lots of questions

[jus2qwk]

so im thinking about buy a 49 chevy as my next project. I want to do a rat rod with patinia paint look and slamed on the ground with a mild 350 and some kind of automatic but I dont really wanna put a ton of money in this thing and if I sell it I would like to be able to break even so here go on the questions
- what is the cheapest/best way to lower one of these? I dont really wanna do a s10 swap because then i have to find one and that x amount of $ then the conversion kit is like 1500 buck that I would rather spend somewhere else
- what year nova or camaro clips work best?
- can stock suspension be lowered enough to look good?

[jocko]

this is the cheapest way I can think of - and it preserves I-beam approach. Why would I want to do that? Because it seems no matter how much we like these trucks lowered, and no matter how much an IFS improves your handling -unless you have a full-on custom hot rod, it seems to hurt you in resale. I-beam originals (i.e. including dropped i-beams) seem to hold more value. That's just been my observation. The more "original" or easily returned to stock one of the AD trucks is - the more value it will retain.

Granted, my gameplan will not really improve handling, but if I wanted good handling, I wouldn't buy an AD to begin with (even if I did plan to stick an IFS on it)....
I too am in the market for an AD - and here is how I will lower it:
3" drop axle: http://www.classicperform.com/Store/...cks/4754DA.htm
3" drop rear multi-leafs: http://www.classicperform.com/Store/...ks/4754RLK.htm

Anyway, just one way to skin the cat - but I think it holds resale value better than IFS/4-link (and costs a bit less), etc setups. Only mention this approach since you emphasized re-sale. 3" drop all the way around looks very good to me - especially if you add a lowering block in the rear to level the body with the front drop. It's not laying frame and it's not in the weeds. If you want that, gonna have to ditch the stock susp.

[Atomsplitter]

A MII IFS will drop the front down about 3" and you can get 2" drop spindes to drop, well....2" more!
If you graft in a leaf spring rear end and mount the axle on top of the leafs with 2" lowering blocks you can drop the rear almost the same amount. I'm not sure of the actual measurement of the rear end drop but it is a common configuratrion.
My truck has the MII and underslung rear end but without the drop spindles or lowering blocks.

[Root2812]

Jus2qwk, lots of good things said here but everything you want reminds me of the "clasSix" project the Trucks show did except they used a 6cyl and not the 350. Besides repeating what these guys said I would say go to the spike tv website and watch the episodes of the project. It's about 7 20min episodes total but the first 2 would be the ones for you.
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[mr48chev]

If you are a competent Welder/fabricator one of the fold it and weld it Mustang II crossmembers from www.welderseries.com and use stock suspension pieces you can get out pretty reasonable and have a good suspension. It won't be fancy but it can be as low as you want it and it will drive good.

I have to differ with Jocko in that the day when "original" or stock was worth much more than modified is long gone and that is proven time and time again in sales prices of these trucks. It's a bit of a fallacy that has been perpetuated since the 50's when modifying a car did seem to drop the resale value a lot of times. How well done the modifications are done is indeed a factor but having the I beam under a dropped AD truck doesn't add any value to the truck for the majority of people these days. Looking at a nifty truck that you can actually get in and drive across country in relative ease and comfort does add value though. I've put probably a hundred thousand miles and maybe a lot more than that on my 48 with the I beam under it with dropped springs and it is a royal pain in the butt to drive with the stock steering and on long road trips (Yakima to Bonneville, then to Plesanton and back to to Yakima it worked me to death for the week I was on the road.

I never get caught up too much in the "what it will sell for" thing unless I am building something specifically to sell then I usually try to keep it straightforward and simple so that a prospective buyer will see it as being something that he/she can make their own and not have to pay for things that I put on that they are going to have to change. A patina truck appeals to the patina freaks but it also appeals to the guy who feels that he isn't having to pay for someone else's new paint job that isn't the color he wants. A guy looks at simple painted wheels and poverty caps as something he can swap out to the rims and tires he wants without having to pay the seller for a high dollar set of wheels that will end up on Craigslist or in a yard sale.

I have an early 70's Nova rear end under the 48 at the moment and unless a guy runs reverse rims with a decent offset the tires rub the inner fenders. As it stands the 255/50x15 tires on 8-1/2 inch Enkes have about 1/2 inch clearance at best. I had a 65 Impala 12 bolt under it during the second rebuild back in the early 80's and that fit pretty well except that the N-50 14 tires I had on it then stuck out in the wheel well further than I liked. Lots of scabs to clean off one of those to be able to put it under a leaf spring truck though.

[Root2812]

I agree that you shouldn't get caught up in the selling price later unless you're building with the intent to sell. I also agree that a modified truck is worth more when you sell but also far more expensive to build unless you're doing a perfect restoration and then price wouldn't really be an option.

So if you're building to enjoy build what you want but since you want low with low cost to resale ratio I would still suggest the welder series mustang 2 that mr48Chev suggested. That's also the one that is in the video I mentioned. Then throw on a front disk brake upgrade (about 400 bucks).

My opinion is also that of a "non-rodder". My truck is all stock except I'm adding the above mentioned front brakes and a Patrick's gear set. I'll never get rid of my numbers matching 216.

Good luck buddy
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[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by jus2qwk

so im thinking about buy a 49 chevy as my next project. I want to do a rat rod with patinia paint look and slamed on the ground with a mild 350 and some kind of automatic but I dont really wanna put a ton of money in this thing and if I sell it I would like to be able to break even so here go on the questions
- what is the cheapest/best way to lower one of these? I dont really wanna do a s10 swap because then i have to find one and that x amount of $ then the conversion kit is like 1500 buck that I would rather spend somewhere else
- what year nova or camaro clips work best?
- can stock suspension be lowered enough to look good?

This is a hobby that you rarely if ever get your money back out of. If your looking to break even or come close then you have to start from the beginning with budget in mind. Look for trucks that you like and see what they sell for. Then start pricing the changes you need to make.

Drop axle is the cheapest, almost, if you have good king pins and I'm sure you don't.
Disc brake conversion would be my next upgrade
1970-1981 Camaro/Firebird or 82-92 9 bolt Firebird rear would be next. The 82-92 should have disc brakes on it and there a dime a dozen.
4.2 Vortech 6 cylinder with a 4l60 trans. The 4.2 can make 300 hp and a ton of torque for little money and get good mileage.
so far your under 2K and you have a good brakes, drive line, suspension and motor. Your paint is going to be cheap. CLR and WD40 will be your primary expense for the Patina.

$600-800 for an interior.
$1200 a/c