Hello HAMBers! I'm new to this forum and I've got a Frankenstein of a project I wanted to share with you guys. I used to buy old wrecks in the fields and barns of my home state, New Mexico, and sell parts in Indiana where I was going to school to help support my self, but I've never had the time or the resources to jump into a project. Now that I'm a few years out of school and enjoy a slightly more stable condition, I thought no time like the present. So here it is ... my 53 ... errr ... 51 ... umm, lets call it a 50ish model 3100 Chevy. I had collected enough parts over the years to cobble together the majority of a pick up; a frame from a 53 panel truck, a 5 window cab from a 51 1 ton, etc., so I won't give it a specific model year until I have to ***le it. For a power plant I wanted to avoid stuffing a V8 under the hood cause it seems like every 47-54 chevy I see has one. So I thought keeping the old stovebolt would add a little uniqueness to the patchwork project, but the run of the mill 216 or 235 just wasn't going to cut it for me so I found a 292 I'm going to clean up and use with a 4 speed Saginaw. The question (or at least the first of what will be many I'm sure) I've got for you HAMBers out there is this: For safety reasons I want disk breaks on the front of my project. I've priced out both the disk break conversions for the current leaf spring suspension and the full independent front suspension conversion which will give me the disk breaks, but now I'm wondering is the ride improvement worth the extra cost? Let me be very clear, I'm building a daily driver here. I drive everywhere ... I've been known to grab a few friends and take off from my home in Houston to New Orleans for a night cause I had an itch for some good food and live music ... so comfort is high on my list of priorities, that and being able to cruise at 70 mph (still doing the math on the 292 + the 4 speed on that one). I've attached some pictures of the pieces and parts I'm trying to cobble together. I'll attach more as the project progresses. Thanks in advance for any advice for a novice!
The Jalopy Journal
