Technical – Installing a Jim Meyer IFS

Twenty-First Century Handling, Stopping And Steering – Installing a Jim Meyer IFS that bolts to original factory holes.

by Jerry Slattery

Most First-Gen owners don’t realize that Corvettes up to 1962 had 1949 Chevy front suspensions. If you always felt your car didn’t handle or stop very well, or even shimmied on occasion, this is why.

Jim Meyer Racing Products, Inc. offers IFS kits for over 72 different cars, including ’53-’62 Corvettes. Jim designs most of the bolt-in IFS units to hang from the same original factory holes that held the stock IFS. This is true with the ’53-’62 Corvettes. General Motors bolted a lot of their IFS to the chassis instead of welding. Jim Meyer Racing has designed a better, safer and more modern adjustable rideheight bolt-in IFS unit that bolts to these same holes, and offers rack-and-pinion steering, disc brakes, adjustable coilover shocks and optional 1-inch diameter sway bar. They also offer a 9-inch rear end kit for First-Gen Corvettes with a 7/8-inch diameter sway bar, too. In fact, Jim Meyer also makes a direct-replacement ’53-’62 chassis with this same IFS and rear end kit.

BEHIND THE DESIGN: Jim designs the new IFS around a 2 x 4 x .188-inch wall box tube crossmember with upper towers welded in position. The frame pads have the same bolt pattern and bolt directly to the stock GM mounting points. The new unit features 7/8-inch x .156-inch wall D.O.M. (drawn over mandrel) tubular upper A-arms and 1-inch x .156-inch wall D.O.M. lower tubular A-arms. For greatly improved stopping power over the old drum brakes, Jim uses 11-inch GM disc brake rotors, calipers, (upper-and-lower) ball joints, and GM bearings on custom Jim Meyer cast-steel spindles with 4130 chrome-moly bearing snouts pressed into the spindle housing. He offers optional 2-inch drop spindles with his name on them, too. For great handling, a manual quick-turn rack comes standard in the kit. A different steering column, or modifications to the bottom of the stock column, are necessary to connect to the new rack. Jim Meyer does offer an upper steering column modification kit that will convert the stock column. Even though the new IFS kit bolts to the same factory holes, Jim Meyer went one step further and added a 3-inch weldable tab between the upper tower and the frame for maximum strength.

One of the most popular features about the ’53-’62 Jim Meyer IFS and most of his other bolt-in or weld-in IFS, is their adjustable ride-height feature. Jim has designed the upper tower to have a three position coilover shock mount, for about 3 to 4 inches of ride-height adjustment for the stance you like best. The ride quality is handled by QA1 coilover shocks.

Since you’ll probably be going from a drum/drum system to a disc/drum system, Jim Meyer offers a couple of optional brake kits. The optional manual kit includes a 1 1/16-inch bore dualchamber master cylinder, rear brake (Wilwood) proportioning valve, master cylinder extension tube (to move the m/c away from the firewall), a longer brake rod, two stainless braided hoses, a Tfitting and plug, and a 60-inch length of new brake line. The manual kit and the power brake kit both T into your existing brake line system by plugging the rear of the original T.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The IFS unit can be installed at home in three-to-four 8-hour days, depending on how much help you have. You’ll need to raise the vehicle about 24 inches or more. A drive-on lift is ideal too. Basic hand tools and a floor jack will be necessary. Once you remove the old ’49 Chevy IFS, you’ll see exactly where and how the new IFS goes back under the frame. As you’ll see in the photos, the stock engine mounts on the inside of the frame rails (on this ’62) had to be trimmed off with a SAWS-ALL and welded to the bottom edge of the frame for extra clearance for the mounting pad. You’ll also need to weld the two upper tower supports to the frame from the top. If you don’t have a welder or can’t weld, get a friend to make the two three-inch welds on the upper tower-to-frame.

The Twenty-First Century couldn’t be a better time to upgrade your First-Gen Corvette without cutting up the chassis. With this installation and all the options available, it will make your old ride a new pleasure to drive.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Jim Meyer Racing Products, Inc.
Order: (800) 824-1752
Tech: (541 994-7717
www.jimmeyerracing.com

American Brake And Steering
(714) 771-6549
Email: info@abspowerbrake.com
www.abspowerbrake .com

1. With the stock IFS separated from the frame, you can see that the aluminum shims GM used to space the IFS away from the frame. Leave the shims in place, then you won’t have to trim the engine support bracket that goes under the frame. Eight bolts on each frame rail hold the IFS to the rails.

2. The original front engine bracket support to the block wraps under the frame at the front of the mounting pad. It’s best to reuse these stock shims that are the same thickness as the bracket. This puts the new Jim Meyer IFS on a level mounting plane without having to remove the bottom part of the bracket under the frame (as shown). For this installation they elected to totally remove it under the frame and welded it back together. It’s usually not necessary to totally remove it if you use the stock spacers.

3. This view shows how the front engine support (inside the frame) attached to the bracket that went under the frame. Notice the rack shaft (center of photo) coming up along the inside of the frame to meet the steering linkage.

4. To accommodate the new upper tower and A-arms, it’s necessary to trim away some of the fiberglass inner fender panel, using a cut-off wheel.

5. With everything mounted except the spindle and brakes, you can see the upper tower is just at the outer edge of the frame rail. The holes in the inner fender are necessary to reach the upper A-arm for alignment.

6. The support tab from the upper tower that welds to the frame is actually bolted to the upper tower first. Then, it drops down to the top of the rail and is welded from above to the top edge of the frame. These two 3-inch long welds (one on each side) are all the welding required to install the IFS.

7. Standard equipment with the Jim Meyer IFS is a “Quick-Turn” rack (three turns lock-to-lock). Power steering is optionally available at an additional cost. To go around the stock exhaust manifolds and down to the rack, a support bearing is needed. Everything is included in the kit.

8. Jim Meyer offers a stock column modification kit. This new column bracket anchors the stock tube to the firewall and the bushing centers the steering shaft. A locking ring keeps the steering wheel and shaft in place. If you don’t have a mill in your shop, a grinder and belt sander could be used to produce two flat sides on the stock steering shaft, so it can connect to the double-D U-joint that fits on the column.

9. Looking at the inside of the frame rail shows the rack U-joint on the right. As the shaft goes to the left, it passed through a ¾-inch diameter support bearing that bolts to the frame rail to hold the support bearing.

10. This is what the power brake unit looks like installed. This is a Rochester fuel-injected car and the air cleaner had to be put on the shelf.

11. The new front crossmember is high in the frame leaving the engine in its stock location. The Jim Meyer IFS is compatible with either BB or SB rear sump oil pans and it gives you the same wheel bolt pattern, 5-on-4 3/4.

12. With all the weight on the vehicle, it measured 27 ½ inches from the top of the wheel well opening to the ground. The Jim Meyer adjustable stance IFS kits can be adjusted up to stock height or dropped 3- to 4-inches lower than stock height and still retain the same ride qualities. The car came in with a 27 ¾-inch measurement to the ground. This is ¼-inch lower than when it arrived.

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