6" lifted A arms on 55-57 Chevy? Can you drive it?

Hello again guys. I tried the search feature and found lots of good info on how to pull off a very good looking authentic front end lift on a tri 5 chevy, but I still didn't find the one piece of info I really wanted to know. Flame away if you like, but this old guy just can't always find what he needs on the search feature.

My apologies in advance if this has already been beaten to death in here somewhere.

I have a 57 210 post that i want to do the lifted gasser look on, but after fighting a few straight axles in the past, I would really rather keep the a arms up front for now and just enjoy the girl for a little while. So, how can i get a solid 6" of front end lift and still drive it and not be pounded to death?

Thanks in advance.
Craig

 

FNG here, here is one way to do it, use ball joint spacers, big block/ 409 springs and use 3" body spacers like the 4x4 crowd uses between the frame and body. That will get the car lifted close to the 6" lift you are looking for. The ride, you will still be pounded to death due to the heavy springs. Also be careful with panic stops, the car will have a tendency to rip the left front, lower a-arm out of the frame.

 

Thanks for the direction... though 3" body lift? I didn't see that one coming!

 

Body lift? DON'T!! Even in offroad world more than 1" is too much. Talk about ridiculous looking and unsafe!

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

All I was thinking was... 'well, guess I could cheesehole the frame, cause you're really gonna see it'....

 

Really you're not going to.

A couple of my friends ran gasses back in the day, one time it came up in conversation how I'd one day like to build a straight axle gasser. Lets just say I got laughed at... The consensus was that these were purpose-built race cars and very unpleasant on the street, neither of the guys I know drove them to the track, they towed them there.

I think straight axle gasses are slickers than a well oiled mink, but I can't see how a car with suspension geometry that has been altered that severely is ever going to be a nice car to drive on the street.

I'm sure some will disagree and I may well be wrong, but I'm just parroting what I've been told. I'd still love to build a 51 or so Chevy Gasser tho.

 

I used extended spindles on my '58. Rode like stock.

 

My 55 has 4" raised spindles, rides fine. I've seen a few sets of these spindles for sale on the hamb in the past...

 

Yes, ^^^ a 'lift' spindle. How about a slightly taller custom coil spring that is closer to the original sprig rate for a decent ride. A 2" ball joint spacer, 2" coil, 2" spindle=6". Another option is for someone who has really worked out the details in making a straight axle track, ride (leaf rates, shock length & valving) and alignment procedure. Dropping the rear an inch or so will provide a bit of nose raise and enhance the true drag style.

 

I think my '57 turned out well - I misplaced the original Genuine Suspension ball joint spacers & spring perchs that I removed when I first returned the '57 to the road 25+ years ago, so I installed a new kit manufactured by Posey's Performance - I reused the original springs

 

genuine suspension spacers off a 55, i made the lower control arm spacers 3x4 tube withe sleeves welded in to prevent crushing , 72 monte carlo springs with adj. dirt track weight jacks welded into the top, good luck with all the keyboard builders....p.m. me if you have any question

 

Pix of this set up. This dreamer/keyboard builder would like a guide. "Injun' is a bit much in this day and age. Unless you have some Native American in you. I am listening to John Trudell interview while surfing the HAMB. Your in Oklahoma, correct?

 

So where are the pics of your setup that makes you the self-proclaimed expert?

My '57 was an actual race-only D/G car that was campaigned in '65-'66 until it threw a rod in it's 301 in mid '66 season. I still have 7 Jahn's 12:1 pistons & rods - guess where number 8 went?

I was building/racing tri-fives before there was an internet - my '57 now has a 468 mounted the old school way - no $1200 kit in this car!

I'm simply trying to help out someone with a solution as well as parts source - not everyone has the skill or tools to fabricate their own parts

 

Keyboard not aimed at you guys....just mr four wheel and offroad "body lift"! And yes im a indun....lol! The car is called too fat too fly 331 nash 5speed 4:56 ford with ladder bars and a real loose frontend and expert im not, smartass....maybe? Lol! look up theoldsparkplug "username" on youtube then look for too fat too fly on his videos.....i scared the dude in the black p/u....enjoy....

 

Are you going racing?

 

Thank you guys very much... I will try to start a build thread on it soon and keep you guys posted on it as we get things going. Pretty straight forward I hope. Doing smooth floor pans to fix the rot and really give it the race car look, jegs 8 point cage, vintage low back buckets and I have a nice aluminum head 496 with tunnel ram going together, planning to hook it to a full manual T350, loosy goosy converter, 4.56 spool and I plan to sit it level with no fender cutouts in the back. Color? John Deere Blitz Black in a spray can. I finally plan to have a car that I don't have to polish all the time. Can't wait!!!

 

Cool!

 

um... no. Ball joint spacers do not add any height.

To the original post:

I have ball joint spacers (increased suspension travel but NO LIFT) and longer springs for an added couple of inches on my '55. The problem with going more than a couple of inches (even with just a few inches!) is that the front end starts to not line up. The upper and lower A arms are different lengths and the added height makes those a bit goofy. The front shocks press against the inside of the spring at the end of the suspension travel. I don't know enough about steering "stuff" to comment completely, but my alignment guy pretty much told me I've raised the car as much as possible without running into issues.

I tried spring spacers and I had to pull them out. At the same time I added shock extensions and broke a shock. IMO more than a couple of inches and you need to do some serious work - I'd suggest a solid axle on a stock frame if you are looking for an easier, drivable, dependable six inch lift.

Here's what a couple of inches looks like with tiny front tires... The car sits level because of tire stagger. Since the picture below, I've gone up a bit in size for the front tires.

 

tag......

 

go see this thread.....
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=799172
its good too

 

Our man on Ebay sells the extended spindles that bump it up 4.5". I know i can get a couple of inches with some coils and I have a very talented local guy to help me brace the arms and mounts and get the geometry livable. When we get it all in and going, I will start a thread. Right now, I have a 73 Camaro to drop a 517 in and a 66 impala to air ride first...... gottago.

 

Holy Crap!!!!! Those Ball Joint Extentions look scary to me. I like the Old Skool C type design myself. There still out there, just got to be patient in finding them.

 

Blowby I see you are in San Fransisco and extended spindals in your 58 Impala , did you get your spindals from Al's automotive in south SF? I had a 65 Olds 442 that Al did 6 inch extended spindals in front and swaped out the rear coil spring suspension for leaf springs in the early 70's. I loved that car , wish I still had it. It rode and handled great.
Gene

 

I used a spacer under the spring. One inch there made a 2 inch difference in height. The alignment and driveability is fine, but the gain in height is not close to 6 inches. Stock Tri-fives are pretty high to begin with, so an extra 2 inches makes a lot of difference. I run P215R70-15 tires up front, and it is plenty high. Also, make sure your A-arm bushings are in good shape. If they are worn, you will lose some lift there as the arms will push outwards. I'll post a before and after picture when I am back home next week.

 

I am having trouble locating a before pic, but here are two shots of after installing the spring spacer. The tire is a 215/70R15 with a 15/x5" stock steelie. The springs are stock, at least 10 years old, and the spindles are stock.

 

I have a few sets of the Genuine Suspension "old skool c type" spacers as well

I like the geometry of the new type spacers installation, that is why I used them

Anyone who is thinking of going this route should google "Posey Performance"

 

All i found was some guys facebook page... is that the posey performance you are talking about??

 

That looks pretty well close but a few more inches wouldn't hurt... thanks for the input. This points me in the right direction when the time comes. I have a big block chevy motor for a camaro that has gone off the rails, plus about four other projects that have all imploded on me... so the old 57 is gonna hafta wait for a little while.

 

I hate to admit this but I flipped through a magazine aimed at jacked up '70s boats riding on 24"+ wheels recently. There are companies making all manner of wild lifted spindles now.