Thread: Looking for a frame shop to marry Camaro clip to my 57' Stepside

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I am looking for a shop in the Central Ca. area that is 1) quallified, 2) reliable 3) reasonable to marry a 74' Camaro RS clip to my 57' Chevy Stepside truck.

I live in Modesto,Ca. which is about 30 miles south of Stockton.

I have called several so called Custom Shops in the area and every one of them have tried to talk me into a MII IFS or a Heidt Super Ride IFS.

The least expensive front end so far has about 1800.00 plus installation.
That price is the basic front end with no frills and and I have to still equip it with rotors calipers and so on.

I have a 74' Camaro RS front clip, complete with steering box, linkage and brake system intact, with the proportioning valve still hanging there, and the rear cross member.

It was unbolted properly, has never been wrecked, and looks to be in very good shape. I plan to rebuild the suspension either before or after it is married to my truck. ( was suggested to be done after by one local shop, to get a feel of how it will set-up)

I have read that because of the heavier weight of the truck, I would need or want to replace the coils and shocks to compensate for this.

I understand that these new IFS are all the rage, and are excellent choices for some, but they have pros and cons as well.

Anybody with knowledge of someone in this geographical area please write back.

Thanks,
Jim

Wish I was closer, So Dak is a long trip!!!!! Only thing I can think of is maybe give the guys at Stockton Wheel a call, they don't do it, but they seem to be a decent lot and could maybe give you a reccomendation. There's a fellow geezer I met once in Bakersfield that does some real hi quality work, but my CRS is flaring up right now and danged if I can remember his name. If it comes to me later I will let you know. Sorry for no help at all.

My daughter has a '52 Burb and also wanted to install a Camaro clip but couldn't find anyone in the Bay Area to do it. So she and I clipped it. Here are pics during the process.

I'm northeast of Stockton so email if I can help

Hey Richard,

I guess I could convince myself that I could do as good of a hack job on it as the next guy. But one thing I have learned in my years, is when to call a spade a spade and recognize my limitations.

I could cut it up and set it in place myself, however I know for fact that I am no welder.

I can dress a weld up pretty nice but, there are to many liabilities for me to assume if I were to do it myself..... ie. the life and safety of the other folks on the road, and I really only want to do this clip once! LOL

Jim

Thanks for the suggestion Dave,

I have seen many of the advertisements for Stockton Wheel but never thought to give them a shout. By the way, I call the CRS thing CRAFT, cuz if it isn't written it isn't remembered!

Jim

Originally posted by V6Jim
Hey Richard,

I guess I could convince myself that I could do as good of a hack job on it as the next guy. But one thing I have learned in my years, is when to call a spade a spade and recognize my limitations.

I could cut it up and set it in place myself, however I know for fact that I am no welder.

I can dress a weld up pretty nice but, there are to many liabilities for me to assume if I were to do it myself..... ie. the life and safety of the other folks on the road, and I really only want to do this clip once! LOL

Jim

If the welding is the only thing holding you back then I think you should do it yourself and just tack weld everything in place. Then take it to a certified welder to finish the job. Welding shops should be easier to find than custom shops and you'll only have to pay for a couple hours of labor instead of a couple of weeks.

Friend of mine owns a rod shop. He does clips on occasion but prefers to use an after market Mustang II crosmember. He is a dealer for Fatman's and Heits.

The labor and parts to rebuild a clip and mate it to a chassis and get the sheet metal right is equal to or more than the cost of an installed after market crossmember with new or rebuilt Mustang II components.

If you want something a bit stouter consider a Dakota front end. Industrial Chassis makes a crossmember for this swap. And you can get a reasonably new Dakota front end from a yard.