Speedway Motors Week to Wicked Day Three: Up Close and Personal With the 1947-1954 Chassis
The midway portion of the Speedway Motors Week to Wicked 1952 Chevy project kicked off with the team working to finish up what remained of the drivetrain, chassis, and wiring chores, inching closer to our deadline while the clock keeps on ticking.
So, as all of that’s currently unfolding—which you can catch live-stream on Facebook (Classic Trucks, Street Rodder, Custom Classic Trucks, and even Rod & Custom’s FB pages will have individual live video segments throughout each day) as well as the video production crew’s pieces that air here on the Hot Rod Network—figured this would be a perfect opportunity to dig into the pickup’s foundation and reveal all the various details of Speedway Motors’ 1947-1954 complete chassis. As mentioned, the components are available individually for use on stock half-ton GM frames, or as the Week to Wicked three-window will ride on, as a complete setup.
Speedway’s framerails were designed to factory spec (hence the parts compatibilities) using 7-gauge, laser-cut and fixture welded steel plate. Everything in-between is bolt-in, from the fabricated radiator support to the IFS (yep, 100-percent bolt-in crossmember!), center K-member, triangulated four-link brackets, upper coilover mount, and rear-most fuel tank brace—even the engine mounts, which work with both LS and small-block engines, simply bolt in place. Where else in the aftermarket can you purchase a chassis as complete that requires no fabrication to assemble? (That said, for any of the naysayers out there, there’s nothing stopping you from running some weld along a seam or two after everything’s been squared up and wrenched tight.)
As for component particulars, one of the highlights that immediately stood out to us were Speedway’s unique threaded ride height adjusters incorporated into the IFS, which allow for nearly 2 inches of suspension adjustment with the included Afco coilovers, which are used with the adjust four-link rear as well. 11-inch disc brakes at each corner, power rack-and-pinion, and framerail-mounted power brake booster/pedal kit round out the incidentals, but to make it “complete” complete, we just needed to obtain some reproduction running board and cab mounts (prior to mocking up and mounting all that bright yellow sheetmetal the last two days) and the 18-inch Rocket Racing Booster five-spokes with 225- and 245/45-series Falken Z-rated radials to roll it.
Keep staying tuned here and on the various social media channels for continued coverage—and for additional information on Speedway’s line of 1947-54 Chevy truck parts and accessories.
To read the original article, or to check out the build photos, click here.