Sounds like a well-thought-out combo. Surprised you sold it. I've rolled something very similar around in my head for years, even found a 57 pickup that I tried to buy, several times. " Cant be bought" until one day it was gone. I think the suburban would have been even better, but I dont recall ever seeing one around here. I have 2 of the front snouts, 1 1/4 sway bar, bilstein stock mount shocks....maybe some day.
I parted out a couple late 50s suburbans a while ago, before the rusty steel turned into gold. not many around. Very few for sale. And if you get a typical rough one, it's a hell of a lot of work to make it nice.
I have a buddy building an early 50’s suburban that would be a great daily driver. I mentioned to him a week or so ago that I needed to know when he goes to sell it…I have always wanted one of those as a daily. Just like we have been talking here, I would rather put money in something old than spend stupid money on a newer truck.
With my particular 57 chevy shop truck build I went with a sbc because I had a really cool intake I wanted to use, a th400 and a 9 inch ford out back. I was considering a 455 Olds or Buick because of their excellent torque production but that intake won out. I was also contemplating a 700R4 but the TV cable would be hard to hook up, so I went with the bullet proof th400 that I already have. I also had 3 different 9 inch pumpkins on hand to choose from 3.89, 3.50 and 3.25, I chose the 3.50 but that's something that's easily swapped if it doesn't work. As far as the sbc, again I'm going with something I have on hand which is a pretty decent 4,000 mile 350 short block, balanced, 11-1 compression with a 280 comp cam, which I'm thinking of adding afr 195 heads to. Hopefully it all gives me a reliable parts chaser that can haul an open trailer and not be to much of a dog or I'll make it a 383.
I was fortunate enough to acquire a 401 Buick for free when I was contemplating an engine swap for my 53. It needed a full rebuild, but it was the perfect engine for the swap. I always liked the look of a dressed up nailhead and was finally able to realize that dream. Great engine with gobs of torque. With a 5 speed behind it, its a blast to drive!
Having a desire for a roller cam motor has merit these days. Unless the "new" motor is a modern version with very low miles on it (and then maybe even if it has low miles on it), installing a motor without a freshening up doesn't make much sense for a daily driver. A motor that is in great original condition before a tear down, before a freshening up, is a great starting point. Any design or defect issues associated with those motors would have already shown up, and the ones with the major defects have probably already been eliminated by now. The motors designed before about 2005 I believe are better motors then the newer motors. That was about the point where the bean counters took over and the push to "reduce the cost of production" took over. That roller cam desire coupled with wanting a pre- lower production cost era motor, places the best option motors in the mid 1990s to mid 2005 range. Most of those motors have a rebuild life expectancy in the 200K range if they are used with care. With the truck being a daily driver, there is no need to try to squeeze all the HP out of a motor you can get, which usually is the cause of most motor failures. The motor of my choice would come from that era, brand choice your option. Most everyone had good motor choices (and poor motor choices) during that time frame, pick a good one. The induction system and ignition system are also a matter of choice. There are usually work around methods to get the desired ignition and fuel delivery system on the motor of your choice. Not many of the older motors had OD transmissions behind them, that is the primary reason most had poor gas mileage. Few lacked to power to drag a trailer around behind the vehicle, if they did, a better cam, or a larger CI version solved that problem. An OD tends to reduce the motor by 300-500 rpm at any given speed which is what generally reduces the fuel consumption on modern vehicles. If you prefer a manual transmission, the only requirement would be for the motor of your choice to have a manual trans bell that can be modified to accept the OD manual trans of your choice. An OD can also be added to any heavy duty automatic trans with a gear venders OD behind the trans. My 49 Dodge pickup has a late 90s 318 with an OD auto trans and 3:55 gears. Even though it is a 4x4, it pulls 18-19 mpg on the highway (13 in town). There is a trailer hitch on it (rated @ 6,000lbs), but I have not pulled a trailer with it. The donor truck that provided many parts under my 49 was rated to pull the trailers you have stated. I have no doubt my truck would get the job done and have plenty of power to get the job done, but it would probably have to be out of OD. I would expect lower mpg pulling the trailer, but the few times it would ever do so, it wouldn't matter too much. If it was built to pull a trailer on a regular basis, the drive train may, or may not, have been different.
A 300 6 and ZF 5 speed would tug that parts chaser around We’re putting a 292 Chevy together for the kids c40. We won’t be the fastest truck on the road but we’ll be on the road
I've saved this build which is pretty good torque for a 350, I'm really tempted to pull the cam in my short block and put this suggested cam in. Chevrolet 355 Engine Build - Fleet Street How To Make 440 LB-FT Of Torque And 425 HP From A Mild 355 https://www.motortrend.com/how-to/148-0306-chevrolet-355-engine-build/
I've been thinking about this same problem a lot lately. Us Hamb guys are passionate about trucks. I drive my 289 powered Willys almost daily, but my truck only about once a week or maybe 2 weeks. It's an '05 Duramax. The diesel was appealing when I bought the truck, but today we're at $3.99/ gallon diesel vs $2.89 for 87 gasoline. The diesel guys must not be good at math, because what that means is, a 11 mpg gas truck is cheaper to operate than my 16 mpg diesel. And the newer ones have DEF as well. So I've been pondering the next truck for myself. We have 2 new fleet/base 2500 silverados at work that cost the company $48,000. They are loaded compared to any Hamb truck, but I hate the things. Huge, ugly, and probably going to need major $$$ to repair. Watching.
About Gear Vendors: I have one in my Studebaker and love it. Question: Have any of you had one behind a transfer case in a 4wd? I know you can't use OD in 4WD then, but how often is that needed?
Here is the thing that I think many people overlook..........or just disagree with me on. I would not build any engine with that high a compression ratio and try to run it on todays gasoline with a carburetor. I especially would not try that in a vehicle that I planned to do any towing with. I think its a recipe for disaster. Add to that the need for premium fuel at every fill up, and the higher compression quickly becomes an expensive choice. Most of us don't mind spending the money for premium for our occasional cruiser, but a DD with towing is going to make a big difference in a years worth of driving. Thats why I think a large capacity engine with a lower CR is a better choice for a daily driver. You can still make it pretty fast but get to use regular gas all the time. Lotta savings there in a year of daily driving and towing too. Couple it with an OD trans and get the best overall situation. Let's face it, the future of our fuel prices is speculative at best. Remember the extremely high fuel prices a while back. Without getting into politics, I would build something that is going to give me the best chance to afFORD driving it for years to come.
Very solid advice there ekimneirbo and I have the same outlook. No substitutes for large CI, solid Torque and F.I. for a Work/Tow vehicle. Work trucks and Toy trucks have different needs. A good 460 Ford will pull your house off the foundation. A built 383 in the same vehicle will plow a trench till the Axle hits the dirt and your still in the same spot you started in. Fun or Function? By the way, don't even consider the Triton V-10. It was a disaster.
So if it's really going to be used as a truck, go get an early-mid 2000s GM 2500 cargo van and install the motor and trans from it. I hear people really like them.
I wouldn’t consider a small block for any real towing. 7000 lbs. up a 6% grade sounds like an overheating disaster on 350 cid engine. Also what goes up must come down, a serious brake, suspension upgrade would be essential.
How many times a year do you tow a car trailer? Why not consider a dedicated tow vehicle for that purpose only (your current 02 Ford would probably last forever at maybe 1-2000 miles a yr?) You would probably not like the feeling towing with a vintage short wheelbase light weight truck anyhow (the tail wagging the dog). This way you can build your 56 as a commuter vehicle with taller gears and a smaller more fuel efficient engine.
Ugh. I want to replace the 6 cylinder in my 55 F100 with a V8 this summer and was hoping this thread would help me narrow my choice down some. But now I'm even more undecided. I can't wait for the brakes discussion to start .
I think that I would have started with brakes and suspension. As noted, towing a fairly heavy trailer with a short wheelbased truck is a less-than-desirable combination especially going down that 6% grade.....maybe that Toronado front axle/engine combo in the truck bed would help...
My previous tow vehicle is my 2002 Ford F150 crew cab, short bed. It has the 5.4, roughly 325 CID. I constantly have a trailer hooked up, but pulling over 5k is maybe 5 times per year. I have like 8 cars right now, so I would like to pear this down a little, so having a dually or other dedicated tow vehicle is out. It will have later suspension with modern disc brakes. I’ll Probably add air bags on it for overloads.
I can't even count the number of conversations that went on when we would stop in the Panel Truck with a loaded 4 horse trailer behind it. According to many, I was jeopardizing the lives of everyone in the thing with me and on the road around me. Yes, that Truck has a Chassis upgrade as well as brakes. The other very important item is to keep the Trailer in good shape and make sure it can handle both it's loaded GVW and have enough Brakes to stop everything including the Tow Vehicle. Next is you gotta know how to load and when a load isn't right and Smart enough to pull over and correct it before you get in trouble. Did I push my luck? Maybe but the fact is I'm still here all these years later and so is the Panel Truck that caused all the negative comments. Would I have done that with a stock style Dropped Axle? Fuck No!! Would I do it again? Without a doubt. It's amazing how assertive some can be when they don't know what they are looking at.
If it was a hood-up build, I'd be all for an FE. Being that it's not, and you want a roller cam, and the torque to tow 8500 lbs, I'd consider the Chevy 8.1. It was the last generation of the big block chevy, with the modern features of the Elll Esss like coil on plug and cathedral port heads. Devin
A load compensating trailer hitch will help alleviate the problems of wag and keeping it level with the weight more evenly distributed on the tow vehicle. I wouldn't want to tow a loaded trailer without one!
I’m not building a high compression truck engine. The factory didn’t for a reason Even in days of “good gas” A 350 overheating on hard pulls? My 0.060 over (gasp) one doesn’t. Never has. Pulling 13k across the scales or when it tugged my school bus up hills. the bossman mentioned just enjoy the truck and pull with something else. He ain’t wrong. Pulling a load is different than stopping it. The up hill is easier than the down hill Suspension and brakes meant to handle the job are more important than the engine.
Ford 300" six. C-6 closest thing to bulletproof decent mileage , low maintenance. Durable workhorse there is !
No truer words have ever been spoken. Build a hopped up A Model? It will easily outrun the brakes. The worst tow rig I ever drove was Pop's Short bed F100 with a 390, C6 and an old homemade trailer with no brakes. The fault was all mine, but I was 24 and knew everything, except what I didnt know. The trailer was built to haul a race car about 15 miles on the local 2 lane roads at about 45-50 mph. It was fine for that, did it many times with no incidents. Here I come and jump on the interstate and try to run with traffic, which was 55 or so at the time. As long as I kept it in a pull it was fine, but if I had to let off, the trailer and car started pushing the truck and it went to tail swaying. A little more throttle and it would pull straight again and off we went. But as things go, I got hemmed up and couldnt go when I needed to. The wag got to be excessive and it was all I could do to keep it out of the grass median on the left. I was extremely lucky that two truck drivers were behind me and saw what was happening and they immediately jumped beside each other and slowed the traffic down to a crawl, and then a stop, averting a big pile up. When I finally managed to stop I was on the left, facing the emergency lane which I pulled into. Checked the tie downs, continued on to the race at a much slower speed. Pop reached under the set and pulled out a bottle and said "Boy you driving me to drink". The Good Lord was looking out for us that day. If that happened today, in that same place, there is no grass median, the old truck would have climbed the concrete barrier, cut a flip and several people would have died due to my stupidity. I am still the only person I know that spun out on the way TO the track The best hiway rig I had was an entended cab longbed F250 w/ a 460 and a C6. The trailer had brakes this time, If I got a little tail wag, just reach down and give the trailer brake controller a little nudge and it would straighten right up. The biggest thing about this thing was it was not limited slip and would get stuck in wet grass. I have literally gotten out of the truck with it idling in gear and walked around and watched the RR tire turn in mud about the depth of the 2nd knuckle on your finger, because all the weight was on the nose and none on the rear. Good Luck.
No you are stuck with an old tranny or an adapter. I had a guy working for me when I was at the paving company in Calif. He shoved the big caddy in everything he owned. It makes lots of grunt down low, they are or where cheap and you can run a tall gear.
Another idea for a big block {Ford, Chevy or Dodge} are older motor homes. People buy them new, use them maybe half dozen times a year for a few years and then they sit. Someone else buys it and does the same and suddenly you have a 10- to 15-year-old rig with less than 50,000 miles sitting next to the shed collecting mold. Use to travel for my job till I retired a couple years back. would come across them all the time. Low mileage motor and trans wouldn't need much of a refreshing to be in service. Just a thought. Larry
The Jalopy Journal
