TECH: Camaro Clip in your 58 chevy-in one day!

Duffman, one more question for ya?......for now that is. Did you extend your wheel base an an inch or two to center the wheels in the wheel arch? or does that rule not apply in the 55-57 years??
Just wondering if you did set the wheel base at factory specs & judging by the picture of the rad support to sway bar distance, would there be any room to stretch the clip forward if needed?

 

That applies more to 58/59 sheet metal as the shape of the wheelwell is more square. we actually set the engine trans in the clip. with the clip clamped to the truck frame rails and test fit the sheet metal until we had the wheels where we liked them. On the sway bar, the pictures make it look much closer than it sits, there is over an inch clearance when all was said and done. Also the swaybar is a fixed part anyway, little or no movement, so clearance isn't a big issue as long as its not touching.

 

Thanks Duffman for the valued info, so i'll assume that yours is standard wheel base? the only reason I ask is that I am also sliding the subframe under Lux Blue style but I only want to cut the truck chassis once. So as to get a nice butt up/blend from the end of the truck chassis to the f/body sub upturn.
I guess there is no way of trialing the subframe under without at least cutting off what needs to come off + 1" maybe?




btw, the cowbell sketch on SNL was the funnest sh_t I have ever seen

 

i chose the wheels that i will be using on my truck. 18x8 in the front and 19x10 in the rear. 100 bucks and they had less than 100 miles on them

 

Absolutely the wrong place for those wheels.

 

Ya because this whole thread has nothing to do with using newer factory parts on older cars. Lol insightful

 

There's a huge difference between using a Camaro clip and putting some stupid ass big wheels on an old truck. Even if you use some newer stuff you still need to at least have a traditional style and vibe to the vehicle. This is NOT a street rodder site, there are plenty of those that you could find.

Do yourself a favor.... Read This First! then do an intro and fill out your profile.

 

Ohh ok i forgot that factory corvette gear was big and gaudy. None of u guys are rocking the old corvette rallys huh. Guess thats just for the street rodders huh. Noone using old corvette motors or anything like that either. Thats just for the whippersnappers that are ruining our hobby

 

Did you read what Zman linked you to?

 

Popcorn anyone?

 

Yes i did, it made for great reading and i am that much more informed now. I am building my truck in the traditional fashion. Tradition is, using the best parts you car afford on a beer budget. Sorry if new parts upset the balance. This forum is a great resource for excellent information, and then u get the random popup for a proctologists office. Everyone else here has been very supportive and informative

 

I guess the old adage about leading a horse to water is true...

 

That was a fast ban lol...................

 

Just picked up a 50 chevy truck, would the 2nd gen camaro clip join the original frame in the same way as the 58? I also hear the camaro track is a little wide for the ADs, what is closest to original width for sub frames? Searched a little but get a lot of different answers.

 

Camaro is a bit wide for an AD. S-10's are what most folks use. I prefer to unbolt the stock IFS crossmember from a 49-54 Chevy car and make a few brackets to install it under the AD chassis. Makes for an ~8" drop without cutting the coils, and gives you a 4.75" bolt pattern.

 

Now, can a moderator please remove the bronze Vette picture? #365
Its kinda making my stomach turn & besides it should'nt be allowed to spoil this awesome thread!

 

Yep, that Chevy bodywork to the GMC cab was fun...we just kept saying...these should be the same, right?,then adjust some more, scratch head, repeat...eventually we figured out they are just sooo close but where the seams line up they are off maybe 2 degrees from each other. I still need to weld up a couple of very small filler pieces to make it look right.

For the bumper mounts I just adapted a couple of 2x3 tubes and extended from the front of the clip...pretty simple actually.

BTW...this clip has been spot on and had no trouble since Lux set it up and we got it roadworthy in the Spring of 2007. ..just in time for the LSRU.

 

man that truck looks awesome! nice job! sits just right!

 

I've been waiting to put the camaro clip in my apache,Well its going to happen.....today in fact! pulled the front clip, motor and tranny yesterday,today the chassis goes under the knife and the camaro clip goes in,this will be the second one I've done using Lux's tech article ,great stuff, I'll post some pics later.
Tim

 

As promised ,the old leaf spring front end was sliced off in one chunk,after lots of measuring and writing down said measurments! made a template to trim up the frame rails ,trimmed up the frame rails to shape and clamped the camaro clip in there for a test fit.Needed a wee bit of grinding here and there on the the end of the chassis rails,I then brightened up all the welding contact points,clamped the subframe back in centered it checked all my measurments again ,all good and ready for welding tomorrow night.All in all a productive sunday afternoon.
Using Lux Blue's tech article makes this job fun to do !

 

for the uninformed, this is actually the truck used to write this thread.

 

I like the GMC grill set up. Looks great!

 

Thanks!

 

Hi Guy's, First of all Merry Christmas in advance, its early Christmas morning here in Oz, kids aren't up yet so I'm here brousing again looking for advise?

I finally tacked in a 77 fbird frame in my 56 GMC acouple of days ago after hours of measuring & squaring up, also knocked up a bit of a jig to help with finding rad support & frame horn bumper points. 55-57 GMC are differnt than Chevys as discussed in a earlier thread.

I also mocked up the wheel to were I wanted it before I cut the original frame, once I centered the wheel to were I wanted it I marked the original frame & it worked out to 1.6" (41mm) forward from the original axle centerline. I wouldn't mind some opinions on how the wheel sits before I go ahead a weld her in?? keep in mind that I will bolt up spindles & hubs to mount the wheel properly & re check also.

*** trying to attach pictures but its not happening, I will try again later***

 

That sounds about right. I depends on how low the front is gonna sit as to where the wheel looks best in the fender opening.

Can't wait for pictures.

 

I've always thought the GMC grills looked better.

 

I keep getting this message each time I try & post pics?
Has anyone encountered this problem?
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Ok I think I got this working, here go's this is the wheel sitting 1.6" (41mm) forward of the original axle centerline. This is the look I'm hopeing for, the tire's propped up & the truck is level allthough raised on the hoist.

 

The idea of the jig here was to pick up the Rad support & bumper brackets location, not my idea but my buddy's that is a fabricator/welder with many years experience so I,m going with the flow!

 

That looks right to me....I like it alot.