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My Nephew inherited a 1954 Belair which is a running driving car right now, but it's from his mother in laws family and she would like to get in it and drive it without any fuss. His plan is putting in a 5.3 /4l60e in it with an 8.8 reareand, but we were both unsure about what to do with the front suspension. Would the factory suspension be ok after a rebuild and a disk brake conversion with a rack or would a Mustang II be something to consider, or a sub ? What would you do?
I think I'd rebuild the front end before I'd go to the trouble of replacing it. Just my opinion.
Times 2. Parts should be available and when finished, it should give an acceptable ride / performance for what they need.
I did a 53 Bel Air for a customer years ago. He went with a weld in Mustang II crossmember and suspension. The conversion was relatively easy and as I recall I had it done in a couple of days. The only real issue was for some reason the rack was off set and getting the steering centered with stock tie rod ends was not possible. Fortunately I found out if I used a later (1980s) tie rod end (which are longer) on the driver’s side and a stock MII one on the passengers it worked great.
You might price out a disc brake conversion and possibly power steering for the stock suspension and compare that to the MII conversions before you make up your mind…..I would personally add in the price of 11” brakes to the MII when doing the comparison.
Just an FYI the 1955-1957 Chevrolet car rear ends are a direct bolt in. They have a drop out center section and factory ratios available for the rear end were 3.08, 3.36, 3.55, 3.73 and 4.11. Disc brake conversions for the rear end are readily available if you want to go that route. That may not really help you much but those rears are still readily available at a reasonable price around where I am.
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There are even some companies now making a MII conversion for that car that has a bolt in crossmember, doesn't get much easier then that. I believe I saw a bolt in conversion in the Speedway catalog and I'm sure there's a number of companies that have them available.
I have written this whole thing out.....in detail..... over a period of an hour or so...….TWICE...…. and TWICE it has decided to disappear just as I was posting it. So this time, I'm just giving you the general idea...…
Use a 2009 to 2012 Chevy Colorado for front and rear clip swaps. Use everything from the Colorado except the body and glass. It weighs the same as the Bel Aire, so the springs on the Colorado will be the correct rate for the finished Bel Aire and the track width is within a half inch. 2009-2012 were fitted with an LS3, 300 hp, with your choice of 5-speed manual or 4-speed auto. Front 1/3, Colorado, complete with motor and trans, radiator, complete cooling system, computer, front suspension, brakes, wheels and tires and steering. Middle 1/3, Bel Aire mid-frame with body mounts. Rear 1/3, Colorado, complete with rear suspension, driveshaft, differential, brakes, wheels and tires and fuel tank and pump.
Do not cut any springs and do not change the camshaft. If you want it lower, Z the clips. If you want it faster, add a turbo.
Gee that would solve brake bias, wheel lug pattern, steering shaft clearance, power steering pump mounting, brake master cylinder mounting, what motor mounts to use, transmission cross member issues, floor clearance, radiator mounting, etc, etc
Thank you very much Denny, I really appreciate the help.
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A friend of mine has a lot of new parts for the front suspension for one of these he'd sell cheap. He has lowering parts on it though. He had problems with a control arm link and got mad and tore it all off and put on a bolt on MII cross member from speedway. His is a 51. I can find out what all he has if you'd be interested.
Thanks for all the advice, the Colorado option looks the most attractive to me. However I talked to him on the phone tonight and he took it out of the storage shed and looked at it without his rose colored glassed on, he might cut the cord before he starts on it. The car doesn't look bad from 20 feet away but it's a lot of bondo over swiss cheese. He's a bit worried about opening a can of worms, so if he feels it's too much for him, he'll just drive it as is.He's going to drive it over some night and put it over my pit and we're both going to check it out to see if it's worth it. I'll get some pics for you when he does.