There are several advantages to replacing the stock frame of your muscle car or hot road with a full frame, bolt in chassis replacement from Muscle Up Performance. One of them is 
the new chassis allows owners of classic iron to bolt on additional 21st-century performance parts according to Muscle Up owner Rich Bickle.
"We use a lot of parts on our replacement chassis that we use in racing," said Bickle. "Companies like Wilwood and QA-1 have products for both racing and the hot rod and muscle car market. Their products are very complimentary to what we are trying to accomplish with our chassis - give a customer the best and safest handling and performance packages available."
Bickle knows a little bit about performance and handling - he's won more than 250 short-track stock car races in his 30-year racing career and was also a winner in the biggest racing league in the country - NASCAR. If anyone can speak to the benefits of superior handling and chassis performance, it's Bickle.
"QA-1 used to be Carerra Shocks and we used a ton of those in my short-track over the years," Bickle stated. "I can't begin to tell you how many races I won with their shocks. QA-1 has that same kind of quality and performance in their muscle car and street rod shocks, so it was really easy for us to make that the shock of choice at Muscle Up Performance."
All Muscle Up Performance full frame replacement chassis are precision designed, fully jigged, mandrel bent, and welded to exacting specifications to insure the highest quality strength and product integrity. Each individual chassis is designed for the customer's particular needs using the finest DOM steel and tubing.
Muscle Up Performance full frame replacements are available for first and second generation Camaros, all 1964-72 GM A-Bodies, 1953-62 Corvettes, 1965-70 Mustangs and several other popular makes and models. Additionally, the company can also construct chassis on a 'one-off' basis for just about any vehicle. Best of all, all Muscle Up Performance chassis are an A-Frame design that allows for coil over or air ride suspension and rack and pinion steering. According to Bickle, that allows for suspension upgrades on all four corners of the vehicle.
"There are a lot of different brake sizes and shock packages to choose from when you are upgrading your muscle car or street rod," said Bickle. "There are all kinds of applications that Wilwood and QA-1 make in a bunch of different price ranges that we can put on our chassis or, for that matter, almost any muscle car or street rod. There's a big performance difference between a stock brake system and a Wilwood system and a factory shock and a QA-1 shock. These upgrades are engineered to improve performance."
While Muscle Up Performance full frame replacement chassis are 200 percent stronger than original factory frame and eliminate chassis flex and instability, the end product is a composite of all the parts on the vehicle according to Bickle.
"You can't use stock suspension parts, engine mounts, or rear ends on these custom built chassis," said Bickle. "Why would you even want to? Those parts are dated and inferior. You'd be wasting your money. We're not interested in that. Our goal at Muscle Up Performance is to provide our customers the best handling and safest chassis possible. There's a lot of brake and shock companies out there to choose from. There are definitely other choices, but for what we are doing, Wilwood and QA-1 are the best. They are very competitively priced and they produce a great product."
For more information about Muscle Up Performance full frame replacement chassis, or to purchase Wilwood Brakes or QA-1 Shocks, please call Muscle Up Performance at 608-754-4545 or stop by Muscle Up Performance at 4100 Newville Road in Janesville, WI Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. Central Time.
