help me choose rear suspension swap 54 chevy

i was going to bag my 54 chevy sedan i welded in a ultralow fatman crossmember, i removed front suspension and got rid of it along with the rear springs. Now i decided to go different route a money saving route or a i dont have money route i just want to finish my car already.

So my question what would be the cheapest fastest route as far as the rear suspension and axle is concerned? what rearend will fit? what leafsprings will fit.

i have a 78 camaro rear, but am thinking fastest way is to rip out entire rear end with suspension from a car but what year should i look for?

 

bolt in some stock rear leaf springs...

 

X2 what he said!

 

I have some s-10 lowered aftermarket leafs that you can have for free if you can use them. I have no use for them. I think I have the shackles too but no mounting pads.

let me know.

 

krooser korrect

 

I chose a little different route onthe rear suspension on my 53 Chevy. I moved the stock leafs in and up. It got me 4 inches with stock springs. I'm going to use Posies 3 inch drop springs and blocks to dial in my ride height. The set up is very similar to mid 90's Chevy 1/2 ton pickup rear suspension.

Here is a link to my build thread. The chassis build starts on page 6.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=463187

 

i would use the leafs that cam off the car but i scrapped em.

 

no way!! sick yeah man i could really use those leaf springs!
i parted ways with the airbags, there not for me

 

hmmm...i wonder if the whole rear suspension setup in a nova would work?

I know the rear is the correct width but i am not sure about the distance between the leafs.

if you have a rearend already and i give you the s-10 leafs. it seems all you would need is axle perch if you don't have any and mounts to mount the leafs to the frame.

anybody know if the lowered s-10 leafs will work or are too long/short?

are you in bakersfield or santa cruz? if bako i can bring them to you or you can come pick up in Taft.

 

I just did it for my 52 chevy, I tried to use my original springs and I think it would have worked if a drunk buddy of mine wouldn't have cut the perches and blew a hole through my 73 camaro rear end. I have since learned that you could take out the 3rd and 4th spring out of the original set up and then simply drill a new hole through the camaro rear end. I ended up using chassis engineering springs and I do have to say that they are AWESOME but they are also pretty expensive. Good luck! Sam

 

im back in bakersfield, actually a nova rear would be better for my set up
i was looking for a nova rear end for a good while until i finally settled for a maro rear
the nova is 60 inches i believe or at least its 1 inch shorter than the camaro rear end i have
my rear end will work but it will be tight and the skirts would scrap... no good!

when you say the distance between the leafs do you mean , how to mount them so they are properly loaded not too springy not tofirm?? or if they are enough spring to support the car?

i'd hate to make you burn gas on the trip, i can pick em up if you want.

 

im back in bakersfield, actually a nova rear would be better for my set up
i was looking for a nova rear end for a good while until i finally settled for a maro rear
the nova is 60 inches i believe or at least its 1 inch shorter than the camaro rear end i have
my rear end will work but it will be tight and the skirts would scrap... no good!

when you say the distance between the leafs do you mean , how to mount them so they are properly loaded not too springy not tofirm?? or if they are enough spring to support the car?

i'd hate to make you burn gas on the trip, i can pick em up if you want.

 

Use a G body chassis out of a 78-87chevelle, cutlass, buick, el camino. It has 4 link rear coils spring all around and ride great. The coil can be replaced with air bag too. They are great frames. The rearends are about 2" narrower than Nova's. Look at them before you decide.

 

This link shows mine from underneath. I had no idea what I had, so I asked on here and found out it is likely a 70's Nova. Link has pix of rear suspension. www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=511265

 

70-72 Nova rearend is what you need.Like you said the Camaro is alittle to wide. With the Nova rear you can still run some descent size tires and have plenty of clearance.