Hello, My name is Daniel, im a 24 year old beginner builder fabricator, teaching myself and my wife. We just purchased a 1953 chevy 210 2 door. I am completely clueless on the suspension. We want to run disc brakes without putting alot into it. We are going put air ride on all 4 corners. We are putting a 350 with a 700r4. I just dont know what type suspension to put under it. Camaro, s-10...???? IFS is nice but expensive. Glass is busted out, so we are going to chop the top about 3.5 inches. Its a total ground up project. Any help with be greatly apreciated. oh yeah, this is my wifes car... This is my bagged 84 dually. My hauler...nothing fancy, just low
If bagging is your final goal, mII is cheaper in the long run. ECI makes a dandy disc brake kit for the front and rear, filling station sells an adapter for a newer master cylinder (a must with any brake upgrade). I got all new side glass cut at a local shop for 1/2 the cost of the advertised stuff. the back glass is the hard one to find. best of luck. David
Congrats on the wifes car I just bought almost the exact car and it sounds like our plans are just about the same check out www.chevytalk.org they have a forum for the 49-54 chevy cars also www.50chevy.com is a good place. Good luck. Also if you are going to chop the top you may want to look at some other rear windows because the wrap arround look a little strange to some after they are chopped. Keep us posted
Thanks everyone for the help. It gives me something to go by. I dont really now how the humping ideas helped, but hey i will try it, lol. Thanks
I was going to body drop it, but there isnt much of a difference in frame height and body height. I wil check out the different back glass options also. What about a new rear end? Some say s10, i just want something strong and to have to worry about it.
S10 you will have to weld on new perches but is spot on for width. If you find a 1970-81 camaro they are a direct bolt in but are a few inches wider but stocl wheels still fit. I think that I am going the S10 route. Also if you do an S10 make sure you get the rear out of a 4 wheel drive the 2 wheel will not work
used an s-10 4x4 rear on mine ..92 year..worked great!..built my own perches that lowered it without blocks!. 3:73 gear th350 trans and a vette 327. as far as the front..the stock IFS is ok..i dropped mine..and am thinking of fatmans spindles too..rides great! looks cool..not scraping the lake pipes on the ground, but my roads are rough here and my drive way can be tricky so getting it too low could mean it stits out on the county road and thats just not going to happen!..mustang 2 works good..if you have the money and time. rear end should measure 58.5" drum face to drum face..and be sure to measure your wheel base and keep it 115" each side..dont deviate from this measurement..it will not look right and you will be bummin'
i have a '53 210 that i'm building right now...i just complete a rear end swap. a found a '73 nove rear....perfect width....i didn't even have to relocate the spring perches. S-10 rear end are good too! BUT make sure you get one from a 4x4....the 2WD rears are WAY TOO NARROW! ask me how i know....i've got a 2WD rear end sitting in my garage right now....hehe. the 4WD rears are about 58" overall width....your stock rear is 60". so it leaves you a little room to play with a bigger wheel if you want. i'm running the stock wheels so i didn't need that room. as for the bags,....go do some searching, you CAN bag the stock front end with out doing a mustangII front. i have plans to bag the rear only. the advantage to MII stuff is rack and pinion steering. i'm running a late model inliner(292) and i'm not worried about power steering. who needs the gym? good luck and keep us posted!
I used a General Motors G frame (mid 80s Cutlass, Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Regal. The width is SPOT ON for the swap, but the wheel base is to short. I had to lengthen mine exactly seven inches. Then I had to move the engine back three inches, make my own crossmember for the trans, and the front of the frame had to be trimmed off flush with the front of the steering box. The radiator will be further foward and inside the frame almost touching the steering gear, but will fit if you use a 55 radiator. I ended up having to remake the firewall, floorboards, body mount-outriggers, core support and inner rockers. This was more work than I had initially accounted for, but the results are awesome. the car rides and handles great, didn't cost much (other than time) will hold any engine, has powers steering, power disc brakes, the triangulated rear end, and coil springs on all four corners. (making it a cinch to airbag!)
If you're handy at all with a welder or know someone who is, I'd strongly suggest putting a more modern front end clip under the car. It will drive and handle so much better than the original suspension, have much better brakes and be simple and inexpensive to get parts for. Plus, it'll make the V-8 a virtual drop-in. It really doesn't matter if it's a '81 or back Camaro, '68 or later Nova or the front of an S-10. All are do-able and should work well.
Thanks again everyone for your help. I have a lot to go by. I looked at some IFS and its about 1500$-2500. Its all what you want. I think i can find a cheaper kit, or buy a litl bit at a time. Now time to do some research.
[FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]Thanks for the kind words, Dan.[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]Your car looks like a real clean project too. If you can, I would like to see more pics. [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]But I'll be the first to admit that the suspension on these cars is a bitch for ridin low... If you use the stock frame, a V8 will go in, but the exhaust will be tough to route because of where the steering box is. Disc brakes are tough because of king-pin spindles. Bump-steer is a problem. The rear leaf springs are really weak, and the rearend is weak, with an enclosed driveshaft. The suspension will bottom out before you ever get it as low as you want it.[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]A lot of guys preach Mustang II or similar aftermarket fronts... [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]But I am only 29 years old, and don't have the paycheck of some of the 50 year old business owners and CEOs... So I couldn't spend 2500 bones on stuff like that.[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]--So what do you get with mustang II? .....easy installation, and a rack-and-pinion steering that has a tendency to overheat GM power steering pumps.[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]Instead, I bought a running 1986 Buick Regal for 500 bucks... (G-body frame, same as monte carlo) and caniballized it. (an S-10 would work too, but the rear suspension of a G body is coil spring, so it's easier to airbag)[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]--What you DO get when you use a whole car...[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]--Booster, master cylinder, brake pedal, proportioning valve, crossmember, steering shaft, universal steering joint, power steering box/pump, hoses, drive shaft, rear axle, rear brakes, brake lines, fuel lines, gas tank, fuel sender, disc brakes, calipers, sway bars, motor mounts, and the car even had a new battery in it. Oh, and don't forget the engine and transmission![/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]I wouldn't re-use the wiring, but don't forget to save all the clips and plugs. And if you put a wire wheel on a bench grinder, you can salvage a small fortune in bolts too.[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]I saved what I wanted or thought would use, then parted out the body, interior, and glass, and sold the weak engine and trans that I wouldn't use.... Made my money back on the purchase of the car, plus some.[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]It's important to keep ahead in terms of money, especially with the chassis, because other things are harder to come by and EXPENSIVE![/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]... like air suspension, a 454 rebuild, overdrive trans, wiring, a new gas tank, new sheet metal and steel tubing, chrome, primer, etc. etc.[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]You will need to save for beer money if you want your friends to help, and if you're out in the garage until two in the morning every night, you might need to take your wife out once in a while too. (Trust me on this) [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]Of course, theres more than one way to get a nice car down the road...[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]If you care for any pics of the build, just email me.[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif]---Brian[/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif] [/FONT] [FONT=times new roman, new york, times, serif](By the way, I noticed the nice stainless stone guards on your rear quarters... I'm looking for a set, if you have extra, know a guy who does, or aren't using yours)[/FONT]
Most excellent. Now i have to find me a donor car. yeeee hawww Do you guys run fuel injection, or carb???
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