straight axle on 57 chev

[57Belair]

Hi guys I m thinking about makin my 57 into a gasser. Now there is two ways i can do this, one is to leave the original front cross member on and have that extra bulky waste on, or cut the frame and go from there. Ive never done one of these before, any advise on this would be appreciated. My other concern is this car hasnt been insured in 20 years and with a chopped frame this could be a problem. Not sure what to do in British Columbia Canada

[On fire most of the time]

I dunno the specific laws about rebuilding/modifying the frame of a car where you are...but here in California, as long as you leave the 12" section that has the vin stamped in it, you are only doing a repair, and not a rebuild, and is thus not a specially constructed vehicle.

As far as, could the modifications affect a safety inspection? That I do not know...but what on earth is even safety oriented on a 57 Chevy?

Before you start, I would take a long look at things other people have done, get ideas, and try to figure out what the best course of action is. Draw a plan or two, and think about it in depth for a week. Before you start, plan it out, that is the most important part. And always err on the side of caution when cutting the frame....you can always cut more. Its a royal PITA to put it back.

[Blondie_486]

When I built my 56 back in the early 70's I left the original crossmember in place. Even if I had cut out the original I'd have still had to put something there to replace it. You have to have something between the frame rails to stabilize them, you wouldn't want them to wander at the end of the strip and get squirrely at over 100mph.

[aametalmaster]

I still have my '66 Ford Econoline straight axle that i was going to put in my '69 Mustang. Sold the car and kept the axle. That was 33 years ago. Then i bought back the car...Bob

[MR.57]

This guy did a decent straight axle swap on a '55. I'm not big on the open lightening holes on a regular driver (junk/debris can accumulate inside frame rails) but aside from that I think it came out pretty nice. I think there's a similar post on The H.A.M.B.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=879391