TECH: Camaro Clip in your 58 chevy-in one day!

Very Slick, Jaws!

I typically end up puting a larger radiator in them than stock, and the bumper thing is of little consequence, as I usually flip them upside down. (I always thought they looked upside down to begin with...)

 

Hey, thanks. I'd love to take the credit for the fab work, man if you didn't know that these trucks came with straight axles, you'd swear the frame was untouched. He is a true craftsman. I just wire them and do some mechanical stuff to bring them to life after wards. The Good LORD didn't give me the welding talent! I am hoping to learn it though.

 

Hey, what radiator would you suggest I look for LUX? I was wondering what would work and the sheet metal is apart right now so I dont even have a measurment.

 

this is what my finished product looks like. couldnt find nothin on this issue until i went ahead on my own it was actually a hell of a lot easier than i thought!

 

Lux Blue,
any photos of how you handle mounting the front bumper to the clip?

 

^
Or mounting the origonal frame horns back on? Can you use the same rad. support brackets too?

 

I typically use some 2X3 heavy tubing welded under the clip. But I also typically flip the bumper for an "even lower" look.

I use the original body mounts off the side of the clip to make the rad.support mounts.

 

Like this.

 

We used the stock rad and stuff...

Here's a couple more shots for fun and some food for thought.

 

A few more to chew on.

 

Jaws, what master cylinder system did you use? is it a kit or a setup out of a certian vehicle? I am looking for a firewall mounted setup like that. What did you do for the pedal then too?

 

Here my 55 GMC stand with original frame and with Camaro clipped frame.

 

bump

 

Hello folks.
I been perusing the various sights reading up on some of this stuff because I just bought a 55 & a 57
Haven't really joined any of the sites because I haven't had anything to say and frankly some of the site aren't saying much themself.

But here, this particular thread, seems to be a bit different so I joined.

Thanks for for your postings Lux Blue.
I'm watching for the rear end and shock follow ups.

Some good looking trucks some of you guys are posting pictures of.


As for my own trucks.....
Haven't fully decided yet how I will do mine.
Right now I am leaning toward the Camaro clip and "C" notch... most likely
(got 3 Camaros & 1 rear steer Nova)
And the other I am thinking keep it tall and a working truck by using a 85 3/4 ton, single wheel or a 1 ton dually back 1/2 that I have.

Maybe 427 the car clip truck and 350 the 3/4

So thanks to you all for sharing the info.

 

it's on here...somewhere.

really basic. 10 bolt, flip it, notch it, shocks straight up and down. Firedome later went on to add the trans am sway bar. (or something to that effect...Just saw him an hour ago....)

That truck has about 10k on it by now. we would probably work on it some more if he would stop driving it everywhere.

 

There was a nice write up about this in the April '03 Truckin' magazine too. They came up with a tool made from all thread and angle iron to locate the front end. Nice work by you too.

 

Thanks for the follow up Lux Blue

Sounds simple enough.

 

Sorry I took so long to get back to you on this..

The Suburban with the blown sbc has a complete pedal assem from a 67-72 chev pickup and that's also the same for the booster and master.

Most of the others work fine with the stock master under the floor. We haven't had to do anything to make them work with the disc drum combo from the camaro.

They stop great too, like manual brakes should.

To be fair I have used the under floor booster/master kits also. They are a good match as long as the cam ain't to big cause the booster is small and needs all the vacuum it can get...

Brant

 

I've been following this thread and have just done the clip the no-limit way. I thought I could share some thoughts to help the next guy.
I bought the no-limit DVD which was a lot of help and saved a lot of time(it's copied from a videotape, judging by the mullet, made in the 80's so the video is very poor). Grafting the clip to the frame is pretty simple and explained well. Grafting the front of the truck frame to the camaro clip is a lot more difficult if you want to make it look nice. I haven't got the front sheetmetal on yet but I can see it's not as simple as the DVD suggests.
On the DVD they make custom motor mounts instead of using the Camaro mounts which I couldn't understand. I emailed No-Limit and didn't get a response so I eventually called. The tech guy confidently said if you use the camaro mounts the engine will sit way too high and the pinion angle will be extreme. Visually it didnt' make sense so I stuck a SBC/200-4R into the stock camaro mounts and it works fine but sits a lot lower than stock. Lots of floor and firewall clearance. I also asked the tech guy how much lower the front would sit and he said exactly 4-8 inches, also very helpful(sarcasm). I eventually got an email response to the question- "Why make custom mounts and not use the camaro mounts?" The exact words were " To get perfect motor placement for a chev p/u, it's not a Camaro anymore". Very enlightening.
Anyway to summarize, the No-limit DVD is very useful. The graft looks great, flows really well, the camaro motor mounts can be used and No-Limit Engineering tech support has no idea about doing the graft.

 

Hey thanks for putting this up Lux Blue, the 65`s coming down in the ass now!
Good work, and very well worded. Thanks mate.

 

I was wondering how far foreward from original axle centerline i could move clip without running into problems with the camaro steering gear hitting radiator?

 

Hammerdog - be afraid, be very afraid!

If you look back through i had a post about my woes. When i did my subframe i only had the clip - no a-arms, steering, etc. I had to go by the recommendations of a bunch of folks that did it themselves. They told me the shock mount hole was the center of the axle on my 81 trans am clip going into my 57. That was not the case, as follows.
Using the original axles i decided to move the axle toward the front 1 1/2 inches to center the front wheels. WELL - big problems. The steering box interferes so I am having to do a major sheet metal - radiator "adjustment" to get everything together.

I recommend if at all possible to have your clip completely together and tacked in, then put the sheet metal back on before permanent welding. Also I think the 58-59's the radiator mount is a bit farther forward since the fenders are a bit longer, i think - somebody correct me if i am wrong. Shucks - maybe i just need to convert to a four light front clip.

 

According to no limit video axle centerline on camaro clip is front edge of shock eye hole. if you went forward an inch and a half you should have centered the wheel in fender opening. or close to it. My only concern is radiator to steering gear clearance.
Plans are to move centerline one inch forward.

 

this is one of the parts I tried to point out-
one of the main reasons I use an aluminum radiator is the ability to fit a longer/shorter radiator in there. it's not as bad as it seems.

there are a bunch of ways to skin that particular cat, fellas-to be sure.

 

The wheel is pretty well centered in the wheel opening. Problem is, when the subframe went forward, the gearbox did interfere with my radiator mount / frame, whatever that piece is called that the front fenders and radiator mount to. I had to modify that thing. I am not sure if an original size radiator will fit or not. It had a three core radiator shaped different than stock when I bought it. Prior owner had mounted it with a really nasty looking homemade bracket that I thought was gonna just fall out of the truck before I could get it driven home. I am pretty sure I can adapt it.

 

If You look at the core support ( the thingy in question) You usually have a "step" in the sheet metal in front of that. I cut the whole damn thing out and build my own upper and lower core supports.- but that is just how I do it. I have seen where guys simply move the whole assembly to the passenger side by a couple inches, or get all fancy and install a manual box (which in hindsight is a good move- they're alot smaller, but I have a bum shoulder, so I like the power steering.)

just a little whittlin was all that was required on this particular truck.

 

Do you have some pics of the wheel in fender opening and radiator support clearance problem?

 

Awesome resource here Lux. I've read every single word twice now. The posts have hinted at some answers to the questions I'm about to ask but thought I'd put them all in one place for the benefit of those who come after me.

I'm rebuilding a "lost cause" 1950 GMC pickup and have acquired a 1980 firebird clip and a 77 Trans Am 3.08 posi rear end. Here we go...

1. I'm hearing a lot about incorrect width on the new clip and narrow a-arms. Can I stay stock on the clip for a 1950 truck or not? If not, what is the specific problem I'm going to have with it?

2. Any other issues you know off regarding a camaro/50 GMC pairing? (narrower tires, sheet metal problems etc.)

2. Does the two inch rule for centering the wheels in the fender apply to the 1950 as well? I'll eyeball it of course but just want to understand what the consensus opinion is here.

3. I like the idea of dropping the front (although I'm nervous about 7-8 inches). Is there a way to add back a couple inches post clip install if an adjustment is desired?

4. I'd like a little forward tilt in the final set-up but I'm not sure how to accomplish that in the rear. Is a C-Notch mandatory? The 77 posi has different mounts on the axle for the springs, so I need to move those narrower but I'm confused about needing to flip and notch if I'm not after a perfectly level ride height. Advice?

Sorry about the wordiness fellas. Thanks for your patience.

 

wow what a great read. My dad had my 57 frame done several years ago and I am not pleased with the install at all. I have been driving on it for 5 years with no issues. Now that I have the truck down to the frame, I am scared of the friggin welds I see! I will send some pics. I am glad I read this thread though, I was looking for another frame to do the Heidts mustang II type front end. I believe that I will stick with what I got and rebuild it. I am a pretty handy welder so I figure I can grind, clan and reweld. thoughts?

 

Man what a great thread! I have my down to the frame and staring at the job my father had some hacker do. I have been driving on this clipped front end for 5 years since he had it done. I think that there will be a lot of grinding and welding to be sure that this is road worthy for the kids when we get done. I will show some pics of it when I get them downloaded.... I got a build site with pics for interested rodders: http://web.me.com/spaceman1/Site/Welcome.html

This site will be moving soon to superpossum.com. Glad to be a part of this site, this is some cool ass stuff on here.