[mech393]

i was at a car show where a fella had a 55 wagon with a camaro frame he said the frame set inside the 55 frame and also dropped the front end. he said he couldnt remember what year the frame was but only certain years would fit inside.would anyone have an idea what year he was talking about or any other model of frame that would work.

 

[acardon]

Camero's didn't have a full frame. They are unibody and have sub frames.
http://www.1stgencamaro.net/images/framespecs.jpg

 

[drpepper]

67 thru 69 camaro, nov,olds and pontiac that looked like the nove all used basically the same subframe with a rear mounted steering gear. 70 and up used a front mount steering gear. i would imagine that the rear mount is what is used. the front mount usually interferes with the sheetmetal. we used to use them under street rods before mII became so popular and easy to install. the subframes ride and handle great though. at least 3 different ratio gears available also.

 

[mech393]

yes i under stand that their a subframe but the with of these subframes are different and i was wanting to know if anyone knew what year of subframe would slip into a tri five frame for splicing it together, i saw this 55 and id like to do the same thing, but the fella told me he didnt remember the year of the camaro he took his subframe out of.

 

[Rick_L]

There is not one that "nests" into a 55-57 frame.

I would strong advise you to not do this. There are almost no benefits and a lot of headaches.

 

[gmorris0562]

MECH393, I have a 56 wagon that has a 75 Camaro front frame clip. The previous owner started the conversion and got as far has having the frame clip grafted to the back half of the existing frame. I took it and have been rebuilding it. I liked the idea of modern disk brakes, power steering, etc. Plus, there are tons of upgrades available for those cars. I can go to any auto parts store and buy parts over the counter. Not the case with any of the original equipment. No one here in Vegas seems to carry anything older than 1970 in stock. Is it the best setup? I don't know, it's just what I'm working with. From what I understand, it was a common upgrade back in the late 80's when finding a donor Camaro was easy. I don't think I could find a donor in the junk yard now days. I worked-out the steering using the tilt steering column and colapsable shaft from the same car. The radiator support needs to be modified to fit the frame and I still need to work out the front bumper and splash pan attachment.

 

[mech393]

when i talked to the fella with the 55 he told me it was easier to put his big block in, it had the quicker camaro steer gear, but he explained how he did the work which to me doesnt seem to be that big of a deal to do. he explained how to reenforce the frames so they wont crack. what i was wanting to know was what year would work. the fella i talked to couldnt remember the year and he said only certain frames would work. im not even sure i could find one in the local area.now he doesnt live that far from me , he said that he would help me do this if i decide to.but it would come down to finding the right frame.

 

[D.S.]

This is from an article in Hot Rod...

The ’67-’69 Camaro and ’68-’74 Nova subframes are popular because they offer a slightly narrower track width than the later ’70-’81 Camaro and ’75-’79 Nova subframes, but they are becoming harder to find, can be more expensive, usually require a disc-brake swap, and the steering box is mounted behind the crossmember, which can make steering-shaft fabrication difficult. That makes the later GM F- and X-car subframes an attractive alternative.

The track width of ’70-’81 Camaro/Firebirds is 3 3/4 inches wider than that of ’55-’57 Chevrolet passenger cars and will require wheels with more backspacing (an additional 1 7/8 inches per side). We used economical and strong Cragar Street Star wheels on our ’57. The 235/60R15 BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires on 15x7 wheels with 4 1/2 inches of backspacing brought the tires in under the fenderwells but cleared the brake and suspension

The article can be read online...
http://www.hotrod.com/howto/42838_modern_subframe_installation/index.html

 

[USA1]

The track width of ’70-’81 Camaro/Firebirds is 3 3/4 inches wider than that of ’55-’57 Chevrolet passenger cars and will require wheels with more backspacing (an additional 1 7/8 inches per side). We used economical and strong Cragar Street Star wheels on our ’57. The 235/60R15 BFGoodrich Radial T/A tires on 15x7 wheels with 4 1/2 inches of backspacing brought the tires in under the fenderwells but cleared the brake and suspension

Now, lets talk about Zero offset brakes.

 

[chevman57]

Personally i can`t see the benefit of doing the sub-frame swap these days with all the parts available for the tri five frame to add disc brakes, P.S.,drop spindles and even a big block if wanted. Seems like a whole lot of extra fabbing work for nothing since you have to rework everything to get the frontend to bolt on right on a sub-frame.JMO
Terry

 

[D.S.]

The radiator support needs to be modified to fit the frame and I still need to work out the front bumper and splash pan attachment.

After you take some measurements you'll find the bumper mounting is the easy part, the radiator support takes more time and more careful measuring...
What front springs are you using? The one I did, I used the stock Camaro springs and once the engine was in and all the front end was assembled the front suspension was compressed to the point it was sitting on the lower bump stops...

 

[mech393]

the fella with the the 55 when he was telling me what he did , first he had in his 55 was a chevy ls aluminium block engine that he got out of a police squad car, he used a 90s camaro trans, driveshaft and rear end, he told me this way he wouldnt have to shorten a drive shaft plus he said he was using the sensors that came with the running gear, the guages that were in his car were out of the 90s camaro, he said when he got the subframe it had the steering gear,disk brakes and sway bar, basically it was complete now it was getting dark when he was showing me what he had done but when i was looking at where the frames were mated to me it looked like it was the same withs the only thing that looked different was where he had mounted the frame to the upper side and blocked the bottom of the frame because he wanted to lower the front end. i asked about tire rub he said he didnt have a problem and never said he had to buy rims with more of an inset.im going to see if can come to his house and take pictures of what he did and ask him more in depth questions about this and try to clear up some of the questions.

 

[DW 55]

i put one in in the late 90's out of a 79 z28 .it looked and worked great but was a big pain to do.with everything they have now i would not do it in a car.now a truck is a lot better to do because they are near the same with and a monty carlo from the 80's works good in it.

 

[hotrodg726]

my 56 had a 80 camaro subframe put in it by the previous owner when I got it. It was a pain in the but to mount the radiator support and I ended up building a custom radiator support. it was a total pain in the ass and took several weekends to do. I used a qa1 ecomomy coilover conversion to get the ride hight right. If I had it to do all over again I would have gotten another frame and started over. I am happy with how my car works but it has a lot of custom parts in it now. if you have a good frame just use it and get the cool parts for it. In the end it will be cheaper and you will be happier with it .