Tri-Five Straight Axle Clip - Straighten Up And Fly Right

The first obvious steps were to start dismantling the entire front end of the vehicle. During the dismantling process, the guys at Salt City Speed Shop tagged and bagged every nut, bolt, and wire. It helped prevent migraine headaches during the reassembly.

Larry Elmer, Kris's father, sparked up the blowtorch to cut loose some rusted and stubborn bumper bracket bolts. Penetrating oil did nothing to release the fused bolts, so this was a last-resort measure.

Progress is being made. The front sheetmetal was removed and set off to the side. Now it was easier to look at what might be hiding under the skin of this vehicle.

Kris Elmer was amused after taking a close look at the Chevy frame. It was in bad shape. The frame was cracked in two different places, and the driver's side spindle was bent, causing some serious negative caster issues. The passenger's side of the frame was also bent and had some horrible negative camber issues. In short, it was sort of like a pretzel frame. If ever there was a candidate for a straight- axle install, this former wheel-hopping '55 was a perfect choice. There was no saving this front end.

This photo is actually of a complete Jim Meyer straight-axle chassis. We couldn't find photos of a bone stock frame, so we used this one to illustrate the measurements taken. SCSS didn't trust any of the measurements from the misaligned frame, so the guys chose a different method. Typically one would establish the wheel alignment and position by the wheelbase of the vehicle in question. In this case, the '55 Chevy had a 115-inch wheelbase. Measuring diagonally from corner to corner in the center of each hub is the typical method for determining where the new wheels and axle will sit.

Here's how they did it. First they located the factory jig holes on the frame in the front and the back. A measurement using the jig holes as a reference point was taken from left to right in the back, and from left to right in front. Then the center of these jig hole measurements was established. Luck was on our side-when the laser sight was used, the centers lined up perfectly. We now knew the rest of the frame, minus the front, was accurate and in good shape as far as alignment goes. We then measured 115 inches from the center of the hub on the rear axle to the center of the front hub on both sides of the vehicle in order to determine the factory wheel position and centerline. That factory wheel position was where we planned to install the new straight axle. We all like altered-wheelbase cars, but not an accidental altered wheelbase through poor measuring.

Using a plumb bob and micrometer to check the hub centerline, the SCSS crew made one more measurement, using the traditional diagonal measurement style to double check themselves.

After all the measurements were taken, checked, and re-checked, a marker was used, and the horizontal and vertical lines were drawn on the floor for future reference. Since the car was on jack stands and leveled, there were no worries about where to place the new axle and wheels.

Now the fun begins. Kris used a plasma cutter to snip the front of the '55 off. This is the point of no return; if we weren't committed in the beginning, we sure were now.

When the front of the original frame was cut off, it was deliberately cut too short. More metal can always be trimmed back to fit the new piece. The new straight axle clip was placed under the frame and mocked up in order to see how much more metal needs to be shaved off.

After further cutting, this is the result. More was taken off the bottom than the top, and this gave us some wiggle room for leveling the clip.

The very ends of the new clip were also clearance-cut in order to make it easier to fit into the channels in the old frame.