I have a 53 chevy 210 that I already have a disc brake conversion and cut coils but I want to run bags on it eventually. I also have a jag frontend that I bought to do a swap but the more I think about it I wonder if I should just keep the factory front and either step the A arms or get drop uprights. Just looking for some input. The car only has 40K on it and all the factory suspension is in good shape and very tight. The jag will need some attention the car had about 100K on it.
heard they swap in easy and parts for rebuilding are very available and reasonable. pm jagfixer1949 as he can enlighten you to the pro's and cons of the jag front end. post lots of pic's when you do it.
We put a '72 Jag IFS in our '51 Ford, and I've narrowed a '74 for use in my '34 Chevy. I can tell you from experience, the '51 handles like it's on rails (also using the jag IRS and it's LOW). We fab'd mounts to use the original rubber mounts - very little road vibration. You'll have to build shock mounts. We came off the the upper control arm mounting bolts (in a horizontal orientation) and used heavy angle (and gussets). Pretty simple, works great, and we've put lots of miles on it with no issues. I've been thinking of adding bags to the '34 (I may have it too low for avoiding frequent road rash) and I think the bags for a MII setup would be an easy addition. Good luck
I had a bunch of links to jag swaps on my other computer but I guess I need to start serching agian. I just keep thinking the factory suspension is not that bad and it is already under the car.
I did the Jag suspension on my 57 Buick almost 6 years ago... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24785 It's been great... I'd just be worried about track width with that car, might be to wide.
It depends what series Jag you use, has to be like 1985 or older to fit under the Chevy, but has been done before. I'd say if you have the room, stash the jag and run the Chevy until you wear it out. Although it's not like it's junk once pulled, someone may want to adapt it to an AD pickup or some other vehicle.
I'm pretty sure that the 53 Chevy is narrower than my 57 Buick and the Jag front fits the 57 perfect. That's why I said that. Maybe you could show us the one you've done? I'd like to see you experience with them.
I just updated photos in my album of our '51 Ford with a Jag IFS showing the frame mods. We used a '72. Width is definitely a concern - OEM specs give the jag a 56" track, but it is achieved with substantially offset wheels. Measure twice!
Thanks guys I will measure the two today and see I had seen them on the 49-54 chevy cars before the jag was a 85 xj6 2nd series I parted the car out and really do not know Jags but I was told it was a 2nd series.
I also am working on a 53 210. I'm considering looking at replacing the setup with the corvette bearing pivot. Other than replacing the whole frontend, I believe it is money well spent, and not a lot of it.
I'm not sure about the entire process to upgrade, the arm is $100-150 on ebay, but I'm not sure what the mounting bracket will look like. The Corvette one is different, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to fab something if it doesn't work. Corvette bracket is about $200. So, $300-350 to upgrade it to a full bearing, instead of a kingpin.
Jag frontend fits fine is a very common swap on 49-54 chevys here in Aus. I posted some pics previously in this thread- http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=416425
Hi , i`m doing a 53 at the moment and have fitted a jag series 2 front end in mine . They are a great front end and easily mounted with the original type setup. I however am running bags and wanted the car lower so i recessed the chassis into the frontend about 3/4 to 1 inch , it is now bolted in from the side . The only thing i have now found [ which i should have worked out before , however ! ] is that the track is wider and wanting the car to ride fairly low i have less tolerance for turning , so a place here does a disc and caliper conversion which brings the track in by just over 3/4 of an inch both sides so i may go for that application . Here are some pics , cheers Rob
Playing around in Photoshop. I recreated my first car in the drive of the Gulf station where I worked. 210 Hardtop, brand new with Jimmy Jones bubble skirts. Paid for it by working in my Dad's grocery store. That station is the same one that the Lil Deuce Coupe started it's life.
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