The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Helix IFS conversion and general questions

A brief history so you understand my staring point. I have a 49 GMC 1/2 ton that I bought out of NM as a project gone bad. I do have a few pictures on my Facebook page (Tom Strojinc).It was started in 1998 by a father/son team. Was taken completely apart (frame off). The plan was to go to a SBC with a turbo 350. It stalled at that time and sat until I bought it this spring. It did not have a drive train with it other that they put in a rear end out of a mid 80's Chevy Blazer with 3:73 gears. I have a SBC and a 700r4 ready to go in. I bought a Helix IFS with shock thru coils and rack and pinion power steering with a 4 link kit. Now my quesitons...
Has anyone installed this Helix unit?
Are there any issues I should be aware of that are not covered in the instructions?
It has 2" drop spindles. How do you determine final ride height when you are staring with a frame off condition?
Can I use the trans crossmenber they installed for the turbo 350 with the 700r4?
I will be building the wood bed liner, are there detailed plans for this? Dimensions of the final slats?
I have the original gauges, is there someone that can recondition them and convert them to 12 volt?
Can the speedometer be used with the 700r4?

Any input would be appreciated.

I have seen several bad reviews on the Helix front suspension. You may want to spend some time reading about them.

Is there an overwhelming reason to go IFS? Straight axles worked very well for a lot of years and most of the IFS setups are flimsy at best and they haven't had a lot of handling geometry research done. They are good for holding up the front end of a trailer queen that gets hauled around to car shows, I guess.
Jerry

BC52, thanks for the comment, I will google and try to find the reviews.

Hotrod Lincoln, Since I bought the truck I have been focused on searching out owners of 1947-1954 trucks at local car shows as well as on the 2017 Hot Rod Power Tour last summer (I Long Hauled with my '69 Camaro) I saw many and I would say 80%-90% of the hot rodded trucks made the switch to a IFS and some added a 4 link rear. Some were purchased kits and some were salvage from Novas, Camaros, Mustangs, etc I spoke with at least 12 owners on the tour, some Long Haulers. Most were driven on the tour by the owner/builder. None spoke negatively about the IFS, a few were neutral in their comments and but most comments were along the lines of "If you're happy with the 70 year old handling and braking technology then the straight axle with drum brakes is fine, however it you want something a bit more responsive, easier to drive (and safer braking) then an upgrade is in order. As far as the "flimsy" aspect of it, none of these are work trucks any longer. Maybe a run to the local Home Depot for a few 2x4's or bags of salt for the water softener but that's about it. I am building my as a daily driver so comfort is also a consideration. Ride quality, power brakes, power steering, A/C, sound deadening etc are all on the list of upgrades.

If you read a few of my earlier posts you will see I was considering keeping the straight axle and adding rack and pinion power steering, it would have been a lot easier and less expensive but I did not hear one good comment about that. Most were don't do it.

For anyone interested I just found this Youtube video while looking reviews on the Helix Mustang II IFS. It's by far the best one I've seen so for. His name is Jim Brown and it appears he has a series of vidoes on the install from boxing the frame to installing the components

P48 Project; Helix Mustang II IFS Install, Part 1 - Fitting the Crossmember

Rack and pinion on a straight axle is possibly the worst choice anyone could make. Power disc brakes are a pretty simple, straightforward conversion, and it's fairly simple to fit a Saginaw power steering box ahead of the front axle if you don't like the function and position of the OEM steering gear. About a year ago, I did a pre-purchase inspection of a resto-modded 54 Chevy pickup with all the bells and whistles- - - -350 crate engine, Turbo 350 trans, IFS, lowered, 4-link rear suspension, power disc brakes all around, custom stainless steel exhaust system, and enough chrome to give Ray Charles a headache from the glare. I think the asking price was somewhere around $75K. The way the steering shaft was routed from the column to the rack and pinion through about three universal joints made it try to lock up from the U-joints being flexed too far every time the steering wheel made half a turn. I cut the test drive short and slowly and carefully nursed the thing back to the dealership that had it for sale. In my opinion, it was dangerous to drive in anything except a straight line at very low speed.

At least a properly-aligned straight axle has the benefit of some real engineering behind it by something other than a wrench jockey with a torch, a MIG welder, and a sledgehammer!
Jerry