55.2-59 center of wheel to front cab mount measurement

[59c10]

Currently working on a project that was frame swapped onto a 86 Suburban frame. replacing the hacked front frame to cab mounts.
Looking for the measurement from center of front wheel to front cab mount hole that has the front wheels centered in the wheel arch.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[unclebrad]

Not sure but you might find it here:
1956 Chevy truck specs index w links
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...to/56index.htm

or one of these:
55 Chevy Truck Shop Manual Links

From Old Car Manual Project:
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/

Has linked index:
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...uck2/index.htm

55 -59 Chevy Truck Assembly Manual:
https://www.trifive.com/d1/55-59Assy.pdf

[mr48chev]

The measurements in the GM heritage center archives should come close

You have to scroll down to the correct year. https://www.gm.com/heritage/archive/...tion-kits.html

Here I am assuming that they are calling the firewall as the front of the dash.

[dsraven]

if ndoing a frame swap will you keep the body the same height as stock? if not, you will notice that the front wheel may look like it is being crammed into the rear of the wheel opening because of the way the wheel opening is shaped. as the body is dropped over the wheel more it tends to look even more crammed in there and not centred. it is worse the bigger diameter the tire is. so, I recommend to decide on a tire diameter and get a set of "work wheels and tires" that size and with the offset you plan to use in order to get you through the mock up stage. that way you can play with the axle center line.
if you simply want the stock frame and body dimensions you could go to google, type in

55-59 chevrolet truck factory assembly manual

and click on the trifive site. it has a free download for the manual.

a lot of builds that feature a drop will move the front axle center line ahead about an inch and half. you could check the heidts site or possibly the totaal cost involved site (TCI) as they may have the instructions with dimensions they use for their MustangII IFS crossmember axle centerline. it would be a body drop in that case. they go from the front spring forward mount frame bracket centre point.

https://totalcostinvolved.com/tech/

hope that helps, it's some reading at least, lol.

[dsraven]

sorry, the TCI link was for the earlier models, but you could google it for your year.

try this one

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&sourc...gxKnlbjqF3L2d3

[dsraven]

or this, if you are gonna lower the truck about the same amount as a MII cross member would lower it.
the assembly manual would give the factory axle centerline relative to the flat surface of the firewall, or if you do some more dimensional math you could figure it out from the front cab mount centerline. the assembly manual frame dimension sheet will be very helpful to you doing a frame swap. bear in mind that the 55-57 frame is different forward of the front spring forward mount as the frame is longer on the 58-9 truckss and also the location of the rad support mounts.

[dsraven]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...hgNerbXG4oM_J-

assembly manual link

[59c10]

The Truck will be lowered, plan on using slighly smaller tires than stock in the front to combat the width of the C10 front end. I was just wondering if there is a number people use, as i know when doing a camaro clip people often change the cl of wheel forward 1-1.5" to center the wheel in the arch. i have the cab off and want to put the new cab mounts on in so that the wheels are centered.

[dsraven]

Got it. Like said though, it will depend on how much you lower it.
have you set up the suspension prior to prepping for the body install, like pinned it at ride height and set the rake angle? What year of frame did you go with? Have you decided on a tire size/diameter?
I would set the frame on stands and pin the suspension at the normal ride height for the donor truck. Usually the lower control arms are level with the weight of the original body sitting on the frame, driveline installed. That puts the suspension in a neutral position. When I did my frame swap I pinned the suspension with the original donor body on so it was at ride height, then put the 57 body on and centered the front wheels in the openings with 235/60r17 tires on. They are 28 inches tall. I used an 04 gmc envoy xuv for a donor. A little wide but I will deal with tire rub, with envoy wheels, when the time comes. I'll run the suspension through a full cycle with tires turned fully both ways and modify the fenders so tires dont rub.
What is your plan for that? Do you have pics of your build so far?

[MARTINSR]

There is NO WAY I would do that without putting the fenders on with wheels on and make sure it's correct. There is NO WAY I would do it without setting it up!

It takes way less time to do that than the time you will spend walking up to the truck and seeing the wheel out of center in the fender and vomiting.


Brian

[dsraven]

what I did on my frame swap was
-first set the frame on blocks and get it levelled side to side and front to rear, I used a digital torpedo level sitting on top of a 4 ft level because the bubble level only gets you close. you realize this once you use a digital level.
-check the new frame for square from corner to corner, it should be within 1/8 inch. also check for sag and straight. I usually mark each cross member at it's midpoint then run the laser (that is part of the torpedo level) down the lines from front to rear. if it is straight the lines on the cross members will be in line with the laser
-install the wheels and tires, of the size you intend to use for final assembly. hopefully with something close to the offset you need/ at this point I recommend using some used tires with some decent tread left so you can do mock up, welding, grinding, even primer and painting etc without worrying about ruining a high dollar set of wheels and also because all the good intentions of having the truck project done oin a short time may go by the wayside when life comes along. so when it comes time to drive it the tires are past their due date and the fancy wheels are not in vogue anymore
-set the cab on, sitting on some wooden blocks for spacers between the frame and the cab or sitting on stands under the rockers but supported so the rockers dont get damaged, then mock up the front end fenders and rad support, sitting on jack stands at the front with blocks and big washers as shims to get it sitting level. what I did was modify an old set of jack stands by removing the upright part, tack welding a plate with a hole in the middle across the top, then using threaded rod in the hole so it would bear down against the cab on the top end and against the jack stand on the bottom end. that makes height adjustment easy without fumbling with blocks or waher shims etc
-then stand back and see how you like the look. probably need to shuffle the parts around some to get the right look.
-when you get the look you like, for tire in wheel opening, then you can ensure the body lines are all level by using a string line hung along the body line from front to rear. magnets work well for this, with a spacer between the bodt at the fron and rear so the string stands off the body a little bit and doesn't get hung up somewhere. I found that some body lines are not that crisp so what I did was use some tape at the front and rear of each panel, then mark the body line on each peice of tape. it became easy to see the body line and how it is sitting for level on the stringline. that helps you find how much the body needs to be spaced off the frame for cleartance.
-check the cab for square on the frame and ensure the clearances side to side match. then fab up some posterboard patterns for cab mounts. some square tubing can be easily made to work for the front cab mounts and the rear is simply a cross member placed in the correct place.
-ensure you have a good set of body mounts to work with.

I didn't have a floor in my swap, because I used the donor floor and firewall still bolted to the donor frame with the stock body mounts from the donor, so I used a bar welded in to the cab from side to side above the floor height and then used some threaded rod from there down to the floor. this allowed me to adjust the height of the cab in relation to the floor very easily and with micro adjustments. then locked down with jamb nuts once at the right height. I was lucky enough that my donor's firewall was at the right place so it fit right where the old cab firewall was and my axle centerline was correct at the ride height it all came out as in the end.

[dsraven]

please post up some pics of yur project so we can see what you are working with in regards to ride height etc. have you chose a tire diameter yet?

this site has some helpful info. check the tabs for tire diameters in different wheel sizes. also you can compare one tire size with another for a more visual idea of what they would look like for width and height

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

[dsraven]

one other thing I would suggest is to always use the same reference point on each body part. like don't use the step area on the cab this time and then the floor area next time you check. these 2 parts may not be in the same plane so that can skew your levelling.

[dsraven]

I gotta apologize, I read right past the part in the first post about you taking over a frame swap onto an 86 burb, gone wrong. truly sorry man.
most of what I posted is still relevant to any frame swap though. try not to decide on some cab mount positions until you get tire diameter and ride height figured out with a mock up. heavy on the mock up scenario. also heavy on the right tire size and ride height. for 55-59 trucks this is a critical point. it is on other trucks too but these especially.