Hot Rods Had a good day today!

Today was a special day.

My new shop is pretty much done inside so I drove the Essex home from storage today. Yes, in the snow.

I've already started making changes to it. The hood sides came off so I could see what it would look like. Once the ugly old slant-6 is gone and a V8 is dropped in it's place it should look really good, especially with some Limefire-style headers poking out.

I plan to start tearing the truck apart on Thursday. Tomorrow night I'll get the insulation done in the shop ceiling so the bales will be gone from the shop floor, giving me room to work on the Essex. I hope to have it back on the road for the summer of 2012 and a possible a trip to B'Ville.

Happy happy joy joy!!

Before...


After...

 

Nice shop! Looks like you'll have a great winter!

 

You have come a long way from working in the snow on that old AD years back!!! Nice shop.

 

what size is it looks like you have alot in there

 

Very nice, love the truck!

 

OHHH, shop envy, big time. That shop looks pretty nice already.

 

........Real nice shop and truck too.......looks like all you need is 4 or 5 chairs for your friends and a old fidge full of Wisconsin,beer....keep us posted on that truck

 

very nice shop!

What V8 are you putting in there? (slant sixes don't have to be ugly BTW)

 

Thanks guys! This is the first heated shop I've ever had so I'm really looking forward to spending my winter evenings out there. Sure beats working outside or in a tiny unheated space.

Saints...the garage is 20 x 22. Not huge, but big enough to work comfortably in.

aj...sweet looking /6! It's not that they're bad engines, it's just not what I want in the truck. It was very poorly installed but the original builders, too. The chassis on the truck makes some rat rods look good. I need to change that.

 

Good for you Al !! Get r done!

 

Thanks Andy!

I started tearing the truck apart yesterday. The interior is gutted, the headlights, hood, rad, & shell are off, and I'm stripping the wiring out. It's such a mess that I'm tossing the whole harness in the garbage and will start fresh.

I also mocked up the new dash today. It looks 100% better than the old one. It's a stock Essex dash but I'll modify it a bit for the SW gauges.

I should be ready to pull the engine & trans in a couple of days. Once I get them out I plan to cut the recessed firewall out and replace it with a stock one. I want as much legroom as possible!





Out with the old dash...


In with the new...


This was after I'd already stripped away half the harness under the dash!

 

That dash looks 1000x better. Cool truck.

 

Great looking shop & Essex truck, I built 2 cars outside in gravel, it's a bitch. Looks like you got it licked................
Later,
Billy

 

Your shop looks nice and warm.

 

Great looking shop.......Let the fun begin.

 

Thanks!

Thanks Billy! I built my '48 Chevy p/u outside on a gravel parking pad back in 1998. I vowed I would never do that again. Only took me 12 more years to build a shop.

The other morning it was -29F outside. Inside the shop it was a nice 60F. Perfect for working in!

Thanks!

 

And the fun really begins...

Tonight I did a bit more dissassembly. It's now a highboy on the passenger side.




The Corvair front end install is pretty scary. The more I look at it the more I want to tear the whole thing out and install a dropped axle.










I also cleaned all the old dash plaques and stickers off the dash rail. I managed to get the plaques off without bending them and will create a small display to honour the truck's past.


I hope to get the drivers side fenders off by the weekend, then I can get ready to yank out the engine & trans.

 

Looks good Al. I would be inclined to agree with the removal of the Corvair front end and the dropped axle install.

A 4" dropped So Cal forged axle would look good under there.

For your shop, you will love the heated space, I don't know what I would do without mine.

I would have stretched the move in date till the inside was drywalled I think.

 

It looks like an early subaru brat prototype with the seat in the bed!

Looks like youll have plenty of good days ahead!

 

Thanks! I'm leaning towards a parallel-leaf/dropped tube axle for a replacement. I just have to determine if I need a 4" or 6" drop.

Having the heated shop has given me the enthusiasm to actually work on the beast. My smaller garage isn't heated and it certainly wasn't big enough for this type of teardown.

I didn't want to finish the walls yet as I haven't really determined if I like where the cupboards and such are. Plus I was in a hurry to get started on the truck.

I was wondering who was going to be the first to make the "Brat" connection!

 

I don't think I can agree with the paralell leaf and tube axle idea. Would probably work, but a transverse spring and crossmember along with the forged beam axle would be a whole lot cleaner in appearance and function really well.

Ultimately of course it's up to you just offering ideas.

 

That stock dash is cool, was it hard to find?

 

The wiring looks like something I might have done ! The parallel leaf front thought is a good one. It'd be "right" under that, but why do you want to lose the slant six? They're cool, tough, and it's not like you're gonna see another car with one anytime soom. Just say'n.

The shop looks great! I'm going out right now to mine to build a fire, feed "Milo" the new shop cat, come back in for some breakfast and hit it after it warms up a little.

Cheers,

Brian

 

I was going to ask about drywalling the walls. But it's been covered. Just take care in not throwing too many sparks around. Only a small amount of advise. During the rebuild......if you think about doing something.....do it. A straight axle would be awesome. Only you know what you really want. Have some fun doing it. I'm subscribed. Cool truck. Nice garage. My dad would go moose hunting in "The Pas" Manitoba every year. I went with him once back in 1979. Beautiful county. Gary

 

I'm still debating axle styles. The truck originally came with parallel leafs and a solid axle. I'll see how things go once I get it down to a bare frame.

Thanks! I'd been looking for one for awhile and scored it at a swap meet last spring for a whopping $10! It has a couple holes that need filling but otherwise is perfect.

Thanks Brian! I've been guilty of doing wiring like that too.
The /6 is a great engine and can be made to have a ton of power, but it's simply too long for the engine bay. I need to be able to run a stock firewall so the 6 has to go.

Thanks Gary! I'll be posting updates throughout the rebuilding process. Hopefully I don't bore anyone. LOL
Did your dad drive or fly up the The Pas? If he drove he would have had to pass through my hometown of Dauphin on his way there. I liked the area so much I moved back after being away for 29 years!

 

Today I removed the p/u box. I tried to get it off in one piece but the way it was assembled I had to tear it apart. I have plans to put a different box on it anyway. Once the box was off I was able to get the drivers side fender & running board assembly off. Tomorrow I'll haul everything over to my storage building then I'll start getting the engine trans ready to be removed.





Does this make the truck a rat-rod? I found the poor guy under the box...looks like he's been there awhile.


What's left of the box. I'm going to hang the tailgate up on the wall at some point.

 

Nice little shop! I am looking forward to seeing the rebuild...do you have a planned date as to when you would like to have it back on the road?

 

bscottstudio here on the HAMB removed a parellel leaf set-up that utilized an old Chevy dropped axle and Corvair steering box from his Essex pu. He replaced the front crossmember and put in a early Ford set-up using Chassis Engineering stuff along with a Vega box. Maybe a pm to him would be worthwhile. Nice shop, enjoy.

 

very nice

 

Thanks! I'm hoping to have the truck ready for the 2012 cruising season. If I win the lottery it may happen a bit sooner.

Thanks for the info, I'll see what he has to say. I'm definitely enjoying the shop these days...it's such a nice change from working outdoors!

Thanks!