I was surfing and came across a '39 Ford with IFS from a Corvair van. A friend said this was how they did it in the late 60's early 70's. Corvair parts were cheap after Ralph got done. Has anyone run this set up? How reliable is it? Are there any replacement parts left?
YOu could get an entire front end cheap but there are 100 or do better options out there. It you really decide to go with the Corvair setup use a '65 or newer for the 5 lug set up. I think the '69's may have had disc brakes but not sure on that one. What would you want to use it on? Parts should be available from one of the many Corvair restoration places.
Everything you want is available from several corvair specialty places like Clarks Corvair yes they were one of the earliest independent front ends swapped into hotrods everything unbolts with about 6 bolts.I can get you pics of a front end I have one out right now.In the late 60s this made sense but I wouldn't do it today when guys with corvairs are upgrading them to disc brakes and such.PM me if you want pics
This was done a lot in the 70's, and it will work. The Corvair being rear engined has the bigger brakes on the back, the late 65-69 have Chevelle brakes swapped end for end. No factory disc's, kits for disc's are about $500. Bill
I have a Corvair front end under my Essex. It sits way too high for my liking, and the ride is quite harsh. I plan to yank it out and put in a dropped axle w/parallel leafs.
I had a friend who had a Corvair front end on his Model A and then "upgraded" to a Mustang II. He says he's sorry he switched because the Corvair rode better. I have one on my 32 Plymouth and am pleased with the ride and handling. I may flip and swap the spindles to lower it a little.
I have had one under my Anglia for about 20 yrs. now. At the time I did it because it was available and cheap. There are many better options available now, but that being said mine has been fine. I had to narrow it to fit and also narrowed an Opel GT rack and pinion. It drives well and rides good for a light car. Rodders Digest had an article years ago about converting it to disc brakes. Think they used Toranado brake calipers with patterns for the caliper mounts. I made them up and still have them but never got around to mounting them because it worked OK without them.
I have had a Corvair under my 37 Chevy since around 78 and it has been good to me. Mine has had the steering arms turned around and an early Pinto rack installed. As far as disc brakes go there is a guy on ebay who is selling caliper brackets to fit the Corvair and then you use 4 wheel drive S-10 calipers and rotors. doesn't get much easier. It will also keep your Chevy all Chevy!
I am riding on a Corvair front suspension attached to a Ford rack in a 35 Ford truck. So far things seem fine with the original drum brakes and suspension. It steers well and handles like an old truck. Brake and most of the suspension replacement parts are available from auto zone with the exception of the brake cylinders.
Something I forgot to post earlier is that it was common to use rear springs in the front end when this swap was done as far as I know ALL the corvair springs could be swapped around you could put rear Greenbrier van ,Pickup or station wagon springs in the corvair front end along with all the different car models.
I have a buddy that used one back in the 70s. He hated it. I can't recall what rack he used but he could not make a U turn without making a 3 point turn. Anytime we had to make a course adjustment, we'd have to wait for him to catch up. I personally would not recommend building a new car with one. Will it work? yeah. Will you be happy with it? I don't think so. JMHO
Just to get more info into a good thread.... Corvair suspension swaps supposedly had an issue with getting correct Ackerman (I think...) due to the original steering linkage being tough to reuse. How is that issue addressed for a successful swap? Note: I have NO experience with the Corvair swap so I'm just going on what I've heard. But IF there's a special way to address this rumoured problem then this is a good post to have it in! Pictures are always welcome! EDIT...having seen Tommys post...maybe it WAS a turning radius problem and not Ackerman...or both!
Ackerman? Just as long as the inside tire turns a little tighter it should be fine. With a BB mopar and 4 speed you should think one might be able to coax the rear wheels around a touch faster than the front. I am waiting for pics to see the under carriage.
since you asked for opinions....here's mine: swapping one into an early ford was a dumb idea 30-40 years ago , makes even less sense to have one in a car today since it was a usually bolt in deal , hopefully they didn't mess up the frame and front cross member and you can put it back to a cross spring with a dropped axle
Corvairs were the IFS of choice in the 70's because that was all we had. It was a universal junkyard fix for an independent front suspension in a hobby that did not have all of the 1-800 vendors we have today. Aside from the stock upper and lower "A" arms being a bit obtrusive under a set of 30's type front fenders, it worked reasonably well for 30's cars. It was a bit light duty for cars of the 40's. Ride was governered by what spring you used. In fact in a very ironic twist, there was a period of time when the MM II front springs were the hot ticket to use with the Corvair. (this was before anyone realized a MM II would go under an old car) Front tire scrub was really bad with the Corvair conversion. That was the era of time when we all learned about our friend Ackerman. Do a search here and you can learn all you ever wanted to know about the Ackerman theory.
I had one under my 30 Model A pickup,,,I used a 66 corvair front suspension and a Colt (remember them ?) rack and pinion,,,no problems with the steering at all,,,rode great and handled like a slot car,, The only real drawback is it was just slightly better looking than a nustang II,,,but they were not avalible at the time. I also used a pinto flexshaft to connect my steering to the rack,,,I built the truck with what was avalible at the junk yard. Would I use one today,,,not with everything else to choose from now HRP
I seem to remember those falling out of favor for various reasons, but it was never clear if the suspension itself was bad, or people were installing them badly and that was the problem. Either way, with all the Mustang-II based options and straight axle options out there, unless you're building a light car on a tight budget I don't think I'd mess with it.
I had one under a '33 Full fendered roadster with Pinto steering. It worked O.K. and rode pretty good. Hot Rod Magazine did a how to back in the early seventies that makes it a simple swap. Would I do it today? No, I am putting a Kugel front end under my '40 coupe.
If you are looking to make a trade for your car, and you like the one you are looking at, don't let the Corvair front scare you away. I have a friend with over 300,000 miles on one in his 40 coupe and its been fine. You can always upgrade to something else later if it suits you.
Naaaaa....I'm NOT looking for Ackerman theory...just saying I remember the setup was supposedly branded as having a difficult to set up steering issue of some sort. Might have been the turn radius thing that Tommy mentioned. Might have been total bull...I dunno... Just thought THIS might be a good thread to bring it up in because Corvair users with lots of experience are posting, thats all. Anyway...back to the regular programing!
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