im workin on a 53 super riv with a friend of mine and im wondering what you guys have done for the rear end set ups. he is kinda on the fence about runing airride but but not ruled out. it is no longer a nailhead at this point. theres a 455 buick between the rails so its not a tourque tube set up any more.
four link rear works for me. or use a 70's caprice rear with four control arms and fab an upper crossmember to attach the upper arms and make brackets for the lower arms. cheap and not real hard. don't forget the upper coil spring rests. hope this helps.
it just might help. thanks. all the 4 link universal kits ive found will not work. i actually was hoping to use leaf springs but im not sure yet
leaf springs are not an option look at how high the rear of your frame is in relation to the front of the rear end. it would require alot of frame work.
On my 59 buick I made it an open drive and used a universal 4 link. I had to fab the brackets to mount but it works well. I also put on shorter springs to lower it. Try a chyevy pickup for the rearend. It has the same bolt pattern. You may be able to use the springs and hangers also.
good call...i wasent thinking of that. i was too busy measuring the front half for room. i forgot to look to see the back of the frame was too high. also mind you im still in mock up stages ...the rear is only in with blocks yet so...also im in the middle of making motor mounts too so im kinda all over the place.you know of any 4 link kit to recomend. ive looked at a bunch of them online and havent found one i liked.
There's a good article at webrodder.com. Someone is working on a 51 Buick with a four-bar setup. Search under Buick eight fireball, might give you some ideas.
When I built my 52 Super, I changed the frame to a 77 Buick Riviera frame, had to be lengthened and new body mounts made, but it was worth all the work. The car rode, handled, steered and stopped very well.
I saw this article and kind of followed it in setting up my 4 link. I was lucky and used my original housing and put in a 3rd member from a 62 lesabre. It was a bolt in. I lowered my car 8" by changing out the rear coil springs. I got them at the wrecking yard for $20.00 .
I bagged my '53 Special and that was incredibly easy,but there are alot of compromises after that as the tube rear end and original 3 speed tranny didn't really give it alot of 'frame laying' abilities !
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