Wowza! Looks GREAT! This is jumping ahead for me because I have a lot to do before I get to the mechanical stage, but what did you choose for the front suspension?
Hi, Jim! Didn't know about the 283. I got a major hankerin' for the 348 w/3 deuces. There is (or maybe was) someone here in the Valley who specialized in W heads. Saw him at the Goodguys in Scottsdale a few years ago.
That would be fun! A friend has one of those in the 55 Chevy (car) that his brother built in the early 60s.
Nice! I passed this one up some years ago. Knew I was far away from getting to the mechanical part of the project
Don't remember the title, it was very detailed. He may still be at Crushproof in Austin. I had a 58 in the late 80s with a 348. It wasn't original, and it loooved gasoline.
I'll try to find it. When (not if!) I get my '59 done, I won't care about gas. My goal is to spend down my retirement nest egg so my kids won't be TOO happy when I croak! (Although the boy may want the truck. I'll put in the will that he has to have it professionally appraised and give his sister half of the value out of his share of the estate!)
I misread, I thought you already had the 348. I have come real close to that twice. Even had all the mounts and stuff together. I do enjoy the six since most have been swapped to SBC now. I do have a GMC 302 waiting now for a little more grunt in the 6 banger category. Did your floor pans line up okay? I helped a buddy with his 59 and some of the ribs weren't exactly in the right place on the new stampings. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
I'm pretty pleased with it. The ribs line up well. Just wish it had had that lip that supports the tranny cover.
Almost there! All it took was a couple of clamps and a piece of scrap to get rid of the sag: Seams all welded. After they're ground down, it's on to installing the driver's side step:
Done with the floor patch. It's as good as it's gonna get. The ribs didn't match up exactly, but whatcha gonna do? Next up is the driver's side inner cab corner. It does NOT just slip into place. It consists of two pieces spot welded together and there is no way to get it into place without drilling out the welds and dropping each piece into place separately, then welding it back together. This also happened when I did the passenger side cab corner and step some years ago. When I drilled out the last inner cab corner spot weld that attaches it to the body and frame, the body snapped out about a half an inch! Had to rig up a ratcheting cargo strap to get it back into place. Same thing happened here on the driver's side. (Doesn't say much I guess for 50's era manufacturing practices!)
I think they put the parts in a jig, then welded them. It makes sense that it would pop out when you drill out the welds. They were not built to be works of art, they were built to be trucks
I met Jim around 1988, he moved back up to Minnesota about five years later...and he moved back down here a few years ago!
Been pokin' around your "fabulous web page." You are one creative, talented dude! The TV coat is insane!
Thanks! Feeling like I'm really back on track thanks to the support and encouragement I've been getting. Don't know how long it's going to take, but my goal is to post a video of the first time I fire her up! (Hmmm. Can a truck be a "her?")
Looks like your doing a fine job. Don't over think it, it's only metal, and if you mess it up, you can cut it out and redo it, learning as you go. I'm Keen to see it done with the 348, so I'll be watching to see it come together.
Glad to see you're back on it, it's easy to 'get lost' in all the jobs that need doing. Just concentrate on one, get it done, then do the next one, plug away, you'll get there. So will it be manual or auto? I have a 348 in my 40 mated to a T5, one day it will be a really nice ride. (one job at a time...) Re the 348, they're not getting any cheaper, if you see one at the right price, it would be worth grabbing.
The Jalopy Journal
