Rear end question

[phil cottingham]

I have a rear end from an 85 el camino that I plan to use in my build. It has 4arms connected to the frame. Is there any reason I can't use these mounting points on the rear housing and there same angles for mounting to my new frame? I plan to use the el camino coil springs as well. The frame will be built to make these things line up. Also if can use this 4 arm system would a panhard bar be necessary? Thanks for the help so for. I'm just getting everything together right now. I plan to start a build thread later if I can master the picture thing. Phil

 

[Old Iron]

Yes you can use the rearend and control arms just as they come out of the donor car.
No you do not have to run a panhard bar, if you install the components the same way you take them out. Those are a triangulated factory 4 bar system.

 

[phil cottingham]

rear end

Old Iron, Thanks for the info. That will save a lot work and calculating . Does the length of the bars matter or should they be the length of the factory ones? It looks like I'll be building a frame . I had planned on using the Studebaker frame but it has more rust than I thought. By building the frame I can make the 4 bars work easier than using the old frame. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I already learned a ton just from reading old post and asking questions. Thanks, Phil

 

[kenny c]

The arms work well at the length they are. but both sets (upper and lower) can be made longer. When set up you rear end pinion angle and transmission angle should be the same. When the rear end goes through it's range of motion it should not move closer to the trans so that the yoke binds in the trans or moves away so that the yoke comes out of or has too little engagement. That doesn't happen too often with these style builds because the rear end doesn't usualy travel that far.

 

[phil cottingham]

rear suspension question

I was looking at the el camino rear end today trying to figure how locate the four arms on a new frame. I wander if I might be better off to cut the frame in front of where the arms connect and have the whole unit on the floor where I can get the right measurements easier? Its going to be really hard to do it with the rearend still under the car. If anybody has any suggestions I would like to here them. You guys have already been a great help. Thanks , Phil

 

[Dirtyrat]

You could build a quick jig off the frame where the arms would bolt in.
Then when building the new frame, you can use that jig in reverse to start tacking in the new areas for the arm mounting points.

 

[MercuryMac]

More food for thought Phil, if you're going to cut the Elkie frame off two or three feet in front of the rear-end why not just use the whole chunk you just cut off; frame, bars, rear-end and all. Just weld it onto your square tube. You'd be a third done by dinnertime.
I don't know a thing about Chevs so take my advice with a grain of salt.

 

[phil cottingham]

rearend question

That's a real possibility but the el camio frame gets really wide just in front of the rear tires. It might make for a weird looking frame . I think I will go ahead and get it out and just go from there. Thanks so much. Keep the ideas coming. Phil

 

[Tripper]

That 4 link setup is great but if you're gonna run any HP at all... the stock arms will give you horrible wheel hop! I replaced the u-shaped orig arms on my Chevelle with aftermarket solid round ones or even cheaper you could box the originals in!

BoB