LIL ERV the 50

[crossfire84]

then i did the upper control arm. same way as the lower.

[crossfire84]

A arms on the truck after mod.
A before shot.
And after.

[crossfire84]

Went to the junk yard awhile back and picked up a serpentine bracket set off a 95 chevy truck and blasted them at work, then painted them with Eastwood aluma blast paint. Then mounted them with a KWIK performance adapter kit to the Big block, the fit is fantastic, pulls every thing in tight. Also refinishing the AC and the power steering pump that came with it.

[runpasthefence]

Great job on those control arms. I'm also working on putting a 50 on a C-10 frame. Yours looks great so far.
Posted via Mobile Device

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by runpasthefence

Great job on those control arms. I'm also working on putting a 50 on a C-10 frame. Yours looks great so far.
Posted via Mobile Device

thanks, you need a build thread so we all can see, good luck.

[_Ogre]

nice work on the A-arms

have to ask... finger jointed bed wood?

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

nice work on the A-arms

have to ask... finger jointed bed wood?

yes, these were cut offs from a furniture maker. instead of trash they made a bed for there work truck and now it's big part of there business. plus the wood was only $149.00 cut,milled,sanded, and it's all oak, how could i pass that up?

[99 to Life]

A arms look great.

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

A arms look great.

thank you, a lot of work.

[av8tr33337]

Sh!t.... LOL I was going to use a 79 C10 IFS but decided on an s10 swap instead because of the track width. I never even thought about narrowing the control arms like that. Great job. I would not be surprised if we start seeing more of the C10 IFS swaps now. I don't know if you are a member of the H.A.M.B but I bet they would appreciate a little write up on what you did over there.

[crossfire84]

thanks, the saddle swap was not that hard to do, plus i only paid $60 for it at the bone yard.

[ghettoluxury]

Thanks for posting the control arm mod. I need to narrow the lowers on my 73 and was thinking of using tubular arms, but this looks like a very good option.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Ok, so I've gotta ask if that narrowing of the A arms will change the suspension geometry?

On one hand it seems like it would HAVE to. And that could be a bad thing.

On the other, I'm thinking the attachment points are unchanged, the arc the A arms swing through as the springs compress/extend is unchanged...well, except for the distance from the pivot points...hmmmm?

If the fabricator is extra careful to make the modifications EXACTLY alike - and I'm sure you did - very nice looking mod by the way.

Anyone extra knowledgeable about suspension geometry able to provide some insight?

[47 Fasttoys]

OK, first off I'm no suspension expert but just the same I'll through some ideas out there. This is just a guess at the numbers here so bear with me. Lets say you have 600 lbs. springs on the front and lets also say the distance between the pivot points (A arm mounting and spindle mounting) is 14". With the spring (which can be seen as a pivot point in a basic lever) in the center of this distance. If a 600 lbs spring is compressed 1.5" it has a load of 900 lbs. acting on it. So if a normal load compresses the spring 1.5" and this equals 3 " change at the tire then reducing distance on one side of the lever will change the balance point of the lever (the spring) from a ratio of 1:1 to a ratio of .714:1 so now it will take 1260 lbs of force acting on the tire to compress that spring 1.5". Because your truck still weighs the same it will rise by .85" this in turn change the alignment for sure. I'm thinking you may need to cut the coils by 3/4 of a coil each to maintain the same ride height and you will still get a stiffer ride. Of course all this is based on my guesses on measurements.
Boy this chit will make your head spin

Rob

[47 Fasttoys]

Sorry double post

[99 to Life]

I wouldn't look that deep into the springs. If your ride height is good, odds are its going to be fine. Especially with the c10 drop springs, they probably have a higher compression rate than stocks anyway. Bringing the Aarms in I think would stiffen it up a tiny bit and "may" make it rise a little if any. Cuttin coils is an option if you want it lower, which I'm always in favor of. Best way to know is if he measured something before and after to reference height.

[crossfire84]

the ride height is less than 1/2'' higher now than before the mod. and the coils are 3" drop already.

[mechanixman]

I'm loving what you did so far.
Any updates?

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by mechanixman

I'm loving what you did so far.
Any updates?

Soon, this winter has been the worst in many years, too cold in garage even with insulation and heat. (so much for global warming). I just sold my motorcycle so now I have more than enough $$$ to finish the truck and be on the road hopefully this summer! I"ll keep posting along the way.

[crossfire84]

So i put my 2 favorite rides together a 50 chevy and a 1954 buick. I put the portholes in the hood today, Now i'll send then off to be plated.

[99 to Life]

two nice rides of course. I dig portholes. looking good.

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

two nice rides of course. I dig portholes. looking good.

thanks it was a fun job.

[FarmerSid]

Portholes....How'd you install them? New term and feature I haven't heard of.

[crossfire84]

Originally Posted by FarmerSid

Portholes....How'd you install them? New term and feature I haven't heard of.

Install was easy, first i chose a spacing on the hood, then made a template out of cardboard. taped the template to hood then with my trusty sharpi marker traced out the template on both sides. then i used a 1-1/2" hole saw and cut out each corner, warning use a sharp pilot drill! this will leave a small center section that i removed with a die grinder. then it was remove a small amount at a time testing the fit. all 6 took maybe 1.5 hrs.

[FarmerSid]

That's a slick mod.