. 3" drop axle from sid at www.droppedaxles.com $350.00 ($50.00 core back if you send him your old one,same price for a 4" drop) King pin kit from CPP $40.00 Disc Brake kit from Speedway $250.00 Braided stainless brake lines Speedway $50.00 New tie rod and ends CPP $80.00 About $770.00 (or so plus some shipping) It bolts in place. Uses stock shocks. Not bad when a complete mustang II runs about $1800, A GM sub is a lot cheaper but a whole lot more work fitting it welding and making the sheet metal fit. Mel
I used the POS 54 Chevy car front end in my 38 Chevy 25 years back. Still in there and has worked out fine.
It never ceases to amaze me that guys can read a guys post and read in it that he would like to use certain parts that he already has in his possession and then are hell bent on suggesting that he spend a ton of money on parts that they think are the only thing to use just because that is what they have. If you already have a 54 car front suspension that is in great shape and doesn't need to be completely rebuilt go for it. As a couple have said, it was done quite a bit back in the day and I think the Rod and Custom dream truck either Has that suspension or a whole 54 Car frame under it. I think you will also find that you won't have to cut on the inner fender wells like you do on a subframe swap or with a MII swap. And the sheet metal will bolt right back on without alignment issues. I am installing a MII style crossmember on the 48 and even though I got it at a bargain ba*****t price, got a deal on the tube A arms and took the spindles, springs and rack off a car I junked out I'll have over 600 in the front end when you count brake rotors and caliper brackets. I've put over 100 K on my 48 with the current I beam under it and have replaced the king pins twice and it needs it again. Plus I am tired of fighting with it as it wears me out driving it a couple of hundred miles or more in a day. Every setup has it's pluses and minuses. The I beam axle either dropped or with lowering springs is as traditional as it gets and also as simple as it gets. The minus is it can get pretty expensive for a guy on a tight budget and steering effort can be high. The MII crossmember is proven and works. Outside of the crossmember it's self a lot of the actual parts of a stock setup interchange with lots heavier cars. Installed right they drive great. The negatives are that aftermarket units can get expensive in a hurry in some cases and in others parts and workmanship can be somewhat suspect in some cases. The subframe setups drive great if set up right and are usually fairly inexpensive to install. The negatives are that there are some real sloppy installations out there plus from personal experience, it can be a royal pain in the **** to get the sheet metal all back on and lined up right. Plus some states and some Canadian provinces frown on spliced and welded frames. Again due to too much suspect work showing up. The S-10 Frame swaps although popular may be beyond the skill level of a lot of guys but they usually drive and handle great and aren't all that expensive if a guy does it himself. The 54 Car style suspension is traditional, relatively inexpensive and simple and the sheet metal should line up pretty easily as the frame hasn't been cut in two. The minus is that some parts may be hard to get at times or a bit expensive.
Considering how many are still on the road in good working order I would say your very wrong with that statement.
All I know is the 49-54 chev 53-62 vette unit fits like it was made for it. lowered my front over 8 inches. using vette springs and sway bar, disc brake conversion, gas shocks and radial tires. I feel it will drive better than stock. and cheaper and easier than most others
If the car IFS is in decent shape, go with it. You can rebuild the brakes fairly cheap (I did one for about $100 for new everything except drums), as long as you don't have to dig too much deeper into it it will get you on the road and go. If it drives like **** or you wear it out, then try a Jag or one of the kits, but in the meantime you can enjoy the thing and find out if there's any drawbacks to it.
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