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40 Buick coupe, need input

7K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  fstfish66 
#1 ·
I am about to pull the trigger on a 40 Buick coupe. The car is nice with great paint and chrome but an original drivetrain. I have a Buick 455 and a switch pitch 400 trans to put in and can probably locate a leaf spring rear to fit, i'm wondering what the best route is for front suspension? i'd rather not graft on a late model front clip but i want disc brakes and modern suspension characteristics. what are some other options besides the fatguy mustang 2 stuff?

Bob
 
#3 ·
is that 40 buick independant front suspension orignally??? if so fat man probably has componets to convert it to disc, or dropped spindels,,,or he can point you in the direction of some one that builds that stuff,,,

the reason im asking is my 40 dodge coupe is orignally an independant front suspension car,,,it has master power disc brake conversion,,a fat man power rack,,,and soon to have fat man dropped up rights,,and eaton coil overs,,
 
#4 ·
The 40 is an A arm suspension, but very poor system with knee action shocks. Not worth reusing in it's present state, especially with the extra weight of a big block Buick.
You will want to not only build up better suspension, but also strengthen the frame for the extra weight and HP. The rear can be done with several different choices from a 9" Ford to a 12 bolt, or 10 bolt GM. Some people even reuse stock spring locations with newly fabbed springs, but usually move the center pin to get the tires centered in the rear wheelwells, as they sit forward in stock location. I think 1"-1.5" is usually decent move.
 
#5 ·
well if the 1940 GM, is an A arm suspension,,,cant be to hard to change the knee action style shocks over to a modern shock,,, like i said fat man or some one probably has parts to do a disc brake swap and shock brackets,,for a nice street budget cruiser

im sure that frame is plenty strong enough for a big block,,i would assume it has an X in the middle of the frame,,
 
#6 ·
It's been so long since I owned my '40 Chev coupe that I don't remember if they had an X frame. Regardless, it's the portion in front of the firewall that concerned me when I had mine. You can convert the front to shocks, but they need brackets welded to the outside of the frame and A arm.
Chevy offered the '40 in either A arm or straight axle, dpending on which model, but I believe all Buicks were only A arm, as they were a more expensive line.
I had a neighbor who rolled an old Imperial and I bought it for $50. Took the 413, 727, and rearend. Put them all into my '40 coupe, and I added a crossmember below the engine to help support the motor mounts.
The frame on a '40 is like "hat channel" shape, so it's got a small lip on the bottom of each side, and a flat plate across the bottom to box it in. Not a heavy frame like later Chevys had, so it does need bracing, especially for anything heavier, or with more HP.
Fatman makes a complete A arm kit with Mustang II steering. It includes a new crossmember to replace the stock one that comes out when using their kit.
Here's a link to a guy who changed his straight axle Chevy to a Fatman system:
http://www.astreetrodder.com/1940_chevy.htm
 
#7 ·
the 40 dodge uses a X and had hyd shocks from the factory,,,but i dont know what they were thinking,,the shocks are mounted to the A arms,,top and bottom,,,,fat man had frame brackets for the upper shock mount and uses a lower mount on the up right,,,,in the 40 dodge the spindle is bolted to what they call the up right,,fat man has dropped up rights to lower the front of the car ,,all comes as a kit shock and lowering up rights,,,a cross member mustang 2 cant be made for the dodge frame from 1938 till 42,, 46 and up are adaptable,,,

on the 40 dodge u have t cut the front stub and replace it all with a fat man kit,,, but the dodge has a nice A are system,,,mine uses a cavaliere rack, and master power disc,,, car has been down 2 years for engien issues,,hoping to get it resloved this winter and do the front end,,,

where is the guy with the 40 buick that started this topic??
 
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