I Can't Drive 55'. My 1955 Chevy Truck Build

After over 4 years of Lust, I finally got the truck of my dreams. Literally, I'm typing at 5 am after waking up thinking of POR-15. A buddy of mine showed this truck to me about 5 years ago. A guy who lived in his hood and whom he worked with had it stashed behind his house.

My pursuit began. I have had all kinds of old cars/trucks, but something about this one I knew would satisfy every need. It had the look I was after, It would be useful, It would be my daily driver, most of all it was cool as all hell!

I called him for four years. Four long years of rejection. I had other stuff on my plate, so I waited. Finally the Oh Shit moment came when he said Come get it. He was the second owner. It was restored back in the late 70's and he bought it in 84'. I loved it. It was the look I was after, down to the pinstriping....but not todays pinstriping, 70's pinstriping. Preserved.

It was sitting for 5 years. Brake problems parked it, then the engine wouldn't crank so it was neglected. Here it is straight off the rollback.

IMG_1662 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

 

A tree fell on it between years 3 and 4 of my pursuit, but I was already in love.


IMG_1664 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr


IMG_1668 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr


IMG_1673 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

 

Very nice.

 

Super little truck!!

 

My plans are this...

I work from home. I restore vintage trailers, so I thought why not have a shop truck as old as what I work on. I have a ride capable of getting me anywhere in the country with trailers in tow, but I want something that gets me to the hardware store in style.
It will be mostly original, with most of the changes already made. The 6 cyl was already changed to a 283 3 spd in the floor, which I love. I'm keeping the drum brakes. I may do power steering, but much later.
The first thing I did was find out why it wasn't running. It had been sitting for 5 plus years so naturally I expected the worst. Siezed up, unkown noises, all the stuff that happens when the guy says it was running when I parked it.
Well, it was running when he parked it....And it was running after I fixed the broken ignition wire to the starter. Like a champ. No noises, just the sweetest sound I've ever heard.

 

At the urging of a friend of mine in Kansas City, I focused on getting it driveable. He said " Whatever you do, drive it before you tear it down". So I went after the brakes. Turns out leaking wheel cylinders were the reason it was parked to begin with.

30 dollars later, with air still in the lines, I can stop it ( Well almost, I did run into my own building, but I'll blame that on the wife.)

I immediatly rebuilt the carb ( rochester 2B) changed fuel filter, ditched the oil bath filter and upgraded to a spin on stlye. Replaced valve cover gaskets to remedy a massive leak and tightened the exhaust clamp to stop the leak.

It's now a reliable runner. Made a few trips. Nothing big, but I don't think I've smiled that much since..well ya know. This was my first drive in it.


IMG_1756 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

 

I bought an HEI distributor and with some head scratching, got it together and it starts and idles strong now. put some new gauges on it, want to be safe rather than sorry. Until I trust it more.

IMG_1755 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

Started looking for wheels. Wanted something that fitted the look I was after, but wanted them on the cheap. This will in no way be a trailer queen plus I don't have the money to make that happen.

Found some rallies on CL but the color just wouldn't fly.


IMG_1785 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

So a little scuffing and rattle can later plus the Firestone Indy's I wanted to run


IMG_1792 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

 

I had to fix the upholstery before I could be seen in it again. I don't believe in half assing anything, so it had to be done right. No exceptions.

So I drug out an old mexican blanket!


IMG_1764 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

 

Very cool. Keep us updated on your progress with this one.

 

Now I'm up to my 3rd trip out, a little further each time. When a mad case of vapor lock gives my these photo ops.


IMG_1847 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

It put me down about 8 times before I got home. I re-routed some fuel lines, changed some filters and then decided to chase down why my fuel gauge didn't work.


IMG_1860 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

Any Ideas?

 

Nice truck! Glad you finally got it.

 

I'm now at the point where I've taken my tank out, cleaned it thouroghly, about to apply my second coat of Red-Kote tank sealer. Waiting on a new sending unit, seats out and I proceed to the " Well, while I'm here I might as wells ".
Out comes the carpet. Called the Truck Shop to get some floor panels. I wanna make sure that when I put the interior back in, it's solid and done.


IMG_1878 by LastChanceTrailerCoachCo, on Flickr

 

I have a painless wiring kit that I found in my shop from an old build I never finished. It'll go in shortly. I'm hoping to get the floor panels fixed, tank sealed, wiring done and then back on the road. I can tend to the exterior as I go.

I plan on lowering it eventually, maybe 3-4 inches. I'm running 255-70/15's so any input on how low I can go would be helpful.

Also, the dent in the roof from the tree... Any ideas. I'm not sure I'm up to swapping the roof skin. Should I try to pull it out first? swap skin as a last resort?

 

i like the direction your taking this.

 

Awesome. Keep at it.

 

(Apologies in advance for the length)

Very nice Blacklion and a LOT like my project:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=463698

You and I have a LOT in common with our projects. I always wanted a '55-'59 because my Dad had a '59 Fleetside that I "helped" him replace the straight six with a sweet, sweet running 283 and then years later with a strong 348. I was a kid but most of my initial mechanical learning came on that truck plus I rode with him a lot (Dad's been gone 21 years now) so I wanted one. I finally got one this spring; my '55 big window, 283/350TH/10 bolt. I bought it from a guy that had it less than a year. He only got it running again (badly). He bought it from an old man that bought it new in '55. He drove it til '89, swapped in a mildly built 283 then decided to stop driving due to age in '91. It sat undriven from '91 til '10.

I did all fluids, filters, belts, hoses, full tuneup and ignition wires, Pertronix, had some old Torq Thrusts, bought some takeoffs from CL, rattlecan rebuilt the engine, put finned valve covers and swapped out the single plane intake for a new Edelbrock, put a fan shroud on, had a local shop de-bitch the various electrical gremlins and now I've refurbished the instrument cluster and I'm cleaning up the interior because it is HORRIBLE. I've got a little cancer in both kick panels too and will learn to MIG weld (!!) on them.

Anyway, I'll follow your thread with interest. I'd love to hear yor comments on mine if you ever get the time to read my long thread over on the other site I linked.

 

those are cool trucks,hows the steering?

 

Mine's a bit loose - to be expected for a 56 year old vehicle. Personally, I'm planning on Posie Superslide 3" lowering springs, kingpin resuild, and possibly NoLimit's R&P steering conversion for mine. I am really tempted to clip it or put a Heidt's or TCI IFS system on it but frankly, I can't afford it all at one time so I'll do mine a bit at a time without having to cut my frame in half. Just my $.02, YMMV.

 

Honestly on mine the steerings not so bad. I guess its relative to what you're used to though. Not much play in it, and the bump steer isn't as bad as some of the old Fords I've had. It seemed better when I went with the larger tires.

 

Dan, I looked at your build thread, and it looks cool. I hope I can keep mine moving at a less than stagnate pace.

Going outside now to finish painting the gas tank. Should have a sending unit soon to put in it.

 

Ha ha, yeah mine IS moving at kind of a slow pace. Not QUITE "stagnant" but I have been moving slow since summer started to end.

 

So, about that knarly dent in the roof panel. Um yeah, I was doing the old floor jack and 4x4 trick to push out as much of the dent as I could when things got a little worse.

Any advice on how to tackle this besides rolling with a sunroof? I'm thinking while it's coming out I could cut half the roof out and try to hammer it out that way then weld it back. Does that make sense? I'm trying to avoid the 400 dollar panel replacement.

 

Instead of $400 and the hassle, why not use this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/stud-welder-dent-repair-kit-98357.html

In that picture it looks like the roof panel/gutter weld is ALREADY apart, is it? I think the stud welder would easily be the easier job than pulling the whole cab structure apart.

 

Nice find, nice project, and nice pics !!
Good for you, and keep them coming,
Cheers.........

 

Ouch. I hate those standing drip rails. I cut mine off (the upright portions) and welded it solid all around, then welded on a 1/4 round, cut from a 3/4" electrical conduit.....to form a smoothed drip rail. Anyway, I'd weld the drip rail back together, then with a buddy's help, pound out the dents in the roof.You might have to shrink the metal, as it's probably stretched a bit from the impact.

 

I'm in the middle of cutting it out. I'm one of those who jumps in way over their head and then learns to swim. I figured since it was coming off anyway, that would be the best way to get access to the dent. The inner panel blocks it from the inside. My thought is to reuse the panel I cut out. We'll see how that works. Keep the advice coming.

 

Here's the damage so far. I'm gonna keep working this metal till it's as straight as possible. Then gonna try my hand at putting it back in. Anybody see a reason why that won't work. The weld underneath will be hidden by the headliner. As for the weld on top, I hope I learn to weld good and quick.

 

Nice truck !

 

Nice trucks for sure man. Heres a few pictures of one my grandpa built. Its on a 64 c10 frame. 327/350 combo. Everything done by him including paint and bodywork.

Gauge Cluster was also made to fit gauges instead of ordering one

 

Very cool! What a coinky-dink, i just picked up a sweet little 55 truck too-and it too will be my daily driver. I got it because I wanted something cool to tow our tear drop trailer we are building. Mine too has a 283, and it was brake issues that parked mine. Wheel cylinders, shoes and lines and it will he back in the road. I'll he watching your thread.