My 49 and a intro. - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Brother Bob · 05-12-2003, 10:26 PM

Hey Folks,
I'm Brother Bob and I wanted to show you my 49 Hot Rod Truck.
My lady has a 72 GMC Jimmy 2wd, street rod.
Enjoy lookin' at everyones projects , never can have too many I guess.
Anyhow, Howdy from Tejas.

Brother Bob · 05-12-2003, 10:28 PM

what she loks like now.

jeffspower · 05-13-2003, 12:29 AM

SWEET! Never enough goin' on here for these years. Should'nt you use 'shine instead of beer to feed those carbs though?

jeffspower · 05-13-2003, 12:42 AM

Oh yeah, & you done it right with the GM stub. Someone will be sure to pick on me here when I open my mouth & blurt- "the GM stub works much better than that 'stang II crap." Those little fords drove like an overloaded dump truck on a muddy road with a heavy crosswind & bald tires!!! Then stick it in a top- heavy truck & expect it to handle good? Not without dropping some $ ka-ching $ on aftermarket upgrades. Besides, who wants FURRD parts on their Chevy anyway?

Ed ke6bnl · 05-13-2003, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Brother Bob
Hey Folks,
I'm Brother Bob and I wanted to show you my 49 Hot Rod Truck.
My lady has a 72 GMC Jimmy 2wd, street rod.
Enjoy lookin' at everyones projects , never can have too many I guess.
Anyhow, Howdy from Tejas.

jWhat did you do to lower the rear end? They sure sit high stock. Ed ke6bnl

Blue Beard · 05-13-2003, 08:41 AM

Welcome to the board from Washington State.............

Very nice ride.........

Does it have a tilt front end?

How about pics of her truck?

Brother Bob · 05-13-2003, 10:21 AM

The 49.
Camaro sub frame , all new suspension up front.
Rear end is also Camaro, reversed eyes on early Camaro springs, custom perches(farm boy for I made em work ).
Engine is a 400 SBC , 040 over,2x4 tunnel ram, pete jackson drive, all balanced, big ole' valves, hooker headers, bla,bla,bla.
Looking for a Vertex Magneto for it ?
Tranny is a Saginaw 4 spd , untill I find a Muncie I can afford.
Moon spun aluminum tank in the bed, new wood, new strips.
I painted, beat and banged on her myself along with a buddy or two.
As far as my lady's ride the 72 GMC Jimmy street rod, shes a big girl and can handle herself really well, I'm sure she will post a pic of it on the 67-72 message board. Damn fine Jimmy.
Thanks for the comments , means a bunch to get GOOD comments.
Brother Bob
Here is a close up of the engine.
Oh and BTW , no its not a tilt nose, although I will run it hood less.
Dont want to split the front fenders for tilt.

Fruitloops · 05-13-2003, 11:56 AM

Here's Fruitloops....and here is a picture of my 1972 GMC 2 wheel drive Jimmy w/the top off. I have both hard and rag top for it.

Fruitloops · 05-13-2003, 12:02 PM

Here's one with the top off.

Fruitloops · 05-13-2003, 12:07 PM

One more with the hard top on.

*Randy70C-10* · 05-13-2003, 10:23 PM

Welcome to the board Bob!! That's a sweet truck ya got there.

Pumkin Truck · 05-15-2003, 10:51 PM

that is indeed a sweet truck bob. My dad has a 48 gmc panel that we hope to begin once we finish all these little projects around the house.

solidaxel · 05-29-2003, 11:16 AM

For those of you who have a sub frame just for grins and chuckles measure the spindle bearings on the chevy then measure the Mll bearings and you will see a great difference the Mll is larger. If you drive in the city and do alot of parking in small lots the rack and pinion is the only way to go. I drove a Camaro for many years and to date I have over 10 years on the 55 with the Mll front suspension with power R&P and I will take Mll anytime. I am in the process of rebuilding the truck now and the only changes I am going to make is a little harder bushings for the upper A-arms (PST) the ball joints are showing little or no ware. The front discs and calipers are from a Chevelle that is how I discovered the size difference on the bearings Mll, is much larger dia. than the Chevelle wheel bearings.
Bob as you know any IFS front is a great improvement over that buggy sprung solidaxle, and I thing that Camaros were made just to be recycled into the 47 to 55 Pick ups. everything fits from the rad. to the rear spring hangers.
You said that you were using a Sag. gear box , is a 4-spd. what shift linkage did you use? did it clear rhe seat when your are in 2nd or 4th. I have one and I was going to replace the broken B-W 4-spd. with one (Sag.) but it looks like the stock linkage sits to far to the rear on the tail shaft and it would interfer with the seat? Always looking for good ex. for a Tremac 5-spd. !!!
Will that sag. hold up to the HP of your engine, I thought they were too weak to take any torque?
Welcome to the BOARD and what a sweet ride you have put together

Brother Bob · 05-29-2003, 04:48 PM

Axle,
If I had it to do all over again.....? Hmmmmmm.
Well fact is , I bought another project 48 Chevy 3100.
I infact wanna keep the Solid axle and such, plus the frame, engine,and transmission is the only thing anygood on her.
The Saginaw 4 spd I have is a "three ring input shaft" .
I think it will live in my truck a few months before I locate a Muncie or somekind of late model tranny. Hurst has a shifter that works with Saginaw 4spds and gets the shifter outta the seat. Check out Patricksantiquecars.com. for some Saginaw tranny and shifter p/n.

solidaxel · 05-30-2003, 04:02 PM

Do you have a Hurst on your saginaw now?
If so, when you replace the box with the Muncie will you be using that same linkage or a different one?

horvath · 05-31-2003, 07:14 AM

Hey, Brother Bob

That's a NICE ride, bro'!

I just got my '54 Chevy in January ... up outta your neck o' the woods - Humble, Texas - transported to mine : New Jersey.

It's got one o' them "crap 'stang II front ends"

But I am in LOVE anyway!

solidaxel · 06-01-2003, 11:59 AM

Alan what don't you like about your front end!!
If you want it to ride like a new pick up replace the front shocks with Bilstine thay have them valved for Mll suspension and the ride is fantastic. That is what makes the IFS work right. I can look up the part number if your interested in making your truck ride right!

horvath · 06-01-2003, 12:13 PM

Hey, SolidAxel

There's nothing I don't like about my front end -- I was just making fun out of another post (above) where someone called the Mustang II IFS "crap" ... I love mine!

I'm VERY interested in the Bilstine shocks -- and would really appreciate it if you hooked me up with the numbers.

THANKS, bro'.

solidaxel · 06-01-2003, 12:54 PM

O K I found the part number
Bilstein A K 1352 I paid 62.93 ea. + shipping to Az which was 8.00.
I have been working with Mike at hotrodsandcustomstuff.com in So. Calif. I was refered to them by the Bilstein factory rep. by the name of Steve Duck who turned me on to them at one of the Good Guy car shows that they were at. Check Hot Rods and Custom Stuff web site as they had a 10% sale going the last time I checked on Bilstein stuff, Be sure and ask for it and tell them Bob From Tucson sent you. You will Love your truck even more after the install (1 Hr.)!!!

jeffspower · 06-01-2003, 02:25 PM

Didn't mean to offend anyone with the "Stang II" comment. I wanted to provoke some discussion on these two choices & it looks like I did it! I am sure when the 'stang parts are set up properly they work fine. The only ones I have been around were set up buy someone else who must have had no understanding of caster or steering shaft u-joint angles. They apparently went junkyard hunting & just welded it in. Several of these have been brought to my shop so I can make them drive better. That is about impossible to do after someone else screwed up on the install.

The only truck I have set up myself was with a Trans Am stub. I was amazed how easily it all came together. I used a van tilt column, It seemed like it was made for the '52. the shaft & joints fit without any nasty angles. I only had to make it shorter by pressing together the "double D" slip fittment. I paid $75 for the whole TA & $100 for the van column. The only new parts that were needed was a set of brake pads, hub seals & upper control arm bushings.

Oh yeah, the wheel bearings were just fine

horvath · 06-01-2003, 07:45 PM

THANKS a million, Bob! I'll definitely order from HR&CS.com and tell 'em you sent me -- I can't wait to see the difference. I like the way it handles now ... so, like you said, I should LOVE it with the "right" shocks.

Hey, Jeff -- no offense taken, bro' ... and I understand what you're up to. I moderate a guitar player newsgroup with over 600 members ... it was dead as a doornail for months, so one day I posted a message saying "Elixir Strings rule : all other brands suck" or something to that effect -- the whole group woke up and it's been more active than ever. And that was a year ago!

You're right, too, about the Mustang II when it's setup poorly - those are the ones (naturally) that you hear bad news about. Mine was done right ... except the steering was idiotic! NO teeth on the first spline coming out of the column into the 1st U-joint! I lost my steering on a major interstate, going 55 mph, during rush hour one night!!! The full tale is posted at my site (see link below my sig). I just had Borgeson parts installed and replaced all that.

I have Cragar wheels ... 15" rear, 14" front ... and I get a shimmy at 65 mph that has GOT to be the wheels (I've gone through everything else). I have the vari-lugs on, but they seem awfully weird to me. I'm gonna put other wheels on and see if the shimmy goes away. If it does, I'm gonna have to find some new wheels -- I LOVE the look of the Cragars, but oh well.

Also, I'm thinking of putting 15" wheels all the way around -- any comments about that? The bigger wheels look more "truck" to me.

solidaxel · 06-01-2003, 10:20 PM

Alan I have 14 on the front and 15 on the rear and it rides perfect, you may want to check your U-joints or maybe the pinion angle in relation to the transmission output angle, or how about the front wheel bearings, or the obvious, tire balance.
I think with that rear end you should be able to put more rubber on the back like 255/70-15 and maybe some 2" lowering blocks under the springs!!
If I could figure how to get the pictures from my briefcase to this site I would show you some Pics.

horvath · 06-01-2003, 11:51 PM

Hey, Bob

Re: Puttin' 15" all the way around, I'm just talking about the looks of the truck ... wondering if it wouldn't look better. I like the way the rear tires sit in the well, but the fronts ... I dunno -- I'm thinking I might like 'em to fill the well up more than they do. I wouldn't bother with it, but if I discover the wheels are causing the shimmy and I have to get new wheels, then I'll be considering the idea, you know?

I just lowered the back, Friday, with 3 inch lowering blocks (the truck had a pretty extreme rake) ... it helped my camber settings bigtime, but didn't effect the shimmy at all!

U-joints and wheel bearings have been checked and are fine ... haven't checked the pinion angle though.

Tires have been balanced at two different places ... no change ... but that doesn't mean that couldn't still be the problem.

A closer inspection of the wheels is in order at this point ... maybe something is to be discovered about the front disc brakes (11 inch rotors and calipers from an '82 Monte Carlo) ... or it could be the Cragars not sitting right even with the Vari-lugs? I dunno, but it's the last of my mechanical needs and must be settled before I can sleep easy nights!

Thanks for all your input.

Stingray42 · 06-25-2003, 02:21 PM

Bob and Loops, NICE TRUCKS!!!

horvath · 06-25-2003, 03:22 PM

PS - Footnote Re: my above posts : Lowering the rear actually did the trick ... I just needed to have the front end re-aligned.

The shimmy is GONE!

05-12-2003, 10:26 PM	#1
Brother Bob Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tejas Posts: 47	My 49 and a intro. Hey Folks, I'm Brother Bob and I wanted to show you my 49 Hot Rod Truck. My lady has a 72 GMC Jimmy 2wd, street rod. Enjoy lookin' at everyones projects , never can have too many I guess. Anyhow, Howdy from Tejas. Attached Images __________________ No one gets out of here alive.

05-12-2003, 10:28 PM	#2
Brother Bob Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tejas Posts: 47	Another Shot what she loks like now. Attached Images __________________ No one gets out of here alive.

05-13-2003, 08:41 AM	#6
Blue Beard Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Washington State Posts: 8,831	Welcome to the board from Washington State............. Very nice ride......... Does it have a tilt front end? How about pics of her truck? __________________ 1970 Chev CST 2003 Harley Fatboy 1975 Chevrolet Step Van 1956 Chev Bel Air 1977 Blazer 2WD For Sale $3000.00 1978 Blazer 2WD For Sale $7000.00 1978 Silverado 2005 Monte Carlo

05-13-2003, 10:21 AM	#7
Brother Bob Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tejas Posts: 47	The 49. Camaro sub frame , all new suspension up front. Rear end is also Camaro, reversed eyes on early Camaro springs, custom perches(farm boy for I made em work ). Engine is a 400 SBC , 040 over,2x4 tunnel ram, pete jackson drive, all balanced, big ole' valves, hooker headers, bla,bla,bla. Looking for a Vertex Magneto for it ? Tranny is a Saginaw 4 spd , untill I find a Muncie I can afford. Moon spun aluminum tank in the bed, new wood, new strips. I painted, beat and banged on her myself along with a buddy or two. As far as my lady's ride the 72 GMC Jimmy street rod, shes a big girl and can handle herself really well, I'm sure she will post a pic of it on the 67-72 message board. Damn fine Jimmy. Thanks for the comments , means a bunch to get GOOD comments. Brother Bob Here is a close up of the engine. Oh and BTW , no its not a tilt nose, although I will run it hood less. Dont want to split the front fenders for tilt. Attached Images __________________ No one gets out of here alive. Last edited by Brother Bob; 05-13-2003 at 10:41 AM.

05-13-2003, 11:56 AM	#8
Fruitloops Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 34	Here's Fruitloops....and here is a picture of my 1972 GMC 2 wheel drive Jimmy w/the top off. I have both hard and rag top for it. Attached Images __________________ '72 GMC 2 wd Jimmy '02 Toyota 4Runner (daily driver) '84 Chevy Silvarado short-bed (my boy's future truck) '71 VW bus buried in the back yard for my boys clubhouse!

05-13-2003, 12:29 AM	#3
jeffspower Well, Whoop-dee-do! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Easton, Mo. pop.- me & scarcely a few others Posts: 2,302	SWEET! Never enough goin' on here for these years. Should'nt you use 'shine instead of beer to feed those carbs though?

05-13-2003, 12:42 AM	#4
jeffspower Well, Whoop-dee-do! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Easton, Mo. pop.- me & scarcely a few others Posts: 2,302	Oh yeah, & you done it right with the GM stub. Someone will be sure to pick on me here when I open my mouth & blurt- "the GM stub works much better than that 'stang II crap." Those little fords drove like an overloaded dump truck on a muddy road with a heavy crosswind & bald tires!!! Then stick it in a top- heavy truck & expect it to handle good? Not without dropping some $ ka-ching $ on aftermarket upgrades. Besides, who wants FURRD parts on their Chevy anyway?

05-13-2003, 12:02 PM	#9
Fruitloops Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 34	Here's one with the top off. Attached Images __________________ '72 GMC 2 wd Jimmy '02 Toyota 4Runner (daily driver) '84 Chevy Silvarado short-bed (my boy's future truck) '71 VW bus buried in the back yard for my boys clubhouse!

05-13-2003, 12:07 PM	#10
Fruitloops Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 34	One more with the hard top on. Attached Images __________________ '72 GMC 2 wd Jimmy '02 Toyota 4Runner (daily driver) '84 Chevy Silvarado short-bed (my boy's future truck) '71 VW bus buried in the back yard for my boys clubhouse!

05-13-2003, 10:23 PM	#11
Randy70C-10 Account Suspended Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Virginia Beach, Va. U.S.A. Posts: 15,320	Welcome to the board Bob!! That's a sweet truck ya got there.

05-15-2003, 10:51 PM	#12
Pumkin Truck Thats just prime! Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: TEXAS Posts: 720	that is indeed a sweet truck bob. My dad has a 48 gmc panel that we hope to begin once we finish all these little projects around the house. __________________ 69 GMC short bed stepside with a wimpy six that can barely pull itself. 99 Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 1 Bad 5.7ltr LS1

05-29-2003, 11:16 AM	#13
solidaxel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cactus Patch So. Az Posts: 4,749	For those of you who have a sub frame just for grins and chuckles measure the spindle bearings on the chevy then measure the Mll bearings and you will see a great difference the Mll is larger. If you drive in the city and do alot of parking in small lots the rack and pinion is the only way to go. I drove a Camaro for many years and to date I have over 10 years on the 55 with the Mll front suspension with power R&P and I will take Mll anytime. I am in the process of rebuilding the truck now and the only changes I am going to make is a little harder bushings for the upper A-arms (PST) the ball joints are showing little or no ware. The front discs and calipers are from a Chevelle that is how I discovered the size difference on the bearings Mll, is much larger dia. than the Chevelle wheel bearings. Bob as you know any IFS front is a great improvement over that buggy sprung solidaxle, and I thing that Camaros were made just to be recycled into the 47 to 55 Pick ups. everything fits from the rad. to the rear spring hangers. You said that you were using a Sag. gear box , is a 4-spd. what shift linkage did you use? did it clear rhe seat when your are in 2nd or 4th. I have one and I was going to replace the broken B-W 4-spd. with one (Sag.) but it looks like the stock linkage sits to far to the rear on the tail shaft and it would interfer with the seat? Always looking for good ex. for a Tremac 5-spd. !!! Will that sag. hold up to the HP of your engine, I thought they were too weak to take any torque? Welcome to the BOARD and what a sweet ride you have put together __________________ 53 TuTone Extended Cab 350 4-Spd 3:08 (SOLD) 53 Chevy Moldy pearl green ZZ-4 4L60E 9" 3:25 55 GMC 1st Black Mll (ZZ4) ZZ6 TKO 600 5 sp 3:73 62 Solidaxle Corvette Roman Red (327 340hp 4spd 3:36) C4 & C5 suspension tube chassis LS 3 4L70E 65 Corvette Coupe 327 350hp 4spd 4:11 78 Black Silverado SWB (350/350) 5.3 & 4L60E 3:42 2000 S-Type 3.0 (wife cruiser) 2003 GMC SCSB 5.3 4L60E 3:42

05-29-2003, 04:48 PM	#14
Brother Bob Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Tejas Posts: 47	Axle, If I had it to do all over again.....? Hmmmmmm. Well fact is , I bought another project 48 Chevy 3100. I infact wanna keep the Solid axle and such, plus the frame, engine,and transmission is the only thing anygood on her. The Saginaw 4 spd I have is a "three ring input shaft" . I think it will live in my truck a few months before I locate a Muncie or somekind of late model tranny. Hurst has a shifter that works with Saginaw 4spds and gets the shifter outta the seat. Check out Patricksantiquecars.com. for some Saginaw tranny and shifter p/n. __________________ No one gets out of here alive.

05-30-2003, 04:02 PM	#15
solidaxel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cactus Patch So. Az Posts: 4,749	Do you have a Hurst on your saginaw now? If so, when you replace the box with the Muncie will you be using that same linkage or a different one? __________________ 53 TuTone Extended Cab 350 4-Spd 3:08 (SOLD) 53 Chevy Moldy pearl green ZZ-4 4L60E 9" 3:25 55 GMC 1st Black Mll (ZZ4) ZZ6 TKO 600 5 sp 3:73 62 Solidaxle Corvette Roman Red (327 340hp 4spd 3:36) C4 & C5 suspension tube chassis LS 3 4L70E 65 Corvette Coupe 327 350hp 4spd 4:11 78 Black Silverado SWB (350/350) 5.3 & 4L60E 3:42 2000 S-Type 3.0 (wife cruiser) 2003 GMC SCSB 5.3 4L60E 3:42

05-31-2003, 07:14 AM	#16
horvath Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey Posts: 128	Hey, Brother Bob That's a NICE ride, bro'! I just got my '54 Chevy in January ... up outta your neck o' the woods - Humble, Texas - transported to mine : New Jersey. It's got one o' them "crap 'stang II front ends" But I am in LOVE anyway! __________________ Alan Horvath 54 Chevy Pickup



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06-01-2003, 11:59 AM	#17
solidaxel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cactus Patch So. Az Posts: 4,749	Alan what don't you like about your front end!! If you want it to ride like a new pick up replace the front shocks with Bilstine thay have them valved for Mll suspension and the ride is fantastic. That is what makes the IFS work right. I can look up the part number if your interested in making your truck ride right! __________________ 53 TuTone Extended Cab 350 4-Spd 3:08 (SOLD) 53 Chevy Moldy pearl green ZZ-4 4L60E 9" 3:25 55 GMC 1st Black Mll (ZZ4) ZZ6 TKO 600 5 sp 3:73 62 Solidaxle Corvette Roman Red (327 340hp 4spd 3:36) C4 & C5 suspension tube chassis LS 3 4L70E 65 Corvette Coupe 327 350hp 4spd 4:11 78 Black Silverado SWB (350/350) 5.3 & 4L60E 3:42 2000 S-Type 3.0 (wife cruiser) 2003 GMC SCSB 5.3 4L60E 3:42

06-01-2003, 12:13 PM	#18
horvath Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey Posts: 128	Hey, SolidAxel There's nothing I don't like about my front end -- I was just making fun out of another post (above) where someone called the Mustang II IFS "crap" ... I love mine! I'm VERY interested in the Bilstine shocks -- and would really appreciate it if you hooked me up with the numbers. THANKS, bro'. __________________ Alan Horvath 54 Chevy Pickup Last edited by horvath; 06-01-2003 at 12:15 PM.

06-01-2003, 12:54 PM	#19
solidaxel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cactus Patch So. Az Posts: 4,749	O K I found the part number Bilstein A K 1352 I paid 62.93 ea. + shipping to Az which was 8.00. I have been working with Mike at hotrodsandcustomstuff.com in So. Calif. I was refered to them by the Bilstein factory rep. by the name of Steve Duck who turned me on to them at one of the Good Guy car shows that they were at. Check Hot Rods and Custom Stuff web site as they had a 10% sale going the last time I checked on Bilstein stuff, Be sure and ask for it and tell them Bob From Tucson sent you. You will Love your truck even more after the install (1 Hr.)!!! __________________ 53 TuTone Extended Cab 350 4-Spd 3:08 (SOLD) 53 Chevy Moldy pearl green ZZ-4 4L60E 9" 3:25 55 GMC 1st Black Mll (ZZ4) ZZ6 TKO 600 5 sp 3:73 62 Solidaxle Corvette Roman Red (327 340hp 4spd 3:36) C4 & C5 suspension tube chassis LS 3 4L70E 65 Corvette Coupe 327 350hp 4spd 4:11 78 Black Silverado SWB (350/350) 5.3 & 4L60E 3:42 2000 S-Type 3.0 (wife cruiser) 2003 GMC SCSB 5.3 4L60E 3:42

06-01-2003, 02:25 PM	#20
jeffspower Well, Whoop-dee-do! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Easton, Mo. pop.- me & scarcely a few others Posts: 2,302	Didn't mean to offend anyone with the "Stang II" comment. I wanted to provoke some discussion on these two choices & it looks like I did it! I am sure when the 'stang parts are set up properly they work fine. The only ones I have been around were set up buy someone else who must have had no understanding of caster or steering shaft u-joint angles. They apparently went junkyard hunting & just welded it in. Several of these have been brought to my shop so I can make them drive better. That is about impossible to do after someone else screwed up on the install. The only truck I have set up myself was with a Trans Am stub. I was amazed how easily it all came together. I used a van tilt column, It seemed like it was made for the '52. the shaft & joints fit without any nasty angles. I only had to make it shorter by pressing together the "double D" slip fittment. I paid $75 for the whole TA & $100 for the van column. The only new parts that were needed was a set of brake pads, hub seals & upper control arm bushings. Oh yeah, the wheel bearings were just fine

06-01-2003, 07:45 PM	#21
horvath Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey Posts: 128	THANKS a million, Bob! I'll definitely order from HR&CS.com and tell 'em you sent me -- I can't wait to see the difference. I like the way it handles now ... so, like you said, I should LOVE it with the "right" shocks. Hey, Jeff -- no offense taken, bro' ... and I understand what you're up to. I moderate a guitar player newsgroup with over 600 members ... it was dead as a doornail for months, so one day I posted a message saying "Elixir Strings rule : all other brands suck" or something to that effect -- the whole group woke up and it's been more active than ever. And that was a year ago! You're right, too, about the Mustang II when it's setup poorly - those are the ones (naturally) that you hear bad news about. Mine was done right ... except the steering was idiotic! NO teeth on the first spline coming out of the column into the 1st U-joint! I lost my steering on a major interstate, going 55 mph, during rush hour one night!!! The full tale is posted at my site (see link below my sig). I just had Borgeson parts installed and replaced all that. I have Cragar wheels ... 15" rear, 14" front ... and I get a shimmy at 65 mph that has GOT to be the wheels (I've gone through everything else). I have the vari-lugs on, but they seem awfully weird to me. I'm gonna put other wheels on and see if the shimmy goes away. If it does, I'm gonna have to find some new wheels -- I LOVE the look of the Cragars, but oh well. Also, I'm thinking of putting 15" wheels all the way around -- any comments about that? The bigger wheels look more "truck" to me. __________________ Alan Horvath 54 Chevy Pickup

06-01-2003, 10:20 PM	#22
solidaxel Registered User Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Cactus Patch So. Az Posts: 4,749	Alan I have 14 on the front and 15 on the rear and it rides perfect, you may want to check your U-joints or maybe the pinion angle in relation to the transmission output angle, or how about the front wheel bearings, or the obvious, tire balance. I think with that rear end you should be able to put more rubber on the back like 255/70-15 and maybe some 2" lowering blocks under the springs!! If I could figure how to get the pictures from my briefcase to this site I would show you some Pics. __________________ 53 TuTone Extended Cab 350 4-Spd 3:08 (SOLD) 53 Chevy Moldy pearl green ZZ-4 4L60E 9" 3:25 55 GMC 1st Black Mll (ZZ4) ZZ6 TKO 600 5 sp 3:73 62 Solidaxle Corvette Roman Red (327 340hp 4spd 3:36) C4 & C5 suspension tube chassis LS 3 4L70E 65 Corvette Coupe 327 350hp 4spd 4:11 78 Black Silverado SWB (350/350) 5.3 & 4L60E 3:42 2000 S-Type 3.0 (wife cruiser) 2003 GMC SCSB 5.3 4L60E 3:42

06-01-2003, 11:51 PM	#23
horvath Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey Posts: 128	Hey, Bob Re: Puttin' 15" all the way around, I'm just talking about the looks of the truck ... wondering if it wouldn't look better. I like the way the rear tires sit in the well, but the fronts ... I dunno -- I'm thinking I might like 'em to fill the well up more than they do. I wouldn't bother with it, but if I discover the wheels are causing the shimmy and I have to get new wheels, then I'll be considering the idea, you know? I just lowered the back, Friday, with 3 inch lowering blocks (the truck had a pretty extreme rake) ... it helped my camber settings bigtime, but didn't effect the shimmy at all! U-joints and wheel bearings have been checked and are fine ... haven't checked the pinion angle though. Tires have been balanced at two different places ... no change ... but that doesn't mean that couldn't still be the problem. A closer inspection of the wheels is in order at this point ... maybe something is to be discovered about the front disc brakes (11 inch rotors and calipers from an '82 Monte Carlo) ... or it could be the Cragars not sitting right even with the Vari-lugs? I dunno, but it's the last of my mechanical needs and must be settled before I can sleep easy nights! Thanks for all your input. __________________ Alan Horvath 54 Chevy Pickup

06-25-2003, 02:21 PM	#24
Stingray42 Woot. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Stouffville, Ontario Posts: 2,291	Bob and Loops, NICE TRUCKS!!! __________________ Clarkson 96 Chevy RCLB 4.3 2WD

06-25-2003, 03:22 PM	#25
horvath Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Location: New Brunswick, New Jersey Posts: 128	PS - Footnote Re: my above posts : Lowering the rear actually did the trick ... I just needed to have the front end re-aligned. The shimmy is GONE! __________________ Alan Horvath 54 Chevy Pickup Last edited by horvath; 06-25-2003 at 03:26 PM.

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