djh2003
Active member
What's a good subframe to use? Or full frame? I have a 84 buick regal and a 92 chevy caprice frame. Intend to make it a shoptruck-parts chaser.
57-60ford front ends good frame swap?
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Blue Eyed Devil
Devil's Advocate
Why subframe it then? A rebuilt frontend is more than capable of handling parts runner duty. You can put a drop axle under it if you want to get it down. No reason to hack in a clip...
Willowbilly3
A *real* tin magnet
I have a friend who has done several with the 80s style crown vic front stub. They work real good. I am going to have him mock one up in my 60 build this fall and I will finish the welding. He adds the stock front frame stubs so the core support and everything mounts as original.
The later Crown vic is even easier but it's real wide and you end up having to use modern wheels with that huge back spacing and I don't like the looks of modern wheels on old trucks.
The later Crown vic is even easier but it's real wide and you end up having to use modern wheels with that huge back spacing and I don't like the looks of modern wheels on old trucks.
djh2003
Active member
By the time I add disc brakes, pwr steering it will add up. If I was keeping the original drive train I'd consider it
Willowbilly3
A *real* tin magnet
Yup, it can add up fast. Cost for my junkyard crown vic--zip. And I have the whole car to get the master cylinder, power steering pump and brackets, all that stuff that nickel and dimes you to death on a build.
Normally I am an advocate of keeping the straight axle under old trucks but I'm hoping my 16 year old daughter will like it enough to drive it and the extra margin of safety is worth the sacrifice. Same with the tranny, I'm pretty much a 3 pedal guy but this one will have a slush box.
djh2003
Active member
talked to someone who used a 76 nova front end. He's driven it all over and now he's going to put a 5.3ls truck motor in it.
Torch
Extremely dangerous with a torch!!!
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For straight axles...
power steering on a straight axle is easy.... buy a saginaw box mounting plate or make one, weld it to the frame... get a forward steering arm for the passenger side spindle to hook the saginaw box to in a cross steer configuration and leave your tie rod setup stock.
Disc brakes are cheap and easy too, buy the caliper bracket from scarebird or other vendors, you have to mod the spindle or the wheelbearing but you use the discs and calipers from a modern truck like chevy calipers with f150 4x4 rotors on a ford.
If you only looked as far as the kits then your glutton to spend upwards of 3k on 4 wheel disc brakes... you can do it on all 4 with stock parts and custom brackets for around $500 give or take for new or used parts.
key to a well handling straight axle front... good springs that are not all fatigued out... tight bushings, greased up rebuilt spring bushings kingpins and tierod ends and proper geometry. a few degrees of caster is essential to get rid of that high speed squirrly feeling. negative caster was dialed in at the factory to make them easier to steer and also because a gravel road is crowned different than an asphalt road. the negative caster caused the vehicle to seek the high point in the road on dirt or gravel...
Positive caster causes a vehicle to want to track in the ruts and gives better high speed stability but results in a little bit more steering effort.
semi trucks still have solid front axles
power steering on a straight axle is easy.... buy a saginaw box mounting plate or make one, weld it to the frame... get a forward steering arm for the passenger side spindle to hook the saginaw box to in a cross steer configuration and leave your tie rod setup stock.
Disc brakes are cheap and easy too, buy the caliper bracket from scarebird or other vendors, you have to mod the spindle or the wheelbearing but you use the discs and calipers from a modern truck like chevy calipers with f150 4x4 rotors on a ford.
If you only looked as far as the kits then your glutton to spend upwards of 3k on 4 wheel disc brakes... you can do it on all 4 with stock parts and custom brackets for around $500 give or take for new or used parts.
key to a well handling straight axle front... good springs that are not all fatigued out... tight bushings, greased up rebuilt spring bushings kingpins and tierod ends and proper geometry. a few degrees of caster is essential to get rid of that high speed squirrly feeling. negative caster was dialed in at the factory to make them easier to steer and also because a gravel road is crowned different than an asphalt road. the negative caster caused the vehicle to seek the high point in the road on dirt or gravel...
Positive caster causes a vehicle to want to track in the ruts and gives better high speed stability but results in a little bit more steering effort.
semi trucks still have solid front axles
Willowbilly3
A *real* tin magnet
The other reason I want to stub mine is to get it lower. I looked into dropped axles and you end up with monkey donked steering are/tierod relationship it would seem. And all for just a couple inches.
Torchy, I also engineer my own disc brakes with cheap junkyard parts and home made brackets, did my roadster that way. Everything new but the rotors and I have less than 2 bills into it.
Torchy, I also engineer my own disc brakes with cheap junkyard parts and home made brackets, did my roadster that way. Everything new but the rotors and I have less than 2 bills into it.
Torch
Extremely dangerous with a torch!!!
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there ya go...
there's something about the old galaxie suspension related to nascar suspension i think nascar suspension is center drive chevy truck swingarm rear and the fronts are late 50's early 60's galaxie conveted to foreward control... with the steering moved foreward of the suspension so the linkage is under tension rather than compression.
There was a car in SuperRod magazine the guy setup that way. It was one of those fords looked like a 48 checvy car... he said it was a ticket hazzard it was so stable at speed you’d be going 100 without knowing it.
there's something about the old galaxie suspension related to nascar suspension i think nascar suspension is center drive chevy truck swingarm rear and the fronts are late 50's early 60's galaxie conveted to foreward control... with the steering moved foreward of the suspension so the linkage is under tension rather than compression.
There was a car in SuperRod magazine the guy setup that way. It was one of those fords looked like a 48 checvy car... he said it was a ticket hazzard it was so stable at speed you’d be going 100 without knowing it.
Krooser
Well-known member
Krooser
Well-known member
For the last 20 years or so the Cup front ends have looked more like GM front steer deals than the old Ford strut rod rear steer front ends... but they have evolved a lot from the GM based designs...
