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Taking a run-of-the-mill chassis and trying to turn it into a sport suspension is a daunting task. General Motors tried this back in 1953 when the Corvette was first introduced by taking the chassis from its 1949 passenger car and sneaking it under the fiberglass tub of the new 1953 Corvette. While the passenger car’s chassis was upgraded at the beginning of the Tri-Five era, Corvettes continued to use this dated, ball-jointless design until 1963.
While that may be hard to understand, just imagine trying to make a sport-style chassis out of one of GM’s early trucks. Thankfully, Art Morrison Enterprises (AME) has created an entire line of GT Sport Truck Chassis that not only remove the heavy hauler’s harsh ride, but also infuse major performance and handling upgrades.
A bolt-in GT Sport suspension is a great way to allow larger wheels and tires to give your truck that perfect stance.
A Sport Suspension For Early GM Trucks
AME has been fabricating chassis components for more than 50 years and is a pioneer of the true, bolt-in GT Sport chassis. The company performs its own engineering, tooling, metal-forming, CNC machining, and precision assembly in-house at its Fife, Washington headquarters. AME has since engineered performance suspensions for many early GM trucks and here is just a taste of what Art Morrison Enterprises can offer for your GM truck. It doesn’t have to handle like the heavy hauler it used to be!
Even those very early trucks can be upgraded thanks to AME’s Builder’s Platform suspensions.
Engineers of these trucks were more concerned with gross tonnage than turning radius but today’s higher speeds and ride standards have long surpassed what these early suspensions were designed to do. Art Morrison Enterprises created the Builder’s Platform chassis to address these early pickups and create each chassis according to the specific year/make/model of the truck being built. While AME offers all the components to complete the chassis separately, the builder is responsible for adding the necessary engine, transmission, and body mounts.
A pair of 2×6-inch main rails form the backbone of the chassis, mated with mandrel-formed 2×4-inch front and rear sections. The chassis features AME’s Sport IFS, adjustable coilovers, an adjustable anti-roll bar, and rack-and-pinion steering. Out back, coilovers keep the four-bar setup in mid-travel and AME’s Multilink independent rear suspension is offered as an upgrade.
1947-1953 GT Sport Suspension
AME has designed its GT Sport Suspension as a bolt-in upgrade. That means, the GT Sport Suspension for 1947-1953 Chevrolet trucks has all the great features of the Builder’s Platform Chassis, but this firm foundation also features all the required body mounts and core support bosses.
AME can supply the various mounts necessary for a variety of engine and transmission combinations, as well as the necessary body mounts with the GT Sport suspension kits.
The 1947-1953 GT Sport Suspension is available with a wide variety of mounts to accommodate virtually any Chevrolet V8 engine, coupled with any popular manual or automatic transmission. There is also an optional pedal mount kit available to complete the installation even more.
Sporting Up A 1955-1959 GM Truck GT Sport Suspension
While this body style only lasted for a few years, it is very popular with enthusiasts.
As with the Builder’s Platform chassis, the company’s 1955-1959 GM truck GT Sport chassis begins with a pair of hefty 2×6-inch main rails with several benefits over the original design. This GT Sport Chassis is designed to allow for an unmodified bed. For those willing to raise the bed, there are provisions for the exhaust system to tuck in tightly for optimum ground clearance to give the down-low stance many crave.
The front of the suspension features AME’s Sport IFS with tubular control arms and Strange Engineering adjustable coilovers coupled with an adjustable anti-roll bar. The custom-valved steering rack will be a very welcome upgrade from the OEM box as well.
The rear suspension features a parallel four-bar, a hefty 9-inch case, and another anti-roll bar for complete lean control. The rear is suspended with another set of coilovers and everything is held in place with a well-designed Panhard bar to keep everything square.
The Ultimate 1967-1972 GM Truck GT Sport Suspension
The C10 and K10 Chevy truck craze has provided some excellent builds over the years. Upgrading to a GT-style suspension can turn one of these trucks into a smooth, awesome-handling daily driver. AME also offers independent rear suspension as an option for its GT Sport suspensions.
Art Morrison Enterprises has been building performance chassis for decades. When it came time to design the ultimate 1967-1972 GM truck GT Sport chassis, the AME team pulled out all the stops. This chassis is designed and manufactured using the latest technologies available to date.
The Art Morrison 1967-1972 GM Truck GT Sport Chassis was measured using 3D scanning to assure a perfect fit. The contemporary design and modern manufacturing provide for a sturdy suspension where everything is fit snugly up into the chassis. This allows for that amazing 5- or 6-inch ride height without anything protruding below the frame line, even the oil pan!
One of the obvious differences with this modernized chassis is the extensive boxing of all of the joints and cross members for ultimate rigidity. The suspension also utilizes all the tricks for adjustability and serviceability, such as Wilwood forged aluminum spindles up front that feature an integrated modular bearing assembly and serviceable ball joints.
Out back, a triangulated four-bar keeps the differential centered throughout the arc of travel without the need for a Panhard bar. This design improves lateral stability, provides excellent traction, and incorporates anti-squat geometry. The newly designed steering rack provides near-zero bump-steer and eliminates any steering slop.
Header Kits For Every AME GT Sport Suspension!
Having a GT sport suspension designed to make your GM truck handle is just one of the benefits Art Morrison Enterprises offers. The company also went the extra mile and collaborated with Ultimate Headers to create a complete line of headers to fit all of its GT Sport suspension applications! Headers are available with or without a ceramic coating. All you need to do is simply speak with the AME staff when ordering your GT Sport suspension and order the headers for your specific chassis and engine configuration.
No matter what year GM truck you are working on, the talented craftsmen at Art Morrison Enterprises are able to create a vastly updated GT suspension for your application. They can even incorporate upgrades such as an independent rear suspension or integrate a roll bar or complete safety cage with your chassis to give you the ultimate performance, rigidity, and safety. If you want to see everything that Art Morrison Enterprises has to offer, feel free to check out the company’s catalog HERE. Give the AME team a call, or get a quote online.
