Improving straight axle front suspension

[big_ac2001]

Are there any tricks that can be done to the stock front suspension on my '49 pickup to make it drive a little better? I know that changing to an IFS would be the best thing to do, but I want to leave it stock. I realize that it will never handle great with the straight axle up front, but is there anything I can change that would improve how it drives, while maintaining the stock appearance?

[gag1025]

You can now buy individual kits that allow you to retain the straight axle and coilover, power disc brakes and R&P steering. Brothers makes everything you need. I have never seen a bag or coilover kit but there is a company called Strutmaster that you can contact and they I am sure will have a solution on making the truck ride better. They are 45 minutes from me and they do a lot of conversions.

http://www.strutmasters.com


www.BrothersTrucks.com

R&P conversion kit for 1947-1959 Chevy Truck as well as Power Steering Pumps. page 97
Disc Brake Conversion Kit. Page 106.

I hope this helps. A friend of mine who has a '53 like mine wants the staright axle and I want the MII. His is off the frame right now, and I drive mine from time to time. We are going to put a MII on his frame as well as a 1980 Camaro Positraction rear end on it as well. We will then transfer my body to his frame (since his body is already off his frame)
and when he is through fixing up his body we will mount his body on my frame. Pretty neat idea (it came from him because my mind does not think this way) I would say.

[_Ogre]

replace the king pins, wheel bearings, drag link, tie rod ends, shocks, alignment and spring shackles.
you'd be surprised at how much that will improve your ride.
but... it won't improve bump steer, only ifs will do that.

[_Ogre]

and disc brakes up front...

easiest way to do king pins is to remove the axle and have a machine shop press them in and ream them right.

[mr48chev]

I'd go right along with what Ogre said along with either rebuilding or having a spring shop rebuild the springs.
I've taken them apart and cleaned them up and then put a bit of grease between the leaves before putting them back together and had them work better.

There are aftermarket springs that might give a smoother ride by their design so that could be a possibility to look into.

Also the Suburbans and panels had front sway bars on them that could be fitted to the pickups to help the handling a bit on the corners.

[Curly5759]

When it was time to do some suspension repairs, I had to decide to stay with the straight axle or go IFS. I did a lot of reading and saw that lots of folks say a straight axle set up can ride as nice as an IFS. Now that I have spent a lot of time and $$ on my trucks steering and suspension, I will have to disagree.

I do agree with Ogre that you need to freshen your entire front suspension. It made a big difference on my truck.

I have gone through the entire suspension front and rear. The best mod/change I have done was to replace all the spring bushings at all 4 corners of the truck. I also installed a poly-liner between the leaves on all 4 springs. What a difference in the ride!! Still stiff, but worlds better than it was before.

Eventually, one of the front leaves broke, so I replaced the front spring pack with a new set from Eaton. I got the Rod Ride set up, with teflon buttons in between the leaves. I think the poly liner worked just as well and a lot cheaper.

To get my Kingpins to work correctly, I used an oversize set. I had to have the axle reamed out to fit them, but that took care of the slop in the pins. (Even new sets were loose, the bushings would fall right out of the spindle)

I also installed a set of roller bearings in the front to replace the ball bearings. I had one fail and decided that my tires and/or power steering was too much for the ball style bearing. (Tires are 31-10.5 on 8 inch rims)

I had a lot of slop in the factory steering box, and at that time I was able to install a power steering conversion for just a bit more than rebuilding the stock box. I was also able to install a modern column with tilt. If you go that way, I recommend the Toyota p/s conversion over the GM P/s.

Curly

[meter swinger]

Curly5759 when i read posts like yours i lean more and more to taking the saw to my frame.
I have gone through the catalogs tallying up the parts and it is not cheap to do it right.
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[Curly5759]

If I could turn back the clock and redo the truck with an IFS, I would.
Money was a factor in my decision as well as my welding ability (I can't.)
I figured I would just freshen the axle, add power steering and be on my way.
Well, it didn't work out that way. Between fixing screw ups from previous owners (how about a nail, yes a NAIL! instead of the spring bolts on the front springs!!)
and trying to make aftermarket parts fit, I would have been money, time and a few hairs ahead.

Of course, I still can install an IFS, but I have other projects to work on now and limited $$, so I will leave the truck as it is.

Curly

[_Ogre]

meter swinger, before you take a saw to your frame
look at the mustII ifs from fatman.com figure the cost of installing that vs
installing/rebuilding the 200,000 mile nova clip, mounting sheetmetal

what people forget is on both, is you need to upgrade the whole brake system and steering.

[_Ogre]

interesting feedback from curly too.
i new i wanted ifs from the get go.
but curly's feedback is reassuring to say the least.

truk cruises as well at 40 mph as it does at 100 mph
needless to say it does well at highway speeds too.