I am looking to update my original suspension on my 52 chevy all the original bushings will need to be replaced does anyone know where I can find these? A front clip is a little out of my budget but im definatly open to any other budget friendly solutions. anyone using the original front suspension what did you do to make it road worthy?
I thought about redoing mine with stock stuff.after pricing everything it wasn't that cheap to go back stock..I'm gonna add some cash to it and get the bolt in mustang ll kit.it will sit low and I won't have to worry about finding a front end part if I'm on vacation somewhere.If I hit a big hole and bend a tie rod or something I can go to the local autoparts store and buy it.with the stocker stuff it has to be ordered.to each his own but give it some thought..little more money but I think it will be well spent
ANYONE WHO USES THE WORD "CLIP" IN REFERENCE TO A 49-54 CHEVY HAS SOME LEARNIN' TO DO. sorry... this subject is one of my pet peeves. I bought my first 49 in 1976.. I still have it. I've had 4 in between. I put a few miles on a stock front end with cut coils and drums... (V8 power) SOON updated to discs, but for the money spent on discs I should have gone and done it right with a mustang II for a few bucks more. for what I spent to get good brakes and new tie rods and such I would have been very close to a mustang II. ... of course I do my own labor.. so if that is not your case your setup will cost a bit more BUT WHATEVER THE COST YOU ARE POLISHING A TURD TO UPDATE THE STOCK FRONT END ON A 49 -54 CHEVY. unless of course a resto is what you are after. in that case get ahold of CHEVSOFTHE40'S.COM ..they got everything you need to restore that front suspension. clips are for hacks.
Kanter sells a frontend rebuild kit. They also carry a disc brake adapter kit, you can then buy from any autoparts store Nova front brakes. You need to decide what you want. A mustang II isn't without it's problems, quality, longevity of the parts, and how complicated of an install it is. The OG suspension isn't bad, they put it in the Vettes as well, and if all your doing is running around town, the stocker should be fine. As far as price, the disc can be done for under $300, and the front rebuild kit is under $400, I've NEVER seen a full must II kit for $700 if so, send me the link...
I know it's a common practice to just replace everything in the front end when restoring an old car but if money is an issue, I'd check it out thoroughly and replace only what is worn. If a part is not worn or wearing I see no reason to arbitrarily replace it on most of the cars we are playing with. To be honest with you that 50 year old part may be of higher quality than the reproduction replacement part. BTW try to find NORS parts made in the USA if you can. I've heard of some problems with longevity with those "front end rebuild kits". They'll probably last 25 years on a garage queen that gets 3-5 hundred miles a year but if you drive it a lot keep an eye on it. I don't believe they get the life expectancy that we normally think we will get. Replacing the worn parts and a good cleaning and a lube job, making sure that the lube actually penetrates all the parts, will do wonders. Adjust up the steering box and get it aligned. The alignment shop will check everything (trying to sell some parts). So you will have a pro check your work. If you miss something they won't align it. If a part hasn't worn in 50 years why would it start now after some maintenance. Just another option.
New shocks, new bushings, new grease. They can all be had at your local Auto-Mart. Maybe tie rod ends. If it ain't broke...
they may be turds, but they DO polish up nicely! i've been driving the piss outta my polished turd, i rebuilt the stock suspension, added the ECI disc brake kit, and converted to manual rack n pinion steering using a SAAB rack. it drives great, the suspension it tight, the car sits low, stops like it should and goes straight down the road with no wander, and turns quick and easy. my car is also bagged, and doesn't have the wide range of camber change that you get with a bagged mII. mII is for people who want all the engineering done for them, a real craftsman will look at what he has, determine its weaknesses and fix them. was my route the cheapest? maybe not, but it didn't cost any more than a mII conversion. also, if i had lived just about anywhere else, the stock brakes would have stayed, but being much of my driving is mountain driving, i wanted excellent brakes. the best thing is when people poke their head under the car and see stock suspension, to some of us trying to stay as period as practical, that is worth more than comparing costs.
Get an old Moog front end parts catalog and memorize the part numbers for '49-'54 front end parts. I've bought them new in the box at swap meets for pennies because they were in boxes of ***orted **** that came out of an old garage, and the vendor didn't know or care what they went to. As Tommy said, a Moog control arm shaft kit made in the U.S. forty or fifty years ago beats the currently available offshore parts all day, every day.
I hafta agree with those who are "steering" you away from the subfram/clip route... unless you don't want the car much lower than stock in the front. Most clips will be too wide to really tuck the tires under the fenders correctly on these cars, unless you run stupid-looking front-wheel-drive type wheels. The steering box will either: a) interfere with your radiator support (if it's front steer), causing you either time or money to get that straightened out, or b) be so close to the firewall that it will give you a goofy angle on your steering column. Even if you use a tilt column, the steering wheel will still not tilt far enough to look/feel right. Plus, the column will require you to relocate your brake pedal. The subframe will snowball till it ends up costing you more than either of the other options mentioned. My main beef with the original front end is the goofy steering. It sounds like ray has something good going with the saab-story rack & pinion... I'd like to see that in-pics or in person... might want to plagiarize that on a future build. My car has a MII in it, and I had access to the tools and parts that I ended up with le$$ in it than a front end rebuild kit + disc brake adapter kit & parts + steering box rebuild. I can't really say the car handles much better with the MII, but it's lower, and parts are easy to pick up at the local parts counter. (I think the lowering helped the handling more than the suspension change.) I don't regret the MII at all.
haha, stealing ideas is half of what hot roddin is all about! i got the idea from DirtyT doing it on his former ride the space herpie, and he got the idea from someone else. the only "saab-story" part of it is trying to find a manual saab rack, they are rare. i ended up using a power rack with the fittings plugged, it still steers easy, not like some power steering cars with power steering that don't work. i ended up using the power unit because of a ****ty parts vendor who couldn't uderstand when i clearly asked for a MANUAL unit, and even asked them to confirm it was a manual rack, what do i get? a power rack! i was in a crunch to get it on the road, so i used the power rack for mockup, it's worked fine so it has stayed.
I don't know how you can say you are trying to stay period correct when you have disk and a Saab rack.?as far as a "real craftman will see the weakness of what he has and fix them"..you did the same thing, changed the front end.only difference in what you did and a Mustang ll front end is you kept the stock cradle and the high stance.both of which are not very pleasant to look at.when it comes to the stock stuff it's not cheap!I priced the tie rods outer and inner w/ the sleeves for just shy of $370.00 at Advance Auto Parts.now you still need all the rubber,pins,ect ect and they have to order it all.I like everything new in my cars.I drive alot out of town and I don't like to break down on the road.the bolt in cradle is less than $600.00.you have to have longer lower A arms I think they are under $200.00.the rest of the stuff you can buy new over the counter or get a parts car and mix the two.old and new depending on your budget.I always found it funny how people will spend money.they say they don't have the cash,but they will buy a 3K big screen tv for the house and will not spring a grand or two on something that will make the car safer, more fun,better lookin' and make the car worth more.look at it as an investment,you will get more out of your car, if you do sell it.more of a profit than you paid for the stang front end.
I think I may have started a battle MII Vs Original DING DING let the battle begin.... keep the opinions coming guys and gals im still unsure which route to take
The battle's been waged here a few times...check some of the old threads since there might be important info that doesn't get posted in this one. Two that'd I'd start with are: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115209 and this one that's still on the main page: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=127079 A stock front end, MII, and clip are all good options when done right, but things like ride height, adjustability (air bags), and your fabrication and welding skills play a big role in your decision. Good luck. Bryan
its my first project like this and my first car i'm 18. Using my dads account to ask my questions. I have taken every offered welding cl*** in highschool some twice.
i'm running fatman dropped uprights .one coil cut out. rear steer rack from a88-90 berretta.gm small calipers with my discs.runs good ,looks good ,could turn a little better but i like it!
Do your intro big block styleline..then post some pics of your chevy.thought about a bbc in mine..would love to see some pics
I see there is a lot of debate here, on the Mustang II conversion. I plan on putting a Mustang II in my 52. Everyone seems to be talking about the pros and cons. I'm looking to find out what conversions are being used. I have found only found two places so far that make the conversions. http://www.waltonfabrication.com/dh/06.htm http://www.ch***isengineeringinc.com/page28.html Who can direct me on the quality of these, or any other fabricators that may produce a better product. I figure this would be a good thread to find out about it. I've had my 52 for 28 years now (stock), it's time to give it a new updated drivable life...
i had my front end done with kanter,s kit and somewhere someone put buick brakes on it [car buit 1959 it,s a 50 chevy ] i was told by some of older guy,s the that was what they did back in the day to up date brakes
The Jalopy Journal
