Just wanted to start a build thread for my little truck. I don't know if it would really be classified as a Street Roadster or Modified Roadster by the NHRA, but the basic idea is a street legal, show-and-go early '60s drag style RPU with fenders, plenty of chrome, and interior. The heaviest influence is Dean Lowe's truck circa 1965: Some other influences:
Some of you may remember my old sedan "The Grinch." It was really a great hot rod. Fast and noisy, kinda wild looking, and - dare I say it - reliable! I had this crazy idea of finding a RPU body and putting it on that chassis. So I found some parts of one out in the CA desert and brought it home in 2021. My dad talked me out of that idea. The Grinch was just too nice and enjoyable to tear apart. Plus, it had a few things weren't 'period correct' - like a tunnel ram, 700R4, and 8.8 rear with coil overs. So now I'm rethinking the plan. Let's just build what I was wanting all along! First step was to make the RPU legal. The Texas DPS says that in order to be inspected for a title, a "truck" has to include a frame with a VIN, an engine block, four wheels, and a bed. Fortunately, that's exactly the list of parts I had on hand that day. Now that the state and I agree that it's a truck, let's clean it up. You guys remember my dad, right? Yep, he's helping me out with this thing too! I bought Brookville doors, tailgate, fenders, and a top kit. I'm sure there will be more. So far only the doors have shown up, so this is what I have sitting in the corner, for now.
Tangent time. The tailgate that came with this body had a few layers of paint, and very faint evidence of some square-edged lettering. I kept looking at it but couldn't quite make out what it said. So I grabbed a light and a pencil and went over each line to trace out the letters. LA VERNE AGABOND I can't find evidence of a V or an S, but I'm pretty confident that spells out La Verne Vagabonds, which was a car club just outside of Pomona in the 40s and 50s. In fact, Memo Ortega was a member at one time. That's pretty neat, this old body might have some SoCal hot rod history! It is completely stock so I don't expect it was anything special. But if you have any stories or club paraphernalia to share, I'd like to see it.
I've been gathering parts for a while now. A buddy had a chrome moly WAC axle made for a project that went nowhere. I bought that from him. It has no drop, so maybe this truck will sit a little nose-high. I'm okay with it. Another friend had a '57 big Olds rear set up for ladder bars and a spring-behind setup in a Ford. Perfect. Except that it's an open diff with 3.23 gears and incomplete drum brakes. I'll get around to fixing all that later. I ordered a set of chromed front and rear springs from Posies. They look great! Maybe I should have taken a picture of them. Squint, they kinda look like this. I'm having a new frame built by Cory with RJay's Speed Shop in Missouri. It needs to be strong so I'm leaving the serious chassis work to a professional. My axles and springs went to him for a few months. Stay tuned for that...
Transmissioning will be by Tremec TKO with a hydraulic clutch and QT scattershield. I have the Ansen-style hanging pedals somewhere. It will use one of those GM hydraulic brake and clutch masters on the firewall. I've got a shifter for the front-most position, but again, I'm bad about getting pictures of stuff. You'll just have to trust me. I have a local Tremec expert going through this one and adding a few upgrades.
So I'm sure you're asking yourself, "What engine is he putting in that thing?! Please don't put a small block Chevy in there!" Hang tight, I'm getting to it. A friend of mine sent me a picture of a supercharged, two-port Hilborn injected Hemi that could be purchased. Yeah! I was a little letdown when I got there. It's a stock '57 Desoto 341 with a gutted blower case over the original intake and carburetor, and some sheet metal work to disguise it all. That is a very real Hilborn injector on top, though. Aaargh! Someone was having some fun in the '70s, but this engine wasn't going to be useful for me. But the visit wasn't a complete loss. Tucked away in another corner of the shop was this injected big Chrysler. And this time, it was very real. I bought it and took it home. It's an Enderle-injected 354 with very heavily worked o-ringed 331 heads, lightened stroker crank, aluminum rods, domed Arias pistons, and some wild billet aluminum main caps. Someone had snagged the lifters and push rods but it was otherwise pretty complete. Being dumb, it took me a minute to realize the filled block meant this was never going to live on the street. I've still got it but this thing really belongs in a drag car. Back to the drawing board!
Even knowing you guys would hate it, I started looking at big-cube small block Chevys. They just "fit" in early Fords better than Hemis do, and the cost thing is always a consideration. I kept flirting with building one from scratch, but even an SBC project gets pricey if you're using good parts. Last week I found a blown and E85 injected small block on FB Marketplace, and it was local to me. So I drove over and struck a deal. It was a project started by two brothers, but both of them passed before it was ever put in anything. I still don't know all the details, but it's a 4-bolt main 355 with Crane valvetrain and a 6-71 GMC. Everything is fresh and clean inside. It even came with a run cart. After an hour of looking it over and adding fluids, we decided to see if it would start. And start it did. And that's how I ended up with a boring ol' SBC for my truck. I've got some work to do to make it look like something from the early '60s but that should be fun. I already have a tall four-port Hilborn set up for EFI that may end up on top. As you can probably tell, I'm still plotting and scheming this project in real time, so some decisions will get made as we get there. Thanks for looking.
Wow! Dat blower belt wine tho… SBC haters can just close there eyes and pretend it’s something else when it blows their doors off… Really looking forward to seeing this one come together!
The Jalopy Journal
