I've been contemplating a new project. I've been looking at the 50's Chevrolet pickups, particularly mid to late 50's, but I like the earlier ones as well. I also have a vega that I pull on an open trailer. I need to get rid of something before a new project, and if one of these trucks could occasionally make the 30-mile trip, I could get rid of my beater truck. What do you guys think? thanks, Mitch
Well, I pulled an overloaded 16 ft UHaul trailer from McGregor, Tx to here where I am sitting in 1977 with mine. 283, Muncie 4 speed and too tall of a rear end ratio. That wasn't my wisest thing to do with the truck but it is what I had at the time. But I also pulled a 15 ft travel trailer all over the North West with it a few years later too and an EZlift hitch works wonders in helping the truck handle the trailer.
by the late fifties the sbc engine was released so if you are looking at a late 50s chev for towing you could easily build an engine and trans for towing and still have the look I've seen it done alot.
personally, i think slappin a vintage body on a newer chassis would be the way to go towing wise. i've got a daily driver 93 F150 that i'd love to find some old body for. e.f.i, overdrive tranny, cruise control and most important, a good stout chassis and drivetrain combo.
A half ton truck? The brakes would be be my concern if you don't have trailer brakes, and I'd opt for a V8. But... with that said, back in the 1970's I used my 235 powered '53 Chevy 1/2 ton to tow a tandem axle trailer with my Chevelle drag car on it. It wasn't much good on hills but got the job done. I did have wider rear wheels and 'D' rated tires with plenty of air and what he said.
This is my Dad's daily. He pulls his camper with it, a medium sized utility trailer, that's usually FULL of firewood. I don't have a pic, but he also pulls a 20 foot box trailer with no problem (it does have 4 wheel trailer brakes). The truck runs a stock front axle with drum brakes (power assist) , a late model ford truck rear (with air shocks for towing) and has a 400 pontiac for power.
Thanks for the help guys. Definitely will have trailer brakes. I think I will probably go this route, and will upgrade brakes for sure.
The thing to watch out for on any vintage Ford , uh prior to about 1967 is brakes and their lousy never shouldda been built 3spd transmissions . I have towed with my 1953 Ford Panel delivery and Flathead V-8. The truck will stop, well kind of . The transmission will probably not make one decent trip as in comming out of Washington D C to the Texas state line though . scrubba
I'm building pretty much what you envision. My goal is a truck that can get 15 MPG (hopefully more), drive on the highway 1200 miles in a weekend (long enough to hit a specific car show we go to), and can tow a car or camper. I started with a '56 Chevy 3600 which is a 3/4 ton. Three things make it a 3/4 ton: rear axle, number of springs in spring packs, and a thicker gauge frame. I bought the heaviest duty Mustang II setup I could find to keep the thing planted at highway speeds, and removed the solid axle + spring packs from the front. This also got me 11.5" disks in the front, and I could go up to 13" later if needed. It will also drop the front end 2-3". I can drop it 2" more later with dropped spindles if I choose. I went with a manual, high ratio steering rack based on feedback I heard. I'm not putting in air conditioning, power windows, power locks, or any of that fancy stuff, and leaving off the power steering pump will make the engine bay that much more straightforward. I'm going to leave the rear spring packs in place for now. The rear end that came from the factory took two people and an engine hoist to move it was so massive. Unfortunately, it was 4.56:1 gears, and lower gears are not available. I have a Ford 9" and an 8.5" 10 bolt that will both fit the truck. I haven't decided which one I am going to run. The Ford will be stronger, the 10 bolt needs a lot fewer parts. When I am done, I want something close to 3.7:1 gears and a posi. For the engine, I'm building a 4 bolt main with an Eagle 383 stroker kit with 9.4:1 compression and an Edelbrock performer-plus cam. I'm using 487 heads from a '70 LT1 that have been redone. These parts should give me a real strong, low RPM, high torque motor. I'm installing a high-volume oil pump, and a 7 quart pan to give it strong lubrication. I bought a 3 core aluminum radiator to keep the thing nice and cool. I think it is important to spend a bit more on oil and cooling for a vehicle that will tow a lot of weight The transmission will be a 700R4 with K case (the stronger case used towards the end). I am going to use a pretty low RPM torque converter, based upon the low RPM, high torque motor. This will take the power the engine makes, take the abuse of towing, and give me an overdrive for highway driving. The original master cylinder is a single reservoir system with no booster. I am replacing this with a dual reservoir, boosted cylinder for safety. I'm moving the gas tank from the back of the cab to under the frame, to give some room in the cab for storage, tools, cooler, etc. One thing to remember, is that these truck weren't as heavy as people remember. From the factory, the 1/2 ton trucks weighed 3200 pounds. It is easy, as well, to take some of this weight off during the process as when installing modern parts. When towing, this will make it easier for the trailer to "push" the truck around, so an anti-sway and weight distributing hitch will be important.
i towed my fed dragster with my 53 chevrolet never had any trouble kept plenty of stopping room it has a 235 6 with a turbo 400 trans 12 bolt rear with 3.42 gears
OK, thanks for all the input. Do you think a 55 that is dropped an inch and has a camaro subframe would have any particular disadvantage for pulling? thanks again, Mitch
It will pull what ever a Camaro with a similar engine will. I towed a 16 ft travel trailer all over the Pacific Northwest with mine when I had the Camaro stub under it. It helps a lot to have a load leveler hitch on the trailer though.
as long as the welds are good. i got this hillbilly buddy that has a 54 chevy and pulled trailers all of the place, stock and lifted.
I'll add my 2 bits worth here , My ol shop truck is a shortbed '53 F100. It runs a 400 ford , fmx and 9 inch rear with 2.78:1 gears. I also fitted a Jaguar IFS . with the Jag front I have power steering and decent brakes, the truk handles really well and is often used for hauling trailers, car transporters etc . If you're considering an old pickup with some sensible updates as a daily driver I say go for it . No way would I give mine up for some late model belly button! .
Unless you want to top out around 45 and be sweating to make it up any decent hill and then praying on the way down, as others have said, just drop in a bigger motor w/ some better brakes and you're good to go. Those are easy upgrades and you don't really need to go adding IFS or swapping frames. If anything else, maybe adapt in some power steering if you can to help making the trailer back and forth turns a bit less tedious and shoulder busting. For a Chevy, I would be shocked if there wasn't already some kits you can just buy to make it easy for you for both front and rear disc brakes and power steering.
I know the towing capacity of my 57 Ranchero is 500#s more than my 57 f100....Pretty interesting....Just scared of stopping though...
Back in the day, people towed with 50s pickups all the time. They also towed with 50s cars. Of course allowances have to be made for stopping distances, but that's the case with most any towing situation. I towed a Plymouth Duster several hundred miles with my 53 F100. It pulled just fine. Stopping took longer, but not scary longer. And I drove less than the speed limit, just to be safe.
I'd go for the modern chassis if you intend on doing serious towing, but if its only once a year, upgrade the brakes, add a little more power and do it. My 50 Dodge is mounted on an 80 Dodge 4x4 chassis. Gene
Sorry to revive this old thread, but it took a while for me to find a truck (1955 1/2 ton). What do you guys use for a hitch, custom?. Can't find any manufacturers out there, and surely can't use the bumper hitch.
Can't help on the hitch but, If you are still thinking about a camaro clip check out ----TECH:Camaro Clip in your 58 chevy in one day!----- covers the install completely.
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <woNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> Build a custom hitch or take a after market class 3 hitch and re fit it to your truck, I have towed a 16 camper all over the country with 3 different hot rods, 38 Chevy pickup, 50 Chevy sedan, 37 Nash they all towed well and they all had V8 autos, but you need to up grade the brakes and I would have brakes on the trailer for sure. They all had more power towing up hill then my Tahoe.
I modified a universal sport utility class III Hitch for mr 59 ElCamino. It works great and cost less than $200 Sent from my iPhone using TJJ
use a weight distributing hitch and have either electric or surge breaks and you will be fine half ton chevy trucks used the same disk brakepads as a camaro in the 70's
Some of those repro chassis like Elplacko (Industrial Chassis Inc) does would work. New brakes and chassis boxing is a good investment. Even take a 2nd look at the steering.
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