I have my 55 Buick completly apart and am starting in on the chassis. I have a 4 link kit for the rear end and am thinking about moving the rear part of the X brace forward about 12" and boxing the outer frame rail so i can weld the 4 link bracket to the frame. Does anyone see any structural issues with this idea? I think it should work well but I am kind of fresh to this kind of work.
I'm doing a 55 special and have a Fatman front frame stub installed. I got hung up on the rear triangulated four link. I also thought about relocating the rear X member forward about 8" for the lower bars. Haven't made it that far yet, but thought about C channel to box the rear rails. Take a lot of pictures. URSLO
Look at Chevy and Pontiac - same shell, Pontiac has about the same design frame as your Buick with a big X, Chevy doesn't have an X at all for these years. The Buick is a different shell, but the basic construction is the same. As long as the rails are boxed up you could probably do away with the X entirely with no ill effects.
Greetings! Am working on a '52 Buick, had planned to subframe the front and use leafs or a two-bar from a chevy pickup in the back, when I pulled the body I found out there wasn't room for leafs, the center section of the frame needed to be straightened and boxed, and to use the two-bar the crossmember would need to be moved forward about a foot. For a big car the Buick frame is made out of amazingly thin guage metal, I finally decided to do a frame swap using a mid 70's GM. Good Luck, Bro. Mike.
I assume the hardtop and convertible used the same frame, maybe the conv. Needs the X member not sure about the hardtop or the closed driveline setup needed the extra support. URSLO
Started in on the frame. With some help from a friend we made a new brace because the original X bracing must have been hi centered and is all wanked out so we had some channel made and welded some of the old and new together. Next step is to staighten the frame rails and box it in, then attach the new brace then do the same to the other side.
Maybe replace it with pipe where you bend two pieces of pipe with a torch to the same dimensions, weld a plate on the top and bottom where they come together for connecting the pipes and a plate at the ends to bolt or weld the pipes to the frame. I think I'd have about a foot where the pipes meet with the plates welded top and bottom. I would think 2 inch schedule 80 pipe should be able to handle it. It should give you plenty of space to run your exhaust under it. As far as the driveshaft is concerned, you may want to study the travel of it to see where there may be contact and move the X forward if need be.
I am gonna cut the exaust holes when they are installed and that is a good idea to check on the driveline travel. I havn't heard of anyone having any issues with that but can't hurt to check. Cheers!
Half way done. All went pretty smooth and it is going to work really well with the 4 link. The frame rails were trashed so they got smacked back to straight and look so much better from the bent and haggered condition they were. Moving the X brace back really opened up good space for the muffler to be placed.
Got the X brace all done today! It looks sweet and the frame is nice and straight and ready for a rear suspension. I need to get my wheels and tires soon so I can get my ride height figured out. Gonna run some 57 caddy wheel covers with some WW tires. Anyone have advice on where and what to buy as far as tires and caps?
I have the 4 link burned in, next it is time to cut out the rear cross member and weld in a tubular rear cross member and install some coil overs.
I cut out the rear crossmember and installed a nice tubular piece, Welded some shock brackets and now it rolls!
Very Nice work. Your project looks great. I am building a 57 Buick and just finished the triangulated 4-bar. I was able to weld my lower mounting bracket in between the X and the frame. Will be working on the rear crossmember today and planned to do it just like you but will be putting sleeves in for shock mount instead of tabs. Just posting these pics in case they can help someone else in their project. Good luck with your build. In case anyone is interested here is a link to my build and how I did the front end. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?242437-Updating-Suspension-in-a-57-Buick
Nice work, I'm callin' it a pretty stout piece of construction. I like how the rear crossmember goes through the chassis all the way. Bob
"proper" X members can add considerable (easily 10 to 100X) torsional stiffness to a frame, and some bending stiffness too. Conventional channel crossmembers don't do much at all for torsional stiffness, and zilch for bending stiffness. Tubular crossmembers are probably way better than channel, but I have not found any comparisons yet. http://weldingdesign.com/blodgett/no_twisters_swingers_allowed_0501/
Looks good 421. Keep me updated on your progress, it is cool to be at the same stage and see what people have done. Cheers!
What series is your 55? Who did you order your coil overs from and what spring rate did you use on the back? Mine is a 50 series Super 4271 Lbs. Here is the rear crossmember cut out. I boxed in the frame were the spring pockets were and will be putting in the new cross today.
My 55 Buick is a Century 60 series. I ordered my rear suspension and coil overs from Tims Hot Rods. He set me up with TCI 400 rated coil over shocks.
I have taken a little break from the Buick this summer and fall. I got sucked into building a BBQ Smoker and a big fire pit, but it is now car season again and I just built a welding table and a gantry crane so it is now time to get back to the Buick. Hope all is well out there!
I am back at the Buick finally. I am installing the panhard bar that came with the 4 link kit and boxed in the frame where the old springs were to mount the bar to the frame. The only issue I have is the axle bracket is 2" too short. So my two options I came up with are to bend the panhard bar or I copied the axle bracket out of some tubing but made it 7" vs. the 5" that came with the kit. I want to know if there is any issue making this bracket taller. I am going to add a gusset to it for strength. Anyone have any reason not to make the bracket taller?
Nicely done. I m just curious. What s the interested of a 4 link ? Would not be easier to use truck arms like here : http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=588761&page=2 ?
I had no major reason for using the 4 link other than it was a decent price and I had seen some other people put them in buicks. Originally I wasn't going to mess with the X member but when I started in on the project I came up with moving the back X braces because it got the suspension out wider on the rear end and it opened up a lot of room for exhaust and it was fun making it work.
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