im looking for ideas to get the front end working under my 31 chevy 2 door sedan. it has an aluminum buick motor i may keep in it.. but i have no idea what to do to the front suspension. its the twin inline leaf spring and axle... i need better brakes (currently have C1 vette drums ?)and steering and gas shocks.. Looking for TRADITIONAL or Period ways to make the front end work. like shock mounting..id like to see pics or ideas. what steering box should i use...? will stock one work with a traditional rod look? id like to do better front brakes..not sure what goes on the king pin front axle of this car.. if i can get this part sorted i will be able to let the clutch out and tinker it around...this would be a great motivation to get my car road worthy. i dont want camaro or huge coil spring buckets on the front... im fine with the original set up..just want it to work better... im a visual guy so pictures and or parts or part numbers will help me plan my task. thanks in advance...i need to catch up to my bro who has put a ton of miles under his 28 ford coupe ??
My inclination would be somehow to get the parallel leaf suspension to work. Try a search on here for g***er-style front axle set-ups.
You could put in a Ford Model A/32 style front end, There's more options. It's a $75 Front Crossmember.
I put a model A front end in my 35 Chevy pick up, My brothers 31 Chevy Sedan has the original front axle with spindles from a 48 Chevy truck and disc breaks in this pic but wound up with a Mustang II when we found out the axle was bent.
Using a 50's Chevrolet truck axle will bring it down a bit and you can get a disc conversion like JYPSEA said. Where are you in GA? I have an extra axle if you're interested- just pm me
Lots of dudes back in the day ran the parallel front leaf setup. You'll see it under lakes and drag cars alike.
A Chevy should have parallel leaf springs. They look quite nice on old stuff,think vintage racing cars.... Dare to stand apart from the Ford type front leaf spring.
AXLE: MAS sells a parallel leaf drop axle that mates up to 49-54 Chevy spindles. STEERING BOX: If you aren't running fenders, a VW bus steering box works out very nicely. The pitman arm points upwards, which puts it at a good height to mate up with a steering arm that's mounted to the top of the spindles. As a bonus, the VW box mount fits the frame like it was made for it and can be swung to any angle, allowing you to place your steering wheel wherever you damn well please. BRAKES: The later drum brakes are self energizing. I think you want 53-54 Chevy p*** car for the 5 bolt pattern or similar year truck parts for the 6 bolt pattern.
The Jalopy Journal
