The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 1940 Chevy Pickup Suspension

Hello!

New to the forum. I have a few questions by no means am I a expert for starters. I have a 1940 Chevy 1/2 ton. I’m looking to upgrade the suspension front and back as well as swap out the 216 for a SBC w/ manual trans. I’ve decided to go with the IFS kit. Now as for the rear I’ve done some reading here and there some say go with the ford 9” and some say go with the 8.8. I was looking at going with the 8.8 as it seems to be readily available In my area. Any thoughts on this?

A few more things needing advice on is power steering and how to go about it as well as a power brake booster. I’ve seen the booster kits that will mount in the exact location as the original but I’m also considering a firewall mounted one. I do plan to do 4 wheel disc.

Any info or pics are greatly appreciated, thank you!

There is a lot of discussion about using mustang 2 (MII) IFS kits of various kinds if you search or browse.

The real question you need to answer before much advice can be given is what do you want the finished product to be? A truck with modern power? A weekend cruiser? A touring vehicle? One thing to be aware of is that the MII kits that are listed as "stock height" actually lower these trucks 2"-4". They use stock height spindles, thus the name.

What you want to have when you are done really affects what upgrades make sense and which ones will give you trouble.

I’ve looked at a few of the kits and the one I got a quote on asked if I wanted stock height or a 2” drop. I would prefer the drop.

I honestly don’t want anything too crazy for a setup. Mainly just a weekend driver.

If you’re not building a tire shredding monster for a powerhouse, I’d go with the 8.8. As you said, they are EVERYWHERE nowadays in wreckers. Do some research for identification and you can score a very good rear end for cheap. The Ford door codes have the rear info on there. I got a 3:73 posi out of an Explorer for $120. Disc brakes, posi, 200,000km on it, brake cables, driveshaft, etc. Check what year the explorer went to IRS and away from leaf springs to get the right range of years.

One hiccup though. The rear end I bought was too wide for the project it was intended for. This rear also has the yoke offset by 3” or so. However, if you’re a good welder, or know someone who is or can take it to a shop, it can easily by narrowed 3” at home. This will center the rear for you. While at the wrecker source another short side axle to install in the shortened side. I did this modification over a weekend on my wife’s Rambler’s 8.8.

What width does your 40 rear need to be?

Very good modificationinfo here:





Door jamb codes:

https://www.therangerstation.com/tech_library/axle_codes.shtml

I got the D4.

It worked out very well for my wife’s Rambler once narrowed. Great width.

I've recently been looking into Toyota rearends. They have a variety of widths depending on what you need. The 4wd has 6 lug axles, the 2wd are 5 lug. Not to mention they're plentiful and cheap. As far as power steering, CPP has a couple different options for stock front axles. As far as MII, take your pick, there's dozens of options.

The Chevy Trailblazer has a 6 lug bolt pattern and should be close to on width. Most of those rears had a 3.42 gear.

The Trailblazer rear has an odd size bolt pattern that has nothing in common with any other make. The 1st gen Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon would be a good place to look into also.

Thanks for all the info!

Is there any advantage to mounting a brake booster on the firewall opposed to the ones you can mount in the original location of the master cyclinder?

Has anyone done power steering as well?

Yeah, I made that mistake too. I thought that all of the GM 6-bolts were the same...

Take a look at to 99-03 S10s. The 4WD axles are the right width for a TF and the 2WD axles are 2" narrower, so one of those might be about right for you. They came with disks or drums, so make sure you get the disks.

If you get the 5-bolt S10 axles, it is the same bolt pattern as most of the MII IFS kits. Can you confirm if that is what you are looking at for an IFS? Other setups exist, but are less common and I would hate to be giving you advice based on the wrong system,

I have a 46 1/2 ton. I just put a Mustang II under my 46. They tell you by putting the Stang II on the front should drop the front end 2 to 4 inches. I put 3” blocks on the rear to bring it down and took 1/2 of a coil on the front for a good stance and no drop spindles. Using Stang II you can use a power rack. You will need to put a booster on your motor for power. My swing pedal for my brakes was moved under my dash and I have power disc brakes mounted on my firewall. Last but not least SBC. Most rear ends out of V8 should handle up to around 400hp. My recommendation is do your research, decide on what you want before you make your changes. Do you want a cruiser or are you planning big horsepower.

I had an ‘06 Tundra and here’s a heads up on the Toyota rear ends. My tundra rear end needed the bearings changed and they were a PAIN to change. It you can’t fabricate, don’t expect to do this at home. You’ll need a press. Also, I had to build an elaborate puller to remove the pieces. I told myself I’d never do it again. VERY difficult without the tools, and very difficult with them too. Just my experience.

Just to clarify this comment. When the kit says "stock height", they mean stock m2 spindles vs drop spindles. The "stock height" kit will lower your front end by a few inches depending on the kit.

I have a Chevy Saginaw type power steering pump connected to a Mustang 2 rack. Need to install a shim kit on the pump to reduce the boost to the Ford rack. Need adapter hose from Chevy pump to Ford rack connection. Both shim kit and hose readily available