Thread: best chassis for 39 chevy sedan (rat rod)

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I am looking for some guidance as to the best chassis for a 39 chevy 2-door sedan, I am building a rat rod. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!

Todd

I'm not a fan of chassis swaps, like using a modern S-10 frame under a fat fender car. They just don't look right, for my eye. I'd use the '39 frame, or hunt for a period replacement and then upgrade the suspension for good ride & handling.

Roger, I have the original chassis. What suspensions would you recomend for front and rear upgrades? Thanks!

Todd

Your suspension choice is going to depend on what you want to end up with for your ride height. Are you looking at air bags to be able to drop it to the dirt, then boost it back up to cruise height, or are you looking at a more traditional appoach? You say rat rod, which has a very broad interpretation range. I'd probably be looking at a triangulated four link in the back, with either coilovers or bags. Front would depend a lot on what you're doing with the body - running fenders? If so I'd probably look toward FatMan, or some similar IFS up front. Some others here might have some better ideas, but first you have to define what you're wanting to end up with for the look and ride height.

Is it a knuckle front end or A-frames?

What kind of money do you want to spend and how much work do you want to do? If your original frame is decent, I'd use it. I'd weld in a MII front cross member and several places have real reasonable rear leaf spring kits for them. But like Roger said, triangulated 4 link is the way to go. It might cost more but the ride is worth it in the end.