The Four-Bar Full Monty: Art Morrison’s Rear Clip for AD Chevys

Back in the good old days of my youthful ignorance (the youth is long gone, but …), the local muffler shop was the first stop on my “to do” list with every old truck I acquired: first and foremost, the sound (dual glasspacks); then the required suspension mods (torching the springs). If it didn’t rap just right or nearly rip the rear bumper off coming in and out of driveways, it wasn’t good enough to drive yet. Obviously, those priorities had nothing to do with safety, or performance for that matter.

Thirty-some years later, the only thing a torch is used for these days is cutting old rear suspensions “out” (however, the muffler man is still visited on occasion for those same duals!). Leaf springs serve(d) their purpose, but aren’t well-suited for many modern classic truck applications. So, what is better suited? Well, it all depends on not only your application, but the various features (ride height, wheel/tire choice, exhaust) as well as the manner in which the truck is driven. Excluding the adjustable suspension category, you have three main options: four-link, two-link/trailing arm, and four-bar; each adjustable setup keeps the rearend centered and sets pinion angle/prevents roll, but unlike the leafs they’re replacing, do not support the weight of the truck, thus the necessity of using coilovers.

All arguments aside, when it comes to your everyday old truck, a parallel four-bar is the best suited option all around. For one, the four-bar provides excellent ride qualities and handling characteristics. But just as important, its parallel configuration with shorter arms allows more room for exhaust/fuel tank/and so on than either of the other two options, not to mention is the least likely to require bed floor or wheeltub modifications (keep in mind, a Panhard bar has to be used with four-bars). But there’s still one last decision to be made—which particular four-bar kit should you use?

Among all the various companies (and online outlets re-branding/re-packaging those companies’ parts) that manufacture quality four-bar kits, Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) is definitely one you can trust. How can you go wrong when you’ve got hot rodders running a hot rod parts manufacturing business? All the years of the Morrison’s personal hands-on driving experience (street and track) goes into all the R&D work behind each suspension kit, especially AME’s weld-in four-bar setups. They also take things a bit further with their complete 4-Bar Rear Clip, for which they offer for the 1947-1953 Chevy half-tons, as per customer custom orders. With the rear clip option, setting up the suspension is already taken care of—you simply weld the fabricated clip assembly onto your frame, bolt everything in, center your rearend/adjust pinion angle, and off you go. Adding a pre-fabbed AME rear clip is also a great way to ensure your truck’s chassis is square and true from the cab to the rear bumper.

So, since he’s always looking for something to fill his free time on the weekends with, we talked our Tech Center Manager Jason Scudellari into scrapping the old homemade “four-rod” on his 1949 Chevy and installing an AME Rear Clip. When he added up the benefits versus fixing all the issues with his old setup (bent frame, non-parallel upper bars, uneven brackets, binding shocks), no sooner was a phone call made to AME, an order placed, the Sawzall fired up, and his 3100’s framerails ready for a new rear!

Without going into too much photo “graphic” detail, here’s what the old four-rod setup looked like in Scudellari’s 1949 Chevy: though it had served him well (i.e., not caused any major accidents), it was time for an upgrade. Enter the Art Morrison 4-Bar Rear Clip.

As ordered per Scudellari’s specs, AME’s complete 4-Bar Clip (with performance adjustable sway bar and Johnny joint upgrade) includes a ready-to-load narrowed 9-inch housing, four-bar setup, and Panhard—all contained within their CAD-designed 2x4 rear subframe with pre-engineered, properly configured, and aligned crossmembers and bracketry. The single-adjustable Phantom series coilovers came directly from Aldan. — As ordered per Scudellari’s specs, AME’s complete 4-Bar Clip (with performance adjustable sway bar and Johnny joint upgrade) includes a ready-to-load narrowed 9-inch housing, four-bar setup, and Panhard—all contained within their CAD-designed 2×4 rear subframe with pre-engineered, properly configured, and aligned crossmembers and bracketry. The single-adjustable Phantom series coilovers came directly from Aldan.

First thing Scudellari did was to mark and level the rear subframe assembly’s territory (where it would sit when the stock frame is lined up once it’s ready to be conjoined permanently).

Image may be NSFW.
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Using the 3100 series stock wheelbase (116 inches) and subtracting the length of the AME clip, Scudellari located and cut where the joint would be made, using a piece of square tube as a “straight” guide for his Sawzall blade.

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Clik here to view. 07-CLTP-170700-art-morrison-4-bar-rear-clip-1949-chevy.JPG Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view. 08-CLTP-170700-art-morrison-4-bar-rear-clip-1949-chevy.JPG