Does anyone know anything about Chevy Caprice frames fitting to a 1952 Chevy 2dr styleline body? My brother says its an easy job... anyone done this?
Switching frames from different cars is never easy. There are so many upgrades available for your original frame that would be much easier and maybe even cheaper than doing a frame swap.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=362341&highlight=lexan Here ya' go. Check out the above link. It's easy.
Have you checked wheelbase and front and rear track width? My wife drives a Caprice everyday and my buddy has a '49 Chevy, they look like totally different dimensions to me. Your brother might mean the '52 truck can fit on a Caprice frame not a car (?) Marty McFly
Haven't you learned by now not to listen to your crazy brother? Just think about what he said, take this old body off one frame and put it on a newer frame? That was easy! Maybe he should try his hand at cold fusion next? My brother told me that was easy!
one of the local guys has a 51 Chev. 2dr H/T on a late 70's early 80's malibu frame....said all tha body mounts on the frame were on the inside of the frame...flipped them to the outside ( or visa versa) and it was pretty much a bolt on after that....
I think that the caprice chassis would be too big to fit under the 52 body without hacking things up. The 78/82 Chevelle, Regal, Cutlass family had a 108 in wheel base and the 52 has a 115 inch wheel base. The track width for the 78/82 or so chassis is very close to the same as the 52 though. You would have to stretch the frame seven inches to make it work. The 73/77 Chevelle family 4 doors has a 116 inch wheelbase. I can't find a track width measurement but it should be pretty close to the same as the 52.
You can not logically make a GM "B" body chassis work under a 52 Chevy. I've seen/heard of it done on 55-7's where it worked out well but, NO is your answer. IF a chassis swap is needed due to a rotted frame, the easiest would be to find a suitable donor 49-52 chevy with a good chassis. If you want modern suspension under it, then consider the S-10 chassis swap. There have been a few done on here with success. You can also, as mentioned, use a 78-87 "G" body chassis...
Is your brother the ad writer for all those projects I see? Any time I hear something like this, I always want to retort "Cool, come on over this weekend and show me how".
The most important piece of information when contemplating a frame swap is front and rear axle track width, in other words the distance between the wheel hub faces. Wheelbase can easily be adjusted by lengthening or shortening the frame rails, making the front or rear suspension wider or narrower is a lot harder. To complicate things, with '50s GM vehicles (car and pickup), the track width for the rear axle is wider than the front, in later GM cars this is reversed with the front track is wider than the rear. From what I've measured from the junk cars in my back yard, the 78-84 G-body front suspension is 58" hub to hub, the 73-77 Caprice is 62" from hub to hub. The stock front track on a '50s Chevy is roughly 58" so the Caprice is 4" wider than stock. If you are thinking of using a G-body frame, please keep in mind the sedans and wagons have a 108" wheelbase, the El-Camino has a 117" wheelbase. Your car comes in at 115, so you can either lengthen a sedan frame 7" or shorten an El-Camino frame 2", I'll let you figure out which one is easier. Problems: The G-body frame isn't much better than the stock frame when it comes to torsion or twist, the side rails need to be boxed and you have to modify the rear frame horns, not to mention figuring out front sheetmetal mounts and bumper mounts, the list goes on and on. Best of luck with your project.
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