I've been thinking a lot lately (instead of working) about what the best way to set up my 56 Special would be. Its a 2 door HT which may or may not come into play later. What I want my end result to be is this: Lowered by airbags, so I could raise it up if I needed to. A friend of mine drove around in a lowered Accord for years, and there were certain situations that were downright annoying - so I would want to be able to return the car to stock height, if say, I wanted to drive on the beach at Daytona. I want a shiny black paint job with your classic yellow and orange flames coming off the front. Overdone? Perhaps, but I prefer "tried and true". I also want an obnoxious, dual quad 401 or 425 Nailhead under the hood with a matching ST400 trans and S/P converter. And I want to convert th driveline to an open rear end. I'm not dead set on wheels yet, but I will likely go with smoothie wheels and whitewalls. Again, overdone? Perhaps. Don't care, they look good. Not sure if I am going to run bias plys or radials yet. I also want to eliminate the wacky one year only master and get disc brakes and tapered bearings up front. Why? Because I plan to drive this car a lot, perhaps on long (possibly cross country) trips. Anyway, I was thinking about all this, and then I began to wonder if it wouldn't be easier for me to accomplish all this by putting the Buick on an S10 frame. I chose S10 simply because they are plentiful and RWD, but I haven't done any measuring or anything yet - just at the brainstorming phase at this point. I figure since the S10 frame already has an open rear end, disc brakes, roller bearings, etc, it might be an easier swap than to try and add all this stuff to the Buick's original chassis. Of course, I am not dead set on an S10 frame, just pulled that out of my hat What I was thinking I would do is, brace up the body so it won't fold in on itself, and lift it off the Buick frame. I'd then set the S10 and Buick frames next to each other and then begin modifying the S10 frame by removing the old body mounts and adding body mounts where the Buick body would need them. Of course, I may need to modify the length of the S10 frame as well as make other mods I am not currently aware of. (for instance, I may need to add an X frame in the middle since the car is an HT model) Of course, this is all beyond my skill level at this point, but if anyone has any input or experience, I'd love to hear it. I plan on this project taking years, which is fine, since I'll have the Bel Air to fart around in while I work on this. Thanks guys.
Recommend looking at later model Buicks that already have the big engine and better transmission. I know of a '57 that was mounted on a mid '70s and it worked out quite well. Wheelbase can always be altered by cutting & splicing the frame in some convenient spot near mid car.
I say if there's nothing wrong with the frame you've got, use it - and that's coming from the guy that started this thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=274702 I mean, if the frame you've got isn't all eaten up and falling apart, you may as well keep it, man. You can bag it without much problem, and disc brakes aren't that big of a deal - just hit up Scarebird here on the HAMB and he can come up with something that will use your stock spindles. Trust me, the S-10 route is one thing to do to a pickup, but when it comes to a car, it's a different story - especially with the rear part of the frame. Show us some pics! ~Jason
And yeah, doesn't Leno have an early 50s Buick on a Toronado floor/frame, retaining the Toronado drivetrain? ~Jason
I'd say to look at the late 70's early 80's Olds 88 sedans and similar Buicks for a full size rear wheel drive chassis. The best way would be to use the floor boards and most of the firewall out of the later car and slip the body down over it like Dick Dean did on a lot of Mercs. It would take some tape measure work to figure out which chassis to use to get the right tread width and wheel base but it would make a car that would boulivard when you were done with it. The 73/77 Chevelle, Lemans, Cutlass and Buick may be something to look at too. Again using the complete floorboard along with the chassis.
Interesting! I hadn't thought of using one of those frames. Abomination - I haven't completely gone through the car, but I think the original frame is ok. However, it was a northern car, so the floors and rockers are shot - there is a chance the frame might be rusting badly where I can't see it. (I'm still squeamish since my spider attack when I first got the car....lol) I do appreciate the suggestions. The HAMB keeps me out of a lot of trouble!
I'm doing a similar project with my '55 4 door when I get back from Baghdad. The frame from a 77-96 cadillac Fleetwood (D body) is really close when it comes to wheelbase (122" for the special vs 121.7" for the fleetwood ) and the track is almost the same as well. Believe the track is an inch wider in the front and like 3/4" wider in the rear. My plan is to get a '77 or '78 and cut it down to the pans and frame, with enough of the firewall left to keep the pedals and master cylinder, then drop the Buick body on top. Easier said than done, of course, like the fella who put his 49 merc on a late model lincoln frame would tell you. The D-body frame is the same as the B-body frame, just stretched 6 inches, which means most if not all of the high performance suspension stuff they make for the Impala SS should be bolt on as well. I already have a semi-fresh 472 on hold for this thing, and going with an earlier caddy frame means I can swap it in for the 368/425 with no hassles in addition to getting rid of the torque tube, knee action shocks, dynaslow and kingpin setup in one fell swoop. The purists may not like it, but this was a $400 4 door car with a fragged motor and trans. Better a frame swap and a big v-8 than the crusher, I say.
The Jalopy Journal
