Bryan59EC, I don't know what your plans are for your 64C10 or If somebody already said this but, We built a 65 pro street and instead of buying an expensive P/S andP/DB kit we took the complete front suspension including cross member and motor mounts off of a 1981 C10 and it bolted right in with 2 minor mods. This gave us the 5 on 5 bolt pattern and on the rear we just swapped axles to get the same pattern.If you are interested in doing this conntact me and I will give more details,but it was simple and works great. Love your ELKY.

I am a newbie and am in the process of taking everything off of my 55 2nd series truck in preparation for a new IFS. I am still a bit undecided about which brand, but I am leaning towards the Heidts. I still have a few weeks to make my final decision. (By the way, I am open for any last minute recommendations!) I am thinking about using 16 x 7 rims for the finished truck and the 2" drop spindle. The truck will be minus the engine and transmission for the install. I will be eventually install a ZZ4 350 with a 700r4 tanny.

I am going to complete all of the layout work but I am going to hire a professional welder to come in and complete the final welds.

I am fishing for any recommendations from those who have been down this road before. Any tips? Any suggestions regarding ride height, special reinforcements to compensate for no struts, centering of the wheels/tires?

Any advice is welcomed and appreciated!

Welcome aboard 1stproject
The best advice I can give is to measure measure measure and then measure again. Make sure everything is level and square before you start welding and you should be OK.
We also love to see pics of this stuff while its happening.
Kim

Hi 1stProject, and welcome! I too went down this exact road this past summer. I have a 55 2nd series shortbox stepside project. It has a 350 crate motor and the original 3-speed trans. It had the original rear end and front straight axle, along with 6-lug wheels. I wanted the truck to ride low to the pavement, with disk brakes all around and with a modern suspension. I looked at the Fatman, Heidts and TCI products. I finally decided on the TCI Mustang II style front suspension kit (sourced from CPP) with the power steering option, large vented/slotted disk brakes, 2" drop spindles and sway bar kit. After tearing out the old suspension, I removed the grime and old paint/rust from the frame and filled all the un necessary holes. Make sure to get the boxing plates, these are the first things to be installed. The crossmember goes in very easily, but measure carefully. A mistake here can be catastrophic. My kit came with minimal instructions ,so most of the work was intuitive. It did include mounting dimensions from a benchmark measured off the frame. In my case, the benchmark was the front bumper bracket mounting hole. Tack everything in, and remeasure, including the wheelbase dimensions on both sides, just to make sure. Using the drop spindles means that you'll need to cut a round or so off the new coil springs. Only do this AFTER the motor/trans/sheetmetal weight is imposed on the frame. In my case, the motor/trans was already installed, so I added a sand bag to replicate the weight of the front sheetmetal before cutting the coils. Another important step is this; before tacking/welding the crossmember into place, make sure the frame is sitting at the desired ride height/rake. The crossmember needs to be installed level to the ground in order to maintain all the proper geometries. After reading many threads about the IFS failures, I decided to add struts. I got a set from a 64-65 T'bird. Since this will be a driver, I don't mind the look of the strut....not that it looks bad anyway. The other option is to add a rear bracket, putting the lower control arm bolt into double-sheer. But I decided the struts were an even safer bet. Oh, one other thing; while not absolutely necessary (and not mentioned in the instructions), I c-notched the frame where the steering rack's tie rods pass. Since the front end sits so low, I only had about 1-1/2" of clearance there. So I c-notched it using a half diameter of a 3" diameter schedule 10 pipe. The entire front end suspension went together very easily. I probably have about 3 full days of labor into it, from start to finish, including the final painting (brushed-on POR product).

For the rear suspension, I opted for TCI's 4" dropped leaf kit, including a rear sway bar. I'm using an 2004 S10 extreme rear axle with disk brakes. It's 54" wide, which is quite narrow and tucks the 15x10 wheels (Vintique steelies) way inboard, so I'll need to tub the bed somewhat. I didn't c-notch the rear frame...I have about 2" of clearance to the top of the axle housing. If this proves to be a problem (bottoming out), then I'll c-notch it later.

I'm an amateur welder and did all of the welding myself. Although my dad is a retired pro welder, he only oversaw what I was doing and gave me a few helpful tips. The real trick is knowing when to leave the bead alone! Most rods I see have completely smooth grinded welds, especially at the boxing plates. I left my beads alone to gain as much strength as possible. Not the prettiest looking thing, but again, this is no jelly-bean trailer queen.

My biggest suggestions are; get the final wheels/tires that you want to use, install the rear suspension first, and set the frame to the final desired ride height. THEN start on the front end. Build from the wheels on up. If you decide on different wheel diameters later, then the geometry will be all wrong. Anyway, that's all I can think of at the moment. If you have any Q's, just let us know, and have FUN!

Antny

I think the heidts is the best kits on the market, they are more beefy compared to alot of the other kits.

You could be right, RedFox. The TCI, Fat Man and Heidts MII kits that I looked at last year at the Good Guys show in NY were nearly identical, couldn't tell them apart in terms of quality. Not sure if Heidts beefed up their kits since then. I didn't like either manufacturer's "super ride" type kits though because of the VERY narrow crossmember. Without a strut rod, I thought it looked too weak for a 50's era truck. All the MII kits looked beefier, to me anyways.

Antny

Hello everyone -

Thanks A LOT for the feedback, everyone's comments were a lot of help. (Antnly - your information was exactly what I was looking for - THANKS!). Especially the advice on having the rims and tires I am going to run later available during the setup. I actually had that question in my mind.

I am bouncing back in forth between the TCI and the Heidts. I have a feeling that my final decision may be swayed by the support I get when I call each company. I definitely want to work with a company who supports their product.

I will stay in touch with my progress.

That's an excellent point and I agree 100%. Before I started the project, I read a few chassis-building books to get a better understanding of the steering geometries, what's critical, what's not, what to do/what not to do, etc. One of best books I found is Tex Smith's "How To Build A Hot Rod Chassis". It's very informative and covers all types of front and rear suspensions....even McPherson struts for hot rods! Good reading, I highly recommend it to the novice (like me!).

Antny

consider the 2nd gen camaro subframe clip. actually easier to install in my opinion. good geometry, ride height and handling/steering. has really long weld lines for strength and a whole bunch have been done in the past. just my opinion. you can go to jalopy journal web site, click on the top on "HAMB" then do a search for camaro clip. there is a great, step-by-step article on doing the install. again, just my opinion and another option for you.

Just checking in...it's been awhile since I've been here....here's my project for those who don't know:

It's a '55 3100 that I bought as a 2wd and 327 (albeit tired) powered. I got a deal on a '78 Blazer drivetrain and installed the freshly rebult 4x4 drivetrain onto the original frame. The engine that is soon to be nestled in the engine bay is a 454 bbc. The truck is slated to get basic modern upgardes such as tilt, rack and pinion steering, etc. It's been an ongoing project and I'm hoping that after 14 years of neglect and false starts that I will (hopefully) have it finished soon. Right now I'm completing the last of the bodywork and chassis issues. Hey DOUBLEDICK, I love your truck! The mag wheels really set it off....waht is the name (and maker) of that color?

551958 I have no idea on the color.It was that way when I bought the truck.the clear coat is pealing and the gray primer is starting to show through.It was a nice dark metallic blue when it was first painted about 15 years ago.I had been trying to get the guy to sell it to me for over 10 years before he finally let it go to get his 63 vett out of the body shop.Wow everyone has been busy with there trucks.I have been hiding from the snow and subzero weather up here on the mountain.Now that Christmas is out of the way I can start buying parts again.I got some of the tools I need to get back to work for Christmas.I plan to cut the wheel wells on the back and make them wider so I can put 50's up under the back.I have 5 inches between the 10.5 wide tires I have on it now and the leaf springs.I can get slotted mags from American wheel in 17's.I just have to use the 90's offset on the rims and put some sticky tires on it for shows and playing on the drag strip.With the tires I have,tire shake keeps my 1/4 mile time to 15.21 and I know it will be much faster if I could get the tires to hook up in first gear instead of after it grabs third.I will take pictures and keep everyone posted with my progress.

Hi Doubledick have you by chance had time or enough snow removal to get the pictures and measurements of the cab pillars and step areas, I think I have all the parts, Happy new year

Sorry I forgot.It is snowing right now.I will do that for you on Thursday if I don't get to it tomorrow afternoon

Sounds good, thanks for your help, I am getting ready to pull the bed and cab off and get this work under way, All the best Bo

Chesapeake I am not sure what you need but here are a few pictures with measurements.If you need any more just ask,but be specific so I can get you what you need.

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