Do i have a bad clip job truck?

1951 chevy truck with 1979 camaro clip installed and boxed 2 feet back.

couple of questions, if yall would be so kind to give this 24 newbie some advice.

The camaro clip is wide for this truck yes but nice the clip is already there what are my options. I am fine with skinny tires up front i like the look. Plans in the future are a lq9 and 4l80e swap to be kept mostly stock nice I want to drive this truck for the rest of my life mostly every day,(buying buzz-box 4 cyl for the soon to be wife for long trips.)

I want to run air ride and 4 link in the rear, so could I have a nice daily driver with this clip i have now or should pay someone to chop it off again? (first time was installed out of square.)

I believe that I am currently in the process of learning hard lessons while building my first hot rod.

Thanks to all who reply,

Richard

 

i know yours is in a truck... but i had a camaro clip in my 52 Chevy belair... and it was way more work than it was worth... it was too wide also... everything had to be cut, adjusted, fabricated, tweeked, re-located, etc to accommodate the clip.. i finally gave up and went back to the original frame.. bought a mustang II kit, and had it installed in one day... fenders and radiator support bolted right up, my front wheels were tucked back in the fenders... done! just my thoughts on the whole clip thing! it works out well for some people.. but im waay happier with my original frame...

 

heres a thread on the clip in a 58 chevy truck... worked out well, maybe it will give you some ideas.. good luck!

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=148978&highlight=camaro+clip

 

Yea my core support is hacked, it just doesnt look clean and if i want to drive this everyday I want it to be at least somewhat presentable in the hotrod community.

How did you go back to the original frame? completely different frame or welded back in the piece that was removed?

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

actually bought a frame off the HAMB for a hundred bucks.. i already c notched the rear of my frame and did the 4-link, so i wanted to leave all that work... i just cut off the clip and grafted on the original frame and boxed it in.. worked out perfect... looks so much better... oh, another thing with the camaro clip... the front stubs of the frame were behind my grill!! so that would mean i would have to make lower front bumper brackets too.. what a nightmare!!

 

heres a pic... you cant even tell we grafted on the original front part of the frame...

 

The frame looks awesome! I forgot how simple and clean the original frame looks. Man I am kicking myself in the foot, maybe I should kick my dads foot too, we didnt know any better at the time.

 

Are there corvette front ends available? An S10 front end would look shitty too compared to MII where everything bolts up. I think there are too many MII cars out there maybe there is a reason for it.

 

dont feel bad.. i didnt know any better either! i even looked into the s-10 frames... but when its all said and done.. you cant beat what it had from the factory! with the mII i got front disc brakes and the rack and pinion steering which is a plus too... have you looked into the jaguar front clips? i know those fit like a glove for your year truck... my buddy put one in his 50 chevy truck... might be another option for you...

 

heres another shot of the frame after hacking off the camaro clip

 

jag sounds cool if a LS motor will fit then I am all ears...

 

hmmm not sure.. but dont see why not... the jag clip is actually just the front suspension.. so you get rid of the straight axle.. the rest of your frame remains the same... kinda goes in the same as a Mustang II would.. fits in there perfect... just needs to be squared up and welded in..

 

well i dont have much stock frame left so... Whole new frame?

 

i would... you could put an add on the wanted section.. thats what i did, and i found a frame one city away from me for a $100. hope i gave you some options, and good luck!

 

First time welded out of square? Does this mean your thinking of having the Camaro sub cut off and rewelded? If so I'd be looking for a new frame or front section and go another route. Camaro subs will work in these but doesn't fit well as mentioned above, I wouldn't throw any more money going that route. Going to drive it forever, you might as well do it right the first time.

 

i would just get a s10 frame and call it a day, lots of trucks ride on s10 frames these days. the s10 has a nice box frame, tons of after market air ride components and theyr a dime a dosen. shit if u can find one and got some money u can buy one of does EZ KITS and prolly do the whole swap in a few days

 

I, personally, like subframes. Not all pieced together and hoping it'll all work right, a subframe is factory engineered to work right.

BUT....

You cannot just go with what you have. You need to choose a subframe wisely. Start with width: 'F' body is just too wide for almost everything '60 or earlier. '78 + 'A' and 'G' bodies are my preference. Some like the '68 + Nova, or pre - '70 'F' body. I say my choice is cheaper and more plentiful. Whatever.

Next, you must determine ride height and set all to match. Wheelbase is extremely important, or the 'look' is gone.

When welding one in, I like to peel the rear of the sub like a banana, slide the original frame stubs into the 'peels', roll 'em back and weld. I feel this gives a large weld area adding much needed strength to the whole. In a large number of applications, you will be adding a lot of structural rigidity that was not there before, adding to the stress of the welds.

Finally, when you are hanging the sheetmetal, you will find that manufacturers, in the forties especially, had just one mount point for the very front mount. All you need to do is make that one mount. And make it about 1/2" below what it measures at, so you can add insulators, and shims, in case you measured wrong. Too many bolt direct and wonder why it squeaks.

Just my two bits,
Cosmo

 

There are companies that offer narrowed front control arms . Check out this thread - http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174279 Also if you do a Google search for " narrowed GM front control arms " , you'll have lots of links for info on the matter . Good luck !

 

I would look into some of the stuff Fatman has to offer. They have a sub-frame application for a mustang set up that would connect at the firewall. Used primarily for correcting botched clip jobs and would save you from having to replace your whole frame.

 

If this is your first build it might be best to go with the S-10 frame. It gets everything modernized with parts that are easy to come by and all the engineering is correct. Probably save you a lot of money in the long run. If you want to go back to a stock frame, you will have to find parts. If you use the stock frame and install MII suspension, you will have to buy and install parts. Depends on how much money, time, and know how you have. You will have to build body and box mounts on the S-10 frame and mount brake master cylinder and fabricate clutch and or shift linkage.

 

Corvette suspensions are WIDE, probably too wide for your truck if the Camaro is already pushing the wheels out to the limit. Another consideration with the Vette IFS is that these cars were setup to have the engine set way back...the harmonic balancer sits BEHIND the rack & pinion. Don't ask me how I know so much about this topic...

 

Vette IFS might be the ticket, they look really clean. I think this would be the best way so that later on everything bolts up in the original spots. Then run a progressive vette irs with shock waves with a stock frame.

This mustang II kit comes with rails to be spliced at the firewall come with original style frame rails?

As far as S10 goes I would have to custom mount the sheet metal in front too right?

I am going to make a crude tunnel and to clear 4l80e so moving the engine back will be beneficial anyways.

 

Any good welders in the central coast area of California?

Any one on want to sell me the front half of a frame?

 

Just my $0.02 worth. The Advance Design frames suck. They are weak, flex a bunch, and seem to be prone to cracking. If your going to try to clip the front back on, you certainly should be able to craft a nice looking radiator support.
Trust me, I think I learned my lesson. I am a stock frame guy all the way, and used the stock frame under my 53. I even clipped the back half on mine because it was bent. I boxed mine all the way back to the large K member under the back of the cab. MII front suspension. Leafs in the back. I also personally feel that about 90% of the front clips look like shit when they are done. You have to be really careful with frame swaps too.
Would I do it again, don't think so. The S-10 really seems like the way to go on the Advance Design Chevys. Before you start spending a ton of money again, do a little research this time. You can buy a S-10 dirt cheap and be in it way less than the aftermarket pieces. If you want it on the ground the S-10 gets them down there.
Check out 67 - 72 Chevy Trucks . com. There is a ton of stuff on these on the site.
PS. Take this and a buck down to McDonald's, and you can get you a cup o' coffee.

 

Greetings! My advice is to stay away from the S-10 frame swap, the first reason being your original AD frame is for the most part flat, the S-10 dips where the cab is mounted so in order to keep the proper cab/bed relationship you will need to fabricate some stands to elevate the cab. The second reason is the track on an S-10 is so narrow that most folks replace the rear end with something wider and then use 2" wide spacers to get the front wheels to "fill up" the fender, unfortunately this wide of a spacer plays hell with the scrub radius, the last reason being there isn't much room between the front frame rails of an S-10 for a decent sized radiator. The cheapest solution to your frame clip dilemma is to re-clip the truck with a "G-body" front frame section, the "G-body" is at least 2" narrower than the front-steer Nova/Camero but 4" wider than the S-10. Good Luck, Mike

 

yup, Junkman knows.

Also, a Regal or Monte carlo (G-Body) have a full frame & 4-link rear

 

Usually for big bucks...........

 

Just my opinion for what its worth. And I have 12 of these A.D trucks done just about everyway mentioned in this thread.

For me it is the stock frame and a good Mustang II. For me the sub-frames are to wide. On my black panel it had a Camaro sub and I put the shortened a-arms on it but it still doesn't have the look it want. And on Rustzilla it has a Camaro clip that has been narrowed about 4 inches. Good for the width and wheel selection, 15x8 with 4.25 backspacing, that makes me happy. But the other problems it creates are a headache. Narrowed radiator, engine bay pinched and I had to run Sanderson manifolds to clear the frame rails not to mention the heat and vapor locking issues created by the fuel lines asorbing so much heat etc..............

I did buy another subbed truck, Doghouse, and it has a G-body sub frame but to get the look and wheels I also had to put shortened a arms on it. And then had to have the frame pulled in order to get enough adjustment on the passenger side upper a-arm.

All of these were projects when I bought them and I suppose that is why they were for sale as a project. I have made them all right but it takes much more money than just doing a Mustang II.

So just find yourself another stock frame and do the Mustang II.

 

Geez I hate MII suspensions, but you can't deny that they're a viable option. Too many users bought their front suspensions on price vs value. Long ago the Pinto/MII idea showed up as lighter front suspensions for bracket racers and early Pro Stock cars. Shortly thereafter they began to show up under street cars. Sadly these cars were heavier and didn't have the "doghouse" of engineered sheetmetal to hold up under daily use. Still today we'll see reports of aftermarket MIIs coming apart in critical areas. "Elpollako" (sp?) here on our board has been very candid as to his approach and understanding of what works and what doesn't, more important, what to do to "fix" those early cheap version. I say this in an effort to remind you to proceed with caution and research it thoroughly before you head for IFS. OEM frame boxed and squared is a good start. Don't forget the basics and you won't go wrong. Several builders have done the S-10 gig. I wouldn't. Too many compromises but several, perhaps hundreds, have pulled it off with some success. It depends on what you're building. I'm going the old way. I'm mixing OEM stuff from other cars and using a dropped axle up front. I'm not going autocross and I'm confident in how well I can make it handle at highway speeds. My approach won't be for everyone. You need to do what your wallet or skills or both will allow. Do an advanced search, by name, "elpollako", and take it all in.