Thread: Corvette running gear/suspension in a 40 Ford

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I want to put 1986 Corvette running gear and suspension under a 40 Ford 2 Dr Sedan. I have a boxed 40 frame and a complete 86 corvette. Has anyone done this before?
40

Ive never done it on a '40 before. But one thing about corvette suspensions is they are only designed to work one way...Stock!

So as long as you can take your setup measurements from a corvette, you should have no problem. We have installed several C4 suspensions in old trucks which are wider than a '40 with no problems. Again, we simply put a stock corvette in the air and took our measurements...then applied that setup to the trucks. They worked great. Handled perfect and didn't prematurely wear out any bushings/parts.

As for a '40, I would think the biggest obstacle (and its not much of one) would be if you had to narrow the track width of the suspension. The "jacobs ladder" should easily fit between the rails, so as long as you dont have to narrow it this should be very straight forward. I would first remove the spring tension and install a .75" or 1" all thread where the spring bolt goes to make the setup "rigid". Then I would suggest mounting your wheels and tires you plan to run and set the car where you want it to be when in a final resting place. Next, simply connect the suspension components to the frame with the stock C4 geometry. That way the car will set where you want it to and the suspension wont know its not underneath a corvette.

Yeah, what Troy said..... Only thing I would add is measure everything a couple times and record all the measurements in a book. Or, write down all the measurements, angles, etc on the Vette frame before you take it apart with a marking pen, take digital pics of all the components to show their installed position and your measurements. Save the digital pics on a disc. I trust this system far more than I do my feeble memory !!!!!!!!

Here are a couple of links that should shed some light on the subject...

http://www.hotrodshow.com/archives/2...pension1.shtml

http://www.progressiveautomotive.com/sweetrear.htm

I am doing the same with a 84 and a 36 chevy truck the rear looks like a piece of cake I took 3/8 pipe cut it to fit where all the bolts hold the rear end to the corvette and made a jig by welding them all together with pipe the two bolt that hold the pumkin all perallel with the frame The jig fits right on the frame of the truck and lines up everything. the front is going to be a bitch. But thats next weeks project.

I am doing the same with a 84 and a 36 chevy truck the rear looks like a piece of cake I took 3/8 pipe cut it to fit where all the bolts hold the rear end to the corvette and made a jig by welding them all together with pipe the two bolt that hold the pumkin all perallel with the frame The jig fits right on the frame of the truck and lines up everything. the front is going to be a bitch. But thats next weeks project.

I had a friend in the sixties/seventies who put a corvette fuel injection in a 40 Ford coup, he cut out the forty rear end & sectioned the whole Corvette frame & third member underneath it, this made it a basic Corvette bottom end.
He died in the early seventies in Wilmington, Ca & I'm not sure what happened to this really fast car, I assume the family held on to it San Pedro, Ca.
I used to ride around with him to various street races & I can't remember him ever losing, the funny thing is that this was not only a very fast car but it stayed totally flat in the corners.
Wish I knew what happened to this car, I'm sure it is still out there somewhere in the LA area ...
By the way, riding with him was a totally scary proposition

These guys make a nice narrowed C4 Corvette suspension setup for 35-40 Fords. Flat Out Engineering suspension components, Corvette front and rear, for hot rods and street rods and trucks, coil-over shocks and springs.

You guys realize you're resurrecting a thread that's almost 8 years old, started by a guy who posted once and never came back?

Its still a very good option and the suspension is super---all aluminum, independent front and back, good brake options, power rack and pinion----earlier C4s were a little narrower tread width---you can even run electronic adjustable shocks on it to vary your ride/cornering---------