How To Factory Frames Make
Installation a Breeze
Install a To begin at the end, this is our 1966 Chevelle project car as it looks following
the installation of a Chassisworks ladder-bar rear suspension. The ride height can
Ladder-Bar
be quickly and easily changed with the adjustable lower shock mounts.
Suspension
Working with a full-frame car makes
the installation of a new rear suspension
somewhat easier than when dealing with
a unibody car, as the frame rails pro-
vide solid, ready-made mounting points
for the required crossmembers.
With this in mind, a 1966 Chevelle After recording all the necessary
was chosen to illustrate the steps measurements of the stock location
of the rear housing, pull the
involved in adding a Chassisworks housing out from under the car,
ladder-bar system to a typical strip the axle tubes of everything
except the brake-line brackets,
framed car. and cut them to accommodate the
Neither a black-belt rating as a desired wheel/tire size. Shown
bolted to the housing is the
welder nor exotic, hard-to-find tools exclusive Chassisworks pinion-
are required for the home builder to centering gauge; used on any
popular rearend and in conjunction
complete a project such as the one with the provided worksheet, it
shown on these pages; the most allows any competent home builder
to achieve professional results.
essential items are simply common
jackstands, levels, squares, tape mea-
sures and patience. Of course, a flat place The narrowed rear is
put back under the car
to work is also highly desirable. and set up in its original
The main key is getting the rearend location. Pre-existing
assembly back in its proper place after a holes in the frame were
used as reference points
new rear suspension is installed, and this for the initial front-to-
is assured by measuring and recording back measurements,
taken from the front of
the stock placement of the axle housing, the axle tubes.
in relation to fixed points, before any-
thing is dismantled. A protractor or incli-
nometer can be used to determine the
existing pinion angle, while factory holes
in the frame rails can be used as natural
After the correct height of
reference points for the front-to-back the housing is set, using
location of the axle tubes. The frame rails the recorded measure-
ment from the bottom of
themselves are convenient for both the
the frame to the top of
ride-height and housing-centering chores. the tubes, it is necessary
One should also be aware that the to center the housing
from side-to-side. A level
housing will be going in and out of is used to assure perfect
position numerous times before the car numbers when checking
the distance from the
gets back out on the street. The use of sides of the frame rails to
a floor jack is highly recommended to the ends of the tubes.
assist in this area ▪
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1
Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Inc., 8661 Younger Creek Drive, Sacramento, CA 95828
After cutting the crossmember to size, the front ladder-bar brackets
are set in their proper, as-wide-as-possible locations and tacked in
place. (The minimum clearance from the brackets to the frame is 1-
1/2 inches.) The steel sleeves that ride in the middle of the urethane
bushings are used to establish the correct spacing for the brackets.
A protractor or an inclinometer set across the front of the
yoke will reveal the initial pinion angle, and an adjustable
jack stand comes in handy for returning the now-free-floating
Using material
housing to its stock attitude.
provided in the
kit, gusset straps
are fabricated and
welded to the back
of the brackets
for added strength.
This is how the
Chevelle’s fully
welded front cross-
member looked just
prior to its final
To determine the location of the front crossmember, measure
installation. Note
the prescribed distance forward from the housing and make a
the contour on the
mark on the frame rails. Next, measure the distance between
end of the tubing.
the rails at this point, noting the exact location of the drive-
shaft centerline.
These measurements
are then transferred to
the dropped-loop
crossmember, which is
marked for cutting. Labeling
the driver and passenger
sides of the crossmember
will help in maintaining its
proper orientation, keeping
the loop centered under
the driveshaft. Be sure
With their assignments as spacers for the brackets com-
to cut the ends of the
pleted, the steel sleeves are returned to their intended
tubing to follow the
homes in the middle of the urethane bushings.
contour of the rails, if any.
Don’t be
reluctant to sneak
up on the perfect
crossmember length
by making a series
of small cuts on the
tubing. A snug fit is
helpful for the final
alignment.
This is the last time the crossmember will be seen in the
daylight. With the ladder bars assembled and mounted to
the crossmember, the entire unit slides under the car and
is lifted into place, with the rear brackets snug to the axle
tubes. This is where a tight fit for the crossmember will
come in handy, to help hold itself in position.
Order: 800-722-2269 Technical Assistance/Customer Service: 916-388-0288
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Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Inc., 8661 Younger Creek Drive, Sacramento, CA 95828
Bumping the brackets into the housing will undoubtedly jostle it around; The housing is brought back out from under the car and the ladder
all measurements must be rechecked before firing up the welder. bars are removed from the brackets. The ears at the top of the hous-
ing, used for mounting the stock link bars, will be removed to provide
clearance for the panhard bar.
With clamps holding the front crossmember in place, the rear brackets
are checked for plumb and tacked to the housing.
Again, the steel sleeves from the urethane bushings are used as
spacers, and the brackets are welded to the axle tubes. Chassisworks
recommends also welding the tubes to the housing for added strength.
With the brackets welded to the tubes and gusset straps added,
the housing and ladder bars are remounted under the car. The
shock is then assembled
in the center position of
the adjustable lower
shock-mounting plate,
which is held in its
desired location and
marked for cutting.
Constant use of a tape measure
is critical to ensure the success
of any chassis or suspension
installation. Here, the distance
between the brackets is
verified after they are tacked
to the housing.
With the rear brackets tacked
in place, and after making sure
everything is straight and square,
the front crossmember is tacked to
the frame. The ladder bars are then
removed from the front brackets,
and the crossmember is
welded to the frame.
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Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Inc., 8661 Younger Creek Drive, Sacramento, CA 95828
The universal lower-
shock mounting plate
is then cut along the
line to fit on the back
of the rear ladder-bar
bracket.
These are the pieces included in the Chassisworks panhard-bar
kit. One end of the bar and one of the rod ends are threaded for
adjustment; the other rod end is welded in place. The bracket at
the lower left is attached to the axle tube.
After tacking the plate to
the ladder-bar bracket,
make sure it is straight
and plumb before final
welding.
The non-threaded end of the panhard bar is marked for cutting to
the desired length. The housing must be properly centered when
The tubing for the determining the correct bar length.
upper shock-mount
crossmember is cut to fit
between the frame rails
and positioned with the
use of levels and shock
simulators, with the
adjustable shock mounts
set at their highest
level. Once again steel
sleeves, fabricated from
tubing for the upper
shock mounts, are used
to establish the proper
bracket spacing.
Seen here are the installed upper
shock-mount crossmember and
the panhard bar, which spans the
distance from the frame on the
left side to the axle housing on
the right. Make certain that the
panhard-bar bracket on the hous-
ing clears the frame rails.
The shocks are installed without
the springs, and all clearances are
This is the fully fabricated upper shock-mount crossmember, checked at both full compression
prior to installation. The tabs on the ends of the tube were and full extension to make sure
added to allow the crossmember to sit as high as possible nothing binds up. Clearly visible is
between the frame rails, while still providing a sufficient the extra brace welded between
amount of surface for welding. the lower shock-mounting plate
and the housing.
Order: 800-722-2269 Technical Assistance/Customer Service: 916-388-0288
4
Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Inc., 8661 Younger Creek Drive, Sacramento, CA 95828
With clamps holding
everything in place,
the stock housing
end is welded back
onto the axle tube.
Don’t forget to remount the pads for the rubber axle snubbers
onto both sides of the housing, directly below the frame rails, to The housing ends
keep the shocks from bottoming out and beating themselves up. are fully welded,
and the entire
assembly is back
in place. Visible
are the notches
that had to be
cut into the stock
crossmember to
allow full ladder-
bar travel, and
the lower shock-
mount gussets.
With all necessary brackets attached to the housing, it’s time to
complete the narrowing procedure; Chassisworks carries the parts
needed for the home builder to do the job. The pinion centerline
gauge, foreground, is machined to work with all types of housings,
while the alignment bar, carrier adapters (left), and housing-end
adapter provide absolute precision when welding the ends in place.
Lacking only the brake backing plates and a bit of paint, the
ladder-bar installation is virtually complete, with the panhard-
bar bracket clearly visible. The bearing-mounting areas of
the stock housing ends have been cut off to allow the use of
the Strange safety hubs, which are bolted to the housing-end
flange from the inboard side and contain their own bearings,
eliminating the potentially hazardous C-clip method
of holding the axles in place.
The alignment bar slides into the housing
and through the carrier-bearing adapters,
which are installed in place of the carrier L60-15 tires on 15x8-inch
bearings. The housing-end adapter fits rims put a full 22 inches
snugly into the bearing area of the stock of rubber on the ground
housing end (which was cut off a couple as the Chevelle returned
of inches from the backing-plate mounting to earth. Visible on the
flange), holding the end perfectly square to right side of the photo
the pinion. is one of the additional
gussets (formed from the
cut-off ends of the front
crossmember) that runs
from the crossmember
to the frame.
HowTo-001_0204
Email: [email protected] Web: cachassisworks.com
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Chris Alston’s Chassisworks Inc., 8661 Younger Creek Drive, Sacramento, CA 95828
