I still havent done any real work on the car yet but I am figureing things out and getting more direction.Of course the independent front will go, along with the front 1/3 of the frame I built for it in '62. The front clip will be from the '56 1/2 ton frame that I bought from arizona. This frame and front suspension is sooo nice,no surface rust and all original paint,unbelieveable.
I wanted the front to have the same 5 x 4.75 wheels as the rear so My plan was to switch out the hubs/drums with 54 pass car units. Its only a 2400 # car so I didnt really see a need for discs. After priceing out the 54 hubs/drums/shoes/hardware/hoses/wheel cylinders and such,I found I was spending a lot more $ than I had planned. I started looking and found a disc brake/5x4.75 conversion for my 56 axle for $369 from performanceonline.com. This was about the same as I would spend for drums,so it was a no brainer. I called them today and was offered free shipping (from CA) that was worth $70,so there was no reason to wait untill spring(when I figured I'd need it) and I ordered it up along with braided ss lines and proportioning valves. So my pile of left over scrap will get bigger!
I had steel slot full chrome Astro wheels on it in '61. They are still on it now but are very rusty just like all the other chrome on the chassis.Ive thought about why this happened because it was pristine when I put it in storeage and the only thing I can come up with is that the floor in my pole barn does not have a vapor barrier under it and I poured it over what was the septic drainfield (at the time) for the old house that was there. We were putting in sanitary sewers anyway and dozed the old house to build a new one. So maybe the funky moisture comming up thru the concrete did it,I dont really know.Anyway,I briefly fantisized about getting them rechromed,mostly just to preserve as many original parts as I could,but then I didnt want 6 bolt front wheels and 5 bolt wheels anymore,so I started looking for some nos astros or even decent used ones to go with the rears so I would have a full set alike. This went nowhere and I couldnt get anyone to consider rechromeing them anyway. Then I found a guy on the HAMB who is makeing these wheels again.Apparently he has the dies and builds them to order in regard to both width and backset. The pics are absoultly beautiful and the price is reasonable at $265 ea.,so as soon as I get my disk brake parts and can figure what backset I need I'll get those comming.
So my parts pile is going to get bigger as is the scrap pile!I'll post up more on this thread as progress dictates it,maybe some pics of the disc brake setup when it gets here!