I am currently working on a new project i picked up recently. Its a 56 chevy with a 55 front clip. It has a straight axle out of a 56 chevy pickup. the steering (was) a Sweet Mfg rack and pinion (i dont think its gonna work, header interference with the big block and i think there is a broken tooth in the rack). I have 2 questions; 1. the front axle has the stock spindles on it, and i have had some hot rodders looking at it(who dont drag race they build hot rods) and they are making some suggestions that im worried might not be strong enough for drag racing, if thats even an issue. i guess my question is with just one steering arm off each spindle, what are some options that are safe, for connecting my pitman arm to this so i can steer .If i run a tie rod between the two spindles where do i connect the pitman arm. pls forgive me if some of my terminology is off, im new at the suspension thing. 2 . and this question might tie in with the first one, why does everyone suggest the use of a 49 to 54 truck straight axle. what is the advantage of it? I will try to post some pictures tonight so you can see what i have, if that would help.
The tie rod goes frrom the bottom side to side. Then use a stock 55-57 Chevy pasenger car bracket and mount it on the top two backing plate bolts. It will need a couple spacers about 3/4" thick to space it out from the backing plate. Then connect your stock '55-'57 steering box to the upper bracket you installed on the pass. side. This will bring the mounting point high enough to eliminate bump steer, and you can actually reuse much of the stock '55-'57 tierod pieces. I used the end that mounts on the stock steering arm, and the end that mounts on the bracket at the backing plate. Then I made up a piece o round stock and welded it to both ends. The backing plate end already has a threaded end, so it makes centering the steering wheel easy. There are 4 or 5 Tri 5 gassers running around that I did this way, and they drive great.
hmmm only problem is a have none of the stock suspension stuff , it came with the chevy truck straight axle installled and the rack and pinion, i have no other parts and im not sure how hard that stock stuff would be to find. was thinking about getting a vega box for it, but not sure what all i would need to make it work.
shouldn't be very difficult to find the stock truck parts....and it should work a lot better than the rack, and also look right.
Yes, you can do the same with stock truck parts. Get the tie rod for the bottom, and get an extra tir rod end to use on top. Most Chevy's have the same spacing on the backing plate bolts, but you can check to see. I know Chevy van axles from 66-69 use the same spacing on the brackets as the Tri 5's do. Measure your spacing, then take a look at the brackets Speedway sells too. They might have one to fit. A Vega box is even better, as you can use more common pitman arms and drag link components.
thank you so much for the help guys, i think i have a pretty good idea now of what i need to do. Now i just pray i can do all this before the Meltdown drags!!!
I like using a 525 box as a cross steering application with the cross steer tie rod end from speedway. Part number 910-02999
49-54 chevy truck axles are extremely close to the factory track width of your car. 55-57 truck axles are a little wider.
thank you Jophus! this is the question i have been trying to find info on for a while! and if that is all the difference im stickin with my 56 truck axle i LOVE the way it looks!
The '55-'59 axle looks much better with a lifted Tri 5. With the frontend a bit higher the stock width looks too narrow as the front goes higher, and you use narrower front tires. My friend is using a late 60's Chevy van straight axle that is probably around 3" wider than stock, and it looks perfect with skinny front tires.
awesome! thank you for the pic, my car sits similar so this will work out well for the look im wanting the car to have.
to dirtyuncle616 Read your questions and I'll tell you to go to GASSER INC. Google that and you will see a car club up in Mn. I believe that does these all the time with the truck axle. They do a 55 and a 56 chevy. I read this site like 6 months before I started on my 55 and am so glad I did. They got all the little detail about which arms to use to the steering box. I had to locate a couple of steering arms and various parts but tha'ts what e-bay and swap meets are for. And yes the stock steering arm will bolt up to the stock spindles. Forward and back. Had to use various hardware I believe to clear some items but not hard. Kinda frustrating after the third trip to the hardware store. I used the early truck axle. had springs re arched 4 additional inches to handle the 454.I used a stock manual chevy s-10 box. A little slow for my liking but I bought it.Some 3/4"DD shaft material and a 30spline ay3/4 universal and a 3/4 by 3/4" universal. Got tie rods from speedway. Had to have steering rods taper opened up to fit Ford tierod ends. I guess the roundy round guys like there for strength. made some shock mounts and good to gne thing you got to remember is the early springs are installed at a taper on them. Meaning they are wider in the back than in the front. Messed with my mind for a while. Also I installed the shackles in the front,stationary in the rear. When you do the final install of the front shackle pivot, I had to angle the shackle towards the firewall to like a 3.30 or q 4o'clock position without motor in chassis. When motor is installed you want the shackle like straight up and down. First time I installed straight up and when motor was installed it went to a straight forward to a horizontal position. I enclosed a couple of photos of my front end construction going on. Works real good no bump steer whats so ever. Key I'm told is to keep the tie rod parallel to the straight axle. and about 6 -10 degrees caster dialed into the axle. Can be adjusted with tapered shims. Wide end to rear of car to tip the axle rearward. Be sure to check out their site they are a big help. Ok later YRUHOT.........Doug
Thank you Doug for the suggestions and the pictures, sorry it took a while to reply, my mother was diagnosed with cancer and i pretty much disappeared while taking care of her.
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