My 1955 Chevy 3100 build

[55 Chevy Dave]

Hi. I'm Dave and I purchased my 1955 Chevrolet 3100 on November 16, 2014 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The truck lived its life in California until being shipped to Milwaukee earlier this year.

While scouring the internet for information and ideas on my build, I came across this forum. I have learned so much from the members in this forum! Thank you for taking the time to post.

I decided to try my own thread. Here's how it all began...

[55 Chevy Dave]

The truck's original 235 cubic inch inline six cylinder was running at the time. There was no wood in the bed which made it easy to see how clean the frame was. The interior had been redone at some point.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I guess it's time for the teardown! Everything came apart so easily. Most of the nuts and bolts came off without using any WD40!

[55 Chevy Dave]

I decided the first thing to do was to get the fuel tank out from behind the front seat inside the cab.

I ordered a 20-gallon, bed-fill fuel tank from CPP. It fit well without any modifications to the frame. I plan on polishing it at some point down the road.

[55 Chevy Dave]

Now onto getting everything else off of and out of the truck including that original fuel tank. The tank wasn't even strapped in and the filler neck wasn't connected to the body. I am guessing that the previous owner lost the key to the locking gas cap on the body and decided to bypass it. Not good!

I guess I know what the truck's original color was now!

[55 Chevy Dave]

You should have seen the neighbor's face when I fired it up and pulled it out onto the street in this condition! I just wanted in facing the other way in the garage!

[Pooseys]

Originally Posted by 55 Chevy Dave

The truck's original 235 cubic inch inline six cylinder was running at the time. There was no wood in the bed which made it easy to see how clean the frame was. The interior had been redone at some point.

Hi I see you took photos of motor, I dont spose you got any close ups of either side ? The reason I ask is I had someone take the 235 out of my dads 1957 chev due to blown piston and rings so we decided to give the motor a full rebuild, now I have no one clued up enough to put the motor back in and attach all thats required. My dad died, which is why I now have it. Or are you able to advise me on which wires go to where ? Thanks in advance

[55 Chevy Dave]

Originally Posted by Pooseys

Hi I see you took photos of motor, I dont spose you got any close ups of either side ? The reason I ask is I had someone take the 235 out of my dads 1957 chev due to blown piston and rings so we decided to give the motor a full rebuild, now I have no one clued up enough to put the motor back in and attach all thats required. My dad died, which is why I now have it. Or are you able to advise me on which wires go to where ? Thanks in advance

The wiring on the truck was a mess when I got it. I knew that I was going to replace everything (including the engine) so when I removed the engine, I promptly ripped out all of the wiring and threw it away. I never kept any record of where anything went. The best picture I have of the engine wiring can be found on my second post of this thread.

They do sell reprints of the original wiring diagram for the truck. That may be your best bet.

Sorry I couldn't be more help! Best of luck to you on your project.

[ChuckDriver]

Very cool!

[55 Chevy Dave]

Now that the holidays are over, it's definitely time to get back to work on the project.

After hunting high and low on the internet and looking through all of my catalogs, I was not able to find pedal plates for my truck, so I decided to make some.

I bought some Lokar billet aluminum pedal pads from Summit Racing. I made the pedal plates to fit inside these pedal pads. It wasn't too difficult as they only have a slight bend to them. I drilled the mounting holes and then made mounting brackets and welded them to the back side of the plates.

The pedal pads now screw to the plates.

I still need to take the die grinder to those ugly welds!

[Kim57]

welcome.
Looks like a real clean truck to start with.
What are your plans?
Kim

[oldman3]

First Welcome to the site. You've come a long way in less than 2 months. Nice job so far, which 4 bar rear set-up are you using? Well I see you posted some more, so you've answered some of my other questions. Will wait for some more updates....Jim

[Advanced Design]

Welcome 55 Chevy Dave!

Very solid truck you have there. Surely there is an axle shop in the Chicago area that can narrow your differential. Wonder if the Roadster shop would do that? Maybe Moser engineering.

And I put a 10 bolt from a Nova in my truck. It was the right width to work well though I haven't checked the width for a 55 truck

Cool plans and looking forward to updates!

[55 Chevy Dave]

Thanks Jim. I picked up the rear 4-link from TCI. It has been pretty straightforward so far!

[55 Chevy Dave]

Here's the progress from the long holiday weekend. I started off by cutting off the lip in the frame to clear the stock steering box. I cut a patch and welded it in top and bottom and ground it down. You'll never know it was there!

[55 Chevy Dave]

I received the crossmember from Progress Automotive and dry fit it together. It's a little bent up from shipping, but it will straighten out fine after being coaxed with the torch. It should really strengthen the frame after installed. I need to box the frame first and I'm not quite there yet. It is upside down in these pictures.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I filled more holes and continued grinding until the sides of the frame were fairly smooth. I still need to fill some of the larger holes. I think it looks pretty good!

[Tanman]

The frame is looking great.

[Kim57]

You frame is looking great.
Kim

[55 Chevy Dave]

And to finish off my weekend update... I mounted the front and rear bumpers and welded in the mounting nuts since they won't be accessible after the frame is boxed. Not the prettiest welds, but they will be forever hidden away soon.

The front bumper brackets ended up mounting on the inside of the frame while the rear brackets mounted on the outside of the frame rails as expected. I checked the assembly manual and this doesn't seem to be correct. I measured the frame width and measured it again. I checked the positioning of the brackets to the bumper and this is the only way they can be installed while keeping the frame rails parallel from front to back. I'm not sure why this is, but the final product is correct.

[55 Chevy Dave]

...And two more pics highlighting the chrome finish on my new rear bumper from LMC Truck. I can't wait until I can install more shiny stuff!

[Kim57]

Nice looking bumper.
Kim

[55 Chevy Dave]

Wingnut1,

Per your private message, attached are a couple pictures of the air cleaner on my engine along with the carb.

I couldn't figure out how to attach the pictures to my message back to you, so here they are.

Please let me know if you need anything else.

Dave

[hotrodelrod]

Frame looks great! I am right behind you with my 54 build. Spent the day today punching rivets and grinding the frame. I too plan on using the Progress Auto crossmember. I tacked in some braces and removed the stock crossmember today. Please let me know how you like it. I will be following along from here out.

[Kabwe]

First off welcome to the site.

Everything is looking great. Nice job.