Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Marvin is turning out awesome, those guys do some bang up work.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Hey folks, a quick little update here after a visit to the shop on Friday. Quick stop to drop off a couple parts, see a few new changes on the truck, and pick up a pile of original parts off the truck that aren't going to be reused. Shortly after the new year, Marvin is going to come back apart, and all the sheet metal (except for the cab) is going to the body shop for paint prep. Exciting!!!!

Here's some pics:

Shop took the front sheetmetal off and installed the new front drive brackes, accessories, and pulleys. This front drive never came on a 5.3 LS motor from Chevrolet, but it bolts up just the same. This is a set off of a Cadillac CTS-V motor, and it works better for this build than the standard 5.3 truck motor items because the parts are shorter, and this gives me way more clearance between the pulleys and the radiator.

These are all just standard GM OEM parts - not really a fancy aftermarket bracket set. I thought about doing one of those nice billet sets, but ultimately decided that seemed a bit too flashy for Marvin's personality. The only thing that is not stock GM is the A/C compressor and mounting bracket. Had to go with a Sanden 508 compressor because I'm going to be installing some Vintage Air equipment. The compressor bracket is aftermarket - from Alan Grove Components.

In addition to giving me more room between the motor and the radiator, I particulaly like this front drive setup because it kind of "hides" the alternator and A/C compressor down near the crank pulley. I think this will really make for a nice clean look in the engine bay.

You can also see we threw the intake, throttle body, and air cleaner on for fun, just to see how it will look. Edelbrock Performer RPM intake. Fast EZ-EFI 2.0 throttle body. Thought about using one of the stock LS EFI manifolds, but decided to go this route so I can get EFI mileage/reliability but also have a more traditional "carb look" under the hood. I love the way it looks and fits in the engine bay. I've got different valve covers as well, but didn't put them on for these photos.

http://i.imgur.com/W497XYC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/MNlJCPi.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hBJMWb1.jpg

Here you can see the frame had to be notched slightly to fit the alternator and A/C compressor.
http://i.imgur.com/DALPB3d.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3TIHfPP.jpg

Popped the front sheetmetal back on to see how everything fits. Really happy with how the motor is sitting under the hood.
http://i.imgur.com/7FOmsrk.jpg

Here you can see all the clearance that was gained between the pulleys and the radiator fan. Before, when the motor was wearing the crank pulley for the 5.3 truck accessories, there was barely room to install the radiator fan.
http://i.imgur.com/xKYynrU.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/daRvv0V.jpg

Continued...

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

A little more work done towards the rear of the truck. The taillights were mocked in. These are '37 Ford taillights, cut in slightly to the lower part of the rear stake pockets. The taillights are just tacked in for now, but will soon be fully welded in. I wanted to do something a little different than the stock taillights and brackets, but I wanted it to still look like it might have come from the factory this way. I guess this does render the stake pockets unusable, but I still think it is a clean, stock-ish appearing look. I really like it! You might also be able to see a sharpie marking on the rear fender - I decided to move the gas filler hole upwards a few inches, and that will be the new location.
http://i.imgur.com/XOiCGMx.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/yddZUXR.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/M61u08w.jpg

The shop fabricated some caps for the ends of the rolled metal at the tops of the bed sides. Here they are welded in.
http://i.imgur.com/hztOe5C.jpg

I dropped off the finished wood boards for the bed. These are the boards that Bruce Horkey made out of the shagbark hickory tree that we cut down on the family farm last November. I really really really wanted to see the boards, but they were nicely packaged up in protective plastic wrapping, so I decided to leave the packaging intact until we actually need to get the boards out for mockup/install. Hard to be patient, but better to leave the boards protected. My dad saw the boards at Bruce's shop before they got packed up and said they look amazing. I believe it!
http://i.imgur.com/f3XXmYA.jpg

Finally, for fun, a shot of the shop. Always lots of cool projects to look at!
http://i.imgur.com/Ws1RnX7.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Very nice work, coming together great...Jim

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

When you started this build thread I thought that I would just clean it up and drive it since it looked so good already. Now I'm glad you didn't have the same thoughts. That truck is going to be super nice.

Also, thanks for posting the pic of the shop. I always looked in the background of your pics to see what other interesting builds they had going on.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Love that view of the shop.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

project is turning out great !!! nice looking modifications also !

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

what oil pan are you using? I assume it came with the motor but I wonder if its the standard truck pan or a different one.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

I have two different oil pans for the motor and tried them both. Ended up going with the standard 5.3 truck oil pan.

http://i.imgur.com/PV6yW7N.jpg

I also tried the F-body (Firebird and Camaro) pan because it isn't as deep and is more uniform.

http://i.imgur.com/uVGNGCB.jpg

However, I found that the truck pan worked a lot better because its shape gives a lot more clearance for the front suspension crossmember. The truck pan does hang down further, so the F-body or even the Corvette pan would probably be good to make work if you were going with airbags and needing to lay frame. But if you aren't planning on a super low ride height, I think the truck pan is a much easier option. It was for Marvin, anyway! You can see in this picture how the suspension crossmember nestles in nicely in front of the deep section of the oil pan:

http://i.imgur.com/oPgSTiF.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

The truck looks fantastic!!

Couple of questions for you. I really like how the rear looks with those taillights, where are you going to put the license plate? Also, what are you planning for the water neck on the thermostat housing to get it pointed at the radiator?

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Going to put the rear license plate smack in the middle of the rear bumper and so it doesn't just look like it was stuck on there, going to adapt one of these cool license plate guards off of a '49 Chevy car. Not the vertical prongs, just the piece that goes around the plate. Not going to run a front plate.

http://i.imgur.com/esJrwpz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/i7z3tIj.jpg

For the water pump outlet, Street & Performance sells a nice swivel neck option that you can position in whatever direction you need. Heater hoses are going to go into the inner fender right there and into the cab that way, keeping them hidden.

http://i.imgur.com/kt5EUsz.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Thanks for the oil pan info. I have a stock 5.3 pan and I was hoping you'd say you were able to make that work. I'm not laying frame and I am running an IFS too so it should work out for me too

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

That licence plate idea is pretty slick!
Can I ask where you got your plate guard?

Thanks

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

I haven't picked it up yet, but I'm keeping my eye on eBay. I'd prefer an original piece. Here's an online vendor for reproduction, though:

http://www.classychevusa.com/index.c...rod/prd892.htm

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Great build. I like to follow along to see your updates. The shop pic was cool. I like seeing all of the different builds going on. Who's shop is it?

Marc

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Was looking back over your build and was wondering if the reflectors were going back on the tailgate? Just kidding, great build. LS sure looks good in there.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Beautiful work. I'm surprised, considering your location and some of the temperature swings, they've left it in bare metal this long. Seems to be ok, though!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

anymore updates??

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Today I scored a LS2 accessory drive that is the same as the one you have so I decided to revisit your thread. How serviceable do you think the alternator will be. I think I'll use them for clearance like you did but if its almost impossible to pull the alternator I might rethink that.

Looking forward to some updates too.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

You are absolutely right, it is well past due for an update! I have been beyond incredibly busy with work since Christmas that I haven't had as much free time as I would like. So much travel!

Also, progress on Marvin has been slowed a bit because he got to the point where it was time to go to the body shop for prep and paint, and the shop I'm using didn't have any openings in their schedule for awhile. So had to sit and wait a bit. But I'll post some pictures of progress since the last update.

Oh, but first I wanted to answer your great question about the front accessory drive. First answer would be that I don't think the alternator will be easily serviceable. With the inner fenders and radiator on, it would be a tight fit indeed to reach it, and definitely not possible to remove it without taking some of the front sheetmetal off. Definitely an inconvenience, and probably some motivation to get a high quality alternator in there. I'm hoping that the times I'll need to get to the alternator will be few and far between.

Also, you'll see in the pictures that I did have to change my front drive accessories since my last update. Still the same concept - just changed to a drive off of a 98-02 camaro/firebird instead of the 06 CTS set that I was using. The reason for this change was that my sanden A/C compressor bracket from Alan Grove was incompatible with the CTS pulley/bracket spacing. Had to go to the camaro/firebird setup to get it to work. Everything is in the same place, just that the camaro/firebird pulleys stick out a smidgen more. Everything still fits behind the radiator, though. I did get a shortened water pump from Evans Cooling because the stock camaro water pump has such a long nose on it.

Ok, updates!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

As I mentioned above, I had to switch to a camaro/firebird set of front drive accessories to make everything fit correctly with the a/c compressor bracket I got from Alan Grove. I got a new set of pulleys that aren't installed yet in these photos. Also installed are a shortened water pump from Evans Cooling - I had them modify the position of the outlet on the top of the pump to point directly towards the radiator inlet. Also decided to buy a Mechman alternator because the alternator will be difficult to access once the sheetmetal is on. Hoping the Mechman will be good quality and long-lasting. The new alternator isn't installed in these photos, however.
http://i.imgur.com/WzG0vEE.jpg

This shows the clearance between the front of the motor and the radiator fan. Tight, but it fits. You can see the swivel neck thermostat housing I bought for the water pump because the stock one just points directly into the inner fender and that's not helpful.
http://i.imgur.com/OjnHeYL.jpg

Another view of the camaro/firebird pulleys. Same placement as the earlier setup, just slightly different.
http://i.imgur.com/k4ryxVB.jpg

At this point, there are a lot of small detail things happening, but the overall truck doesn't look that much different.
http://i.imgur.com/DGda0FN.jpg

Inside the inner fender, you can see the "bump" the shop added to give clearance for the headers. Same on the passenger side too. Kind of hard to see in the pic, but they did it so that the raised bead follows the surface of the bump as well for a seamless, from the factory look. Really nice metalwork.
http://i.imgur.com/V0WP4sZ.jpg

Metal repair happening to those running boards I bought in Texas last summer.
http://i.imgur.com/bmP0SHK.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Here's some detail cleanup work that was done to the bed rails, compared to a pic from earlier. Can you see the difference? These are the types of little changes that have been done all over this truck, just to clean up the original styling in a subtle way.

http://i.imgur.com/2fh56Qw.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hztOe5C.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Here is my last photo of the truck all together before being completely disasemmbled and sent to the body shop as a pile of parts. I love the stance - I think it is just perfect for Marvin! You can see one of the new headlight bezels that was built - these will be chromed and look almost stock - they will just follow the line of the fender a bit better and allow for the headlight to be recessed in just a little bit.
http://i.imgur.com/NryXKHi.jpg

After the sheetmetal started coming off, everything that had been tacked to the frame got finish welded - IFS crossmember, rear suspension, etc. I'm extremely happy with the quality of the welding. A good shot here showing the exhaust routing also.
http://i.imgur.com/OarRsOM.jpg

More amazing welds on the rear end suspension brackets.
http://i.imgur.com/yAYh7P1.jpg

Here's where the 4 bar attaches to the frame.
http://i.imgur.com/ESc0z2S.jpg

A little while later, and here's all that was left of Marvin - a frame hanging on the wall at the body shop and a pile of parts. A little sad for me, to be honest, after seeing him all together just a couple weeks prior.
http://i.imgur.com/lQDpDEA.jpg

Some subtle notches were added to the frame to make the headers fit a little happier.
http://i.imgur.com/UKKAlET.jpg

Pile o' parts.
http://i.imgur.com/NSmk2wQ.jpg


So, current status is pile of parts at the body shop. The frame and all suspension components were sent out last week for semi-gloss black powdercoating. When that comes back next week, Marvin will get re-assembled on the frame at the body shop (sheetmetal only) and begin prep for paint! Very excited to be at this point! :D

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

And here's just a few non-Marvin pictures that are still related.

The shop had a 46 chevy truck in for some work and they fabbed up this cool filler piece to tighten up the gap between the cab and bed sheetmetal. Once Marvin is back together at the body shop, I might consider something like this for him, but I'm not certain yet.
http://i.imgur.com/wCRqeAn.jpg

Why am I showing you a japanese 4 cylinder car? The picture doesn't show it nearly as well as I would like, but here's Marvin's new color. Mitsubishi Ultra Red Pearl. It is an amazing looking red paint for only being 2-stage.
http://i.imgur.com/sD1057d.jpg

And finally, a little bit of history. The whole reason my Mom and Dad bought Marvin back in 81 was because Dad had a 53 chevy truck in his family growing up that he really loved. That truck eventually got wrecked and put to rest, so when he saw Marvin available to buy years later, he got some money together and made it happen, and Marvin has been in the family ever since. Here's the original 'Marvin' in its final resting place on the family farm.
http://i.imgur.com/7Be4ADo.jpg

Hope I'll be able to post more frequent updates as body/paint work progresses!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Awesome update! Lets see the coated frame pic's ASAP!!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Thanks for the info. I am not running AC so I should be on with this accessory drive then but I think I'll use the alternator relocate bracket then so I can change the alternator if I ever break down.

I really love your build! That's some great progress.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

subscribed! Love seeing this as I am putting together a 51 and love the ideas!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Hey folks, quick update!

First, went by the metal shop. About all they have left there is the cab, and work continues to get it fixed up before sending over to the body shop. The cab is just one part of the truck, but there's more work in the cab than any other piece of sheetmetal, for sure!


Filled in hole for windshield wiper knob and radio plate.
http://i.imgur.com/1xg6JVS.jpg


Kind of hard to see, but some great work was done here replacing the inner part of the cab right above the windshield. Some mice had found Marvin during his stay in the barn and had decided that this was a great spot to build a nest. The whole area was just rotted out and destroyed. Very happy that they make a repop panel for this section! I was told that this is a pretty difficult patch panel to install.
http://i.imgur.com/aBDCQsg.jpg


Wanted to keep my heater vents on the outside passenger cowl, but didn't want them to be open to the inside for water to get in, so Marvin gets this "cake pan" looking piece welded to the inside of the vents. Also fabbing up a cover panel for the inside access hole. That will just screw into place, rather than be welded, as this could be a good access route for wiring.
http://i.imgur.com/U0dXmjt.jpg


Over to the body shop - the frame is back from powdercoating. Looks great! I think the powdercoating will be durable long term. This isn't going to be a show truck, so I thought powdercoating the frame as-is would be fine. This has left some of the original pitting from rust here and there on the frame that you can see under the powdercoating. Could have added body filler and sanded the frame perfectly smooth everywhere and then painted instead of powdercoating, but I just didn't think that was necessary for a part of the truck that isn't really going to be seen, and I do like the durability benefits of powdercoating. Just regular old semi-gloss black.
http://i.imgur.com/BvSsvih.jpg


Another angle of the frame.
http://i.imgur.com/4lppOex.jpg


Here's the rear end, also back from the powder-coater. Also, in this room was a big pile of other suspension parts that had been powdercoated, but they were all in plastic bags, so it wasn't really picture worthy. For example, you can see bumper brackets in the bags by the rear end.
http://i.imgur.com/8TmLS6C.jpg


Some of the parts needed to be painted black instead of powder coated because the powdercoat builds up too much thickness on the surface for some parts. Here are some hanging and drying. Lots of suspension bushing type things - you can also see the front end spindles and brake pedal. Never mind the Ford tailgate!
http://i.imgur.com/01jvA7M.jpg


Had a bunch of sheetmetal outside getting a fresh sandblasting before getting primer.
http://i.imgur.com/ckCpdUN.jpg


And hood and inner fenders in the paint booth getting a coat of POR15 on the underside before some type of rugged black overcoat is applied.
http://i.imgur.com/6j5FkZf.jpg


Kind of a brief update, but a lot of fun to see any and all progress! Once the work on the cab is done, that will get mounted to the frame and they'll rebuild Marvin at the body shop before beginning official paint prep. Stay tuned!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Another brief update today after a trip up to the metal shop and the paint shop. Some good solid progress to see at both shops, and I always have so much fun seeing the truck and talking with the guys doing the work. As we get closer to the two year mark on this build, I can honestly say that all the guys have become close friends.


Here's a pile of the custom exhaust pieces, waiting to go out for jet-hot coating. You can see the headers and the loooong Porter mufflers that I think are going to have just a great sound. Can't wait to hear them!
http://i.imgur.com/MEBbU0A.jpg


Tiny little detail here, but a nice touch. Added about a quarter inch to the bottom of the drip rail so that it meets the cab instead of just ending in an unfinished edge. This might not be the best design for daily use because this could collect moisture easier, but Marvin probably won't be seeing all that much rain anymore. Definitely going to drive him, just not too much in inclement weather, haha!
http://i.imgur.com/6UQWEoO.jpg


I am so excited about this! The valance under the dash has been finished. This valance serves a few purposes - mainly to provide a nice spot for the A/C vents and hide the portion of the VintageAir A/C unit that hangs down under the dash. The steering column will go right through a hole in the valance that hasn't been cut yet. This will also hide the aftermarket column drop bracket, which is nice. Ignition switch and cigarette lighter will also live in this piece.
http://i.imgur.com/Nt0mZ3R.jpg


I think it looks great - the guys at the shop did an amazing job! They kept the vertical beads that were present in that little center dash piece and I think made this part look like it maybe could have come this way from the factory.
http://i.imgur.com/fWLj2Fx.jpg


continued...

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Off to the body shop, the frame and rear fenders were in the paint booth. Those fenders had just been hit with some epoxy primer, and the frame was in for a little touchup in the front section.
http://i.imgur.com/NVLcUaE.jpg


I decided to powdercoat the frame as it was, rather than make it all nice and smooth with body filler and then paint. There was a lot of surface texture from the rust and surface corrosion over the years, but I think that's just fine for the frame - adds character! Still, a small portion of the top side of the frame would be visible through the engine compartment and wanted that to look good, so the top of the front section of the frame was smoothed and painted in a semi gloss black.
http://i.imgur.com/LJjSWdv.jpg


Hood getting a coat of POR15.
http://i.imgur.com/7kwHZSA.jpg


Tailgate drying after getting primed.
http://i.imgur.com/hmK4Pqi.jpg


Front fenders looking really good after block sanding - ready for final coat of primer!
http://i.imgur.com/11fSeGv.jpg


That's all for this update. Hope to have some more pictures to share in a couple weeks!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Nice update, and looking good...Jim

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Just a quick little update after a short visit to the shop yesterday.


I really liked how the a/c vent valance turned out, but I had another idea about it while I was falling asleep one night, and the shop made it a reality. I thought it would look even more like a from-the-factory part if there were stamped cavities for the a/c vents to sit in. I think the results look great! Will also do this kind of stamping for the ignition cylinder and cigarette lighter.
http://i.imgur.com/Ml4JGmg.jpg

A close-up view.
http://i.imgur.com/V8DeeUS.jpg

At the body shop, the front fenders have joined the rear fenders in being fully blocked, primed, and ready for paint.
http://i.imgur.com/mdmCEii.jpg

Inner fenders too.
http://i.imgur.com/L9u0FFd.jpg

Finally, for this update, had studs for the bed boards welded to the angle strips on the bed sides. The tops of the studs were ground smooth on top so they will be totally hidden once installed. This will be a good match for the bed strips I'm using that also have hidden fasteners.
http://i.imgur.com/1JsdhVw.jpg

Close up view.
http://i.imgur.com/oXV1BO2.jpg

And the top side.
http://i.imgur.com/0tKDvG7.jpg


That's all for this quick update! Lots more coming in the next few weeks, I think.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Recessed area in dash looks super, nice update...Jim

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

This is a great quality build, I enjoyed reading through it!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Tell me about the water inlet for the lower radiator hose.
I read somewhere that the thermostat needed to be orientated in a proper position, how does that match up with the lower hose on the rad, if you are able to rotate it.
I am having the same problem with clearance with a 46 Chevy and a LS lower inlet hose fitting

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Sure thing - the swivel housing for the water inlet and thermostat works really well - it positions the inlet pipe directly down towards the radiator instead of directly into the inner fender:


http://i.imgur.com/xKYynrU.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/OjnHeYL.jpg


As far as the thermostat position goes - the thermostat rests in exactly the stock position. The swivel part only rotates the outlet itself - the thermostat doesn't swivel with it. This was a really helpful part for making the engine bay work on my truck and would probably help with the 46 as well!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

And while I'm at it, here's a quick update!


Work on the cab continues. This is where the smaller things really start to take more time, but the shop continues to do amazing work bringing the cab towards readiness for paint. In these two pictures, you can see the addition of the "stamped" locations for th ignition cylinder and the cigarette lighter. Other than the hole for the steering column to go through, the valance piece is ready for paint!
http://i.imgur.com/iSrJw7A.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/82sUJD1.jpg


Here's the suspension parts going back on the powder-coated frame. Really cool because these parts are going on as final assembly this time! These parts won't be coming back off until they need to be replaced (hopefully many many years down the road for most of them!)
http://i.imgur.com/52jiPZq.jpg


Here's the rear. In a few more days, it will have the axles, rear hubs, and disc brakes on, and will be able to put all four wheels on and set it back on the ground.
http://i.imgur.com/YRtTk4k.jpg


Here's something really cool. Finally get to see all the boards for the bed that were made out of the hickory tree we cut down at the family farm almost two years ago! My dad came up last weekend and we did final sanding and put a light stain on them, and I think they turned out phenomenal. Because so much of Marvin will be pretty nice and clean when he's done, I really wanted the bed boards to have some "character" to them, and these boards really fit the bill, I think. The knots and cracks that were naturally in the wood after the logs got milled were filled in with an epoxy to keep them from cracking any further. These are at the paint shop now to get a few coats of water-based spar urethane. Will be running painted (body color red) bed strips with hidden fasteners between these boards.

Before stain:
http://i.imgur.com/2EEY5BV.jpg

After:
http://i.imgur.com/q0QLQ2H.jpg


And finally for this update, a couple pics of the latest cab modification. I'm so impressed with how the guys at the shop took my idea and made it a reality. There's still some adjusting of door fitment that will be needed in final assembly, but the heavy lifting is done. I wanted to have two dash compartments. One as a regular glovebox, and the other as a hidden place to stash the A/C, Heat, and Radio controls. The shop used a shortened part of a second dash to graft in to place, and a second glove box door had to be shortened to fit. Will add the "CHEVROLET" stamping piece to the center door, and a new trim piece to the bottom of the right door to line it up with the center. The idea is for this modification to look like it was a factory one-off, and it really will I think!
http://i.imgur.com/w9JGEQQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/JsEdYC7.jpg


No other updates to share today. Hope to have more to share this weekend - a couple cool other things that should be done by then.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

What radiator/fan/shroud combo are you using?

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

That's a copper/brass radiator with a slimline fan and shroud made by US Radiator for a stock appearance and fit. (well the radiator, anyway) Went right in without any modifications!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Looking sweet...Jim