Nice!!! I like to think of it as a $50 engine and a $650 transmission!!! Thats awesome homie, nice work!
keep it up dude, its looking good. Hope you didn't do any damage without that radiator being there (just thinking about a hot spot in the cylinder head). Sounds good though! Did you do a compression check on the cylinders?
sqrlnuts, With the leafs removed do the remaining one still "bow" upward or are they flat? Or even bowed downward? Is it a Sid's dropped axle, or whose?
I have not done a compression check yet. I have the equipment just have not got around to it. Hey Dan, I would say they are slightly bowed up but not alot. I think I will need to add at least one more if not two leafs so the ride is not crap. This was a used CPP drop axle I purchased. Not yet, I need to get those on order I bought it used from Classic Gary a guy on this board who is out in Albuquerque.
Has anyone ever converted the original 3 speed shifter to work a 350TH trans? I think that would be slick.
You'd probably want to use an original Hydramatic shifter, but you'd have to modify the gate. I'm planning to do that on my 57 suburban....haven't got it all figured out yet though.
i have officially subscribed to this. I'm just starting on a similar build up of my 56 Chevy. great job so far on the progress
Jim, do you have a picture of the hydramatic shifter, can't locate it on google. When you mean modify the gate, you talking about what detents and stops the shifter in between the P-R-N-D-2-1 ?? Welcome and thanks!!!
here's one on the internet. http://rusticricksculpture.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/50dash025.jpg Yeah, the gears were in different places, so you'd need to modify it to make it work. I have most of the pieces around here somewhere for mine. Also the powerglide shifter used on 50-54 chevy cars is similar.
Well damn, I just read this entire thread (and all your added links too) and there is a bunch of great info here. I'm neck deep in my '56 build and have done quite a few of the same mods as you. I pulled my engine tonight, so the only thing left on the frame is the cab...wanted to pull it, but out of room and have no place to roll the frame to once the cab is suspended on the saw horses. Having the same issues with my steering arms clearing the tires and need to heat and bend them also, and damn it if I didn't go a bit too far when I bent the forward / curved part of the drivers steering arm (where the pitman mounts) as it now slightly hits the front shock. I'll need to heat and bend it inward toward the tire just a tad. Just wondering if you guys are at all nervous about how strong these arms remain after heating and cooling. Do you think we should worry about the heat cycles making them brittle? I know not to quench them with water or any other way, just curious if slow air cooling leaves the original strength in tact. Also, has anyone heard anything about 66 to 67 Mustang gas tanks fitting really well in the rear frame area? Apparently they have a flat top surface with flanges that will sit right on top of the frame. Also, the guy who told me about them said the filler ends up right behind the license plate and that the filler tube is baffled so fuel won't spill out when you launch the truck. Looking to see if anyone has used one of these tanks... Great thread and nice build!
You will get about 1/4" more clearance once you get those Napa shims installed. It will angle back your axle assembly a noticeable amount, which in turn lowers the tie rod tube away from the springs
Are you talking about wedged shims to create positive caster on the front straight axle? What Napa part number are you guys using and how much pos caster does it create?
I was going to use the original 3 on the tree shifter for an auto but I am going the manual/floor shift route. But here's my thoughts on the shifter. I had thought about an original hydromatic shifter as well but if you have the original indicator, the gears are in different locations as compared to a TH350. I think the 3 speed shifter will work with a little ingenuity on the lower part - I had though of just using one lever out of the 3 speed box. then use a shift rod back to the transmission shift leverl and use the detents in the transmission to keep things in gear. A lot of the parts are hard to find to get a complete set up as they are fairly rare. Here's a few picks of the hydro shifter (the last one is a GMC style indicator but has the same shift pattern):
I would not depend on the detents in the trans to keep it where it belongs...I tried that once when I was young, and it was exciting steering the truck when it popped into reverse when I hit a bump as I was driving about 40 mph thru an underpass
Went camping all weekend upon the Rim, what a great escape! Came back and watched Hot Rod TV with Detroit Speed. I have never felt so outclassed in my life. What an operation they have....... In keeping with their high tech CNC approach I cut out an EGR blank off with my cut off wheel, drilled to fit, then re welded it to fit correctly. I also lined my front and rear frame cross support rails with fuel line to prevent a puncture in an accidental accident. Also wrapped the upper fuel tank contact points with 2 layers of free inner tubes from the local bike shop to prevent rattles. Thanks Cactus Cycle! Side frame rails will most likely puncture the gas tank in above mentioned accident, since they are not protected. Life goes on. Also, since I used Japanese electrical tape to secure said bicycle tubes and French made electrical tie wraps, this thread should no longer be considered a "classic build thread".
Pinion angle setup information. The chart below shows some extreme setups to ensure visualization without saying anything about angles. Would this be a correct statement regarding pinion angle setup? The correct pinion angle depends on the angle of your trans. You'll need an angle finder (available from Sears for about $10) to measure the angle of the rear face of the trans. Once you have that just reverse the angle and you'll have the proper pinion angle. The optimum is for the angles of the trans and pinion to be parallel, however a difference up to 3* will work. Ensure the cars full weight is present when setting up this angle. The attachment is from Inland Empire Driveline and illustrates the above paragraph. Would these be true statements??
might work that way. I like to leave the pinion on the rearend pointing down a degree or so relative to the trans, since it will "climb" up a little as the springs wrap when torque is applied...also they just seem to like having the angle that way.
Replace them ALL!!! They're cheap. Ask my wife what happens when old wheel studs break (she had 5 front studs break on her 51 in the mountains on the interstate). We changed them in a parking lot with a hammer afterwards, so it's not that hard, especially if you have a press. Cool project!
...although usually the only way 5 of them will break is if the nuts are loose, or the wheel doesn't seat properly on the hub.
Not to derail this thread, but they were seated properly, and the nuts were tight. I think it was a combination of old studs, over-torqued, hot from braking in the mountains, followed by a sudden, cold rain shower = metal fatigue 7 failure. My point was that it CAN happen, and replacing them is cheap & easy.
Got the shims, now just waiting on the new front U bolts. Should be able to final assemble the front end this weekend. Also ordered rear leaf spring axle pads, rear shock mounts, rear U bolts and my header reducer kit. I will soon need to figure out my engine pulley situation. Can I run my alternator and AC compressor while only using a 2 groove crank pulley and 2 groove water pump pulley? Looks like Alan Grove belt routing says its possible. Thanks, welcome.
What sort of wheel hop/ spring wrap can I expect coming from my 195hp motor going through an open 12 bolt differential with 3.40 gears? Just read an article on some cheap helper springs available from JC Whitney that seem to work on Ford Lightning trucks.
It might depend on how old/wore out your springs are. For the same money or less, you can build your own CalTrac style traction bars http://www.hotrodsandhemis.com/Traction.html
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