Don, I rebuilt the total 1951 center steer front suspension for a good amount of dollars and still have 1951 engineering and technology, of which, in my opinion, it is not safe or suitable for trouble free road driving on todays roads. A M-II rack with disc brakes is far superior and more reliable for the money. Fred

Thanks for the input Fred. I'm probably only going to do the front suspension once, so this opinion helps.
Don

[b]FYI
I have two '37 coupes. I put '48 - '54 larger 11 x 2 1/4" Backing Plates, Hubs, Lining & drums on mine with a GM Power Booster and Swing Brake Pedal. It stops better than my new Taurus. Suspension, One '37 I add another front Leaf and the other I installed Coil Over Spring/Shocks from a Race Car and able to raise & lower the front Rake. I posted the conversion Tips awhile back.
As for Steering, I put Power Rack & Pinion on both by bolting onto the solid front Axle then shortening the outer Tie rods. It steers like a dream and goes straight down the Hwy. My latest conversion on a '51 Hudson I Installed 'Electric Power Steering' by cutting the Steer Shaft then bought two Borgenson Couplers to reconnect. it steers Great, but you need 12V.Nice thing you don't need brackets, pump, pulleys, or hoses and if fails reverts back to manual steer.......[/b]

Sounds interesting! Would you have any details/ pictures to share for the rack and pinion install? Are you comfortable cruising at 65 mph on the interstate with this setup?
Your coupe is beautiful. Mine is hot rod black and will probably remain that way - "all go and no show" is the plan, so I need to get the suspension right to move the project forward. Thanks for the reply.
Don

FYI
Ive installed GM Tilt Columns in both and the Power Rack I simply drilled the front solid axle then bolted onto the axle.. I only needed a short extensile shaft with U Jnt to connect Rack. I will look for R&P pics later since its after midnite, but here is how I installed Coil Over front springs by drilling the Axel then utilized the top Shock Mount. I did reinforce the mounts.

Thanks for that. I'm looking forward to seeing the rack setup - which one did you use?
Sorry to bug you with so many questions, but if I could slip in one more...
I'm about to remove the front fenders and grill - can you take it all off with both fenders together or do you need to take it apart piece by piece?
Don

Not bugging me at all, but NO, The '37 comes apart piece by piece unlike the later '48 - 54 that come off in a whole front Unit. I will look for a picture of R& P. Actually, I retro fitted the first R&P after completed restoration. I may have to take a pic under the car..Chuck

[u[right]Steering[/right]. ]Rack & Pin[/u] Iooked thru my pictures and don't have the R&P Install, probably thought nobody would do it so I took a few on the garage floor. I just made a couple brackets then bolted onto the Axle then put a short shaft up to the GM Tilt column. HOWEVER, Since then I moved on installing an Electric PS Motor like many new cars have on my latest restoration, a '51 Hudson, by cutting the column & shaft then bought 2 - $20 Borgeson Couplers from Summit to re connect then ran a Pos & Grd wire to Key & Bat. No Pump, Brackets, Pulleys or Belts. It was a real simple conversion and had I of known previously, I would have put Electric PS on rather than R&P.. If it should ever quit, (Doubtful), it simply reverts back to regular steering.

[u]Front Suspension[/u]. They are strong because I raced on them and was pushed into the cement wall hard a few times and only bent the Torque Arm, The V8 weighs less than the original motor, which was very heavy.

[u]Brakes[/u]. The '37 are very Inadequate for your V8 Motor. A GM power Booster and Tilt Column & swing Pedal practically bolts in place... Regarding Brakes, newer Hudson 11 X 2 1/4" brake assemblys bolt on and are a Good Upgrade, but Ive installed Disc by fabricating a simple bracket then installed Chrysler Sebring rotors with a slight machining of the I.D. Bore then installed Camaro Calipers & Pads. If interested, I do have detailed instruction & pictures that I could E-mail if PM your address. Attached pics of R&P from floor. ..

This is really helpful. Time for me to get the front end body parts off and start assessing the front suspension for wear issues. Any info and pictures you have for the brake upgrade would be appreciated. My email is: don.mckiel@gmail.com.
Thanks once again.
Don

Sent reply

Hi Chuck,

I’ve been having difficulty sending my response to you – been trying since Sunday and it keeps sending back an inability to send to you, from the Postmaster. Hopefully, eventually, this will make it. I’ve been looking forward to hearing back from you.

After considering how I want to use the car, I've decided to go with a Mustang 2 type front suspension. Our roads here in rural Canada aren't maintained to the same high standard as yours in the US. I have to drive 1 1/2 miles of gravel road before I get on anything resembling asphalt. They run a grader over the gravel from time to time, but there is usually a lot of potholes. I think that the leaf spring front suspension would be pretty rough on our roads and I'm aiming for comfortable smooth performance (as much as that is possible in a hot rod).
I found a well respected hot rod mechanic who works out of his home shop about 30 miles away. He suggested that I dismantle the front body parts to save some money before getting the car to him. I removed the hood, nosepiece, front fenders, bumpers and running boards before trailering the car over to his shop. Of course it was snowing and icy - I got my 4WD truck stuck on a hill on his half mile long laneway and we had to tow the truck and trailer closer to the shop with a tractor so we could unload the Hudson and drive it into the shop. I'm guessing that it has been a long time since that car drove in the snow!
The mechanic removed the engine to get better access to the front end. He found 3 small cracks in the frame which will be welded, then the frame rails will be boxed. He plans to weld in a piece of 2 inch channel to further reinforce the frame before the suspension swap. I'll be going over once he has the car mocked up for the suspension so we can get the stance the way I want it - I'm thinking about something like a 3% drop toward the front, but I need to see it first.
Once the front suspension is done, he will set up the power brakes (the rear drums are staying for now) and address as many things needed to pass a safety check as possible until I run out of budget. Then I'll bring it back home and finish what's left and try to get it safetied and on the road. The paint and body are in good overall shape except there are a few spots where the paint has flaked off on the lower body (exposing clean healthy metal underneath) and an 8 inch area above one rear quarter window that has some paint bubbles and will need to be sanded down and redone. When I removed the fenders I saw that the car had been painted with the body parts attached, so there is some surface rust in the attachment areas. I was given an estimate of $10,000 for a paint job which isn't going to be affordable. I'm thinking if doing the body work myself, painting the attachment areas and reassembling the body parts, then taking it to a paint shop for paint. It won't be a show car, but I want it rust free.
The 350 Chev engine starts and runs very well. The headers are rusty and may be upgraded. The mechanic is going to check which automatic transmission is in it and whether the rear end assembly is a 9 inch Ford, as I was told. The motor mounts are being replaced with stock small block mounts because they had used drag racing type mounts and one was a little bent.
That's about where things are at for now, which is a long way of saying that I won't need the info on the disc brake swap. Thanks for offering. Any suggestions you have would be appreciated as this is the first time I've done some of this work and I'm sure you must have been through it many times.

[b]Hello Don.

Sorry to learn of your struggles towing to the Shop..Mustang11 is a good Choice. I may be able to advise occassionally on your project at cv.cars@verizon.net...I might be interested in the steering box and misc pieces so send some pictures of your build. Im glad you found someone to build on the side. .I found a guy that worked at a New Car Body Shop to paint at home so suggest you ask around for someone to do yours on the side too..... A Turbo 350 is strong enough & [u]shorter then a Turbo 400[/u] . The T350 fits into the center X nicely. I [u]would slide the Mtr & Trans assembly in together then weld an angle iron or channel across the X for the Tranny mount, then fabricate the front Mounts. Additionally, suggest get a Time Limit on any Outside Work...[/u].[/b], Chuck