Note: Editors, I took a stab on where to put the post, thanks. I've had my '49 Chevy 1/2 ton for 17 years, 14 of which I have had this truck as my only vehicle, every day, every season. I consider the truck a 'period (50's) hop-up'. In no particular order: 1) Radial tires on stock rims no tubes. 2) Electric windshield wipers with two speeds, variable delay, and washer function. 3) Seating: sheepskin seat for winter, coiled spring for summer. 4) Front sway bar. 5) Front steering dampener. 6) Overdrive transmission. 7) Truck box, aluminum, lockable. 8) Third brake light. 9) LED brake/turn lamps. 10) Fulton exterior sun visor. 11) Electric oscillating interior fan, on me in summer, windshield defogger in winter (just turn bracket around). 12) Hidden music with MP3 player for hours of music. 13) Cigar lighter plug for accessories. 14) Dyna Beads, balance beads w/o use of wheel weights. 15) Speed Bleeders. 16) Resleeved in br***, MC and wheel cylinders. 17) SS brake lines throughout. 18) Peel and Seal on the floor, ceiling, one 6" horizontal strip on each of the doors. 19) PCV valve, replaced the road draft tube. 20) Aluminum 6 blade fan. 21) Tachometer. 22) Lap seat belts (my first install after buying the truck). 23) Rewired entire vehicle. 24) Battery, 12 volt. 25) Alternator, 12 volt, re-purpose of generator bracket, all-thread and 6 nuts. 26) Battery cable + and -, 2/0 27) In line battery shut-off switch (incredibly handy) 28) Dual 12 V trumpet horns 29) 1956 235 with the '848' head, had a splash oiler when I bought it 17 years ago 30) Dual 2bbl Edelbrock intake with 2 Carter-Webers 31) Fenton Header exhaust manifolds 32) 'X-pipe', lessens the rap upon down shifting and noticeably quieter I'm sure there are more, for example, I have this great MOOOOO Bull Horn that I hit when I'm p***ing herds of cows out in the country that gives me great enjoyment.
A good sane set of mods. If it were mine I'd add A/C if I lived in VA like you do, but not much else to change.
That's why I went with the Bombay Ivory top and the fulton sunvisor helps. I have a rebuilt 261 in the shop, will go in this early (I hope) spring.
Not having ac is like living in the 50's. I've got a 20 mile trip to work that can be through town or interstate-country road combination, when I come through town in the summer everybody is 'lost in their own wombs' inside these plush living-room-like environments. People shout out from the sidewalk, "How old is that truck?" I can hear them and interact with my fellow humans, Florida's fine for the winter but I've got to be living around hardwood trees. Those horns are 12V and loud, that's safety and the old stock 6V with 12V running through it sounds like a VW bug on steroids, terrible, comical beeeeeep!
Very cool... Where did you get a sway bar for the front end? Wonder if adding a rear one would make a noticeable difference as well? What are Dynabeads? What overdrive trans did you use? I also have a 261 waiting in the wings, anxious to get it going...
These Advanced Design trucks had one (sway bar) back in the day as an option, this one looks a lot like the original only beefier and has the poly bushings. They do sell a rear sway bar as well. I can do an on ramp curve just as fast as any rice burner, well maybe not that fast, which really helps getting up to highway speed to merge. Dynabeads are ceramic beads installed inside the tire, do an internet search to find. A friend gave me a beautiful set of 4 original rims with great paint and original stripes and I didn't want to ruin them with ugly wheel weights. I've had the beads on for like 7-8 years, 50 k miles and my tires are wearing perfectly, no problems at highway speeds. 1969 Saginaw-Borg Warner 3sp+od, love it.
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