on the 57 chevy pu it has the solid front axle and leaf spring set up (stock). does anyone know what independent suspension (car or truck) will fit the stock frame easily with no alteration to the frame itself, considering the new front suspension might be relocated back or forward slightly from where the original is set up right now. iv heard a mustang front end could work; can someone approve that statement if it is true and give the year? what other ones will work, year and model would be greatly appreciated. thanks. reason for a new front end cause i want to drop the nose of the truck down a good 4 - maybe 6 inches. and i read doing an axle flip on the front is a very bad idea.
Lots of info on this and other car truck front susp. swaps. A search will turn up hours of pics and tech. I personally like the stock set-up and it can be lowered with some work, much less than a clip install..jmo
Most here will advocate having your stock axle dropped and retain your existing steering with no modifications to your frame, and that is the "traditional" way of doing what you want to do. Get in touch with "Terd Ferguson" here or others will chime in for sure! As for the Mustang approach, contact Fatman Fabrications in Charlotte, NC. Brent has been doing MII kits for Y-E-A-R-S...he usses the 72-74 Mustang II design and geometry. The crossmembers and top shock/a-arm mounts weld to your frame. I think he even has a wider kit for your truck. I have one going on my '46 Chevy truck, and its LOW! Can't go wrong either way. A clip graft would be one of the easier ways to "get it all" in one fell swoop, but the potential for disaster is there if you dont measure twice and cut once. My last choice....
72 and 73 are NOT Mustang II. MII came out in 1974 and ran to 1978. I only make note of this so that someone doesn't buy a 72-3 Mustang (or suspension parts) planning to remove the front crossmember and use it in a Hot Rod. For one thing, if I remember correctly...there is no real crossmember in that style Mustang...just a round tube that bolts onto the frame rails but doesn't hold any suspension. As well, on this era Mustang the coil springs ride on top of the upper control arms.
Thanks for the correction, Bill. You're correct, 74-78 MII, but it's also the same as 72-74 Pintos. The crossmember I'm speaking of is Fatman's unit, not Ford's. You're correct again on the Ford unit.
Here's a thread on how to install a Camaro front clip: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148978
With the cost of replaceing all the componets you should just get ahold of Elpolacko and buy a frontend from him. Its all new and is proven to work great. Look him up on here...
Pm Steve he knows hs **** On another note ,if he does not have a kit for you look into jw garage. I just installed his mm2 in my ford truck. I'm happy with it. Priced right
Don't use a real Mustang IFS, it wasn't designed to handle the weight and loads imposed by a truck. Instead, go with an aftermarket IFS kit from Fatman's, or TCI, etc. You'll get all NEW components designed specifically for the truck, big brakes, power steering, etc. and it'll handle like it's on rails. I put a TCI kit in mine, and I have no regrets. I've done the Nova clip in another, and it turned out OK too, but at the end of day, when you dial in the costs to refresh the Nova clip, the cost is about the same as a new aftermarket kit. just my worthless 2 cents.
these are all good responses. thank you. i talked to a old timer whos been doin work on cars back to the late 40's as a teenage mechanic he reminded me that it will take a lot of time and patience. which i have patience but not a lot of time. the other thing he mentioned was it needs perfect welds none of that pocket mig welder beads. and as we discussed it further he had me realize i wanted to go the old school rat rod look, which back in the day you couldnt find a mustang 2 front end or camaro clip. he did state that i could go with a dropped front axle which either i send mine in to be fixed or i buy a ready to go one. which makes the project quicker and possibly easier. so now i might be headed in that direction, but i will keep these posts in mind. thank you.
I've been pondering what to do to the front suspension on one of my 59 chevy trucks since the late 70s, and it's still stock height. You want to take your time with this, don't just jump in blind.
I have a Fatman frame and mustang front end under my 56 Chevy pickup. the truck drives and handles great!
nothing I like better than to look under someone elses cool old truck and see a dropped I-beam. off the top of my head a black and flamed 50 or so truck comes to mind that I have seen around a few times, that I beam just added extra cool points. for a truck I were going to actually own and drive I'd go mustang II. the ride and handling can't be beat.
Jump over here to my site, I just opened a Forum to discuss issues just like this. IC Forum Your question is hardly new. There are several sites with information on your different options. At some point you need to make the decision for yourself based on what you intend to do with your truck.
this truck when done will not be a daily driver, more a weekend warrior, cruise in Vhicle and the occasional car show. so i wont be doin a whole lot of traveling and everything is local to me. if anyone has anymore info on dropped I- Beam or dropped front axles let me know. it will be good to get info on both sides of the fence.
Over at Ford Trucks they have a series on Front End Alternatives for 48-60 Ford trucks. Most of what's in those articles will apply to your Chevy. Its good stuff, even if it is directed to Fords. Here is the link to Part 1. There are links to the other parts down at the bottom. http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/...ives_for_1948__1960_Ford_Trucks_Part_One.html Take your time deciding and remember, a lot of older IFS is hard to find parts for. For what its worth, I put one of Elpolacko's Dakota units in my 48 F1. Mine was the last one his shop installed before he discontinued the old kit. He is working up a new Dakota based kit as he stated above. Check it out. His work is excellent.
Pinto, uh Mustang II you buy a very expensive kit that may or may not fit right from a major manufacturer. I personally don't think that flipping the axle is a bad idea, you actually don't flip it you move it to the top of the spring. It takes welding skill and a little knowlege of suspension geometry. You can also get the axle dropped. When I was young (pre pinto) we used to rob the suspension from an early '60s (pre '66) C-10 and fab up mounts and go from there. There is no actual bolt on front suspension for your truck.
well, not only do i not own a high performance welder nor a workable area in a garage im just gonna save a hell of a lot of money and get myself a lowered I-Beam front axle from this guy --> http://www.droppedaxles.com/
Dropped axle is a good bet for you. It is the simplest solution. Most of the time we worked in the driveway or in the street when I was younger, well I still work in the driveway. There ware a lot of old chevy trucks put on the road with all the welding done with a torch. You really don't need to own the new hottest setup. There is actually an AD truck down in the Ozarks that I g*** welded all the brackets to put a '62 torsion bar IFS under in '76. It still gets driven dailey and up and down a lot of dirt roads. One thing that a lot of todays "traditional" rodders have to remember is that we didn't use to have a lot of fancy tools. No one had an english wheel or a sheet metal brake in their garage. Most if the time you were lucky if you knew someone with a torch or a stick welder to try and use to build your car.
What are the reasons people say " If it's gonna be a daily driver, then I'd go with blah blah blah..." Is there something wrong with going original? I've been thinking of doing a drop axle but keeping the rest stock. Am I missing something? Or is it just preference?
It is a modern concept that if it is a hot rod it isn't dependable, or if it isn't modern it isn't dependable or safe. It is actually most popular with owners of high zoot street rods or with folks that have grown up driving Neons and Hondas. There is not a thing in the world wrong with building a totally traditional ride and driving it every day. They got driven every day when they were built, back when traditional wasn't traditional yet. I have been driving my rods daily as long as I have been building and driving. Now that I am older I actually have more than one car so I can work on one and drive another but for the better part of 40 years I only had one car or one motor cycle and if it didn't make the trip I didn't make the trip. I don't recall missing much work over the years and I have driven or ridden some pretty extreme stuff. Its all about your mind set I suppose. If you build it right you should be able to get in it any time you want and drive it from here to Timbuktu. Note: I am not sure where Timbuktu is but I suppose that it is a fur piece from here.
Well if you did decide to drive to Timbuktu, you'd need some very large water wings to go along with that new frontend.
Yeah, I guess for nostalgia's sake I plan on going through mine, but keeping it traditional.( except for above mentioned drop axle) . I know it'll be more difficult to steer, and I'll build lower body strength stopping it, but hell I wanted an old truck. Plus I'm broke and don't have thousands upon thousands to throw at one to make it more modern. Thanks for clearing up my concerns. I just wasn't sure if there was some safety issues I hadn't thought about.
Or a ticket on a tramp steamer. I am not the one looking for a new front end I don't have any problems building or making decisions as a rule. 40+ years of building will do that for you. Black lion a dropped axle is about as traditional as it gets. They are not any harder to steer than anything else except for power steering and you can make it power if you want. The wife has been driving my stuff for decades she is a little heavier now than when we were young but she isn't a big woman by any means and original brakes if they are working correctly are not any big deal either. I'm old and crippled (legs shot) and old manual brakes have never been a problem, I do have a problem with a stiff clutch but that is a different story all together. Something to think about is that you will need to play with your drag link angle a little with thr drop axle to avoid bump steer. Do a quick search and find out what you need to do to straighten it out. No hill for a stepper my friend, you'll do fine.
Just remember guys if straight axles are so bad and out dated and IFS is so great. Then why don't semi trucks have IFS? What gets driven more on the road a year Semi or car? If straight axles aren't safe why we have so many on the road today? Then we can go on and say Why don't semi trucks have disc brakes if drums are so bad???
I have been trying not to add to the three threads about lowering and or changing/subframe of Ford or Chevy PU. But get a grip fellas. Simple times mid 1960's, the 1950 thru 1960 Ford and Chevy PU were every where and driven every where with stock front ends. If you wanted to lower the front you put smaller tires on the front, if that is not enough you heated the springs. Terrible ride, but sure looked good. The dropped axle was for the guys that had a little more money. Those were the traditional ways from the mid 1960's. Rant over.
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