New member and first post.
My wife and I have a 1953 Chevy 1-ton panel that was originally setup as a school bus. I've noticed several other forum members seem to have this combination. We really like the size of the truck and the arrangement of the windows. Its roomy but not dark and dungy.
Anyway, we're going to upgrade the driveline and the front suspension and also put in different rear-end. I'm not sure how many of you have seen pictures of Wayne Roworth's 47 3800 panel but that's the direction we're heading. I've actually had several conversations with Wayne about his truck and how well it drives and handles. I have an 81 1-ton Chevy dually that we'll be pulling the rear end out of, which I believe has a 4.1 ratio. I'll convert it over to single wheel instead of dualies. We're going to install a 383 stroker probably with a 750 holley or similar. I will be using a 700R4 from a 1990 Camaro that I'll upgrade as needed to work in our application.
In preparing for the IFS (donor is from a C20 late 70s truck) conversion I've been studying the Chevrolet Truck Data Book used by the Chevrolet Salesmen. What has me baffled is why the front track on the 3800 series trucks was 56-1/4 inches where on the 3700 series trucks the front track is 61-13/16 inches. Why such a disparity in track width? Heck, even the 3100 series trucks are wider at 59-9/16 inches. The donor IFS has a track of 64-1/2 inches. From reading past forum threads I've seen where some people make up 9/16 inch spacers when installing the IFS where others cut about 1-1/8 inches from the center of the IFS and skip the spacers. By removing the 1-1/8 inches that would help not having to use wheels with massive positive offsets (Wayne used 4 inch offsets). Also it would probably allow me to use the same wheels both front and back. I'm not sure if Wayne did so or not.
It appears from looking at the info in the book that the 3700 series (3700 series only seems to be mentioned briefly in the book) was a dually. It does however list the same size tire/wheel combo as was used on the 3800 series. Yet there is a 5 inch difference in front wheel track!?!? Why?
Getting back to the differences in track width between the 3100, 3700 and 3800 trucks. Anyone know why there was such a large difference? I had thought the front ends were all basically the same, but maybe now.
As far as the new IFS causing the front of the truck to sit a couple of inches higher it appears that the options are to cut the springs like Wayne did, buy new springs setup for the height we want or buy new spindles that would drop the front end back down. Not sure which is the best approach (i.e. reasonable price and reasonable implementation). Not sure where to look for spindles that would provide the correct drop. Any suggestions?
Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated, especially if they answer my questions!
Thanks,
Brad
