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'55-59' Chevy Truck Frame Clip w/G-Body?

50K views 66 replies 8 participants last post by  enjenjo 
#1 ·
I have spent hours pondering the idea of cutting off the front of my frame on my 55 second series frame to install an IFS clip. I have narrowed it down to a GM swap for various reasons. The Volare and AMC Pacer clips look relatively easy, but I am not comfortable on the aftermarket support of these parts as years go by. I am on a budget, so the MII front ends are out of my price range. I like keeping the truck GM, and the F-body clip is well documented and probably the most installed, with great aftermarket component support. I am finding these hard to locate anymore, and if someone has them, they typically want $350-$500 because they are "Camaro or TransAM". Even the Nova stuff seems to be getting harder to find. Anyway, I have decided to clip a G-body IFS onto the front of my '55. The G-body stuff still seems realtively easy to find and also has great aftermarket support. Spindles are the same as the S-10's. I did find some pretty good pics and documentation on using the Monte clip that was done several years ago. I tryed to e-mail the guy who posted the information, but it didn't go through. If anyone has recently completed this type of clip, or has any more details or learning curves that would help out, I would really appreciate it.
 
#53 ·
dragfrog23 said:
These two pics have the frames lined up flush on top and I don't see a 3x3 anywhere.[/QUOTE

It depends on what you want. I wanted mine on the ground. Ed moved his up a little so it wasn't as low and the one pictured here will sit 3 inches higher than mine. As I said it all comes down to what you want. It would be easier this way because your radiator support will mount on top of the Gbody frame. The lower you go the more fabricating you have to do to make everything work. Lowered trucks look cool and are fun to drive but tall speed bumps and steep driveways suck.
 
#54 ·
Thanks for all the answers

Check my introduction post for a pic of my 46. That's how low I want the 57. I put 100K on it and it was a daily driver for years. From 99 to 07.
There are several 55-59 around here with nova/camaro subframe that set good in the back, but have the typical wheel offset problem up front.
 
#55 ·
:thumbup:
dragfrog23 said:
Check my introduction post for a pic of my 46. That's how low I want the 57. I put 100K on it and it was a daily driver for years. From 99 to 07.
There are several 55-59 around here with nova/camaro subframe that set good in the back, but have the typical wheel offset problem up front.

Heres a pic of your 46. If you do yours like Eds it should sit about the same. Nice car!!!! :thumbup:

Kurt
 

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#56 ·
Got the project started

Started on the rear suspension, pretty much followed along with you guys on the rear spring bracket on top and G body rear on top of the leaf springs after taking several springs out. I did drill the spring bolt hole larger and put an allen head bolt in for the spring perch alignment pin.
I did use the S10 leaf spring plates and the front shocks from the 57 fit great.
To me the c notch wasn't enough so I made a step notch. Can't wait to unbolt the rear leafs and start welding the notch in. I do plan on boxing the frame around the notch area.
I got the 17" Cragar wheels for mock up, they were pretty cheap. I do plan on having the centers reversed to my measured offset. With the right offset I won't have to cut the bed and I can stick lots of tire inside the fender. If I like how the new offset is I can get the aluminum wheels I want.
I have other responsibilities so I'm only gonna be able to work on it a little until next month.
 

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#58 · (Edited)
dragfrog23 said:
Started on the rear suspension, pretty much followed along with you guys on the rear spring bracket on top and G body rear on top of the leaf springs after taking several springs out. I did drill the spring bolt hole larger and put an allen head bolt in for the spring perch alignment pin.
I did use the S10 leaf spring plates and the front shocks from the 57 fit great.
To me the c notch wasn't enough so I made a step notch. Can't wait to unbolt the rear leafs and start welding the notch in. I do plan on boxing the frame around the notch area.
I got the 17" Cragar wheels for mock up, they were pretty cheap. I do plan on having the centers reversed to my measured offset. With the right offset I won't have to cut the bed and I can stick lots of tire inside the fender. If I like how the new offset is I can get the aluminum wheels I want.
I have other responsibilities so I'm only gonna be able to work on it a little until next month.

You will either have to raise the bed inside the box or use wheel tubs to clear the kick ups you built. Also the cross member will need some work or it will hit the drive shaft. Looks good! :thumbup:
 
#60 ·
You might look at the early S-10 truck bed floors. I didn't want to deal with wood floor issues either. I cut one out of a 92 long bed, and it will have enough material to fill out the floor in my bed, plus have the factory tubs. When you cut the width to 50", the inner wheel housings on the S10 will be around 5-6 inches. I am in the process of trimming mine up to fit my bed. I plan on welding a flange around the perimeter of the wheel housings so I can bolt my bed sides to the floor. The channel braces running underneath on the S10 are also the same height as the original 55-58 braces! I plan on bolting the floor edges under the side angles on the bed sides. I will have to shim the front and back to support the floor ends. I will add a 1/4" x 1" aluminum strip across the header piece for the front end of the floor to sit on, and do the same in back by the tailgate brace. I have a picture of my cutout section in my gallery section on this forum. Good luck!
 
#61 ·
truck bed

I'm gonna use a sheet of plate steel and not diamond plate. I already have a frame built to lay it on, so I'll only have to do the perimeter. I won't be doing wheel tubs like the two of you have. I can adjust my wheel offset where my tires will fit in the fender. The S10 bed floor is a cool idea. Thanks
 
#62 ·
Kurt

I am trying to remember what tilt steering column you used for your truck. If I remember, it was from a G-body (Monte, Malibu, Cutlass?) I can't find the picture that you had that showed it from under the dash. My 1978 Truck column is too long. For some reason I thought I could use it. Thanks!
 
#63 ·
Ed, It is from a 78 lesabre. It fits well but does have the bump out on the side for the tilt and turn signal. I am still looking for one that does not have the bump out. Also when I installed it I had to remove part of the dash support to get it up under the dash. Hope this helps.

Kurt
 
#65 ·
Hey everyone, I am a new Rodder and have a ton of questions but my biggest is that I just purchased a 1958 GMC step side but it has a D 150 chassis and powertrain. It seems to ride good and have great posture but is this going to be a major issue moving forward? Also how difficult would it be to go back to a GM Chassis and power train? Thanks in advance.
 
#66 ·
Sorry to dig up an old thread but I'm right in the middle of this swap and had a few questions for you guys that have done it (hopefully you guys are still active on here)...

I know there was some mention of setting the clip level with the rest of the truck frame, but did any of you guys actually measure the angle? I measured some stock frames and the front subframe generally angles upwards approx 5-6* from the rest of the frame in a stock gbody. I'm wondering how important that is to maintaining suspension dive angle, etc? Especially considering I'm planning on running a pretty heavy rake on my truck. But to keep that 5-6* after accounting for the rake when completed I'd have to graft the clip pretty low on the truck frame unless I wanted the front rails ending up almost near the middle of the core support. If it's not that crucial either way I would almost rather try to keep the steering gearbox underneath the core support. I'm not looking to have my truck super slammed anyways and I can deal with fine tuning ride height later with springs, spindles, control arms, etc.

Any thoughts on this?
 
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