Chassis Engineering parallel leaf installation

[35fordcoupe]

I have my CE rear parallel leaf spring kit for a 35-40 Ford and it seems pretty straight forward, but they only send you one very brief page of instructions that are not worded very well. I'm confident I should be able to install this without too many problems, but being a newbie there is always room for concern.

Does anyone know of a write up on installing this kit or a similar kit, or have some tips to think about during the installation? Thanks

[Itoldyouso]

It always amazes me that companys put such vague, hard to understand instructions in the box. Dan and I just installed his Gennie shifter the other night, and had to guess at a lot of the install. The instructions skipped over some very important stuff.

If no one on here has specific experience to offer you, call the manufacturer and raise cain and see if they can give you better details. I have done that and actually had the person say to me "yeah, our instructions suck." Well then, fix them.

Don

[Bob Parmenter]

The instructions are usually in one of the hardware bags if you haven't opened all of them. Otherwise, they'll fax or mail you a duplicate. As I recall they were thorough enough to eliminate any questions. But just in case......

Been a few years but should be pretty simple. Some of the holes in the brackets should line up with existing holes in the chassis, the rest you drill.

The rear brackets have three holes through the rail side, there are three spacers that go on the back side of the rail to fill the gap to the inner bracket upright, the shackle mount goes to the back. The front mount wraps around the frame, short "tab" on the out side, taller tab to the inside. Don't remember for sure but I think had to weld or bolt a bracket at the top to tie into the upper section of the rail. Probably have to overbore the holes that come through where the X member intersects so that the nuts clamp to the outer rail only, not the X member leg at an angle.

Springs should be marked for R & L if there's a difference.

[35fordcoupe]

a few of the existing holes in the frame for the rear brackets line up, but the front brackets are based off of a hole you have to measure 3-4' away from. I guess as long as the wheels are centered not much else matters.

Bob you did re enforce something for me on the "overboring holes at the X" That part made little sense to me in the instructions, but I think it clicked for me now. I guess I'll have to sort through the hardware and figure out on my own by elimination what is used where and where the strange washer like spacers go exactly.

I might call CE and see if they have a write up like other companies publish for various kits.

One other question...the kit specifies a 67-69 camaro or 68-74 nova rear...I have been looking for one for a while, but I'm not really in a good area to find one. I had been thinking of using an s10 rear and the thread about s10 rears got me thinking again. What would be the reason the kit specifies a camaro/nova rear and would an s10 rear work (fitment wise) just as well?

[Bob Parmenter]

Spring pad location and overall width, they design it so that it's a "bolt in". I've never used the GM axle kit, just the Maverick one, but I'd imagine they're about the same overall. Might be your brackets have some offset that the one's I've used didn't? Might be a question worth asking the CE folk.

[35fordcoupe]

I may have located a '69 Camaro rear...I'm going to pick it up tomorrow hopefully. If that falls through I'll call CE and ask them a few things. Thanks for the help!

[35fordcoupe]

I picked up a rear last night that I believe is from a '68 Camaro. I am supposed to cut the stock brackets off to use it with this CE kit right?

[Bob Parmenter]

Not according to the CE site; http://www.chassisengineeringinc.com/page62.html
Assuming you're right about what you've got.

If it were me I'd install the springs then measure before doing any mods.

[35fordcoupe]

hmm maybe I got a bad tip on that then. I won't cut anything until everything is bolted up and I am sure it's all right. Just another reason I want a write up so I can at least see pictures of how things look...thanks

[35fordcoupe]

I had been told to cut the brackets off the '68 Camaro rear I picked up...turns out the person that told me that uses the Ford kits. This kit with the chevy rear reuses the stock brackets and spring pads with the pinion angle built in. Good thing I double checked first!

My new question is this...the front brackets need the frame to be square in order to sit properly. The frame is a little out of wack there and I am trying to square it up. It is probably an 1/8 or two off...what is the best way to get it square besides banging on it with a hammer...which I tried....thanks

[allen]

Use a big crescent wrench to staighten out the bottom lip of the frame to make it square with the outside of the frame. If the two frame layers are seperated a bit clamp them together with vise grips then bend with the crescent wrench. If I'm straightening a section of the frame where it is only a single layer I use a peice of 1/8" x 1 1/2" x 4" long flat bar as a backing piece for bending the frame lip. If you are bending the lip up set the flat bar on the top edge of the lip and bend. If bending down put the flat bar on the bottom side. The flat bar keeps the end of the crescent wrench from putting a dent in the lip of the frame. If you beat on it with a hammer it just has a tendancy to sping back

[35fordcoupe]

It took me a few times reading that to get the picture in my head, but I understand what you are saying. The backing plate helps to bend the whole bottom of the C channel instead of just the edge.

I was realizing that the hammer was mostly bouncing off, but I'd like to believe it was doing a little bit of good. As thick as the double layer of steel is I wouldn't have thought I could bend it back with a cresent wrench, but it is worth a shot if this is a proven method . One issue with the backing plate is that where the front brackets mount where I'm trying to square it up is curved...maybe if i use a real narrow backing plate it would still prevent bending the lip and keep the curved shape in the rail.

My other solution is to maybe get a cinder block and a bar to pry up on the rail? Again though I'm concerned about the curve of the rail.

CE in the instructions says simply to "square the frame to 90* using a square" I tried beating the frame with the square, but it didn't work

[35fordcoupe]

What is the best way to make sure the wheels are centered in the fenders before permanently bolting everything up? CE provides all the measurements, but they can't be perfect. The rear of the fender flares out so I don't feel like I can accurately measure the fender opening and I am working in too small a space to be able to step back and really look at it . Also the shackle at 90* is a neutral position. Should I be positioning the shackle slightly backward or just at 90*.

This job is not getting done very fast only working a little in the evenings and I have some issues (nuts and bolts not threaded the same, brackets not fitting the frame, etc.), but it is moving along. Thanks

[Bob Parmenter]

Really, the best way is to "eyeball" it, as that's what will be the measure once it's on the road. You want to bolt or clamp everything into place (suspension, axle, wheels/tires, body parts) as close to final (projecte/desired) configuration as possible and preload with some weight (sand/concrete bags, scrap metal, whatever) to approximate final loaded condition. If you don't have the final tires, or are unsure of what whould be best, you can make up cardboard cutouts to various diameters to play with. I would strongly recommend you figure a way to roll the vehicle out so you can get a long view of it from several angles to ensure you're happy with the results. There's no real effective way to tape measure a good look, sometimes what works best for the eye isn't "right" on a tape.

[Irelands child]

Welcome to the REAL world of aftermarket parts. My new TCI chassis had such poor instructions that I resorted to using their catalog photos to assemble it - along with several phone calls which seemed only to make it worse.

Lokar is another company that has nice pieces but crummy assembly instructions - and I'm using a lot of their pieces from a shifter, ebrake/cables and kickdown and more. I have bellyached to them at every show that I have seen them up to and including this year at York. I can't be too nasty as they are converting/replacing my tranny filler tube to the new style at no cost .