Rear end Alignment

Ok - I have a 51 Checy 3100, And when I bought this truck the rear end is not lined up correctly, the wheels are forward about 3 inches or more, but does not give the ride a problem, but it looks bad, and if i want to put wider tires and lower this truck, I need to get this straight, The truck has a early 327 vett motor, AMC front end, 69 chevy rear, this is how it came when i bought the truck, I need to know the best and correct way to get the rear in line, Other people say just cut it loose and move it back, Is this all or what, and maybe some drive shaft work, What to do, I need some help with this, All Ideas will be looked at, I'm sure someone else has run upon this before, Send me a note or i will be back on line later,,,,,,,,,

Thanks a lot
Happy Rodding, Calvin.

There's no magic answer.

First of all, you really need to give more information in your question. What type of rear suspension? Leaf, coil-over?

Assuming it's a leaf spring suspension, cut the spring mounts off, move them to the proper location (or make new ones) and weld them back on. Take the driveshaft to a good shop and have them use the old yokes on a new tube. That's the easiest and least expensive.

OK, Mr. Henry Rifle, Yea, The suspension is leaf spring, And that sounds like the easy way to get around this, I have a lot of work ahead of me on this truck, but I have had many of them, and let them get away ( cheap) , but this is a keeper for me, Will put the spring mounts in the correct place, and weld them back,and get the drive shaft work done as you say, And if you know someone that has a good hood for this truck, With all the emblems, I'm looking, Thanks again

Another possibility, particularly since it's a Chev, is that you'll need to do a different mod than the one Henry suggested. That's what happens when there's only partial info. If you're familiar with how rear ends line up and mount on leaf springs you may already know this, then again, maybe not. First, the saddles that are welded to the axle housing usually have a hole drilled in them that's aligned with the center of the axle housing tube. That hole goes over a locating "pin" that is in the center of the leaf spring pack. On older Chevs, this "pin" is forward of the center point of the wheel opening. That pin is necessary to keep the axle from shifting on the spring as a result of torsional forces from braking and accelerating. Depending on how far off you really are (don't know if you're guessing at 3" or that's the result of actual measurement) you may be able to redrill a new hole in the mounting saddle further forward the correct amount. If the hole would have to be beyond the edge of the saddle then an extension of some sort would need to be added.

If you're correct about 3" then you'll need to get the drive shaft lengthened. I you only moved 1/2" or less you probably could get away with the existing unit.

I agree with streets that would be the first thing i'd check, just a simple measurment to start.

Ok men, I am guessing at the 3", but, I know about the dowl pin hole, My problem is, the leaf springs are so long, and the end of the springs are at the end of the frame ,can not cut and move them back any more, so, like you say, I would need to get the proper measurement and see about putting an extension on the saddles that are on the axle, and go from there, Many thanks, and by the way, I am looking for body parts for this truck, like the original hood with all the emblems, original bench seat complete, and a few more parts, if anyone might can help with with this, again, Thanks

You missed Bobs point there Calvin. You do NOT need to move the springs at all. On that truck the center "thru bolts" in the springs that hold all the leaves together are FORWARD of the center of the axle. The truck originally had a "torque tube" drive line where the axle had to swing on the top of the springs up and down so the torque tube (a solid drive shaft with no universal joints) wouldn't bind. To do this they put the Thru bolts on the springs FORWARD of the center of the axle housing. It acted like a "hinge" with a pivot allowing the axle to swing.

Your "new" rear and most any other car made has the guide hole for the thru bolt in the center of the spring pads as 99.9% of cars with leaf springs have the thru bolt in the center of the axle location. THUS, you simply need to drill a new hole forward on the spring perches so the thru bolt holds the axle back in the location it belongs.

The drive shaft "may" need to be lengthened after doing this, but this is a pretty simple deal here, don't make it complicated. :)

Brian

By the way, on your parts. Shipping could be a killer for that hood. But there is a guy here in California who posts over at the "Stovebolt" forum http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-...;f=29;t=001582who has a ton of parts. I just mailed off a hundred bucks yesterday to him for a frame. I don't do that easily, but after some corosponance he seems trustworthy so I gave it a shot. A have a friend who lives by him and he'll pickup the frame for me.

Brian