Look what I picked up on ebay for $200

k folks check it out... I found my new RV. its a 1955 Chevy step van. 6 cylinder 4 speed. the plan is to make it drivable at first.. then make it my fun traveler. I have one question though. is this the 6 cylender that doesn't have full oiling and can gernade if ran at highway speeds for too long? and if so is there an upgrade for it? everything else i can handle on this thing. not bad for $200 I think. and i still need someone to haul it from san jose to arizona.

 

For $200 you can't go wrong ! Way cooler than a Winnebago .

 

hell yeah.. my girl wants to paint it flat black with flames.. one could put a lot of flames on that.. idunno though that thing would heat up like a mother even with insulation like we are planning.

 

it will cost you a lot more to haul it than it did to buy it but it's way cool. There is one down the street from my house behind an old gas station. Someday I'll stop and check it out. It would be handy to live in when my wife divorced me for bringing it home. I love those trucks.

 

Crusing speed in that without over revving the motor is about 45 to 50. They were geared for delivery use around town.

 

I think the 55 has full pressure oiling. Just gear it up a little put in a bed and have fun.

 

You're going to need to swap the entire drivetrain to make it do what you want with it. Your best bet is probably a large cube SBC like a 383, with a strong trans. Gonna need either OD or a gear swap to make it highway friendly. Wicked cool truck tho

 

Jeeze, $200, it's worth more than that as scrap metal.

Should have a 235 or maybe a 261 six in it, by 55 it should have full pressure oiling,the dipper went away in '54 in the cars anyhow. Look at the valve cover, if it's not the ribbed one I think that's the giveaway. Without some driveline upgrades it's going to be slow as all hell. But you should be able to put in about any motor you want without killing the rearend, I'd suggest an overdrive trans if you keep it, I'm sure the gears are like 4.56, 5.14, or maybe even taller.

 

Put an OD tranny in it.

 

COOL,lets see......radiused wheel wells and a straight axle and a stick tranny---Holy shit Holmes you got a huge gasser project motorhome!!

 

The '55 Chevy 6's were were all full pressure oiling - *not*
splash oiling - so there's nothing to really worry about there.
As far as upgrading something so it doesn't 'grenade' at
highway speeds though, I'd definitely check the rearend.
Most of these step vans were intended for short-run,
stop & go, 'door to door', in-city delivery work and so
were usually geared very low. 4.88, 513, 5.38 and even l
ower rear gears were common in these things. If you plan
any amount of highway driving, the first thing I'd do is
change the gears - or swap in another rearend - with a
more 'highway speed friendly' ratio. Depending on the
tire height, I'd look for something areound 3.70 to 1.
That'll get the revs down to an acceptable level on the
highway But then, your gonna' find that the stock 235
(or possibly it's a 261) 6-banger is gonna' be extremely
underpowered too. If you plan on converting it into an
RV and using for traveling, I'd think about swapping out
the whole drivetrain - engine, tranny, and rearend - and
replacing it with everything from a late-model 1-ton truck.


Mart3406
===========================================

 

FWIW, you can find mid-90s semi-floater rearends in Chevy 3/4 and some 1-ton trucks (my current beater is a G30 and has the semi-floater) with ratios down to 3.08 (mine is a 3.23). May be possible to put dually wheels on one so it fills the wheelwells on the truck. The full floaters, a 3.73 isn't too hard to come by and about the most highway-friendly they made.

 

THe best thing to do to that is set the body on a motor home chassis with a 454 and modern brakes. Very cool in deed.

 

Hell yeah, I would have bought it.

 

If nothing else for $200 it will make an awesome storage shed...........and portable too.

Frank

 

I evntually plan to find a 1 ton 4x4 to convert this thing so we can take the quads to places most motor homes can't. but untill then. get it going good.. and hey if it can't go on the highway, its an excuse to take the back roads and find some new things.

 

wow my stepdad had one damn close to this i think it may have been bigger tho..? it was a 56 bread van if im not mistaken and it also had a grany lo 3 or 4 speed with a six

 

Hell, I did almost bid on that. Good score, thought it was pretty cool myself.

 

i think i remember that years back ???????

 

That thing is badass! Is it currently running?
Bryan

 

-----------------------------------
A late-model 1-ton 4X4 chassis under it would make
for en ideal RV conversion. If you can find one for an
affordable price, I'd look for a 1-ton-4X4 with a diesel.
engine. That way you could actually afford to drive it
and put some miles on the thing.

Mart3406
=============================================

 

You are not alone ......

I hauled this last Summer for a HAMBer from Tennessee to Idaho


Jim

 

235 L6's went to full pressure in 54.

 

"Without some driveline upgrades it's going to be slow as all hell."
man he could probably sell those rear gears to some of the 4x4 competition enthusiasts. they chase real tall gears to get low speeds at max torque for hill climbs and such. having the wheel barely moving at 3500rpm is a bonus for these guys. might pay to drop the local club an email and switch those crowns out. pay a local diff guy to rebuild it with a more useable crown of your choice and you'll prolly end up with a rebuilt diff and be close to breaking even if the right guy wants those gears.

 

Should be really unique at the campgrounds!! If it were mine I would look for a small diesel like an isuzu and run an od trans behind it.....it's not supposed to be a hot rod so you may as well get great fuel mileage!

 

hey thats cool find...i have something not as big but plan on making it into a small rv that i can tow cars with...i decided the best way for me to go was with a beefed up 6.2 turbo diesel with a 700 r4...i am shooting for 28mpg at highway speeds..keep us up on the progress...

here is a link to what i am doing with my unusual rv..

http://s202.photobucket.com/albums/aa84/rcplumley/46 caddy hearse project/

 

something tells me a 4bt cummins would be nice.. would mate up to a dodge 4x4 trans too.. that would be nice.. right now i am working on getting it home so i can fix it from sitting for 18 years...

 

heh I'm glad ya didn't you would have got it for $251 lol

 

There's a build thread on here with a 47-48 ? Ford 1 1/2 ton with a 4bt, it would be worth going over that thread for some ideas.

 

gonna have to check that out..