My wife's new '51 chevy & TECH QUESTIONS!

Congrats on the purchase...looks like you "done" good. Rear looks just like a '70 Nova one I have....the one that used the monoleaf springs. I agree with all the other suggestions ... cut all that out and start over ... if you need any parts I've got about seven '51 - ''52 parts cars.

Brian

 

Cool! I'm glad it was a "simple" problem! I figured you had a parts rub going on there somewhere. Do a little grinding or maybe score some Sanderson manifolds/headers...or a similar "tight fit" design!

And yeah...best to go 'clean slate' on that rear set-up and do it your way!

 

Ryan-I did a 53 chevy[stock steering] with a 350 about 25 years ago for Brother Reggie-and we used the "under the plug" 350 manifold that exits below#5 cyl location about 3/4 way back on [driver side]-we also pie cut/sawed the outlet about into and re angled it rearward and re welded it.that allowed headpipe to clear draglink deal on the old bellcrank steer linkage.

 

What choprods said, those rear dump "under the plug" manifolds work. How much of the firewall rib is trimmed off? Remove it all if needed. Then you might need to trim the lower firewall support, no biggie, they are not needed. And I got a couple RwT stickers for you and Marci

 

So, how does it drive? If it drives anything like mine, you are gonna want to do something about the steering anyway...when it's perfect it's marginal, at best. The suspension works ok, it's just the steeing and brakes that suck. Mine drives ok for short trips, but after about 12-14 hours on the road it really starts to be a pain in the ass...I still haven't decided what to do about it. Choprods, I was going to try the Nova steeing setup, but so far have been unable to find one...All the Mustang setups I have looked at look way to narrow...like almost two inches per side....I guess I'll just have to come up with something totally off the wall and revolutionize the industry...yep, I'm dreaming again!

Brian

 

Brian, have you done the 54 steering box? Mine drives like a champ, they brakes are even impressive except in the mountains where I baby the high tech 4 wheel drums. My new 54 will stay stock suspension, I see no problem.

 

Yep, on Rocky's advice I swapped in a '53 - '54 box.. I had hoped it would cure all my ills since the original was really sloppy, but it didn't really make a difference. I think the problem is it has nearly 50k on the rebuild of the front end, and while no one part is worn out, it is all getting a little sloppy. The biggest problem is an annoying "shimmy" that starts about 62, peaks at about 72 mph, then kinda disappears if you get up around 80, and I'm not driving it at that speed! Not for long, anyway. I've changed tires, wheels, etc. to no avail. Any ideas???

Brian

 

Yeah, Brian.......freshen up the tie rod ends and check the chevy "equalizer" clearance. My 50 chevy had an aftermarket adjuster clamp to keep tension on this thing and help tighten up the slack it causes. Mine worked great. Also, double check and adjust the slack in the steering box and I'd send the car in to the alignment shop for a proper alignment.
I hate to bring this up but I found radial front tires make all the difference in the world if the rest of the front is up to snuff. Made my 50 drive straight and true. I found the same thing on my 49 ford coupe. These cars are heavy enough to really benefit from radials over bias plys. I know, I know...some of you guys would sooner be whipped by live snakes and stab your own eyes out with sharp sticks than run radials but I'm only relating what worked for me. And the bigger the bias ply tires I ran on the front, the worse the damn car drove. Gimme small radials on my 50's cars..

 

Ryan, If you are running stock from Suspension you may have to get a set of Sanderson headers that are made to clear the factory steering or remove the vertical firewall bracking that goes down to the frame (only keep the most outer one) if you want to run factory cast iron exhaust. I only removed the inner vertical and went with the Sanderson headers, they work great.

 

Hi kustom52- I suspect the main prob is clearance- whether ast the kingpins or mainly at the center mount on crossmember that mounts the "bellcrank" peice that bolts there. a little and I repeat little clearance there allows it to move "up and down" when you first start to turn wheel-BEFORE it does what it should be and turns right to left! I had that on one and it will scare the shit outa you when its "drivin you!" !!!

 

[ QUOTE ]
Ryan wrote: Colorado, please send pics!!! Thanks man!

[/ QUOTE ]

Ryan, here you go. I am using traction bars, they act as the lower mount as well as shock mounts. I used a home made angled lowering block, this lowered the rear as well as set the pinion angle correctly. The wedges on the bottom are just to angle the traction bars up a little.

 

...bttt.......a LOT of good information in this post. Nice ride "Mrs. Ryan!"

 

http://www.waltonfabrication.com/0801.htm

 

Rear spring: Chassis Engineering
Rear end saddles, u-bolts and mounting plates:
Croft trailer in Lee's Summit, MO about $26.00.
Lowering blocks: Scrap metal bin at Metal-By_the-Foot on Truman road and I-70, about $5-6.

Any other questions?
r

 

nice...matching cars..hehe

MAIKI