1955/56 Shoebox Suspension Upgrades

[jy211]

so the time has come for me to start thinking about a suspension upgrade for my 2 shoeboxes....I'd love to do two Morrison chassis', but the $$$$ prevents that...unless Craig wants to donate to a worthy cause...MINE! :rolleyes: Or give a smokin discount! :cool:


So with that, what do you buffs recommend? I found this online:

http://www.superchevy.com/technical/chassis/suspension_steering/0410sc_suspens_copy/


I want a fun street machine.

Anything????? Or should I just wait and buy the Morrison piece by piece? Frame first? Rear Suspension? Front Suspension?

[Tony@AirRideTech]

I have ridden in a couple shoeboxes set up with our AirBar in the rear and our front tubular Strongarm kit and they are impressive....especially if you add double adjustable shocks to get that ninth degree of tuning, a good swaybar, and update the steering and brakes.

[jy211]

You have any pictures of the kits?

[Tony@AirRideTech]

Of the kits themselves?

[jy211]

pricing and any pictures...sorry!

[CraigMorrison]

http://www.artmorrison.com/video/index.php?video=seg3.wmv

Here's a video of what our chassis can do!

Yes, a full frame is $$$, but you don't have to do the "full meal deal" straight away. Less 3rd member, axles and brakes and you can wait for that stuff until you are ready or find the 3rd members locally or at a swap meet. Also, if you really are looking at two, we can bundle them and ship in the same crate to save a bit on shipping. OR- we can have you go through a dealer who will cut you a bit of a break.

There's more than one way to skin a cat!

[Mean 69]

If I was to build (or rather, "when" I decide to build) a shoebox, make mine a 56, thank you very much, without question I'd go with the Morrison goods. Beyond the impressive handling, their frames are the best I have seen, and they are honest good guys to boot. Get one with the new 3-Link setup they have, and you will be sincerely happy for a very long time. It'll make the car more valuable too.

My good friends completed a killer cool 55 Nomad that uses a narrowed leaf arrangement, and updated spring rates, etc. It used the stock frame, and the results are very impressive. Far less expensive, the stance is amazing, and the owner is happier than a pig in poop with the ride quality. An excellent alternative to a new full frame option. I'll get the goods on it if you'd like, shoot me a message and I can get the contacts for you, I can't recall off-hand who's kit it was.

More of the older iron, please!!!!!!
Mark

[Marcus SC&C]

We`ve done a few shoebox corner carvers over the years. The first thing to note is that their suspension geometry isn`t all that bad. I dunno why everyone`s so quick to get rid of it. In fact it`s much better than a `70 Chevelle or an `87 Monte SS! The lack of swaybars,soft spring rates and slow steering all conspire to reduce the handling though.
A good steering conversion is a must. Concept One and Lee both do an updated 605 or 600 fast ratio box. We`ve tried other brands and they ranged from so bad we had to send them back to just okay with slow ratio and poor feel. These 2 are worth the money.
Now you need to tweak the geometry and alignment. We do a simple StreetComp Stage 2 package with tall upper ball joints and tall tie rod ends to improve the camber gain,raise the roll center slightly and to correct the factory bumpsteer. I just noticed it`s not listed on our site since the last updates,an oversight I have to have fixed.
This setup uses our adj. tubular upper arms so you can use performance alignment specs,that makes a BIG difference even by itself. We did one that we just changed the UCAs,set the alignment at -1/2* camber, +5* caster,put a 1" front bar and adj. Varishocks on. It already had a so so 605 steering conversion. The changes didn`t make it into a C6 but it made it a lot of fun to drive on twisty back roads (nicer on the highway too) and totally got rid of that "bread trucky" feel. Yes,that`s a technical term. :rotfl:
Now you`ll want to drop is a couple inches to lower the CG and put the suspension in a better orientation. I`d use springs but no one I`m aware of makes a set of real performance springs for the front of a tri 5. A set of Varishock conversion coilovers with 550lb/in springs would be perfect though. You get adj. rate and ride height and you can use the stock lower arms (there`s no geometry gain to changing them). In the rear if you don`t want to get too carried away Ol`55 offers a fairly firm monoleaf setup that saves weight and drops the car about 2".
A 1" front swaybar (possibly a rear bar too depending on your driving style) and a set of Varishock QS1 adj. shocks in the rear to match the coilovers up front and your chassis is pretty well set! Finish it off with some disc brakes (if you haven`t already),say a Baer 13" up front and 12" rear and you`re done.
If I were doing a Tri5 for myself that`s the combo I`d use. Might go to a G Bar 4 link rear suspension with coilovers when it comes out for a little better handlign and more tire room. Let`s see,all that stuff done to a black `55 with Nomad rear wheelwells,CanAm style aluminum big block with electronic hillborn injection,TKO600 etc. etc. Two Lane Blacktop for the 21st century! Mark SC&C
:6gears:

[jy211]

We`ve done a few shoebox corner carvers over the years. The first thing to note is that their suspension geometry isn`t all that bad. I dunno why everyone`s so quick to get rid of it. In fact it`s much better than a `70 Chevelle or an `87 Monte SS! The lack of swaybars,soft spring rates and slow steering all conspire to reduce the handling though.
A good steering conversion is a must. Concept One and Lee both do an updated 605 or 600 fast ratio box. We`ve tried other brands and they ranged from so bad we had to send them back to just okay with slow ratio and poor feel. These 2 are worth the money.
Now you need to tweak the geometry and alignment. We do a simple StreetComp Stage 2 package with tall upper ball joints and tall tie rod ends to improve the camber gain,raise the roll center slightly and to correct the factory bumpsteer. I just noticed it`s not listed on our site since the last updates,an oversight I have to have fixed.
This setup uses our adj. tubular upper arms so you can use performance alignment specs,that makes a BIG difference even by itself. We did one that we just changed the UCAs,set the alignment at -1/2* camber, +5* caster,put a 1" front bar and adj. Varishocks on. It already had a so so 605 steering conversion. The changes didn`t make it into a C6 but it made it a lot of fun to drive on twisty back roads (nicer on the highway too) and totally got rid of that "bread trucky" feel. Yes,that`s a technical term. :rotfl:
Now you`ll want to drop is a couple inches to lower the CG and put the suspension in a better orientation. I`d use springs but no one I`m aware of makes a set of real performance springs for the front of a tri 5. A set of Varishock conversion coilovers with 550lb/in springs would be perfect though. You get adj. rate and ride height and you can use the stock lower arms (there`s no geometry gain to changing them). In the rear if you don`t want to get too carried away Ol`55 offers a fairly firm monoleaf setup that saves weight and drops the car about 2".
A 1" front swaybar (possibly a rear bar too depending on your driving style) and a set of Varishock QS1 adj. shocks in the rear to match the coilovers up front and your chassis is pretty well set! Finish it off with some disc brakes (if you haven`t already),say a Baer 13" up front and 12" rear and you`re done.
If I were doing a Tri5 for myself that`s the combo I`d use. Might go to a G Bar 4 link rear suspension with coilovers when it comes out for a little better handlign and more tire room. Let`s see,all that stuff done to a black `55 with Nomad rear wheelwells,CanAm style aluminum big block with electronic hillborn injection,TKO600 etc. etc. Two Lane Blacktop for the 21st century! Mark SC&C
:6gears:


What kind of $$$ are you talking about??

[Marcus SC&C]

The stuff from us is listed on our site. $619 for our Stage 2 package. $569 for the front coilover conversion. $354pr. for the rear adj. shocks. Most of the rest of the stuff is avaiable from Ol`55 eastcoastchevy.dot com and Year One etc. The Concept One steering package runs close to $700 but it`s worth it. I`m not sure of the price for Lee but their stuff is top shelf all the way. Note,if you`ve got big headers they may need to be clearanced a bit for the steering box. We use a 6"x6" piece of KoolMat NASA/Boeing 2500* shielding between the box and headers to prevent overheating the fluid. That keeps it nice and cool.
I`m not sure if G-Bar is out for the Tri5 yet (basically ART AirBar but with Varishock coilovers) but it should run about $1599 with the coilovers etc. complete. Feel free to give me a call at the shop if you like. Mark SC&C

[kennyd]

i have a 57 2 dr sedan , 20x10 18x7 , wilwood brakes , airride air bar on rear , airride on front , sway bars , rebuilt controll arms . 502 hp 502ci with a richond 6 gear .
i ran it at kansas city goodguys on the auto course , the problems i ran into was the steering , it was to loose feeling , and i also heated the power steering pump up and it quit . i have a 600 power box on it now .

[Jayco_Automotive]

have you tried martz chassis www.martzchassis.net (http://www.martzchassis.net) or called them at 814-623-9501

[jy211]

Keep the ideas coming fellas! :poke: