Legacy 59

[autowrench]

Last summer I was asked by my nephew if I thought I would be interested in having my brother Matt's 59 pickup as a project. I knew something of it's history and issue it had, but I said yes anyway! He had give it to Ray many years previously but it was still here on the property next door and Matt had moved to
Tillamook, Oregon. Ray lives in the San Diego area and has too many projects and not enough room. Familiar line, isn't it? I retired in 2015 and moved here to Montana after our Mom passed away. Matt passed away suddenly in 2019. Since there is a possibility the property next door may not remain in our family, Ray asked me about the truck. So now I have the biggest project I ever had and I have spent the last year figuring out what to do and where to start. I joined the H.A.M.B. and found out they do old school Hot Rods and customs only now. I think it was there that I found out about this site. So I joined as soon as I could and I'm starting slowly on the truck. I'm going to post some "before " pictures and get the ball rolling!
Tom

[autowrench]

I have also posted on Stovebolt and will try to keep up there too. Yesterday I cut out the poorly designed home made motor mounts that caused the truck to be parked in the first place. I'm not sure if the frame should be repaired and used, replaced, or cut of and a front clip welded on. So many options.

[autowrench]

Cut, cut, cut, grind, grind and move to the other side. Removing the botched motor mounts. The 455 engine that was in it dropped down and rubbed on the front crossmember. Then at some point, I need to decide if I can repair the short cracks running parallel with the rails and safely use this frame. It's starting to feel like my truck now. I'm going to have to name it at some point. Hand me down sounds like I don't want it.

[autowrench]

I omitted all the pictures that clearly show me using a cut off wheel with NO Safety guard!

[autowrench]

I think a more proper title would be" Legacy 59 " if I can edit the title. That captures the spirit of the build a lot better.

[autowrench]

I'm still picking out specifics but I would prefer to use a mainstream engine instead of the Pontiac 455. Parts are way more spendy. It seems to have had a manual trans and 6 cylinder originally. Matt removed the 327 that had been in it. I think it had failed. He had access to a 455 and turbo 400, so in it went. When that went south, it sat and waited. A late 70s Camaro subframe was procured. That is as far as it got. I want to have an IFS, a V8, and be able to drive it anywhere. It will not be a work truck, show truck, and it will not be too low to get up my gravel driveway. I want to be able to use the pickup bed IF I want to. Those are my larger goals for this project. Comments?

[NWA58]

Looks like a good project truck to start with. Already a short bed frame, so that is a plus. A few rust repair panels and you’ll be in great shape. Lots of bed options now with the 58/59 wide bedsides now available brand new.

[6DoF]

i like it! gotta have something to do with all that retirement time! sorry to hear about the passing, glad to hear you're bringing this back out.

plans? patina vs paint, engine choice, race vs cruise vs show?

grind a nice weld prep in that crack on both sides, hammer it flat, burn it on both sides, grind it smooth, and never have to think about it again.

[autowrench]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

i like it! gotta have something to do with all that retirement time! sorry to hear about the passing, glad to hear you're bringing this back out.

plans? patina vs paint, engine choice, race vs cruise vs show?

grind a nice weld prep in that crack on both sides, hammer it flat, burn it on both sides, grind it smooth, and never have to think about it again.

Yes, I needed a retirement project to keep me out of trouble! Can't mow or cut firewood all the time. I'm leaning toward a SB Chevy, LS, or Vortec engine. More cruise or local car show type build. It really is a clean slate. No seat, engine and trans removed, bed off. I have a covered place to park it with a dirt floor, but the bats roost there in summer and poop all over anything I store in there. I do also have a nice garage with a lift, but I need that to change oil and for winter parking. I'm really over rolling around on the floor at my age. Standing up to work on vehicles is what keeps me going.
Tom



hange oil and

[Rickysnickers]

I don't think that crack in the frame is a dealer breaker. My bet is you can weld it, fish plate it and if need be, put a small boxing plate on the inside of the rail.

[Rickysnickers]

Oh, and now your title has been changed as you requested

[autowrench]

Thank You! I like the sound of it much better. I put the wheels back on and rolled it back into the garage. We're having a yard sale and It's the kind of thing that inspires people to look in places they don't need to go. Garage doors down cures that. I had 2 other people here advise me to go ahead and use this frame with repairs. Paint or patina are choices I will make later in the process. At first I was thinking resto-mod. I haven't put many bucks aside yet, so right now I have plenty to do without spending a lot.

[6DoF]

sounds like the bats should poop on the winter driver while the project is up in the air!

also sounds like you'll probably be keeping the leaf springs, i wish more people would. rear axle looks newer, so that's nice.

[autowrench]

Leaf springs in the back, yes. I'm leaning strongly to Scott's , TCI, Heidt's , or No Limit IFS in the front. The bolt-in option is very appealing. Coming up with the bucks to do that may take more time than I would like. Although if I leave the front untouched for a while, I could roll it back and forth between garages to work on it. Hmmm.

[daveshilling]

Originally Posted by autowrench

Leaf springs in the back, yes. I'm leaning strongly to Scott's , TCI, Heidt's , or No Limit IFS in the front. The bolt-in option is very appealing. Coming up with the bucks to do that may take more time than I would like. Although if I leave the front untouched for a while, I could roll it back and forth between garages to work on it. Hmmm.

If you have a Camaro front clip already, and you don't have tons of $ to throw at the project, that may be the lowest cost option to get you driving and enjoying. If you have $3000, then the options you mentioned are all good ones!

Depending on what else you have with that clip, it may give you power steering with a nice turning radius and disc brakes inexpensively as well, and has been done 1000x with online guidance so you can accomplish it in a weekend.

It will switch you to 5 lug, so that's wheels, tires, and a new rear end though... in that way there are some hidden costs to the camaro clip.

[autowrench]

The power steering box and disc brakes are there, but the whole thing does need going through. It's been sitting in the weather for a few years now and the brakes were locked up by rust when I dragged it up here early in the summer. It does have a 10 bolt GM rear end under it already with the 5 lug bolt pattern. I think it may have been in the truck when he got it. My budget for this project may be shrinking, so I will have to seriously consider the lower buck options I have available. I better order that DVD from No Limit and study up on Camaro swaps some more. I needed something to do besides plowing this winter anyway!

[dsraven]

nice looking start, sorry to hear the reason for the aquisition.
before you do much with the truck you may want to check the frame for square, straightness and sag. block it up, do a corner to corner dimension, both ways, then compare the results. that will give the squareness check. for straightness what I usually do is mark each cross memebr at it's midway point from side to side, then run a stringline or a laser from front to rear and see how many of those markes line up. a stringline can also be used for checking the sag, use some wood blocks to space the string off the frame at the front and rear then use a same sized block to check along the frame to ensure the space is the same on the straight parts.
there is a free download for an assembly manual on the tri5 site. just google

55-59 chevy truck factory assembly manual

and pick the tri5 site. maybe download it to your computer or onto a thumb drive so you have it, you never know how long these things stay on the net. this will have frame drawings and drawings of how the factory put the truck together, where spot welds are located, etc etc
if doing a front clip one thing to know before you start is that the ride height desired needs to be firgured out before you cut the frame and set the front axle position. this is because the front fenders on these trucks have a tapered wheel opening, on the rear of the opening, and as the truck is lowered down over the wheels (like most guys want-a little lower than the stock height. some like a lot lower...) it makes the tires look like they are being stuffed into the rear of the wheel opening. the more drop you build in, the more the axle centerline needs to be moved forward to make it look right
one thing I would suggest is to figure out what you want in the end and then do everything you do towards that end. try not to change your mind midstream because it takes you down a rabbit trail that usually means you need to redo something already done, it will be something that is gonna really challenge you abilities so it may stall the build, or it is gonna cost a bunch more money to finish. it's one reason why builds get sold part way through after sitting in the shop for a long while untouched.
start with building a good strong foundation that will handle the intended use. then worry about the bodywork, stereo systems and other peripherals. I have seen a lot of guys who have thousands of dollars in wheels, tires, steroes, seats, exhaust parts,etc etc, just sitting there in the way and the frame isn't even done yet.
figure out what you have to work with mechanically, rear axle, springs, frame,etc etc, figure out what you have to work with body wise, cab mounts, cab eyebrow rust, cab corners, hinge pillars, floor panels, fender patches, headlight patches,etc etc. write it down so you don't have to go sliding back under it, take pics of stuff as you go so you can just look it up when you need to know a detail, then dedide what you want to do for suspension, what you want to do for an engine and trans, steering column, etc. sometimes you can be money ahead by buying a wreck from the insurance write off lot. it will have the engine/trans combo. wiring and computer, seats, steering column etc etc. you can sell off body parts from it to help pay for it etc. you gotta have a place to put it though.
I like your idea of a driver that will get you around without dragging bottom ort worry about potholes etc. you need that if you don't live in a city with pavement everywhere. also, being able to use the box to put something in when you want.
post up some pics as you go. we all like to see what others are working on. you will also get lots of suggestions and help if you post pics. sometimes you don't realize you may have a problem but somebody else will see a pic and point out a potential issue.
welcome to the club

[dsraven]

at this point the cab and steering box are one piece so if you wanna do that get the steering wheel and shift lever and linkage off, then the pitman arm off, then unbolt the box from the frame and the boot around the colummn at the floor and pull it out from the firewall side. personally I highly recommend a frame check before doing much more. you don't wanna spend time and money on something and find out it is not really quite right. taking the cab off will also allow you to really see how the cab is structurally.

[autowrench]

I agree. Working by myself creates a whole bunch of complications. I did run a small fleet auto shop by myself for 23 years before I retired. The difference is that there were other people in the maintenance division that I could tap to help move heavy items around and there were loaders and backhoes too. It's one of those things I do need to figure out before comittment to one path or the other.
Tom

[dsraven]

I know what you mean. I work alone as well. I have a garage with a concrete floor and an engine lift. You can easily make a cab lift tool to fit an engine lift. It fits on the engine lift and lifts the cab from the door openings. I'll post a pic of mine this evening hopefully.

[dsraven]

here is a pic of my cab lifter. disregard the other stuff, it started life as a 57 but has had a few mods done. if you need to place the cab on the ground or a low surface you may want to make the part from the engine lift arm to the cross beams a little taller so it doesn't bottom out on the lift arm when you get power. install a couple of stopper parts on each side so the cab can't slip off one of the ends. works great and doesn't take much room to store. one man operation. if you also make a square wooden frame for the cab to sit on, with wheels under it, that will make moving the cab around really easy.

[autowrench]

That looks slick! I have a 2 post lift. I could probably figure out how to make it work. I am going to need an engine hoist later though and that would be much easier to move it around. Time to buy more tools! I'm also going to check your build thread out. I know I looked at some stuff when I first came to this site about a year ago. You used Envoy powertrain as I recall.

[dsraven]

yup, 2004 envoy XUV, its longer than the others. I started out with modifying the original 57 frame with MII front end and ford 8.8 out back. home built rear 4 link with air bags front and rear. then while doing work on my nephews envoy I got out the tape measure and figured it would be a good donor. bought a wreck at the insurance auction and used the floor and part of the firewall from the envoy under the 57 cab. I extended the cab first (part of the original process so I could use bucket seats with integral seat belts and not be forced so close to the dash) then lowered it down over the envoy floor sitting on the frame.
no build thread. sorry. meant to but never got to it.

[autowrench]

Just a quick update. I have acquired a Fatman Fabrications Mustang 2 Kit for my truck! It is in CA at my Nephew Ray's house. I will be travelling out there to pick it up along with other goodies that were included sometime in April. No hurry, because there is still too much snow here to start on such a project. Thank You, Dan in Pasadena! If I hadn't been looking at someone else's build thread and seen his comment, I likely never would have lucked into this deal. He bought it for his 55 from someone on Craigslist and decided to go another direction with his build. I am jazzed to have a starting point for my project and hope to make some significant progress this year! Once I do that, I will have a Camaro clip to pass along. And maybe some other stuff too.

[dsraven]

just so you know, 55 was the transition year from the AD to the Tf trucks. if it was for a first gen 55 it is actually for an AD truck. not trying to rain on the parade, just a heads up.
fatman has a really good tech articles section in their catalogue online, there is a section on understanding indepenent front suspension that is a shoer read but very informative I recommend to read that even if you have mechanical background. also, since the front fender wheel openings are not symetrical, it really makes a difference on how the front tires loo in thw wheel openings when you lower the truck down over the wheels. its always good to have the correct size tire for mock up and also set the truck at ride height and rake angle when you are doing a mock up.
keep posting up pics, we all like to see your progress and sometimes can steer you in the right direction.