Looking for some innovative HAMB suggestions. The original steering box has more play than desired; maybe a later model box? Someone suggested new A arms/spindle with ball joints; availability? Looking for alternatives without doing a subframe clip or Mustang II. TY for any suggestions!
I had a 56 Plymouth Savoy for years with a big block Chrysler in it and the front end was great. I'm sure you can find parts to tighten up the box. I would never put a Mustang 2 in that car and that would be weaker than the original design in my opinion
1956 had the older type IFS and not ball joints. It works well enough when all the parts are in good shape so just rebuild it if necessary..As mentioned fix the steering box…
Check out the build thread that Irishjr has going on his '53 Studebaker coupe as to the modifications on his front suspension.
Rebuild what is there. You are unlikely to find anything that is remarkably better without spending more than the rest of the car is worth. I cannot remember when they stopped doing this, but for a good long while the front shock absorbers on these attached to the lower control arms on the bottom, and the upper control arms at the top. There is a solid reason why nobody else did this, and why they eventually stopped. If your setup is like this, make or buy the brackets to relocate the upper shock mounts to the frame, where they belong.
Mopar used the same basic front suspension and steering box from 1939 until 1956, with few modifications. Nothing newer is going to change very well, 1957 was a completely different suspension and steering box set up that was used until 1961, and none of the newer steering boxes are going to easily change over. As of a year ago, everything to rebuild what you have (box and suspension) was readily available (haven't checked since then). As far as improvements are concerned, moving the upper shock mount from the upper control arm to the frame is the biggie. The next in line is a modern Jeep antisway bar to replace your original (or to add one if your car doesn't have one). There are several disc brake conversion kit options that are probably cheaper then rebuilding your original brakes if you need that.
Rebuild what you have , I had a 53 Chrysler which is the same as what you have . I rebuilt the stock set up and brakes put new tires on it and ran it all over hells half acre !!! I had a 50 Chevy fleetline that I clipped with a Jaguar front cross member . Now while it did drive tremendously better then the stock 50 set up , it still didn’t drive like a Jaguar. Some cars benefit from frame clips and upgrades some don’t . Your won’t be a substantial gain over stock . And your stock suspension is dirt cheap amd readily available for parts .
Ask yourself what deficiency you see/feel in the current suspension and what would be the minimum fix needed to correct that? If the answer is the loose steering, just adjust, repair or rebuild. IMHO, any other fix will result in a lot of time and money expended for little to no gain of function as the stock front end is a really good setup.
The Jeep anti-sway bar makes a big difference, and for little money. It's from a 1984-2001 Cherokee (XJ). The 1-inch one is best. It gets installed upside down. I will dig up my install pictures.
Jeep anti-sway bar details (frame bushings were replaced with poly, and yes the original bar was broken): Control arm brackets are pieces of halved square tube, drilled, corners rounded, and welded on.
TY for the responding posts! It does have the upper shock mount attached to the upper A arm. That would be an interesting modification to locate it to the frame. The Jeep sway bar would definitely help with handling. The steering box has too much play so will try adjusting it and or rebuilding it.
I couldn't visualize that, so I had to go and look. It seems they stopped in '55, when they put the damper inside the coil — though the OP says otherwise. I wonder what motivated the previous way. Shorter damper with less stroke at the cost of less effective damping? It doesn't look like a particularly compact damper. The idea would have been clever if the top of the damper were attached to a cantilever off the inner end of the upper control arm, giving more stroke, more effective damping, and that way accommodating the longer, easier to cool, damper by mounting it diagonally.
The issue is well know enough that the aftermarket makes brackets: https://www.rustyhope.com/shock-arms They are easy enough to make. The shock relocation helps with handling and ride quality.
I have tried to wrap my head around the rationale, to find an upside to doing this. Maybe it is my innate pessimism that is keeping me from finding one.
At the time when most manufacturers were still using friction shocks, Chrysler came up with the early hydraulic tube shocks. The difference in the length of the Mopar upper and lower control arms is substantial. The upper control are is about 1/2 the length of the lower control arm. Mounting the new hydraulic tube shock between the upper and lower control arms accomplished the goal of reducing the "bounce" in the front suspension, and gave a very soft "riding on a big pillow feeling", something that was very "new" and exciting in the automotive industry. Between the very soft seats and the soft ride shock placement, it really gave the car that riding on a big pillow feel. It was quite popular back in the day, but not so much these days. Moving the upper shock from the upper control arm to the frame makes the ride feel more like modern vehicles and improves that "mushy" feeling the old shock mounting location created during making turns. If you really like that soft ride, its pretty hard to beat that upper shock mounted to the control arm, but you can really tell the difference in handling when you move the mount location. If you move the upper mount, and don't like it, it is a bolt in operation, its pretty easy to go back to original.
Looked closer today with the wheel removed and the 56 does have the upper shock mounted to the frame.
Good. Add a decent sized anti-sway bar, and some good quality modern shock absorbers on all corners. Shock absorbers are not what they once were, and the improvement in technology can make a noticeable difference.
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