1951 Chevy Sport Coupe - Project '51 For $15K Part 2

With the rearend assembly out of the way, it was time to start grinding ... and grinding some more. Followed by drilling, prying, hammering, and some more grinding, it took some persistence and shaky arms, but we finally got the 16 rivets out of the frame.

GM used some sort of mega-rivets in the '50s. Even when the brackets finally pulled off, we were stuck working the rivets loose. Use care not to damage the chassis when working the rivets and brackets away.

We traded the grinder for a drill and started installing the Chassis Engineering brackets. The front brackets use three of the original rivet holes, so we bolted them in place and then marked the location of the fourth hole. Note the location of the indent on the bracket as they point rearward and in.

The date code on the axle tube was JB G 194 2 which equates to: JB (gear ratio and in this case it's a 3.08:1), G (built at Detroit Gear and Axle), 194 (the day of the year), 2 (assembled by the second shift). We were tickled with the gear ratio as we won't have to fret about highway rpm and can go with a cheap and easy TH350.

The rear brackets use two of the original rivet holes and require two more to be drilled. Also note that the indents on the bracket face in and forward. Also, when you're working on the passenger side, the spare tire well requires some nimble fingers to get a bolt in place.

We were able to score a rearend from a '74 Nova for $125. You'll need to make sure to find one that was originally fit with multi-leaf springs. Also, the correct unit will measure 42-1/2 inches from the center of the spring perches.

With all of the holes drilled it was time for assembly. We bolted the front brackets in position with the new hardware supplied from Chassis Engineering. Lock washers were in place but we added a drop of Blue Loctite just for peace of mind.

We used the help of a bottle jack to support the new leaf springs to align the front brackets in location to get the bolts installed.