Suspension and Frame for a 1400# engine

[Al Scarlett]

I am building a 31 Buick 60 series and the motor I am using is a DT466 with a Allison 545 trans out of a school bus.

Does anybody have ideas for how to build a cool suspension for this car?

I was thinking of using a beam out of a 4700 series truck, but the track is much wider than I was planning to go and I don't want to cut it and narrow it. If I did that I would have to widen the body to make it all work together and I am not sure how that would look.

Any body know of an old truck (firetruck etc) that had a beam that would hold the 1700 + lbs of motor and tranny?

OR does anyone have a better idea for a set up? bags? Anything?

Let me know because I am scratching a hole in my head.

 

[zzrodder]

I personally wouldn't be afraid to use a 55-59 Chevy pickup front axle or other similar beam axle. Disc brake upgrades are available for them - if you think about it, they were meant to carry a load being trucks, also the weight of your Buick will be somewhat less. They are only a couple inches wider than typical early Ford axles though much heavier duty. I've seen several rats built using front axles from larger trucks, 2 ton, 5 ton, etc. , biggest issue I see with them is brakes and wheels - if you want the more massive look they may be the route to go - as you said though, newer stuff tends to be somewhat wide.
Bags may be a viable way to go - they are used on semi trucks after all. Biggest issue with them is they are not pretty, lots of guys have come up with some form of cantilever actuating arms to attatch to them in order to hide them from view.
Quarter elliptic leaf springs are another possible front suspension to use, again, commonly used and it easy to tune it by adding or subtracting leaves - old truck springs could be cut to make them keeping costs and complexity down....

 

[Al Scarlett]

I personally wouldn't be afraid to use a 55-59 Chevy pickup front axle or other similar beam axle. Disc brake upgrades are available for them - if you think about it, they were meant to carry a load being trucks, also the weight of your Buick will be somewhat less. They are only a couple inches wider than typical early Ford axles though much heavier duty. I've seen several rats built using front axles from larger trucks, 2 ton, 5 ton, etc. , biggest issue I see with them is brakes and wheels - if you want the more massive look they may be the route to go - as you said though, newer stuff tends to be somewhat wide.
Bags may be a viable way to go - they are used on semi trucks after all. Biggest issue with them is they are not pretty, lots of guys have come up with some form of cantilever actuating arms to attatch to them in order to hide them from view.
Quarter elliptic leaf springs are another possible front suspension to use, again, commonly used and it easy to tune it by adding or subtracting leaves - old truck springs could be cut to make them keeping costs and complexity down....

Thanks! I am going to look into that. I honestly haven't decided yet. On one hand the wide beam of the newer truck would give it a nice wide stance and look mean as heck with semi-truck tires etc. I could even use the one that actually came on the MRAPS, but keeping it with more hot rod friendly parts would make it easier to modify....hmm. tough choice. You know?

 

[Bonehead]

There are tons of ways to go on a project like this. Pick the style and look you want, then find the parts you need. Oversized and heavy duty. I think the parts can be found in airbags, quarter eliptical, coils, leafs, you name it it is out there in heavy duty form. I have a 90's school bus front axle that I am saving back for a big project. The parts are out there.

 

[King Herald]

Look at the Blastolene website for some interesting heavy duty ideas.

http://blastolene.com/Blastolene_Cars.htm

 

[Al Scarlett]

There are tons of ways to go on a project like this. Pick the style and look you want, then find the parts you need. Oversized and heavy duty. I think the parts can be found in airbags, quarter eliptical, coils, leafs, you name it it is out there in heavy duty form. I have a 90's school bus front axle that I am saving back for a big project. The parts are out there.

any chance you could give me a width of the axle you have? I can get a guess for the track width.

What do you think? think it might look with the added width of the big axle? I need to trust in the calibrated eye of those who have been doing this longer than me.

 

[Al Scarlett]

Look at the Blastolene website for some interesting heavy duty ideas.

http://blastolene.com/Blastolene_Cars.htm

Thanks,
I spoke with the creator of the ****'d off pete previously, but come to think of it I think I only talke tires. I will revisit that one. Thanks!