What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

[Caveman Tony]

So here's the deal:

My '56 is running pretty good, which is a great reason to tear it apart.

It NEEDS IFS. BAD. Driving around in New England is fun, but playing pole position/slalom course avoiding potholes with a solid axled/no sway bar truck is NOT fun. Actually hitting those potholes and worrying about cracking all the windows in the truck sucks too.

So what's cheaper? Tearing the front clip off, and putting a Mustang II setup on it? (figure roughly $2g for parts)
And doing something like a four link, etc in the rear... advantages? I could do it in two stages to cut costs...

OR

Get a donor S10, sh*tcan the body, and drop the '56 on top of it. Anyone ever done it? What are the pitfalls? Costs? ...advantages? It's an IFS with readily available parts... how are the S10 frames strength-wise?

I'm just fishing for ballparks... which would be harder... etc..

[squirrel]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

Fix the steering box, fix the spring bushings, fix the kingpins, fix the shocks, fix the brakes, put decent tires on it, and drive it.

Frame swap is going to be fun, getting everything mounted again. The 56 frame is pretty much flat, the late model goes up at the front and down in the middle. Steering is in the way of the radiator, bumpers won't fit, etc. Plus it's a bit light duty for a truck that big. But then so is a pinto suspension.

70s camaro front clip is a reasonable thing to do, again you have to deal with steering/radiator interference, bumper mount, etc but at least the cab and bed mounts aren't a problem. There's a thread on the hamb about doing this in a day.

There really isn't much wrong with the rear suspension, unless you want to lower it a little bit--that's not so easy, but lowering it a lot is (just put the axle on top of springs)

edit: I realized I didn't answer your question at all, which was about cost. You didn't want to know which is best.

[oldsman71]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

cheapest to fix what you have, but next chepest but better is to use
a camaro or nova subframe, as Jim said the HAMB has some good threads and pics you can search.

when you change frames it can be a real mess, too much cutting and fab. work and can turn out bad!!

[bullet]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

S10 frame wont fit...too narrow.
here is a link that might help u

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/forumdisplay.php?f=13

[rightpedal]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

A two of the Montana boys are doing the 70's camaro swap on their 55 and 58 trucks. Here is a link to a camaro clip. Follow the links in the thread.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=432325&highlight=camaro+front+clip

Steve

Here is the search page if you have time. I will weed through it later on today.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/search.php?searchid=2055071

[HoosierGTA]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

I generally don't like the looks of a grafted on sub frame.Probably cheaper to fix what you have.I would same the original frame for when you have the time and money to fix it right.

[joebogey]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

If there's nothing structurally wrong with what you have, I would think you'd do better modifying what you have.
Stupid question maybe, but what about either a 78-87 or 88-99 fullsize frame? Maybe pull one from a 4-door Blazer for length? There's a ton of aftermarket pieces for the suspension.

[squirrel]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

Later trucks are noticeably wider, and the frame has a big dip in the middle.

[DanStokes]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

From my fuzzy ol' memory I'm pulling out that some folks used an Aspen/Volare front clip in some circumstances. It has a transverse torsion bar and might work better for you. Just a thought (my MOPAR roots sometimes show).

Dan

[JeffMcKC]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

To soften the ride in the back just use a lower spring rate and a softer shock.

[squirrel]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

The Volare lets you keep most of the original frame, but then you have to deal with the crossmember being where the oil pan wants to be, and the steering being where the exhaust wants to be. But you can also add a 9" ford with the 4.5" bolt pattern and you can run normal trailer wheels (ford/dodge bolt pattern). Also the donor cars are few and far between these days.

[Loren]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

Had a freind do a Volare front with a kit...i.e. fabricated crossmember, not the original. He was pretty happy with it.

S-10 track width too narrow, as said...fit around the engine is too tight and they are not torsionally rigid at all. Those things must depend on the cab to stiffen them up. And of course newer full-sizes are too wide. DON'T put it on a '70s/'80s GM frame! I'm dealing with one of those (I didn't do it) these days and it sucks. I'm ready to tear the whole thing out.

Early Camaro/'68-'74 X-body subbrame-to-stock frame is the easiest, it's about the right width frame/trackwise, and the steering is behind the axle c/l. They are getting tough to find though.

It's only original once...it's getting to where people see an ifs conversion under there and stop looking at the truck at that point

[Caveman Tony]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

The S10 option was a little attractive because the few I've seen pics of seem to allow for wider wheels/tires and still fit under the fenders when slammed. Plus some S10s had fully boxed frames I think... that would have to be pretty stiff I guess. Not all came boxed though.

Rust free S10's are like trying to find Amelia Earhart up here in the land of the tin-worms. Not happenin'. I could get one off the 'net from down south or west, but that adds to complexity/shipping yada, yada, yada....
Plus, the cost of the donor truck would be around the same as the parts for a MII setup.

I really love stock stuff for historical and authenticity's sake, but I will GLADLY sacrifice that for performance, handling, safety, and keeping my fillings in my teeth.

[HoosierGTA]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

Of all the options you gave us I would do what I said in my first post If not that then I would save it and go the s-10 route.If you want a fully boxed frame get one of the last (rounder body) style.Probably need a cab and a half short bed .

[DanStokes]

Re: What's cheaper? MustII/4-link or S10 frame?

Let me know what you decide on and I'll look in the local yards here. As long as they haven'y lived to close to the shore there's quite a bit of low rust stuff here.

Dan