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

this is so cool, been thinking about getting myself one as a daily driver...

 

Nice 55 truck. These are so cool, I would love to have one. Congrats man, you are doing some great stuff there. Keep on keepin on!! ~sololobo~

 

I got the roof piece back in, at least to the point where I may have a body man take a look. I also checked into my heat ( or lack of ). I found my switch to be working but not my blower motor. As chance would have it, I had one that came off a Torino laying around and it was a perfect match. So the whole heater box got cleaned up and painted. I'll set it aside until I get the new floor pans in. They just made it in today from the Truck Shop. I just ordered the carpet, and am looking for economical ideas for sound deadener if anybody has some.

 

Black Lion:
What floor shifter do you have installed? I have a Hurst that I just installed, but it doesn't clear the seat (1957 Chevy Pickup). Is yours a straight 3 speed, mine is an OD trans. Is it a custom shifter?
Thanks,
don

 

It's a Hurst as well. 3-spd Manual. I love the way it sits right close to the seat. 1st and 3rd are hanging over the seat just a bit.

 

Great Project. Love your willingness to try. Keep it up. Cannot wait to see what you do next.

 

I finally got my floorpans in from the Truck Shop. I chose to go with an overlap method, because it seemed easier to do with my welding skills. I used weld thru primer and have seam sealer on hand. This is gonna be my one true driver, so it will never need to be correct. I'm happy to report that it is far more solid under there than I hoped for. Really do need just the floor pans.

Tip: Clean out the dry leaves from the cowl vent area as fires may start when the welding begins. Yes, It was funny ( after the fact ).

Anyhow. One down one to go. Headed out there now. I have a few days planned this weekend to get the painless wiring harness installed. So I need to get these in, then undercoat the pure hell out of the inside/outside.

 

So I'm done with the floor pans. Waiting on my Cab mounting kit from the Truck Shop so I'm gonna get to the re-wiring now. Like I said before, this is my driver, so function is key. I applied weld through primer, screwed them in place, welded them, then primered everything. The Seam sealer said to primer all seams first, so that's what I did. Then I sealed the hell out of it. After letting it dry, I began the undercoating/ sound deadener. I plan on painting over the undercoat with rustoleum enamel just to give it a little extra touch. Undercoating always seems to rub off if you don't coat it IMO.

 

Put in Sound Deadener from Lowes. I'm broke that's how I do it. While I'm here, I'm gonna rattle-can the interior. It needed freshening up. Then on to the rewiring.

 

What is that insulation from Lowes called? and what department is it in?

 

Not to hijack but it's Peel 'n Seal and its back in the roofing section.

Blacklion, Mine has rust through (not too bad) but RIGHT at the joint between the side vent panel and the floor. I have no welding skills but I DO have a MIG welder, and since it'll be under the Peel 'n Seal and rubber mat or carpet I doubt it'll ever be seen. Did you have any in that area? Do you think it'll be a LOT harder ot fix because its there?

 

Yeah, Peel N Seal cost less than other stuff and I've seen a lot of good results.

Dan, my floor was rusted through there too. When I cut the old out, I barely had anything there. The new pans fit against the vent panel tight, letting you weld it about 1/2 inch up the side vent panels. That was a much easier repair than I expected, and now I'm stoked to have a solid cab to work with. I sealed the area, primed it, then with the peel N seal, carpet and so on, I'm not worried about the looks of that weld.

I'll post a the best pic I have of that angle for you.

 

I will say that after that ugly display of welding, I did knock them down, went and got more argon/Co2, then tried it again with a little better results. But after I smeared the seam sealer all over it, then the undercoating, I could barely see the welds at all.

 

Here are some of the before/after dash pics. I hesitated for a split second and thought about clearing the distressed look. But the wife pressured me to go gloss black. Let me know if I made a mistake, and I'll go hit it with a brillo pad... The dash is what I'm referring to.

 

I think it looks good in gloss, I'd leave it. Rattlecan gloss will likely die down a bit anyway.

Funny that you and I are doing the exact same things. I'm doing my dash in two tone green. I'm having trouble getting the igniton swit outta the dash though. Is there a trick to it? If I can't figure it out soon, I'm just gonna mask it - eek - but I've gotta get moving with this.

 

Dan,

There should be two holes on the face of the ignition. Take a paperclip, with the keys in it, and insert it into one of the holes. You should feel a little give or spring to it. when you push it, turn the key backwards and it should come out. Then the bezel will unscrew. Took me a while too. But it'll look better. My dash was white originally, so all those white circles around the bezels were aggrevating me.

 

Dan, post a pic of your two tone dash. I'm curious to see how you are doing it.(or when you get it)

 

Damn bro, I love these 55's. You have scored like a bandito, atta boy. Only thing better would be if "I" was scoring it, sorry, I want one bad! ~sololobo~

 

I cut out all the little circles on the dash of my truck and welded in pieces to make the dash flat. Looked way better. Good luck on your build. Lookin good.
Later,
****

 

Yeah, I'm thinking on going ahead now and welding in over the radio. It was cut to pieces. I guess now would be the time since everythings out. I still have to paint a couple spots inside so its not that big of a set back.

RoadKill, post a few pics of your interior to inspire me.

 

Just found this thread. It's great to see another of these old trucks getting some love and attention. Looks like you're already having fun with it. I'll be following along, good job.

54Caddy, great looking truck.

 

Alright, I knew there had to be a way I didn't know about. Thanks a lot for the explanation. Yes, when I get the two tone done I'll post a picture. Right now I've got the top of the dash done in Sage green with clear on it - the color of the instrument cluster in my avatar. The bottom will be Celery green also cleared.

 

I just cut out the butchered portion of the dash where the radio mounts. I'll be going in with a smooth face. I'm not sure what to do about tunes, but damned if I'm gonna spend a few hundred on a radio and not gonna put a cd player in the dash. I may just listen to the exhaust and clear my mind. I'll post pics on that when I'm done.

Jimmy

 

There's always THIS panel to repair your dash:

http://www.truckandcarshop.com/trucks47_59/t47_037.html

I'm tenatively planning on using this stereo in my truck. It gets me AM/FM and iPod capability and has the added benefit (for me) that I don't have to repair some minor widening of my radio holes a prior owner did:

http://www.retrosoundusa.com/products/details/id/166

 

Don't know if you can tell from this photo. It's the only one I have of the dash.
Later,
****

 

By the way, the plug in the radio hole is to cover a screw up.
Later,
****

 

Nothing wrong with the black. I've got it in mine. Goes even better, if your going for black interior too. Here's a peek at it.

 

I might think on this for a few days. On one hand I would like it to look original, but on the other the blank plate going in could hold a couple extra gauges.

Thanks for the advice guys, your mind kinda goes swimming when you don't have much input.

I'm also thinking of reupholstering the seat in leather. All black interior, with a tan/or brown leather seat to give it a little pop on the inside. Any body got any fresh bench seat ideas. No rush, I have no issues rolling the mexican blanket for a while yet.

Jimmy

 

I've been collecting pic's of becnh seats that got my attention. Not sure what I will ultimately do but here are a couple of them:

I really like this one but I wonder how durable it would be? Maybe if the blanket was first sewn to a heavy backup fabric. Anyway:


This one is cl***y, simple and in my case the color might work. Of course it could be done in any color:


This is just a two tone idea I liked. I wouldn't do it in blue, but again any combo you liked might look good in this:


Anyway, hope these give you more ideas.

 

Cool truck! It looks like you started out with something pretty solid from the pictures. Keep up the good work