1st no bashing, I just need answers. Since everyone is doing S10 frame swaps I want to know if anyone has used an S10 rear and leafs under a 46-48 ford??? I wanted to go with the CE kit and a 69-74 camaro rear but I cannot find any. I just need to do my rear as I have a new engine and tranny just waiting until I can rip the 75 camaro rear and leafs out. The car rides Horrible!!!! also if I was to get an S10 will the front end components bolt on a 75 Camaro subframe?? I basically wanna get things narrow so I can put this thing in the weeds, I also want to switch boosters and master cylinders. I know I will need a 4x4 rear. Thanks!!!
Wow, that sure is a confusing post to read. If you really do have a 75 Camaro rear in there now, and you want narrower, you need to be looking for a 67-69 Camaro/Firebird rear or a 68-74 Nova rear (a 74 Camaro rear will be the same length as what you have now). I don't exactly understand all of your post but you claim your car rides like crap right now ... S10 rear springs are made for a truck, meaning they will be quite stiff and give a rather harsh ride, so it could potentially ride worse than it does now. It is my understanding that S10 front suspension components will not fit a Camaro subframe (they will fit a GM G-body though, as I understand it).
Well an S-10 is not a heavy vehicle so I won't say the springs would be too harsh. And I understand you say 4X4 rear since the S-10 4X4 rear is wider than the 2WD rear. But I can't comment on the front end....
I agree that the S10 is not a heavy vehicle on its own, but being a truck the suspension would have been designed to carry more than just what the truck itself weighs. With me not really understanding what springs he has in the car at the moment (I found the original post somewhat confusing) I am simply suggesting that the S10 springs "might" give a harsher ride than what he has in there now. I also don't really know what he means by "rides like crap" ... does that mean too harsh or does it mean too soft and bottoms out all the time. Again, quite a confusing post. Does he already have a Camaro sub in the car? If the rear is too wide, that would suggest that the front clip would be too wide as well. Here's a thought ... why don't you use the front and rear frame stubs from a G-body GM car and graft them on to the center section of your original frame, they are narrower than a Camaro. You can purchase narrower control arms for a Camaro, but they are pricey (Fatmans comes to mind).
Ok let me clear things up. The donor car was a 75 camaro. The rear is set up like crap at least the leafs are. the car bounces in the ass like crazy. I really dont have a problem with the front. I was aking about S10 stuff because I want to keep it budget friendly. I cannot find the rears that CE recommends for their leaf kits. I want something that will bolt in or have little modifications needed, I cannot see myself buying a new 9 inch rear for close to 2 grand for a car that will just get driven maybe once or twice a year while im on leave.
Ok, think I got it now. S10 components won't work (as I understand it). Couple of options ... buy new narrowed control arms (pricey), narrow the control arms you have (can be done but better be a damn good welder) or find a wheel with more backspacing, or leave as is. If the rear suspension is bouncy, I think you might want to take a look at your shocks (are they set up correctly? .... the more angle they are installed on the less effective they are) or maybe a heavier duty shock or look into adding a leaf or two to each side (you can dearch the springs and add leaves so the car does not sit higher than it does now).
I would think the camaro springs would work fine unless they are binding. Are the springs flexing and this is more of a lack of control by the rear shocks? I have S10 3" drop springs in the back of my 37 buick and they work fine, but I cant see how camaro springs would be any different. Here is my friends 48, just installed an S10 rear and S10 drop springs a few weeks ago. S10 front clip as well. He probably made his own spring mounts but I not have pics of the mounting points.
On my 46 Ford Convertible, 10 bolt Chevy rear with Chassis Engineering spring set up. Rides great. Why the S-10 rear? Whats the advantage?
I had a '41 Ford Super Deluxe 4 door when I was 16.... It had a Nova clip and rear under it, along with custom mounts for the leaf shackles and everything. I didn't like the way it rode to start with, so with the guidance of my father, I sat down on day and took some leaves out until I got it to ride the way I wanted it to. It took some 'try taking this leaf out and leaving that one in' and 'okay, that didn't work, so try this combo and see if you like it." I even had a second spring pack set out of another GM car that I interchanged and swapped leaves until I wound up with - if I remember correctly - a 4 leaf pack which had the main leaf, one long leaf, and two shorter ones to help stiffen it up near the axle itself. Rather than just start swapping to a new/different rear end, why not look at picking up a set of leaf springs from under a HEAVY leaf sprung rear end out of an older GM car with a similar length to yours and has the same width. If you're going to a Upull yard, it might be worthwhile to grab two different sets of leaf springs so you can fine tune what you want out of your ride. It might be advisable to measure the area where you're old leaf springs are mounted for length, and then start looking in the yard for something similar. When we built the mounts for my '41, the front mount was just a simple piece of 1/4" channel iron welded to the frame that was the width of the spring with NEW rubber bushings installed. We then just bolted it on with a grade 8 bolt. The rear was another piece of channel iron with a rounded relief cut into it and a small piece/stub of pipe welded to it that was the same size ID as the stock Nova rear spring bushings. Then we just used a shackle kit to set the ride height the way we wanted it. There was absolutely nothing fancy to the setup, but it worked like a dream. Now, if by doing this you happen to knock off the pinion angle of your rear end, you may be able to adjust it a few degrees with angle shims or in a worse case scenario, cut the mounting plates loose from the rear end, rotate it for the perfect angle, then weld them back into place. To sum it all up, I think that what you've got is a perfect start to what you need to do and work with, but you just have to set things up right if they've been cobbled up thus far. As for the front clip, I ran old school turbine mags on car, and they worked great. I just had to run a 205 or 195 on the front to keep it clear of the fender. If you're working with clearance issues, you could always set up with more of an offset wheel to move your wheel/tire more to the inside. I didn't have any clearance issues with mine set up that way, and it rode like a dream. Take my advice for what its worth - I've had that same setup under a car I owned, and to this day - still wish I owned.
Get the Chassis Engineering spring kit and a S10 4X4 rear end and you will be happy with the ride. You will have to move the spring mounts on the rear end. S10 4x4 rear ends are easier to find then the Nova and Camero rear ends are and the S10 came with disk brakes as a option. The 2 wheel drive rear ends are to narrow.
thanks 54 chevy, thats what I will probably do. Wahoping on snatching the leafs too from an S10 because I have a friend that owns a junkyard.
If you want to pull your body off the frame, this is a very good way to get an excellent ride. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...t=triangulated
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