We've been following along with Al Scudellari's '46 Chevy as it has been progressing within the past couple months over in the Primedia Tech Center. Back in March, we ran a story that covered the installation of a Chassis Engineering bolt-in Mustang II IFS kit. The kit installed in a few hours and the improvements over stock were definitely worth the time and money. The car handled, stopped, and steered like never before and the packaging was tidy so as not to clutter the frontend. Since then, motor mounts were fab'd for the new Chevy mill, as well as a trans mount for the TH350 transmission.
The existing rear suspension is definitely showing some signs of wear; the shocks are out, the springs are tired, the brakes need to be rebuilt, and it looks like the rear has been leaking a bit-all signs of a badly needed overhaul.
As our way rearward was being made, the subject came up in regards to the rear suspension. At some point in its life, the Chevy was the recipient of a 10-bolt Chevy truck rearend. While it definitely served its purpose, the rearend was tired, leaking, and the six-lug pattern did not lend itself to many options when it came to choosing wheels. The decision was made to scrap the used 10-bolt and install a new 9-inch Ford rearend from Currie Enterprises. While the rearend was out of the car, it was decided to install a Chassis Engineering complete rearend mounting kit, which consists of a new set of parallel leaf springs, shocks, and a sway bar to update the rear suspension to match the front. Chassis Engineering is a leader in bolt-in chassis parts in the hot rod aftermarket, and the ease of installation of their Mustang II kit made using their rear kit all the more sensible.
The rearend mounting kit is a complete bolt-in unit with the only welding required on the rearend in the form of the two spring-mounting pads and the sway bar pads. The kit comes with new spring mounts that replace the stock units and bolt in using six of the original holes. A drill is needed to ream the holes to 5/16-inch and to drill the two additional holes for the rear mount, and also for the shock and sway bar crossmember mounting holes. Other than that, it's just a matter of getting the car off the ground, sliding under it, and slapping on all the new parts-a perfect job for an afternoon in the garage.
