Projects New driver 58 fleetside Chevy

I got a great deal on this truck at BTT50's today! I started polishing the paint and it looks great! It really darkened the color up too! Breaks work but not great, I am really good at these breaks now so it will be easy.

My plan is to drop it a little! Any suggestions for free lowering techniques? I want to paint the back of the cab, the spear on the bed and the grill white. I need a set of stock wheels if anyone has some??? Or any ideas of cool 6 lug wheels?

 

i like it. what motor?

 

Oh, straight six

I took the mirrors off already and the little roof lights are next.

I need a drivers door window if anyone has one!!! Ill take ur old one in any condition

 

Bump for the morning crowd

Anyone know if any straight 6 will bolt in this truck? Just curious in case I need a new motor or I might build a dual carb motor up.

 

Nice catch...looks real clean too!!
Keep us in pics..
Cheers.........

 

First see which engine you have now.
This truck looks to be a good candidate to have a 261.
Most all GM sixes before 1963 will bolt right in, the later inline sixes are easily adaptable.
Nice score by the way.

 

I crawled all over the truck and this thing is really solid! cab corners will get replaced AGAIN some day and there is a small spot by the lower hinge but it hasnt weekend the structure or made the door droop. There is a brand new master cylinder in it too! I ordered break hoses and cylinders but I may just have to adjust the brakes inside to get them to work better. When I stop one rear tire locks up and there isnt mush comming from the other 3 brakes.

the rear axle wasnt stock in this truck, Im thinking it was from a heavier truck because of how low it is geared. there is also a set of crude lift blocks over the axle. I figure if I remove those the truck will drop about 3.5-4 inches.

What is the normal method to drop these trucks?

I replaced the oil and fuel filters, and put rotella 10W30 in.

 

I broke a small oil line from the remote filter. Were do I get a replacement or at least the little ball end so the cap can tighten down and seal?

 

bump any help?

 

you can buy trailer wheels that are 16" and look almost stock. They even have nubs for hubcaps. I also found some 215/85/16 radials that have a great look and really help with the overall gearing.

 

My friend and I seen that truck at BTT50s. I'm not a fan of lowered trucks but if you want to drop it on the cheap I'd suggest taking out the blocks under the rear springs and maybe taking out a leaf spring. Up front if it has a spring under setup for the axle I'd use blocks to lower it. If it's spring over I'd take a leaf out and see how it sits and rides.

 

That sounds like a plan, I like the larger radials idea too!

How do I fix this oil line to the rockers?

 

You should be able to get the br*** pieces you need for your oil filter from any DECENT parts store.

Cool score on the truck. Not sure what's been done to the rear end. It does appear to sit higher than it should. Removing those blocks should set it close to level. You can pull a couple of leafs out of the front to drop it if you want free. I found 4 leaves put mine on the bumpstops, so I put one back in, but it rode lousy.

You'll get lots of kudos around here for leaving the 6 in it, I did with my last one, hence my screen name, for the starter pedal. Right before I sold it I finally checked mileage on it, and with 3.55s on the open highway I got 12 mpg. I coulda done the same easy with a 327.

Stock wheels seem to be hard to come by. One of my trucks had a set when I got it, I was never able to find more than a few for others I have had, never a full set.

Devin

 

I have been seeing some really cool pics of these trucks with moon disks!
I might put a push bar on the front for my modified. Just for looks really


If you look close you can see there are brackets for something that this truck doesnt have. Either shocks or panhard par.


I am taking the blocks out, and new ubolts. I might take a leaf out of the front and shave the bumper a bit. I thought about longer shakles from my jeep in the rear if I need some more drop

 

search is your friend...

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=477567

 

If you flip the axle and put it on top of the springs and then use those blocks you could slam the back and for the front you would need a drop axle or mono leafs. good luck

 

I think this axle is from a car? Any ideas how I can find out for sure?

 

Is the wheel mounting 5 or 6 bolts? 5 would indicate a car, 6 a truck.

 

gotta be 5 lugs on that rear right??? I don't think they ever put that rear in a truck. looking at the bracket on the housing I'd say it came from a 58 - 64 Chevy p***enger car. they had coils and a weird 3 link suspension.

cool truck. Chevy used that same six lug bolt pattern forever. should be fairly easy to come up with some steel wheels and hubcaps.

 

Actually! I looked at a picture and it does have 5 lugs.

I dont know what to think? about the axle anyways.
Im thinking moon disks and some cheap tires from Fleet farm, the same ones I put on my 27 in the rear. They are 6 in wide about 29-30in tall and 15 in wheel. they look old and only cost about $90.

The truck has wide tires in the front so it steers hard! My other trucks (55-59) didnt steer this hard. I think a narrower tire up front will help with that.

 

Front axle, I doubt you'll find anyone not happy with Sid
http://www.droppedaxles.com/CHEVY_AXLES.html#TXTOBJ7D8154322312261
pretty straight forward install, well worth the $

 

I ordered front brake hoses and they didnt fit, I finally ran the vin number and it is a 3200 or 3/4 ton truck. So someone either busted the rear end (I really dont think it is possible especially how nice everything is) or swapped the car rear end in to get the higher gears. whats the popular axle for these things for the rear? I would like to find an S-10 rear and T5 if it will fit.

 

I put a mid 80's Caprice rear in mine and a saginaw 4 speed and it made a world of difference in drivability. I think the S10 rear is gonna be to narrow, though a T5 could be cool and shouldn't be to hard.

 

The rear axel in your truck is from a 59 - 64 Chevy p***enger car. As long as the it fits well, width wise, and is installed correctly, why not use it? There are many different gear ratios that are available, (both used and new), and rebuild parts, (even new Posi units), are easy to get. The wheel bearings are kinda pricey, though.

If you want 5 lug wheels on the front, so they all match, a pair of front hubs and drums from a 51 - 54 Chevy p***enger car will work. The brake systems are basically the same for 51 - 58 Chevy cars and 55 - 59 Chevy, (and GMC), trucks. You will need to match the wheel cylinders up with the backing plates that you use, however. For example, 59 car rear cylinders for the 59 rear axel, and pickup front cylinders for the pickup front axel.

 

Actually a 3200 is a long bed 1/2 ton. 3/4 ton is 2600 and 3800 is 1 ton.

Standard gearing for those trucks was 4.10 with a 6 cyl and 3.90 with a V8. Probably changed out for better driveability.

Devin

 

are they 6 lug?

 

I did plugs and wires today as well as cleaned the front wheel cylinders. I will see about the 3200 deal, I might have to order the front hoses from brothers to get them right. The brake line was to large to fit into the hose end.

I will look for some front drums from the car! I already have the wheel cylinders done and my bearings looked really good.

I changed the oil, oil and fuel filters and rebuilt the carb, the float was all kinds of out of whack. I fixed the oil line today and took her for a ride! Wow it runs beter. It doesnt like alot of throttle off idle though. It will spool up but it ****s hard and revs slow. What can I do to make it a little more responsive?

 

My carb did the same just off idle, rebuilt and an found the bushings to lower ****erfly were worn, Drilled them out and replaced with oversize (15min) and no problem now. Or just look for a newer carb.
I would keep the rearend, replacing it wouldnt offer much benefit if any unless you wanted disk brakes or something. I would ditch the lifting blocks though, look kinda shady.
Have fun!

 

Were do I find the bushing? I noticed that it was leaking before I set the float.

 

The 3100 (1/2 ton short bed) and 3200 (1/2 ton long bed) use different diameter brake line tubing and as a result use different front brake hoses. I think the 3100 uses 3/16 tubing and the 3200 uses 1/4". You can get the hoses at Napa.