Can anyone give me some feed back on Fatman Fabrications dropped uprights for their 53/54 Chevys. They are fabricated and welded - so do they work well and are there any failures out there? - especially after all the threads on after market I beam problems! They look to be a great way to drop a car and keep some susp. travel.
Used Fatman's dropped uprights on my 54 in 98 when I built it. Also cut 1 coil while I was at it. They are stout pieces and worked great...good ride and still working for that matter.
Uprights and steering arms on my 53. Had to bump the upright for king pin fit. (wheel cylinder hone). aligned nice.
I also used them on my 54 and cut an additional coil out. Used the steering arms as well. Great parts. Good luck!
Guy in my town bought A 54 Sport Coupe with a set already installed. After replacing brake shoes and wheel cylinders, on a test drive a good stomp on the peddle broke both of the spindles off the uprights at the same time . Lucky for him the wheels folded under the car and it slid to a stop with no real damage . Fatman sad they would replace if he had been the original buyer .
I was under the car the other day when it came to me that...instead of using dodgy looking welded steering arms, the tie rod end could be turned upside down, and the taper in the steering arm be reamed from the other direction? This gives a similar drop to the one needed with these Fatman uprights. This type of mod. is frequently done in hot rods etc
If your gonna use welded uprights why not just "step" your lower control arms. You'll get the same amount of drop as you would with the uprights but without all the $$. Its pretty easy to do if your a good welder.
I have the uprights and steering arms on my bagged 54, very nice, well built pieces. They even worked with my disc brake conversion with no problems.
Ok so I've decided to go with a set of the Fat Man Fabrication dropped uprights and steering arms for my 53. Can anyone tell me why there would be $190 difference in price between ordering them from Fat Man vs. ordering them from Hot Rod Hardware ($595.00 vs. $405). Not bashing anyone here...just want to make sure I order the right stuff, am I missing something?? (Top picture being Fat Man Fab and bottom being Hotrod Hardware) Also, here are the links: http://www.fatmanfabrications.co/products/1949-1954-chevy-dropped-uprights/ http://www.hotrodhardware.com/index...gory_id=1096/home_id=-1/mode=prod/prd4629.htm
Looks to me like Hot Rod Hardware is selling the arms separately for $190, even though they are shown in the picture.
now that i had a look at both of them separately I think you're right...thanks for having a look 24riverview. I appreciate it..