Frame / Springs: Upgrade on a 1953 Commander frame

[toastervet]

If you wanted to upgrade the frame of a 53 Commander, what later year car would you have to go to? Would a 62 Lark frame work? Is the front suspension on a 62 Lark the same as a 53 Commander? Thanks

[candbstudebakers]

C/K frames 53-64 are 120" wheel base lark frames are 109" I have frames up near San Francisco if interested in one. now is your commander a C/K or a sedan?

[warrlaw1]

If it's a C/K, they went with a cross member by 55, maybe 54?. Some people call it the bat wing. If the rest of your frame is pretty good, that would be the easiest upgrade. Good luck.

[toastervet]

Mine is a c/k. If you heve good frames, I'd like to talk to you . Thanks Clay 951 662 6973

[oldguy]

The C/K frame was upgraded on the 62 - 64 GT Hawks. 11 gauge instead of 13 gauge as I recall. Couple of body mount changes. You will need the entire package. Rear springs and spring mounts are different, rear end is the same. Better brakes and slight improvements in the spindles, caster, etc. If you are pulling the frame, it's the way to go.

[johnod]

If you're going to all the trouble of changing the frame, and it is a modified car, why not check out Art Morrison, he makes what I'm told is a really strong frame.
Someone here on the forum used one, can't remember his name though, but someone else will.

I modified my stock frame, which was in good shape, with some custom tube cross members, what a difference, a much stiffer car now.

Good luck.

[ralt12]

Morrison's frame, while close, is not a bolt-in. Mounts need to be fabricated and there is interference between the Stude body at the front of the trunk area and the Morrison crossmember.
Like this:

But after you fix it, you can't even tell there was a fix made.

[johnod]

Whoever is doing your tin work does nice work.
What's the paint/coating?

[ralt12]

Ya, my guy is good, I could never duplicate what he can with the right tools. The coating is Lizardskin.

[JoeHall]

A GT Hawk frame is an excellent up-grade, also the easiest and cheapest.

[Baker54]

I modified my stock frame, which was in good shape, with some custom tube cross members, what a difference, a much stiffer car now.

Do you have any pictures you could share?

[Spzr53]

I recently acquired a chopped or make that a "butchered" 53 commander coup. It has a nice 2-3/4 inch chop that needs a little work around the upper windshield frame and previous owners grafted an 81 camaro front subframe and now the body sits 6-8inches too high--after the springs were heated to drop body! That can't be fixed and has to go! I am planning an Art Morrison frame with LS3 and 4L80E. Some questions for you if you wih to share.
Which frame did you use--2x4 or the long wheel base 4x4? Are you happy with your choice?
How was Art Morrison to work with?
which rear clip--Tri 4 bar, 4 link or ladder--I am thinking about the Tri4bar. Any problems other than the sheet metal?
did you have to enlarge the rear wheel house to get it next to the frame to make room for larger tires?
Other than raising the tunnel center section about a little, did you have to enlarge the trans tunnel and how much?
did the body fit reasonably well to the chassis?
any lessons learned you would be willing to share?

[StudegaryB]

I have a '63 GT Hawk frame up here by Seattle.

[hausdok]

Recently talked to the folks down at Art Morrison Enterprises

They've put their long wheelbase Stude project on hold until they get some others out of the way.

I've been kind of toying with the idea of what it would take to fabricate a center section to accept the monocoque front and rear bolt-on suspension clips, as well as the engine and drivetrain, from a Toyota Avalon and mount the whole shebang under a C/K body. That would be one interesting restomod - front wheel drive, powerful and smooth with modern ride and handling characteristics.

[ralt12]

OK. The Morrison chassis is a close fit, but not exact. I chose the 2x4" with a triangulated 4-link rear. Went, in the end, with 6-piston Wilwoods with 13+" rotors on the front, and 4-piston, 10.25" on the back (you can never have too much brake, in my view). The chassis lined up fairly nicely with the body mounts at the top of the wheel well in the trunk and the main mount at the bottom of the cowl, so it was a good start. It doesn't come with mounts, so you need to fab those; we used their body mount kit and a little imagination. As pointed out above, there is interference with the front of the trunk where Morrison has a crossmember that they use as a mount for their coil-overs. I used a dropped front hub, and ride height/stance, in my view, isn't radical. I didn't mini-tub the rear wheel wells, though if I had it to do over again I might do that, in the quest for a little bigger contact patch. 275's in the back on 9-inch rims, 255's in the front on 8 inch rims. I enlarged both the trans tunnel and the doghouse, though it depends on whose driveshaft you end up using. I used Driveshafts By Denny, and it's a big aluminum piece (diameter-wise), so cutting wasn't really a choice, and that tranny will be hard to fit in a stock location. (Biggest issue? Room for the stuff that plugs into it, like where the ECU connector is). Things I'd do over?--maybe a more flamboyant power plant, maybe manual instead of auto, maybe more tire in the back. Defintely go with block-hugging headers, as the biggest issue in the front is getting the steering shaft to clear #1 header. A real pain in the butt. In the end, it'll look a little like this: