Will a front axle off a 55 56 57 chevy fit on a 50 gmc i know i will have to put on the gmc steering arm.
Jason~ I'm using a 54 Chevy 1/2 ton axle on my 52 GMC 3/4. I'm using the 54 arm, rods, everything. The arm fits right on my steering box. I don't know what differences there may be in 55 on up.
Task Force springs are _wider_ , I tried squeezing a set onto my '49 ~ no go. It'd be good to know if you can use the entire axle Assy. , better Bendix brakes etc.
The front axle from a 55-59 wont work on a AD truck. The frame on the TF truck is wider, and as Nate said the springs are wider as well. I think the hub to hub width is wider also. Chris
I have seen in CCP a lowered front axle and it said it fits 47-59 so i thought it would be all the same.
Well ; If you have a spare TF axle lying around , drag it under your truck and see if the narrow springs will hold it safely in place...
Another option Jason, if you're going to change out your axle anyway, you might consider changing to a later model Chevy front suspension. I have a '79 front suspension in my '50 Chevy, and "mobileortho" (see recent post) has the same thing in his truck. I just took mine to the shop and had it aligned a couple of days ago, and it works great. They are easy to find, not all that difficult to modify to bolt onto your unmolested frame, you can have disc brakes and power steering, parts are available, and the ride is better. Just something to think about.........
Not that hard!! Jason, I've attached some photos of mine, and "mobileortho" has pictures of his posted too. (See his posts for the last couple of days for the links to his photos) I'm an average welder at best, so you know it can't be too hard. I first measured to the center of the '79 saddle and scribed a line right down the middle. Then I measured the difference between the mounts on the '79 IFS and the outside of my '50 frame and cut the difference out of the center of the saddle, taking half the difference off one side of the line and half off the other side. Then I bolted the two halves to the frame and welded them back together. Because I'm paranoid, I also welded a strap around the cut, top and bottom. Probably not necessary, and it's not pretty, but it's also under the engine, so it doesn't show. I then removed the same amount from the drag link, welded the two halves together, with a sleeve welded over that joint. (Remember the paranoid part?) The links to Steve Andereggen's article and the other two links in mobileortho's post are what I went by doing my swap. It's not really all that hard to do. BTW, this is why I have the original front axle you were looking for. Unless you want to stay original, this is the best option in my humble opinion. The frame stays uncut (if you ever want to go back to original) it's cheap, even though I replaced everything on mine that could be replaced, and you can get these at any salvage yard. (Actually, a guy up the road was making a trailer with the rear end and bed off a junked '79 truck, and he gave me the front suspension). Hope this helps, and feel free to PM me if you have any other questions.
Front Suspension Bob, How do you know where to bolt the suspension in? The pictures are nice and I would probably do the same paranoid stuff!!
I have bought a 6 lug rear end from a 1978 chevy blazer 4x4. I was thinking about doing the IFS front end swap. With an late 70's early 80's front ifs saddle. And i was wondering if there is a front saddle with 6 lug hubs or could i put 6 lug hubs on a 5 lug saddle. I bet the front 6 lug saddle would have to be off a 4x4 and then i dont know how it would work. Or could i swap the rear axles out and put 5 lug axles in it.
IFS swap Craig, as far as locating the saddle on the frame, the article by Steve Andereggen has great instructions and pics of how to do that. Below are links to his and a couple of other articles about this swap: http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/1963... UPGRADE.htm http://antiquechevytrucks.com/Conten...ont_suspen.htm http://50chevy.freeservers.com/Bolt_...pendent_2.html These are the same links in MobileOrtho's 26 May post. Jason, I can't answer your 6-lug vs 5-lug questions. I'm a "keep it simple" kinda guy, so mine is a 5 lug '79 IFS, and an '87 Sierra rear axle, both 5-lug with matching bolt patterns, track width within an inch. I also got the Sierra drive shaft at the salvage yard, measured the distance from the rear axle to the back of my "hybrid" T-5 transmission, took it to a drive train shop to shorten it, put new U-joints in, and it works like a champ. I haven't yet seen a downside to this swap. If you want a better ride, power steering, disc brakes, you could (1)hack off the front of your frame and put on a high dollar Mustang II IFS, (2) find an AMC Pacer (Good luck)with a bolt on IFS, rebuild it with hard to find parts, or (3) go this route. It's worked out great for me.
easy swap Bob's right, this is an easy swap. Just take your time and use the links Bob provided to you. They were the same ones I used. I have several pictures on Webshots that shows my progress. I think it turned out pretty well. The truck sits low and the stance is the way I like it. Rob
That's funny. When I click on the links, all three say "page not found". anybody else have that problem? Andy
Me, too! Andy, I had saved those articles on my computer. They come up when I click them directly, but like you, I get a "cannot display page" type message when I click them from my last post. Try these to get to the site and just follow the links to the IFS articles: http://www.chevytrucks.org/tech/ http://www.50chevy.freeservers.com/ The link to the third article is so long, about half of it does not show up in the post. Also, if you can't get there with these links, go to MobileOrtho's dropped spindle post on May 26 and click on those links. They're the same articles.
ok you peeked my interest. mostly because i happen to have an 86 c10 and am willing to cut it up for my 51 AD! question #1 do you ever have any problems with the tires rubbing or hitting in the wheelwells? i mean is the geometry pretty close to stock? #2 do you use the power steering? is it hard to adapt to power steering? can i still use my original steering column? thanks again. if i can make this work i will do it in a heart beat.
No, Yes, Yes, No, and Yes Part of the idea for taking the inch or so from the center is to pull the wheels in a little tighter inside the fenders. The other part is to get the IFS to bolt directly to the frame. One other option these guys talk about in the articles is to not cut the center, but put thick steel or aluminum shims on each side to center the saddle up on the narrower '50s frames. I, too, was concerned with the wheels clearing the fenders, which is why I cut out the center. It’s a little wider than stock, I think, but for me that wasn’t a problem. If you keep the stock rear axle, there may be some track width issues, but since I changed mine to a later model truck axle, that wasn’t a problem either. If you use your ’86 IFS and the rear axle off the same truck, track width shouldn’t be a problem. I have new 235-70R-15 tires on my truck, and the tires don’t rub anywhere, or stick outside the fenders, either. I don’t know if the widths of ’79 trucks is the same as an ’86. You’d need to check that. The articles I mentioned earlier also tell you what year model trucks will work. Yes, I used the power steering pump and steering box for the ’79 truck. The box mounts on the outside of the frame, and you have to modify the driver’s side bumper mount a little. MobileOrtho has a V-8 in his truck and looks like he was able to run a straight shaft through the inner fender to his box. I kept my 235, and with the stock pedals, horn, oil filter, power steering pump, etc, it got crowded, so I went through the inner fender back closer to the firewall, put another u-joint on the outside of the inner fender and the second half of the shaft goes straight into the box. I used my stock steering column. It just has to be shortened some. As a matter of fact, I’ve shortened mine enough so the big ol’ steering wheel clears my big ol’ belly nicely. It sounds complicated, but it really isn’t. The articles mentioned earlier tell you exactly how to do all this. I will take some pictures and post them as soon as I can. Hope this helps.
The track width on all 73-87's are the same so you shouldn't have a problem with the '86. The articles that Bob an I posted are easy to follow and will definately guide you through the process. IMHO it's a great alternative to the more expensive MMII swaps. I traded a wrecked van for mine, took it to a local shop to have it narrowed, redrilled the rotors to match the Chevy II Nova rearend, installed new ball joints & tie rod ends and then found some great deals on 3" drop springs and 2" drop spindles. In all I have about $450 - $500 compared to $1300 - $2500 for a MMII. I'm running a 327/700r4 combo. If you plan on using a V8 you will have to use blocks to raise it up as the stock location will be too low. I also went to a Lokar floor shifter because the column shifter lever hit the back of the valve covers. I like the way it sits and although I have not had it on the road as of yet, I know it will be a far cry from the straight axel.
