Both independent suspension and straight axle cars look great and handle just fine when done right. Last year I had the straight axle removed from my car and went back with the stock A arms; added ball joint spacers and 409 Chevy station wagon w/ A/C springs.
Yep, it's all good. Half of this board is tech questions, half is history lessons, half is "bench racing"; having a few beers in the garage talking a little shit, all in good fun.
This is kind of off-topic, but since we are talking about chevy II suspension, maybe it'll slide by. Heres the pic of Laurie Craigs car. Caused a few GT350R drivers to have some bad weekends in the mid sixties. Sorry about the crappy quality. Moving the upper control arm inner mounting point down in mustangs changed the camber from around +2 to around -1. This accomplishes two things, one it raises the roll center, and two, it tips the top of the tire in. So when you are cornering hard, and the wieght transfers to the outside front wheel, it stands the outside front tire up straighter, so instead of rolling over on the outer sidewall, the tread surface stays square with the road surface. I'm assuming the taller spindle does the same thing for the Chevy II.
The other half is math. ### Kustom Falcon Build Thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=734282
Gasser are awesome and I love them just as much as anybody else, but it's a fad right now and a lot of cars are getting cut up that will probably have regretful owners in the future, just like what happened in the 80's with all those pro street turds. Traditional Hot Rods and Kustoms are the only true mainstay in this hobby, everything else comes and goes.
Wish there were more details on this car. Also, I suppose they had Chevys in Canada, but for some reason I thought all the Chevy IIs were marketed as Pontiac Acadians. Did they have one of each?
Don't know if it's really just a fad though the bandwagons wheels are creaking and most of the new builds are pretty cornball. If so, it's lot easier to reverse than a pro street car. I've also said this before and still think the typical pro street car would be cool again with a nose stretch and a set of magnesium wheels. Instant funny car!
I had a 62 minnie tubbed 57 pont rear 4.88 with spool 327 4 speed stock front end it drove ok from what I rembered. That said if I would of had a stright axle it whould have been under it in a hartbeat. I hated to change the plugs in that thing. It was fun to drive. Damn I miss that 4 speed. That's it my next car is going to be a 4 speed.
pro-street is dead ---but whats that guys name ,larry larson,--6.94 , 200mph and drove it 1200 miles in 4 days ---vital signs still strong in that 66 chevy II
We actually had both. My wagon is a '66 Chevy II 100, manufactured in Ontario. Whats really odd, is it has a Nova steering wheel, and I am SURE its factory. Its the right blue to match the rest of the interior, and I bought it off an old farmer, he had owned the car for three decades, and wasnt the type to do anything so frivolous to swap a steering wheel.
fact is, if they are tastefully done and make sense, I dig both solid axle cars, and Pro-Streeters. Problem is, tastefully done examples of both are in DAMN short supply, which is ALWAYS what happens when a particular build style becomes flavour of the week.
Oh,like fake patina??? A straight axle,a Thumper cam,tunnel ram,loud pipes,40 pounds of trussed billet shifter for the auto tranny,you be the man at the local cruise in...............Hell,I own four jacked up vehicles with straight axles...except they got a differential in the front.... But fads are ok,it's style and change. And without style we all would be wearing black and riding in horse pulled wagons.
Well the gassers may be a fad and the pro-street old news, but the crowd sure did seem to like it yesterday when my buddy in his 57, 150 Chevy pro-street and me in my junk pulled into the swap-meet yesterday. About the only things that got more attention was a 57 Chevy truck with a 572 blown crate motor rolling on 20s and bags.
its a yes for me.. it cant be any worse than the stock suspension.. steering and brakes... just my 0.2 Roy
Ditto on that and Amen on the stock, early Chevy II front suspension, steering and brakes not being any worse. Compared to the stock set-up on those cars, a properly done straight axle with disks, can't help but being an IMPROVEMENT. Mart3406 =====================
I think NHRA first did that over fifty years ago? Pick an era, read the rule book for that time. If a car fits within those rules it's a "Gasser" typical of that era. I'm confident that everyone knows that "gassers" underwent an evolution over the years, (you do know that, don’t you?). And early gassers were much different from the latter ones. Your provocative question is like asking, “What is a fast car?” Of course we all know sometimes a 12 second car is too fast and sometimes a 6 second car is too slow.
Yes, seen this car many times. Great example of what I was NOT talking about in post #164. And to use the word "gasser" in relation to a car like this is an abomination. "Street Freak" is the term that applies. I am gonna go out on a limb here, and guess that the word "hater" will be rearing its ugly head shortly...
Hater, isn't that a metro-sexual term? I actually new a couple of local fellas here that successfully raced a D gas '56 Wagon. It had no straight or truck axle, it was mildly lifted with lift springs from JC Whittney, and they made their own glass bumpers for it.
Thanks for proving the point I was making inn my previous post And that sky-high 'abortion on wheels' is not a "wagon gasser":, it's merely a 'rat rod' with a paint job. Back in the day, if anybody showed up at the dragstrip or the local cruise hangout in something like that, they'd have been first, laughed out of the place and then told in no uncertain terms, not to come back....ever.. And rightfully so, too. By the way, we're getting way off the original subject and topic of discussion here.. As for the Chevy II with the the nicely done front subsume, a tube axle and disks - (oh yeah, I remember that!) ....at the risk of sounding at all, or in any way 'opinionated'...HELL YES, GO FOR IT!! Mart3406 ==================
most tracks were not nhra---most gas class cars were or could be street driven---but as far as the question goes "it bolts in"---check that thread about that sky high 57 ford gasser built for sema---some of the same guys who are always bitchin about high cars sure sing a different tune on that thread and it is a real nosebleeder
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