Does anyone have experience with a Fat Man sub-frame on a early 50s Buick? I have a 52 Super and I want to put a Nailhead in place of the straight eight so brakes and steering also have to be looked at. How did it work out? What about mounting the bumper, are frame holes already located? Did they line up? How does it drive and ride?
Can't say on an early 50s buick, but we put one on a 41Plymouth and everything lined back up with no issues. We had to very closely take the measurements they wanted, we reused the factory style radiator that was recored to handle the better cooling damands of more hp sbc. But everything fell right back into place There is room for error in the preliminary measurements.......and welding the new stub in place. So take care, measure,measure, measure, record them all. We set our up level on stands b4 even ordering.....took all our measurement, forwards, cross, and up from the floor, we never moved the car again till it was back on. I would use them again without fear
No personal experience with them, but Fat Man Fabrication is one of the few businesses that has been around for a LONG time, in the same physical location for many years. (Only about 75 miles from me, but less that a mile from where I regularly go up there.) I've seen MANY uses of their products over the years, and EVERY person has been pleased. Needless to say, being relatively local has a good bearing on local use...but if you have good products, with a good market, and update your products to keep up with the market, you'll be around for a while. They have.
Thank you for your replies, hopefully someone who has experience with a Buick conversion will come forward.
i did my 56 century it came out nuts on! 425 2500 sta converter 700r trans by bowtie 9"rear 3.70 grars Q=a1coilovers all 4 dis brks all 4 Fitech 30001 runs very strong!!! Toms roller rockers!
Don't forget about Jaguar front ends... fairly cheap and easy conversion, and excellent quality. You can get steel wheels that retain your original hubcaps, it will look completely original on the outside if you want it to. Rack and pinion steering, dual piston disc brakes, a spring rate that's pretty good for these cars, and mine was under $500 installed. I can comfortably go 90 in it. Any more than that and aerodynamics kick in... Bumper mounting is 100% unaffected because you keep the front 16 inches (roughly) of your frame.
My 53 Super has an Olds cutlass clip about 79, 80 put on by PO, 11 inch discs, nice ride tight steering an brakes.
