BOLT-IN PERFORMANCE FOR TRI-FIVES IN ONE INSTALLATION
The Jim Meyer Racing tri-five IFS kit for stock chassis will lower your ride 2-inches for a more nostalgic stance and narrow the front track width another 1-inch to keep the rubber under the fender.
The Jim Meyer Racing Products ’55-7 Chevy IFS kit is designed to bolt-on to a stock chassis using all the same existing factory holes that held the original IFS. The kit features GM spindles, 11-inch GM discs and calipers, GM balljoints, GM manual rack, tubular A-arms and aluminum adjustable coilover shocks. The kit is complete with spanner wrench, fasteners and instructions. If you need bigger solutions, Jim Meyer does build a tri-five subframe and a new direct-replacement chassis tubbed or stock. The installation story starts with all the original IFS components removed from the chassis. When all is removed, you may want to do some clean-up before the installation. The upper A-arm bump-stops have been previously removed on our subframe, but the instructions will walk you through this step. No, the stock orange subframe is not included with the kit. We simply used it for the installation so all components could be seen clearly and for ease of installation.
The first thing to do is locate the original factory holes on both sides of the crossmember that held the stock 1955-7 Chevy IFS.
On the bottom of each lower A-arm adapter, it is stamped either “DR” for driver’s side or “PASS” for passenger side. If you notice in the photo, on the left end of this bracket one corner has been cut at an angle. This end goes toward the front.
The instructions tell you what size and how many fasteners to use. All the Jim Meyer kits provide premium Grade-8 fasteners and Nylon lock nuts or Loctite when Nylocks can not be used.
Attach the fasteners in the lower A-arm adapter brackets finger tight, since the rack bracket uses the same rear fasteners.
Complete torque specs in the instructions cover every nut and bolt. Notice, the lower cross-shafts and the aluminum end caps were installed before the installation began. They still have to be pulled out and inserted through the lower A-arms next.
Put plenty of assembly lube on the lower A-arm cross-shafts before they go through bronze bushings in the adapter brackets.
Use ample amount of assembly lube on the inside-and-outside of the urethane bushings before inserting the cross-shafts.
As the lower A-arm shaft passes through the bushing, a washer needs to be inserted between the bushing and the bracket on each end. Once the shaft is through the bushing and into the bracket, use a plastic mallet to tap it through to the bushing on the other side and insert the washer.
You can use this 5/16-inch flathead countersunk Allen screw to tap the shaft into position the last ¼-inch, then install the aluminum cap and screw when in position. This way, you won’t damage the ends of the cross-shaft or splatter and grease. Loctite the screws that hold the aluminum caps, since they hold the shaft and lower A-arms to the chassis brackets.
Everything is completed now on the bottom of the chassis except mounting the rack-and-pinion steering unit. You can install the rack at this point and be finished under the chassis and go to the top next.
A simple adapter connects the coilover shocks to the stock upper shock mount hole. There is a bushing around the ridge of the hole that needs to be removed first. This upper hole is next to the center of the upper A-arm cross-shaft.
The lower coilover mount is in the lower A-arm and uses a spacer-bushing on each side to center it. Optional spring rates are available from Jim Meyer or Jim has a special big block coilover adapter collar that uses a BB spring on the coilover.
The tab with the hole in it, on the lower A-arm, is for the antisway bar and points toward the front. Jim Meyer presses-in the lower balljoints for you. Unlike the stock tri-five lower balljoint that points down, these point up.
To get the upper A-arm around the stock cross-shaft, Jim Meyer made it in two pieces. You will have to retrieve the cross-shafts from the stock upper A-arms. The upper GM balljoints will need to be installed as well. The balljoints Jim Meyer uses are very common GM items used from about 1974-88 on all mid-sized and big Impala/Caprice vehicles.
The modified ’70-81 Camaro spindle features a shorter rear-steer steering arm that connects to the rear-steer Buick rack. Jim Meyer assembles the disc brakes on the spindle and packs the bearings and adjusts them so all you have to do is drop the spindle assembly over the balljoints.
You can install the rack while you’re under the car doing the lower A-arm boogie. Since we have only a stub-frame section, it was easier for installation and photo purposes to do this from the top. Follow the instructions for the correct installation order. They have big photos with captions and are very easy to follow.
Install the rod-ends into the rack’s tie-rods. The spindle steering-arms have a non-tapered hole. The connecting Allen bolt goes in from the bottom and is held by a Nylon lock nut. Hat washers are used on each side of the rotating ball in the rod end. This allows the rod end to swivel around the ball during suspension movement.
This is what the finished product should look like with the optional antisway bar installed, except your frame should be a little longer than ours. Now you can see where the front antisway bar connects to the lower A-arm tab. The optional front-and-rear 1-inch diameter antisway bars are a must-have item for great handling and flat cornering.
SHIPPING / ORDERING / 2007 - 2008 PRICE SHEET