Projects New Shop Truck

Hey Y'all....

Well I got a burr up my ass an decided to drive something old again.... My last truck was sold off about 5 years ago and I have missed it ever since... Typical story right...

So I decided this time I would stay in the '55~'57 era Chevy world vs. the '68 I had a few years back. A few simple questions to the brotherhood revealed many options. But one stood out. My friend bought this truck for his Son about 14 or 15 years ago as a daily driver for High School. Neat little truck with plenty of Character. It has sat idle however for the last 11 years and is in need of some solid TLC.

I went down for a chitty chat last Friday and this is what was laid out for me!

Have a look at the shit... We will drag it home this week and the work will commence. Hopefully this is a fast build.... I've got about 45 days to turn this around!

 

Cool truck, looks like it could be put back to a runner pretty easy. I always liked those trucks. Wash it, letter the shop name on the door & go. Is that a stock replacement axle or a dropped one in the 2nd last pic?

 

So the short list for this will be as follows....

Mono-Leafs all the way around.
Dropped Axle in the front.
1957 Chevy Pass-Car Rear End w/3.55's
Redo the rear Brakes and put new axle bearings and seals...
New Shocks all the way around.
New 5-Lug Disc on the front.
New Dual Chamber Master with Prop Valve
give the 283 a Comp268 Cam and a quick Once Over.
New Elec Dist for ease of operation.
Edelbrock CB4, "If I close the deal" with a B-New Holley 600.
New Gaskets in the Saginaw 4-Spd and Jam it all back together.
New Duals thru some Flowmaster HushPowers all the way out the back.
New wheels caps and Wide Whites
Sound proof kit inside with new floor mat.
redo the windshield and rear window rubber.
new seals for the side windows and doors.....

Oh and a partridge in a pear tree....

Shit I'm gonna be busy!!!!!

Enjoy! I'll try to keep up with pics and words of wisdom....

Cheers,

THE-SYNDICATE

 

It's a beautiful Dropped axle.... Super nice job on it and has never been in a truck. That will ride on 3" lower Mono-Leafs. The ultra slick tie rod system was included as well.... So that will go under the steering arms to clear the spring.

 

That's a great looking truck., hard to find trucks like that here in "rustville" ohio......

 

Nice! I need about half of that stuff you've got laid out, lol.

 

i like it !!! keep us posted

 

Very Kool, make sure you post many pictures!

 

That looks like a real good solid truck to start with.

 

Just when I was getting over selling mine you had to go and post this. I've spotted another one and if I can't resist buying it it's your fault.

Frank

 

Wow... Dude it looks just like your avatar pic! How's Bout that... Yes it should be a keeper when done!

 

Sorry Frank.....

I went full force into this deal and am so glad I did... These trucks are so fun. I drove a '59 in high school and haven't owned that truck for many years. It will be nice to be back inside that neat little cab!

Cheers,

Robert M.

 

Well the GO-FAST shit arrived today.... Brakes and springs should be here early next week. We are headed down to haul the truck home tomorrow morning! Hopefully can have it torn apart this weekend!

Here's the goodies.

 

Nice score syndicate.... Keep us posted.

 

Wow, that is an amazing truck. And those parts just for that truck put all the parts I have ever owned to shame. Looks like a lot of fun. Keep this as a build thread and keep us posted. You are living my dream!

 

Nice and there's no logo on the doors.....awesome!

 

Sweet! Original V8 too!!!

 

No logo yet!!!!

 

Yeah the truck was an orig V8 truck with 3 SPD-OD tranny. It was also a radio delete option and still has the nifty little plate in the dash. The bullet to go back in is actually a '57 engine but is still period correct with no side mounts. I scored a sweet CB4 intake from a fellow HAMB'er today that will go on to help keep the period look.

I'm very excited about this thing!!!

Cheers,

Robert M.

 

very cool truck !!make sure to post the finished pics!

 

Well we drug it home yesterday without much hassle at all! Go things tucked away and then tore into the "newly rebuilt" 283..... Well needless to say it's being sidelined for my roadster now as it needs to be bored and have pistons etc etc etc.... No Bueno... But fortunately I have another Mill ready to go in the back ground and I just need to stuff the parts together. Hopefully early next week and the new 350 will be assembled and ready for paint/detail work.

Here's a few pics.

 

Well... A touch more knocked off the list... Most of the front and rear end components are painted and ready to go back together. The brakes arrived and we were able to yank the front clip tonight so I can get on with cleaning the frame and prepping for the redo of all the components.

The parts for the new 350 have been rounded up and it will be assembled later this next week and will marry up with the 4-Spd. Overall it will be a better choice.

Here's a few pics!

Cheers,

Robert M.

 

Most interesting things I have found so far:

1. The front fender was welded to the cab on the Passenger Side... Hmmmm???

2. The front shock brackets seem to be welded, "if you can call it that," to the frame. Very interesting..

Other than that there is rust in the obvious spots but nothing crazy! Bottom of the doors are wasted as usual but there isn't too much more in the cab. I think the Cab was slightly miss aligned on the chassis before the front end was installed which would explain the goofy alignment between the bumper and the front apron. This will be easy to dial in once I swap out the body mount pads and bolts. I will tweak the cab into alignment with a tape measure and hopefully the fender will follow suit! This will allow the front bumper to look "Right"....

Need to scuff up that firewall and get a nice coat of black on it. Same with the frame and then I can start bolting shit back on!

Cheers,

Robert M.

 

Well.... Still plugging along! I know we need rain here in California but I gotta say it's kinda holding me up a bit! Normally I work on cars in the garage but there is too much stuff in the way to fit this inside right now... Oh well..

So I did manage to get the frame cleaned, blasted and primed before this last storm. I'm now ready to yank out the front suspension and install all the new shit. I was also able to tidy of the 4-SPD this weekend and get it ready to go. Pretty clean inside but I went ahead and changed out all the seals to be sure. Gave it and the bell housing a nice coat and they are ready to go!

Here's a few Kodaks of the progress...

Cheers,

Robert M.

 

Cool stuff, keep the pic's coming.

 

I got tired of working on the gravel driveway so I went and picked up 4 sheets of plywood last night to give myself a solid work surface. I managed to get this down, jack the truck up and completely remove the front suspension last night. I'm going to just clean a few more little items tonight and should be able to start reinstalling the new springs and axle.

Cheers,

Robert M.

 

Cool... sticking with the Red? I might have missed it if you already said that.

 

For now yes.... I want the truck a different color but I also want a lot of things... The paint will actually have the perfect patina after it gets rubbed out so it's going to stay for now. If it ends up looking super sweet, I will proceed with adding some Tommy the Greek style scallops to the hood and fenders. These will be shot in black and then striped in white. I ordered chrome smoothy wheels yesterday along with a new set of white wall firestones from Coker! Used my HAMB Alliance discount and more than paid for my membership by the way. Very slick....

I'm also thinking about going the full monty now and replacing the wiring harness that's in the truck. The fella that sold it to me said the one in it is new but the wire that leads from the starter solenoid up to the fuses is completely cooked. Hmmmm??? So probably going to pop for the Painless Kit and use that instead. Their tech support folks said the 55-57 Chevy Car kit will work perfectly. Still need to sleep on that one but it will most likely happen.

~Robert M.

 

The catalog places sell a factory style replacement harness for around $200. It's plug and play, no crimping, no buying connectors, easy peasy. Just something else to consider. And nice progress, by the way! I wish I had that pile of new suspension stuff at my house, lol. Keep up the good work!