i need help on choosing a straight axle for my 54 chevy.any idea's?

54chevygasser,

Not much to go on here. But I take it this 54 is a truck? What do you plan to do with it? Cruise, race or re-sell for a profit?
Cruise go with a three to four inch dropped from Summit
Race use an independent front end, get rid of the straight.
Re-sell stay with the original equipment.

Just my two cents
Scholman

All depends on what you want (tube or I beam) and what you want it for.

the set up i am looking for is for a 54 chevy 210 car that i a redoing.this car was my father's in high school.i plan on putting a 600+ horsepower big block in it.take it out on weekends and some 1/4 mile action.

If you want to go the "Gasser" route, alot of guys in the 60s used the early 60s panel van front axles. Don't expect it to handle very well.
If you want a good driver, graft in a Camaro or Nova subframe. Good handling, PS, PB, and the mounts are there. Thats the way I would go.

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i am trying to keep it a gasser.there are problems with the straight front axle setup that my father and his friends put in the1960's.he said it came out of a late 1940's-early1950's chevy/gmc truck.nothing works right.the steering box is held on by two bolts and the back brackets on the spings are the same.i need a setup that is lighter and safer but i want to keep the gasser setup.

Check out http://www.speedwaymotors.com.

Part ## 91035125

thanks guy's i will check speedway out.

does anybody know how to set this suspension up properly?i want to make sure the caster and camber are set right and how to avoid bump steer.

Make sure it is put in "Square". An alignment shop can take care of the other stuff.

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Poncho that's a cool truck.

i heard if you don't set this up right you will have all sorts of problems.i really have never put in one before.does anyone know of any pitfalls to avoid?

The caster and camber have to be made into it. A alignment shop will only be able to set toe. The caster (rotating the axle top towards the back of the car) has to be set before the spring pads are welded on the axle. 3 1/2 degrees caster, and zero camber is what your looking for.

I wouldnt use speedways axles, they are made from mild steel and way too narrow. Tom Medlock specialty cars (no web site) in Cal makes the best I've seen. I'll pm the addy to you as I'm not home now. He makes them for ford ends, so you'd have to buy the ford spindles (better because their new-aftermarket forgings).

You can order the semi-eliptical kit from speedway without the axle. The rest of the axle kit is good stuff. The drag link should be as short as possible, and as level as possible to prevent bump steer. Vega, or corvair steering boxes are light and adaptable. brackets for mounting them are readly avalable.

Another good source is www.tperformance.com

thanks for the specs ingosplut.

i have called tom medlock and talked to him.he is way to expensive.he quoted me a price of $1300.00 for the setup without even a steering box or drag link.just the axle,springs,pads and brackets.who else carries strong axles?

Get a price on just the axle from him. He makes the best ones, Trust me on this. I've got a 66 Nova SS that has had a straight axle since the 60's, and that I've had since the late 70's. Its been in storage since then because I couldnt find anybody to make a strong enough axle (and other reasons). I have an original 69 ZL-1 thats a nostalga motor for it, But the main motor is a dart aluminum head 427. I plan on using this car HARD (I did before, and bent the first axle from landings) For years, nobody (that you could find) made TUBE axles. Only I beam. When I picked this project up again three yrs ago, I started searching for someone to make me one.

I've gone thru FIVE axles to get something I was confortable with for my expectations. Most all axle manufacturers ( Magnum, Bell ) make them out of mild steel, mostly because their meant for street rods that people are going to drive easy (and are very light vehicles) I had a local firm make me two out of 1/4" wall 4130 seamless chrome moly 2" tube that would be fine for all but the most severe use (me). I was going to put a piece of barstock in the center to make it that much better, But Tom does that with his and makes his out of the same tube stock. That, and I switched to the ford ends (mine were for Chevy spindles) so I could knock off about 20 more LBs off the brakes/hubs.

Those two axles cost me about 243.00 a piece. I would think you could get the semi kit from speedway without the axle for 200.00 or so. The spindles are going to be 150.00. So even if he charged you 400.00 for just the axle. With a Vega box (319.00) and non plated steering arms (49.00 box-39.00-spindle) plain heim end tie rod (ends included) 64.00(x2 for drag link) thats 1285.00 minus brakes and shocks/mounts for the BEST stuff going. Your not going to get out of it (with any quality parts) for less that 1500.00 for everything that you need parts wise. And trust me, Thats only a FRACTION of what I've spent so far to find that out....

Only thing I will add is don't get the front end high by arching the springs. Either get a straight axle (little or no drop or) or add riser blocks between the springs and the axle. I have 4" riser blocks in my Willys front end and it works fine. Keep the leaf springs as flat as possible or you will build in severe bump-steer. Also, lower the steering gear or raise the steering arm on the spindle so the drag link is somewhat parallel to the spring for the same reason.

to willy's and inglosplut:

first. thanks inglosplut.i checked out your axles.man looks like you have a small fortune invested in your frontend.

do most of the straight front axle car's run 3 1/2 degrees camber?or are all car's different?

also willy's i read your take on the corvair steering box.what steering arm do you use?also do you think this would be a good setup on this car?