G,day from Oz,

my 56 panel has a Volare front suspension fitted, done so called professionally i believe....somewhere in or around Pomona Ca
The frame is boxed in front, but the entire lower flange has been cut away to allow the crossmember to fit up into the frame. Is that how they are normally done?
Aint no way that would pass an engineers report in Australia.....
Especially with the 460 currently fitted

john

 

I have the volare and a 460 in my 55

See this article with my pics of the chassis cuts
http://www.clubfte.com/users/jniolon...ip/volare.html

Sam

 

thats a good and informative article, and explains a lot of my questions.
In my 56 the underside has just been left open and not reinforced at all.....
and certainly isnt as nice a job as yours.
However, i will have to remove the whole deal and then replace and repair the rails back to like original, just boxed. The rules here dont allow us to drastically modify the rails to that extent.
I recently discovered that the front suspension from a Lexus SC400 will fit very nicely indeed, with very minimal mods to the frame, as in drill a few holes and fit some crush tubes and weld on two small tabs.
I recently parted out a SC400 for its quad cam v8 etc for my COE and started looking at the front suspension and couldnt believe how close it is.

Cheers John

 

I have not heard of a Lexus swap yet but I am sure someone can make it happen. Keep us updated on that, it would be very interesting to see that. Good luck on the volare, I run one also and so far 12K miles no issues yet.

 

sorry, I am not following..

you cut the bottom of the C channel chassis rail from just about where the front cross member ends at the front of the truck, back to near the old tranny cross member. the volare replaces that section, and should completely fill that space. Many folks chop off the volare mounting ears near the front and fill it for a cleaner look.

then on the inside, one typically uses fill plate to close the gap to the top rail in the section over the volare clip. then for added support, boxes the chassis back from the back edge of the clip to at least the front of the cab line.

Now, I have another truck, also a 56, where they did NOT cut out the chassis, but just set the volare clip under it. thats this winter's project to cut it off and do it right..

But I am interested in the Lexus info as well.
Sam

 

SAM,

normally here in Australia to comply to enginneeres and registration requirements we are not allowed to cut away the lower flange to allow fitment of say a front suspension unit.
Most IFS assemblies here are fitted more along the lines of the way your other 56 has been done, by setting the unit under the rails and fabricating suitable mounting brackets to bolt it in/on or welding it to the rails.
And in the case of my 56, whoever fitted it didnt tidy up nor reinforce any of the rails after welding the Volare the crossmember apart from some minor boxing.

Hope i cleared that up some

John

 

Is that a Macpherson strut type (shock towers) front suspension?

 

They use a LONG type of coilover which i plan to simply replace with a normal street rod type coilover, or more likely with airbags so i can sit it on the ground when parked LOL Have a look at one when you get chance, easier than trying to explain it.
Power rack, big brakes etc etc i am sure going to use one and will post pics on the istallation when i do.....and i have done my 25 posts

John

 

Didn't some one use to sell a kit for the chrysler conversion? I seem to remember it was just two crossmembers that got put in and it carried all the suspension parts from the donor car. Can't remember who built it but I think I remember them in Truckin magazine or Streetrodder.

 

you did, thanks..

problem with just putting in under like on the 56 is that the dive angle is wrong and you can't set the caster properly
Sam

 

DOES ANY ONE MAKE AIR RIDE SUSPENSION FOR THE VOLARIE FRONT END?

 

Sounds correct. I've done two and both of mine are done that way. Otherwise, it would sit too high and you could not get enough positive caster. Believe me, it's a lot safer than trying to mount it underneath...

 

Gibbons made a cross member subframe for the Cordoba suspension. It was a little different than the Volare because it has straight parallel torsions bars that extend rearward from the lower control arm to a crossmember located near the rear of the transmission. I think the 1st gen Gibbons cross member had some geometry problems and caused alignment issues. they have not been manufactured is a while and are not easy to come by. Mine seems to handle pretty good, I'm ok with the stance, the Cordoba was a pretty big car and brakes seem to be strong, and parts are still available. I recently bought rebuilt brake calipers for $25 each. If I bought spare ball joints, rotors, and maybe even a pair of torsion bars my truck would be good for another 57 years.

 

I am installing a rack and pinion to my volarie front suspension and having problems with it hitting my oil pan. can not move it back any more so I guess the only solution is move the motor up, anybody have any other ideas?

 

Not sure what your installation looks like but here is mine. The front sump pan sits about 1-1/2 inches above the crossmember.