My Dads 51 AD Project

The chassis, charging, and engine wiring is now complete and it runs. Intake and exhaust is done, but for a couple welds after the muffler. For the manifolds to fit we needed a set of the speedway motors g-body tubular upper control arms. Steering column is done and we were able to keep the stock AD column and shifter. We also found some material for the bed and modified the fill tube to fit. Next on the list is getting the gauges and their sending units installed. After that the rubber floor material can go in and then the seat.

Sorry for the mid process crappy images. I am usually only back to help out for a short period of time and forget about getting quality images when we complete items.

 

My dad went ahead and finished the floor and installed the seat. We are waiting for a sending unit adapter for the gauges.

 

nice 4-gauge cluster, what brand / style # ?

 

New Vintage USA is the maker and its their 1940 series in the largest diameter. They were very nice to deal with and will build just about anything you ask for. This is the speedometer.

 

ever consider painting the hub/spoke area of the wheel and leaving the hoops white?

 

I cant say I am a big fan of the accented lip deal, but they may get painted/coated another color at some point.

The gauges are all installed and working and my dad has been taking on its first few shakedown drives.

The fuel sending unit was leaking from the o-ring so that was replaced and is now sealed.
He also went ahead and ordered a lokar 4l60e column shift adapter kit, as the one he fabricated was really rough and would have been a safety issue. That arrived today and should be on by the weekend.

Inspection and alignment are next.

 

Very nice truck! Looks like you guys are putting in a lot of work. I am partial to the patina dont think ill ever paint mine!

 

I had my dad send me a few images. I really dont think I like the crystal clear headlights and clear turn indicators in the grill. I may have to convince him to pick up a set of sealed beams and amber indicators.

Looks like something is up with the wiper orientation as well.

 

moving fast and looking good.

 

We went ahead and installed some glass sealed headlights. Looks much better.

My dad had it inspected today and sent me this.

 

Where did he get the crystal clear headlights? I am looking to put some on the 65.

 

Ill have to ask him. He may actually still have the set if you are interested in them for a bit less than what they sell for.

Ill PM you either way.

 

...I like the way you put this truck together, it looks great.
Where did you buy those rims and how much?,...thinkin about some of those for my next project.
...here's a pic of my AD...

 

Thanks. Yours looks great as well. Love the wheel color.

The wheels are by Diamond Racing and were around $550 shipped.

 

love the truck. reminds me of my grandad's '53 he drove for most of the 25 years that he owned Granbury Automotive NAPA store.

i noticed the bumper sticker- your dad live in Granbury?

 

The sticker was on the bumper when he bought the truck. It may come from the Granbury area ill ask when I get a chance.

He painted the wheels a few weeks ago and we just got started on putting the A/C system together. The radiator mount setup was changed and the condenser mounted. He should be picking up the under dash and plumbing parts here in the next couple weeks. The compressor is going to have to be mounted high because of frame/mount clearance issues.

The exhaust outlet still needs to be resolved but we have been having trouble finding another set of good fenders to work with.

 

The A/C has been put on hold because of costs, but he was able to drive the truck from Dallas to Austin and back without issue. He said there is a bit of a resonance/drone from the exhaust above 70 so that may get changed to a traditional rear exit. It likely needs additional sound insulation behind the seat as well.

I also found an f100 out in West Texas and it just made it back to Dallas. Once we get into it I will likely start a thread. We have much more conservative plans for this one.

 

A few small updates. The truck now has A/C and has seen regular use with a few 200+ mile road trips. We have fixed some small issues and there are still a couple things I would like to improve on. Within the last couple weeks we finally fixed the fender that was rusted by making a surround for the exhaust outlet. My dad also found an old set of wheels that I pulled the hubcaps and tabs off of. I got one mounted up and will do the rest when I can confirm the mounting method is sound.

 

I picked up a third gen F-body WS6 steering box and the factory silverado pump. The S10 manual boxes are pretty valuable for some reason so the cost of conversion is pretty low after its sold. Things are very tight in that area, but we got it to work thanks to my hydraulics guy who bent a super tight radius high pressure fitting to the box. I am taking the line to have the final crimps and welds done Monday and will take it for a drive to test the hubcap mounts.

 

I got the line crimped and spent way too much time finding the right length accessory belt. I ended up running the PS return through the previously unused radiator trans cooler ports to keep the temperature around a constant 180-90 or so. The steering feels really good and now we dont have to worry about weaker driver having issues with parking.