Welcome to Club Hot Rod!  The premier site for everything to do with Hot Rod, Customs, Low Riders, Rat Rods, and more. 

  •  » Members from all over the US and the world!
  •  » Help from all over the world for your questions
  •  » Build logs for you and all members
  •  » Blogs
  •  » Image Gallery
  •  » Many thousands of members and hundreds of thousands of posts! 

YES! I want to register an account for free right now!  p.s.: For registered members this ad will NOT show

 
Like Tree4Likes
  • 1 Post By troy_cryer
  • 1 Post By Dave Severson
  • 1 Post By cook67
  • 1 Post By rspears

Thread: Corvette running gear/suspension in a 40 Ford
          
   
   

Reply To Thread
Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    Dan King is offline Registered User Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Toccoa
    Car Year, Make, Model: 1940 Ford 2 DR Sedan
    Posts
    1

    Corvette running gear/suspension in a 40 Ford

     



    I want to put 1986 Corvette running gear and suspension under a 40 Ford 2 Dr Sedan. I have a boxed 40 frame and a complete 86 corvette. Has anyone done this before?
    40
    40

  2. #2
    troy_cryer's Avatar
    troy_cryer is offline Registered User Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Argyle
    Car Year, Make, Model: 34 Ford Tudor Sedan
    Posts
    144

    Thumbs up

     



    Ive never done it on a '40 before. But one thing about corvette suspensions is they are only designed to work one way...Stock!

    So as long as you can take your setup measurements from a corvette, you should have no problem. We have installed several C4 suspensions in old trucks which are wider than a '40 with no problems. Again, we simply put a stock corvette in the air and took our measurements...then applied that setup to the trucks. They worked great. Handled perfect and didn't prematurely wear out any bushings/parts.

    As for a '40, I would think the biggest obstacle (and its not much of one) would be if you had to narrow the track width of the suspension. The "jacobs ladder" should easily fit between the rails, so as long as you dont have to narrow it this should be very straight forward. I would first remove the spring tension and install a .75" or 1" all thread where the spring bolt goes to make the setup "rigid". Then I would suggest mounting your wheels and tires you plan to run and set the car where you want it to be when in a final resting place. Next, simply connect the suspension components to the frame with the stock C4 geometry. That way the car will set where you want it to and the suspension wont know its not underneath a corvette.
    glennsexton likes this.

  3. #3
    Dave Severson is offline CHR Member/Contributor Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Madison
    Car Year, Make, Model: '67 Ranchero, '57 Chevy, '82 Camaro,
    Posts
    21,160

    Yeah, what Troy said..... Only thing I would add is measure everything a couple times and record all the measurements in a book. Or, write down all the measurements, angles, etc on the Vette frame before you take it apart with a marking pen, take digital pics of all the components to show their installed position and your measurements. Save the digital pics on a disc. I trust this system far more than I do my feeble memory !!!!!!!!
    Whiplash23T likes this.
    Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, Live for Today!
    Carroll Shelby

    Learning must be difficult for those who already know it all!!!!

  4. #4
    troy_cryer's Avatar
    troy_cryer is offline Registered User Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Argyle
    Car Year, Make, Model: 34 Ford Tudor Sedan
    Posts
    144

    Here are a couple of links that should shed some light on the subject...

    http://www.hotrodshow.com/archives/2...pension1.shtml

    http://www.progressiveautomotive.com/sweetrear.htm

  5. #5
    cook67 is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    middleton
    Car Year, Make, Model: 1936 chevy pickup 1967 corvette
    Posts
    80

    I am doing the same with a 84 and a 36 chevy truck the rear looks like a piece of cake I took 3/8 pipe cut it to fit where all the bolts hold the rear end to the corvette and made a jig by welding them all together with pipe the two bolt that hold the pumkin all perallel with the frame The jig fits right on the frame of the truck and lines up everything. the front is going to be a bitch. But thats next weeks project.
    glennsexton likes this.

  6. #6
    cook67 is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    middleton
    Car Year, Make, Model: 1936 chevy pickup 1967 corvette
    Posts
    80

    I am doing the same with a 84 and a 36 chevy truck the rear looks like a piece of cake I took 3/8 pipe cut it to fit where all the bolts hold the rear end to the corvette and made a jig by welding them all together with pipe the two bolt that hold the pumkin all perallel with the frame The jig fits right on the frame of the truck and lines up everything. the front is going to be a bitch. But thats next weeks project.

  7. #7
    Jeterhere is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Kennewick
    Posts
    4

    I had a friend in the sixties/seventies who put a corvette fuel injection in a 40 Ford coup, he cut out the forty rear end & sectioned the whole Corvette frame & third member underneath it, this made it a basic Corvette bottom end.
    He died in the early seventies in Wilmington, Ca & I'm not sure what happened to this really fast car, I assume the family held on to it San Pedro, Ca.
    I used to ride around with him to various street races & I can't remember him ever losing, the funny thing is that this was not only a very fast car but it stayed totally flat in the corners.
    Wish I knew what happened to this car, I'm sure it is still out there somewhere in the LA area ...
    By the way, riding with him was a totally scary proposition

  8. #8
    randyr's Avatar
    randyr is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Santa Monica
    Car Year, Make, Model: 37 Ford tudor humpback
    Posts
    1,988
    "It is not much good thinking of a thing unless you think it out." - H.G. Wells

  9. #9
    rspears's Avatar
    rspears is offline CHR Member/Contributor Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Gardner, KS
    Car Year, Make, Model: '33 HiBoy Coupe, '32 HiBoy Roadster
    Posts
    11,124

    You guys realize you're resurrecting a thread that's almost 8 years old, started by a guy who posted once and never came back?
    NTFDAY likes this.
    Roger
    Enjoy the little things in life, and you may look back one day and realize that they were really the BIG things.

  10. #10
    jerry clayton's Avatar
    jerry clayton is offline CHR Member Visit my Photo Gallery
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Bartlett
    Posts
    6,831

    Its still a very good option and the suspension is super---all aluminum, independent front and back, good brake options, power rack and pinion----earlier C4s were a little narrower tread width---you can even run electronic adjustable shocks on it to vary your ride/cornering---------

Reply To Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Links monetized by VigLink