My navy dog Father has succumed to having me do his research for him Somethin about these newfangled com-put'rs I guess Anyway, He's got himself a swell 54 Chev 2 door project (I think it's the 210....no side trim) and wanted a number of opinions from all you 49-54 Chevy guys (and / or girls ) on prefered or favorite subframe swaps, using a plain jane crate 350 / th350 tranny . If I remember right, the better canidates to search for on this setup are 69 -72 Novas, 67-69 Camaros and possibly s-10 subframes (I think a buddy of his from high school used an s-10 subframe on his 54 Chev)... Also, we picked up a 81 Trans Am rear axle w/ posi and disc brakes ...The leaf springs are 2 3/4 wide... he didn't get the stock spring hangers and he's wondering if he can still use the Trans Am springs on the 54 Chev frame? Not really into buying some overpriced kit....basically. Any suggestions??
I've done a few of these early Chevies. My 46 has a 69 Camaro sub. The angle of the steering linkage to the rear steer box is a bit tight, the track is a little too wide, and you have to do a lot of work to fab up rad support, and bumper mounts. The steering will work out, you can correct the track with custom wheel backspacing, though it's still real close when you run the car low, it WILL rub. Did my 54 with a Monte Carlo front frame section. TOO much work. You have to "straighten" the Monte rails out to meet the 54 frame under the firewall. The track fit much better than the 46's, though. Same fabrication work on rad support and bumper mounts. The radiator is a problem, as it want to be right where the steering box is. A stock 54 rad may be narrow enough to fit, but I used the Monte rad, and had to custom make a rad support with tubing, and mount it angled to clear the PS box, and lines. nice using a modern radiator, though! Later, front steer Camaro/nova frames are also a bit wide, and have the same steering box clearance problems. I think any frame swap will rewquire a bunch of problem solving/fabrication work. Better have a welder and cutting outfit ready! Haven't done any S-10s, but looked at Kustom7777;s shoebox very closely. Same radiator/bumper mounting problems, frame width looks good, steering looks easier to hook up. All swaps usually need the engine mounted farther back than was in the donor frame. anywhere from 4-8 inches. So custom engine mounts are needed, too. But then you don't have any exhaust clearance problems, like most subframe swaps, you can use Ramhorns, or shorty heades.
Vagrant, If you are good at doing a lot of welding and fabricating, then go ahead and graft on a sub-frame. The cleaner but more expensive way to go is to buy a Mustang II setup from TCI, Fat Man, or someone like that. Second generation (70-81) Camaro/Firebird rear ends are pretty much a direct bolt-in. The big thing is making sure that the rear end is centered in the wheel wells. You can use the stock leaf springs, but make sure you use traction bars or something to keep the springs from twisting up. Of course, for more $$$ you can buy a wide leaf spring kit from Walton Fabrication. Here is a pic of my 51 with a 78 Camaro rear end and stock leaf springs.
my chevy's got a mustang II ifs and a nova rear axle in the back.looks to me like they left the stock ' 54 springs in the back.i've got discs up front and drums in the back,no power brakes though. ~creepy
oh,i also forgot to mention my model's a 210 2 door sedan with a 350/350 setup also hope this helps ~creepy
Mine is a 54 business coupe. I used Fatmans ultra-low MII up front and Posies lowered leaf springs in the rear with Nova rear end. It's been done about 5 years now. I couldn't be happier.
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