I have seen people suggest a camaro rear but will the pontiac firebird rear work too? I have never worked on leaf springs before and after looking at my original set up, I'm wondering about the particulars of putting a firebird rear in my car. Also, if anybody has links to where someone has already detailed this that would help so I'm not reinventing the wheel. How is it done? what stuff will i need to get it in right. The springs are so saggy I"m not worried about lowering now! I do want to use the original springs to start with since ...I cant afford new ones. thanks
I put a 78 camaro rear under my 50. Have since changed out to 4 bars as the springs are on the weak side for an open rear end.
I bought a new set of original 53 springs when i went open driveline..they work just fine. used a rear end out of a 4X4 s-10..but it cant be that much different than the cramero rear end set up
i used the springs and rear from a 81 firebird..cut the perches off the rear and bought some universal perches..Welded some tabs on the frame to mount the springs exactly on the frame and center the rear and weld the perches on the rear
couple things to think about when doing rear end swaps on these cars. stock springs are narrow, so you should get matching narrow spring pads. you'll need to offset the hole on the pad that centers the rear in the wheelwell. 3/4" forward I think... someone correct me if I'm wrong second generation Camaro/Firebird rears are slightly wider than stock. I couldn't run my skirts with my aftermarket chrome wheels. I think they were 15x6.. maybe 7". stock 5" rims or a 6" with a different offset should work fine... I think these were a little deep dish compared to a factory wheel. I had 4" blocks, stock springs, 3.73 gears, a good running 350 and a lead foot. never had a problem with the stock skinny springs, though others may have a different tale to tell (or more horsepower and/or a 4-5speed.)
Where is there a blow apart picture or tech on the specifics of how a leaf spring mount is set up? I guess there is no other way other than welding up mounts for this? I can weld, thats no problem. Where can I get these? I thought I could just unbolt something!! Of course, another 200 to drop that wasnt expecting... seems to be right on track with everything else!!
I'm using a s10 4x4 rear, but it seems a little narrow. I could run reverse wheels but I may just go with a set of adapters. Here's an ebay link for some swap parts. It's not my ad, nor do I know anything about the company. I've been thinking of getting them for my 52. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300301409194&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT
yep yer right 3/4" forward off set to center the axle in the wheel well. im running 3.5" blocks I made out of SQ tube, and incorporated the perch right into the block all one piece. also made them a bit longer so spring wrap not an issue..(spread the torque over a lager area of each spring) With the 4x4 s-10 rear ..you can use the stock wheels, and skirts..even with a nice wide tire. I think I got 215 70 r 15's on the back of mine
55-57 rear end will bolt in, but you still need to drill a new 1/2" iirc pilot hole in the front of the pad. drive shaft from a 70s monte/cutlass should work with most trannys.
The Jalopy Journal
