1949 Chevy 3100 - the journey begins

[focusedontheprize]

First, I want to say you guys have a phenomenal forum here. I have been only reading it for a few weeks now, but you guys are quite good at what you do and are very helpful. Props to all you guys.

Picked her up in Minnesota and had her shipped back to NY. It has been a bit of a feat trying to find a AD truck in NY that is in good shape and a reasonable price. Finally found her back in January.

She is a 1949 Chevy 3100. It originally was a farm truck in Nebraska with a 216 4 speed still in it. The truck is pretty solid and I am very happy with the purchase.

Here is the goal: I want to have it driving by July 4th. My plans are to:

- Lower the truck
Front: 4" drop axle - probably go with Sid from droppedaxles.com
Rear: 4" lowering blocks with stock leafs

- Change the drivetrain
After doing a bit of reading, I am seeing the 216 isn't that great of a motor to go with because of the splash "oil trough" system. My goal is to stay with the inline 6 (I would really like a 292) and I am matching it up with an S10 5 speed.

- Swap out the front drums for discs
This seems to be a feat if I do not want to go with a kit and I want to keep the 6 lug setup.

Other than that, I want to drive her how she looks. I love the look of these trucks and would like to keep it mostly stock (straight axle and such).

I definitely will have a bit of questions for you guys, but July 1st is my goal to take my first drive

Here is a few pictures of her:

[Root2812]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have a fun project. My truck looks alot like yours condition wise. Mine was a municipal truck of some sort out in Montana before it came to Minnesota, those AD trucks just seem to end up here. Having the factory 4 speed is nice too since you won't have to shave the 3 speed off your column when you swap in your 5 speed.

Oh and you can swap to 6 lug disks easy enough. Classic parts sells a conversion kit that comes with the correct master cylender and everything. Its something like 700-800 bucks or so. Since you are going for a stock look I am sure you can find a set of weathered hood badges easy too. Gotta have those to look stock.

And.. The 216 isn't a bad motor at all if you don't rev the piss out of it all the time. What is the problem is the 4:10 gearing when combined with the low geared trans and then a motor where you don't want to run at really high RPMS. If your 216 is good and you want to stay stock check into a 3:55 ring and pinion from Patricks. That will get you to a highway cruising speed.

[focusedontheprize]

Originally Posted by Root2812

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like you have a fun project. My truck looks alot like yours condition wise. Mine was a municipal truck of some sort out in Montana before it came to Minnesota, those AD trucks just seem to end up here. Having the factory 4 speed is nice too since you won't have to shave the 3 speed off your column when you swap in your 5 speed.

Oh and you can swap to 6 lug disks easy enough. Classic parts sells a conversion kit that comes with the correct master cylender and everything. Its something like 700-800 bucks or so. Since you are going for a stock look I am sure you can find a set of weathered hood badges easy too. Gotta have those to look stock.

And.. The 216 isn't a bad motor at all if you don't rev the piss out of it all the time. What is the problem is the 4:10 gearing when combined with the low geared trans and then a motor where you don't want to run at really high RPMS. If your 216 is good and you want to stay stock check into a 3:55 ring and pinion from Patricks. That will get you to a highway cruising speed.

Root -

Thanks a lot. Yeah it seems these AD trucks are some how drawn to your place.

As for the conversion kit - the idea behind this build was on a "budget" per se. I have a 1972 Challenger I am restoring right now (currently on the roterrisse), which is where most of my "car funds" will go. The idea on this truck was to get it running and have a fun with it without pouring too much money in it. So with that being said, I am looking at Speedway's basic disc kit (5 lug) for $249. I know I said I would like to do 6, but sometimes you just can't have your cake and eat it too.

The 216 sounds like a good motor, I was thinking though if I was going to pull the drive train I wouldn't mind looking for an upgrade on the inline 6. Worst comes to worst, I will end up using that 216 if I cannot find a motor by mid March and run that with my 5 speed. I agree I need to tone down that 4.10 gearing out back. This is going to be a cruiser so the 3.55s will be a good setup.

[rollinrooster]

Looks like a good start. Keep us posted and good luck with her. I also have a '49 3100 but mine is sittn on an S-10 frame.

[av8tr33337]

Looks like a good solid truck and since you are keeping it fairly stock your goal of July 4th is very reasonable. Looking forward to following your build. keep the pics comming. Im subscribed.

[focusedontheprize]

I headed home last weekend. Saturday was a pretty busy day. Picked up the NV3500 transmission. The transmission looks great and it clean. It was pulled from a running '92 Chevy I was told. The guy decided to go with a T5 setup instead so he was looking to just get rid of it.



So after that was picked up, I went home and wanted to get the bed and front clip off in preparation of cleaning the frame and start re-doing the suspension.

Before:


Moving the bed:


Bed removed:


Solid looking shackle:


Straight as an arrow:


Clip removed:


Again:


Unfortunately I had to head back to that night, so I was cut short. Sid from Droppedaxles is putting together a 4" drop axle for me and my disc brake kit is on the way next week. I am hoping to grab the 292 in 2 week so I can start mocking that up with the NV3500.

[focusedontheprize]

Called Sid last week to order my 4" straight drop axle. He is a textbook example of a great guy to work with. He was helpful with the measurements and reaming on the degrees for the tierods. Also ordered the new drag link, tie rod, and lowering blocks for the rear.

Unfortunately the truck won't get worked on for a few weeks, I need to finish up the welds on the Challenger and get epoxy on that before the end of March. The old man dinged up his Dakota pretty bad this week so that will soon be pulled in the garage and getting new quarters and a few more upgrades.

[focusedontheprize]

It has been a while since I updated, but some serious progress has been made.
So here we go:

The truck came with a 216 in it and I had been debating on keeping it when after a little research I discover the 292 from Chevy. It was exactly what I was looking for, a big sized inline 6, and enough horsepower and torque to have some fun with. I located one in Albany, NY (after a few weeks, a lot harder to find than I originally thought. It had been pulled from a 1970 Chevy farm truck. The guy threw in an additional carb and exhaust manifold, which was great.





So we have a motor and transmission finally (292 with the NV3500).

[focusedontheprize]

Originally when I first bought the truck I was debating on what I really wanted to do right now. I figured I would get it running and drive it for a bit and down the road I could do some changes I wanted to do. That plan was thrown out the window when I came across this:



In order to make life easier, I wanted to get access to the just the frame. With the bed removed, the cab was next.

So with some patience, horses, jacks and multiple 2x4s the cab made its way onto the trailer and off to a buddy's house for storage



and I ended with this..



After stripping the drivetrain and components..





Off to the scrap yard (216, transmission, rear end, exhaust, etc.)

[focusedontheprize]

The original plan (seems they always are and never end to be the final plan) was to open the motor, to do a very brief cleaning and button everything up and drive it for this summer. Then there was talk about going through the head and putting harden seats in and this led to that and the next thing I realized I am looking down at this...



So while the head was at the machine shop I decided to clean everything up and see what I was working with. Overall the block was incredibly clean and it looks like #6 had some work done to it before. Other that than everything was within spot on for stock measurements. When I purchased the motor he told me it has 67K on the gauge and I assumed with it being a farm truck the tach had probably rolled or it was not the original motor. I stood correct. Great buy, I couldn't have been happier.

[focusedontheprize]

I do not like rust. I hate it.

So with the frame being bare and my parts on the way my father asked me when was I plan on assembling the front end again. He then looked at my reaction and without me even saying a word he goes "That rust is bothering you isn't it?". You can bet your a** it is. That had to go.

So with some help of my old man and my buddy we moved the frame down to another location where I could prep it and paint it. I was going to originally get it blasted, but I then wanted to POR15 it more than anything. So off with the flap disks and the drill.....

Before:





After (corner of my 1972 Challenger):



So for anyone who has never used POR15 before it loves rusts. So if you decide to put it on anything that is already rusty and you want to clean it up a little bit, make sure you don't go over board. I just "one three-ed" the frame enough where it was clean, but there was still exposed rust. You then will clean it, prep it and dry it, and I end up laying two coats on POR15 on it. It came out a glossy black and I wanted to tone that down so I headed over to Home Depot to pick up a few of their Rustolem Flat Black rattle cans and ended up with this look....



That was exactly what I was looking for and all my parts will be painted the same way.

[cAlvis165]

Looks great! I hope that you can get it all finished by July. We'll be cheering you on!

[av8tr33337]

Ditto, looks great! I can see your ambition and determination comming through in your progress. Keep up the great work.

[focusedontheprize]

Thanks guys. I am thinking mid May I can get it rolling again and by the end of May I can have the mock-up done by. I am trying to squeeze too much in in such little amount of time, but we will see.

[focusedontheprize]

Pictures will follow soon....

April 29th weekend:

Finally decided to head over the the junkyard and grab an Explorer rear end. I had went over there the week before and could not find one that had Traction Lok (I looked at 12 Explorers/Mountaineers). So today I decided to just grab one and move on. As soon as we walked into the yard I noticed a new Mountaineer that wasn't there last week and wouldn't you know it was a V8. Once I had the SUV off all the ground I was able to check and wala it was a Traction Lok unit. Finally..

Spent most of that day cleaning the rust off and cutting the brackets/spring pads off to prep it for mock up the following weekend. Painted the U bolts, washers, nuts, and front leaf springs in preparation to assemble the front end next weekend.

[focusedontheprize]

May 4th weekend:

It is a slight relief seeing myself putting parts on the frame and not taking them off. I am glad I took the time to paint the frame and parts. Even though I am just putting the body back on how it is it just cleans everything up and makes everything nicer to work with.

We started mocking up the front end. The front leafs were a little bit of a pain to put back in, but with a little persuasion with a strap and a rubber mallet they went in. I soon found out that the front axle is not a universal fit - it goes only one way (I patted myself on the back for properly indicating that when I was taking it out haha). So I have to turn the pins around for the keepers next weekend. We drilled out the holes in the spindles for the new disc brake setup from CPP and hung the caliper brackets. We are currently reaming out the steering arms for tie rod ends and ran out of time so I couldn't hang the rest of the brake setup.

We also began working on the rear end mock up. I am currently waiting on my parts from CPP, so hopefully they will be there by this weekend so finish the mock up and painting the parts.

[Root2812]

How did you know it was a traction lock? What is the identifying mark or characteristic? Did those only come in the V8 explorers?

Thanks

[focusedontheprize]

Originally Posted by Root2812

How did you know it was a traction lock? What is the identifying mark or characteristic? Did those only come in the V8 explorers?

Thanks

Here is what a Traction Lok looks like:



Correct me if I am wrong, but the key is the "S" spring - that makes it a Traction Lok.


In my experience I found a lot of the V6s did not have a Traction Lok unit. I would walk up to the rear end and spin one of the tires and asked my father which way the tire spun - so the majority of the time I never pulled the cover. However, like I mentioned this one was a Mountaineer V8 AWD (which is the top of the top on that line of Explorer) so I assumed it was Traction Lok.

If you are looking for one, I would really look for a V8 Explorer and Mountaineer. I would think that is your best bet.

To give you an idea also, this rear end ran me $123.00 with tax. I was charged $15 for the sway bar, so this is a steal if you can find one.

[Root2812]

Thanks for the info.

You say you spun a tire and look how the wheel spun. I asume you ment the other wheel. Was it traction lok if both wheels went forward at the same time or if they spin opposite?

Oh and thanks for letting me interrupt your thread.

[focusedontheprize]

Originally Posted by Root2812

Thanks for the info.

You say you spun a tire and look how the wheel spun. I asume you ment the other wheel. Was it traction lok if both wheels went forward at the same time or if they spin opposite?

Oh and thanks for letting me interrupt your thread.

Sorry Root I have been away for a little bit.

As for the wheel spin - I spun the one wheel and watched how the other wheel spun. If the other wheel spins in the opposite direction you are spinning the wheel then it is not a posi unit. You want both wheels to spin in the same direction.

Just think about in burn out terms, you can not do a rolling burnout if the wheels are spinning in opposite directions - we would have a problem then haha.

[focusedontheprize]

It has been a busy couple weeks. I just returned from my week "vacation" where I went home and worked on the truck all week.

The front end is finally buttoned up and all ready to go. I have a little less that 2" clearance for road clearance (bottom of my axle to the ground) and that is exactly what I wanted. I still need to figure out what I want to run for wheels and tires, so I will be tinkering with that these next couple weeks.

The rear end is 85% complete. I pulled apart the rear leaf springs, pressed in new bushings, cleaned them, installed poly-liners, coated them in POR, and re-assembled. The came out great. We then mocked up the rear end (Thanks for the help Kabwe) and tacked everything in place.

So at the moment this is how it stands, well rolls is the more appropriate saying. It is great to finally have it down on the ground to get an idea of what I have.

Next up is mocking up the motor and transmission (that happens in 2 weekends) and then moving into gas and brake lines and exhaust.

Here it is in the daylight:



Here it how she sits covered and awaiting:

[focusedontheprize]

Back on it this weekend hopefully. Goals are:

- Motor/Trans mockup:

With the 292/NV3500 swap, I am going to have to move all the mounts which is fine. CPP sent me my transmission crossmember last week and I finally have located both motor mounts for the 292. Next is building the engine perches from the frame.

- Clean, POR, and paint rear end
- If enough time, clean and rattle can the motor.

[99 to Life]

hey just came across this build. I'm liking it. I actually have an nv3500 but mounted to a v8. However, my next project is going to be more like this. I do have another 3500 and was wondering how yours mates up to the 292? Will the input shaft need to be trimmed? I have an adapter that my friend made for mounting the t-5 to an inline. So I was going to just get a t-5. But if I can't find one, I can just use my nv3500.

[focusedontheprize]

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

hey just came across this build. I'm liking it. I actually have an nv3500 but mounted to a v8. However, my next project is going to be more like this. I do have another 3500 and was wondering how yours mates up to the 292? Will the input shaft need to be trimmed? I have an adapter that my friend made for mounting the t-5 to an inline. So I was going to just get a t-5. But if I can't find one, I can just use my nv3500.

As far as I know (I just ordered the RAM "Muscle Car" clutch kit this week from Summit), nothing will need to be trimmed. I used the 292 with a V8 flywheel (had to open the flywheel holes to 1/2 from 7/16) and that mated perfectly with my 3 rail NV3500. Which model is yours?

To be honest, I was in the hunt for a T5 and then when I started to read more about the NV3500, that one took the reigns of what I was looking for. Picked mine up from a great guy for great price (amazing how when you tell these guys what it is going into, they have no problem working with you). I am very interested how this setup will be.

[focusedontheprize]

It has been a little hectic. I put such a tight deadline on trying to get this thing fired up, I am just between a rock and a hard spot.

Motor has been mocked up and the mounts have been made. Tacked them and sent the mounts out to finish the full welding. Once I get those back, they will be primered and painted. The transmission mount has been fabricated, so again more cleaning and painting.

Finally cleaned up the rear end from the Mercury Mountaineer. Cleaned, washed with Marine Cleaner, prepped with Metal Ready, PORed and painted. As I pulled the axles to have them re drilled for a Chevy bolt pattern, we noticed the axle bearing in the driver side was going. It ruined the axle unfortunately and because I am past my 30 day return policy on the rear end, I have to go buy an axle. Stellar. Ordered my driver's side axle bearing from NAPA and axle seals for both sides so I will have those ready to go. Along with that I ordered all my hardware and brakes for the rear so everything will be ready to go once I swap out the axle.

It has been a bit frustrating the last few weeks. Same song and dance as everyone here. So much to do and not enough time to do it (I have only been able to work on this on Saturday and half of Sunday because of the commute).

Time will tell though.