Hi my name is Thomas from Canada. I have a question regarding the cost of installing a new front clip on my 1953 chevy 210 down the road. I have been looking at clips from both FatMan Fabrication and Heidt's for the Mustang 2 clips weld in style. Price wise they are very similar in price. Just curious what peoples feelings are in terms of quality from either company and what their experience has been with either product. I just wanna get a rough estimate in terms of cost to get it installed minus the alignment cost. I know there's no way to say exactly what it will cost but just to know what I should expect. thanks and have a good day.
I’ve got nothing against using front clips, but I’ve got to go with fastcar’s comments. I’ve got a front rear clipped car. If the front of your frame is rusted out, or all missing, that’s one thing. But unless you’re headed for wider wheels and tires, similarly mods on the back, and big horsepower you’re not going to gain much over a good tight rebuild and alignment. Do the steering box too if necessary. Your car and your money. Enjoy the ride.
I don't have experience with either kit. I won't say if it's necessary, that's up to you. I will say that most of us below the border won't be able to be of much help in pricing out stuff well for our maple leaf neighbors. You might want to include something in the title to reflect this. I will say that if it's anything like here, great shops don't advertise - they are busy, good shops will vary but be fairly competitive and the murky depths of shops will promise great prices and quick turn around and deliver neither then mess your car up too.
I had a 54 Chevy with the Chassis Engineering front clip and it drove great. I've built 2 ground up builds using FatMan and they are the 2 best driving and riding chassis I have. You are going to hear a bunch of opinions here but the truth is the original suspension is not modern and you will not enjoy driving at freeway speeds with a car that wanders due to no caster and irregular wear due to poor camber change. Some will compensate for having no caster by running too much toe in. This will also cause tire wear. Both Heidts (now owns Chassis Engineering) and FatMan make excellent products when installed correctly. Do it. You will be glad you did.
Only issue with Fat Man stuff , is it is heavy material , welding it to thin Chevy frames is not for the inexperienced welder . One attached correctly the work well .
For this car, the front IFS kits are bolt in. They are engineered especially for this series of cars. I have had no quality problems with either in the last 10 years. https://www.fatmanfab.com/bolt-in-kit-49-54-chevy-car
thanks for the input guys appreciate. I realized I forgot to mention that I converted the front to wildwood disc brakes on the front and installed a kit from a guy in texas that converted the car to power rack and pinion steering. the rest of the front clip is original.
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