56 chevy suspension/frame upgrades

[jeffs56]

Hey guys it's been a while since I've posted. I was having my 56 chevy pickup build by my friends brother and he ended up stealing all my parts. Chevy 350 and tranny, ls2 with 4l60, my wheels, sering column and some other stuff. So now I'm back to square one. I'm in the process of getting my Camaro clip frame painted and ready for suspension. I want to run coil overs and I guess a 4 link in the back, unless you guys think there's a better choice. No air bags. And not sure if the coils are OK or if I should upgrade to coil overs in the front as well. Obviously now I'm going to have to do this on the cheap cuz I'm out on all the other stuff already. So please give me all the advice you can. I appreciate you guys. Thank you

[jeffs56]

Anybody have any advice? Thank you

[gmoney38]

My Camaro front clip was way too low, so just be sure of your stance before you go any further.

[BIGglaSS]

Originally Posted by jeffs56

I'm in the process of getting my Camaro clip frame painted and ready for suspension. I want to run coil overs and I guess a 4 link in the back, unless you guys think there's a better choice. No air bags. And not sure if the coils are OK or if I should upgrade to coil overs in the front as well. Obviously now I'm going to have to do this on the cheap cuz I'm out on all the other stuff already. So please give me all the advice you can. I appreciate you guys. Thank you

I hate to say it, but stock coils and good shocks are the easiest, cheapest option.

Coil-overs done correctly on the camaro clip is not cheap. There are several options to do this, but nothing is perfect. Camaro coil over shock conversions use a stud for the upper mount. It must articulate. There are basically 4 options:

1. The cheap coil over conversions do NOT articulate and WILL fail over time (QA1, Viking, Aldan).

2. The expensive ones use a swivel ball stud mount. However, that limits you to a shorter shock/spring combo (Alston).

3. Middle of the road is Ridetech, their mount allows the stud to swivel.

4. The best option is cut out the upper shock mount, and use a bearing mount/ t-bar upper coil over. This requires cutting/welding and fabrication and will allow you to use a 10" coil-over. Check out this link at Speedtech: http://www.speedtechperformance.com/...prod/prd57.htm

Next problem is the lower A-arms. The stock spring cups have to be reinforced to carry the load on the shock mount. Easier option is to upgrade to aftermarket arms, costing more money.

My 57 truck came with a camaro clip. I thought it would be cheap. But, the more I got into it, one thing led to another. What I spent on upgrades, I could have done something better. I did Speedtech upper and lower arms, Ridetech coil-overs, and C5 corvette brake conversion with Kore3 hubs.

[jeffs56]

Wow I appreciate the info. If you think I'm fine In the front with just coils and good shocks I'm OK with that. I just want it to ride really nice. As far as the rear goes, would you do a 4 link and if so what coil overs would you use. I'm assuming that's a better ride then the leaf springs. Thank you

[BIGglaSS]

Originally Posted by jeffs56

If you think I'm fine In the front with just coils and good shocks I'm OK with that. I just want it to ride really nice.

Since you said to do this on the cheap, I'd stick with coils and shocks. Though, I don't have a good recommendation for coils. I spent quite a bit of time reading on the nastyz28 forum. There are a lot of good builds there using the stock front and rear suspension. You can keep them stock and make a very nice riding cruiser.

If money is no object, there IS a performance gain with coil overs. But, IMO, you need to do the whole package to do it right. (coil-overs $750+, a-arms $1150). With new control arms, you can do a performance alignment and change the camber curves. Again, $$$. But, at that cost, I would do something different. Flatout C4 corvette if using coils and stock frame rails, or Porterbuilt for bags or coil-overs if cutting off the stock frame rails.

For rear, I did IRS, so I can't say what would be better. Guys have made nice cruisers with the camaro leaf springs and rear ends. But if you want a little more performance and adjustable, then do a 4-link with coil-overs. There's a lot of different 4-link kits out there, and I don't have a recommendation. Once you head down that road, it is not going to be cheap, either.

I really like the Ridetech coil-overs. I can only compare them to the Vi-kings that I had. Ridetech are way better fit and finish with better (beefier) mounting hardware.

[jeffs56]

Yeah I'm with you there. If I'm going to go all out on the front I would just do a totally different ifs. Is there a good 4 link that's not too expensive. Also does anyone know what pound rating for the coil overs in the rear?

[Daze57]

i have no answers for your front end stuff .....i am runnin c4 IRS and firebird clip (older restoration )

my main thought is go after your stolen gear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT IS YOURS !!!!
YOU MAY LOSE "A FRIEND " .......BUT GET YOUR STUFF BACK !!!!!!!!!!!

[mongocanfly]

that sucks...if you can document the theft ..do a police report...there's enough $$$ there that the charges would be serious..

[LCA1971]

And if that doesn't work, introduce him to the business end of a Louisville slugger!!!!!

[jeffs56]

O yea it's definitely going to court. I told my friend your brother stole all this stuff and did me dirty. I had to find out my truck was in impound by mail. So I'll give you the opportunity to fix it. He said I don't want to get in the middle of it. I said no problem I'll take care of it.

[yossarian19]

Originally Posted by jeffs56

O yea it's definitely going to court. I told my friend your brother stole all this stuff and did me dirty. I had to find out my truck was in impound by mail. So I'll give you the opportunity to fix it. He said I don't want to get in the middle of it. I said no problem I'll take care of it.

Just don't wind up in jail over it. Also... your buddy probably had an idea of what his brother was / is like. He might have warned you...

[jeffs56]

I think he got caught up in drugs, but who knows. Anyone know what pound I should run on the coil overs in the rear?

[jeffs56]

Also what's a good recommendation for shock's in the front?

[Daze57]

Louisville slugger!!!


yep!!!!