TECH: Camaro Clip in your 58 chevy-in one day!

Can someone elaborate a little more on this - Lux Blue in the initial post of this thread says "(in our case,28 1/2 inches from the box to the shock holes)".... What is the 'box' that he is referring to? I have read the post several times and cant put my finger on what he means.

 

check the push rod length coming out of your booster, where you rm/c mounts, if that's too long it will apply pressure, you could temporarily install a washer on your booster studs to space out the m/c. do that and jack the font end up and see how much drag you have. other then that you may have air still in your system.

 

i had that same problem on my frame mounted unit just had to adujust the rod that goes into the master cylinder

 

Hello im building a 56 3100 my self. I have read an reread every thing to posted an looked as close as if I could at your pics. But do you have any measure ments on what you did. It sure looks easy but I just want it to be right. Thanks for any help.

 

Got the Durango front frame on my 1957 Chev pickup 8 degrees of caster but it took me a few days. Lots more screwin around than the Camaro swap.Dropped it down 6-7 inches with engine sitting in it.Only reason I used this Durango framewas because I had it. This thread helped me set it up and measure everything. Had to step up frame to get it where I wanted it. A lot more work but I got her done. Rack and pinion steering should work nice.
Again thanks to all who contributed to this thread..After you get one done your ready and more confident to do another one.

 

Did you end up putting the TA clip in your truck? If so, were there any issues you ran into? I'm very close to getting my 79 Camaro clip in and was wondering how much you ended up moving the the wheel center-line since there seems to be a noted difference in the 58-59s.

 

Wound up losing my job not long after posting that and have had to put the poor truck on the back burner... Till now. She's getting yanked back into a garage I can actually work in sometime within the next week and a search has begun (tonight, actually) for another suitable subframe. Also looking into a late Seventies Cadillac 425 swap but that's just an idea at this point and off-subject.

 

Man, I feel you there! I was layed off for nearly two years, but took advantage of the time to enhance my career skills and now do Mechanical drafting as well as structural. Started a new job last May and couldn't be happier. Doesn't seem quite so much like work. Now I can actually get some real work done on my truck again. I'm sooooo close to cutting the frame rails. Just have to knock MORE rivits out of the spring perches & crossmember Will post pics soon of where I'm at! Look forward to seeing some pics of yours too!

 

Question for everyone who has installed the camaro/TA clip on a 55-59 Chevy Truck....do you center the engine in the clip or do you use the original camrao mounting location and use the camaro tranny crossmember??

I ask cause I am making some engine mounts and installing a LS5.3 w/4l60e in my 57....I know that the stock positioning of the engine in the camaro favored the passenger side some that is why the tranny cross member is offset to the right.

Most I have seen center everything and some use the stock locations....like Lux Blue did here just wondering if it really matters??

Also, if you center it you might run into issues with headers and such fitting correctly....just wondering.

Thanks.

 

You know what i think the coolest thing about this swap is? The cross member ride height and suspension remains exactly the same as the stock car, and the body panels are then the only thing your concerned with scraping down the street. In this style truck the frame doesnt come close to hitting the ground before the body, but!, as i have done this exact swap on mine, make sure that your bag or hydralic system is ready to fly or your GONNA!.. drag or bend some sheet metal!

 

Has anyone put dropped spindles on the camaro subframe with this install? kinda curious if the 15 inch wheels will still fit?

-Tim

 

has anyone boxed there frame on the outsides after stacking it? i'm not happy with the way my welds look on one side. there strong but they could have been cleaner. i dont want to reweld them so figure i could box it

 

i put a 76 trans am front clip on mine. i did a little different approach it looks like, but i agree, they are nice under these trucks!

 

I'm working on a 58 chevy apache i'm thinking about using a 79 camaro clip is there a diff between z28 and just a plain camaro would they both fit .

 

The subframe is the same as a regular camaro. The only difference is that the z28 has thicker center link than the regular camaro. That's according to the moog master catalog, but I could be wrong.

 

The subframe is the same true, but you should get a beefier anti-sway bar and better steering box with the Z28. (Better meaning quicker turning and more responsive, not neccessarily "better") Just depends on your preference.

 

Great to see this thread is alive & well!

 

Did you use the engine mounts from the Camaro or made up new one .

 

Swade41, I LOVE the stance- did you have to C notch the rear?

 

FNG here and wanted to say thanks for this post. I recently picked up a 56 GMC and after getting it in the garage I started looking real hard at the clip that was welded in this. I was not liking what i was seeing & started to dread backing up to square one. After looking through the pics in this post and comparing them to mine, it looks identicle and quite frankly, almost like you did it.
Any further thoughts of posting the "hanging you tin" ?
captrick

 

Picked up a '77 Camaro Z28 clip with the steering and disk brakes for... $125 last week!

Can't wait to jump into the modification, but pre-planning for school starts Wednesday, so it'll have to wait a bit

 

I boxed mine on the inside for about 20 inches after clipping it.
BTW, the Z-28 subframe is different from the standard camaro with a bigger [1.25" dia] stabilizer bar and all Z-28s with power steering and some standard camaros [option] used the variable-ratio steering gear. A little over 2 turns lock to lock but it feels normal in the center position, cruising down the hiway...parking and 'spirited driving" is a lot easier with the variable ratio box. I aways use the Z-28 / trans-am subframes for that reason.

 

Thanks for the info Rocky- I was excited to see the larger sway bar and the extra brace on the driver's side, but I'm really glad to know about the variable ratio box!

 

Don't know if this has been asked/answered already, but is there a Chevy 6 lug rotor that will fit the Camaro spindle, or is there a truck spindle (that uses a 6 lug rotor) that will work with the Camaro A-arms?

I'd like to keep my stock wheels, if possible.

 

I may be wrong, just check first.

The 77-91 chevy impalas and caprices used the same style rotor as the camaro, and was available in 5x4.75 bolt circle and 11" od, and 5x5 bolt circle and 12" od primarily on wagons.

if you get the 12" spindles (please measure the height of the spindle compared to your camaro) a 6 lug is possible.

look 3/4 down page

http://www.gmcpauls.com/Brakes&Steering.htm

sku# 692989

http://www.gmcpauls.com/pictures/6lugrotors.jpg

 

Thanks, gwarren- that's good info!

 

New to the board.
Great thread by the way!!! It has pushed me to do a camaro swap on our newly acquired 55 stepside.
Can anyone tell me if I should keep the brake pedal 'hanger'?? The part that the brake pedal hangs on in the camaro. Can it he used in the '55? Just thought it may be used to mount the booster and hang the brake pedal.
Thanks for any help.

 

Mike has been doing it for years.....he is good !!! and you can bet the farm on it....it is in there correct for sure...correct angle on the upper A frame, etc.

Jimmy in Asheville

 

I'm so close to welding this thing, it's driving me nuts! Still have to double and triple check dimensions and figure out how I'm gonna power a Millermatic 252 to weld this thing up. Anybody used a portable generator to power a 240V MIG? lol I don't have 220 service yet.

 

Fenders on for confirmation of wheel centerline. I felt like a huge weight was lifted after seeing this. haha Obviously no weight on the suspension yet, I think it's "gon' be jess fine".