New member, old 57 3100

[sqrlnts]

Hello CT.com!
Just wanted to introduce my self and my new project! Just purchased tonight! Can't wait to get it home, it doesn't currently have a motor or trans but soon will. The cab appears to be in good shape. This will be my daily driver, some day soon I hope.

Here is a short list of things I need to research and will be asking about. My budget is around $7K.

5.3L swap. Anyone seen 57 specific chassis fitment info?
Front suspension upgrade. should I switch to coils?
want to do power discs and power steering
Its been converted to 6 lug. School me on this.
A/C install. daily driver in Phoenix, its a must!

[Daze57]

welcome aboard !!!!!!!!! looks like a great start w/ a solid foundation - good info here and good guys to ask - ya gonna keep the 55-56 grill or go bk to the 57?

[Kim57]

Welcome.
Looks like a real nice truck.
Kim

[mud.man.rj]

Welcome, looks like a real good choice of a project, I like the earlier 55.56 grill. Happy building, lots of very good help and ideas here.

[sqrlnts]

Thanks guys. I don't plan on doing much with cosmetics. I will try to fix the major dents but plan on running the body as is. I like its character. I am more inclined to make it go fast, stop hard and turn.

I also need to get a radiator that can keep the motor cool in extreme heat with a condenser in front of it.

The truck has no gas tank behind the seat. Need to research a tank in between the rear frame rails.

Want to do a static drop to lower the truck.

Sorry about the randomness of my typing's. Its just me typing out what I am needing to research/learn on.

[Daze57]

get a good 4 core - with a helacious pusher fan- livin here i know what ya mean about da heat !
check on the late 60;s mustang tank - they seem to fit pretty good .

my 1/2 cents worth

[sqrlnts]

Sooo many questions, so little time. To get this truck rolling I have a 350 SBC to use. I however have questions on transmissions. If I go the manual route, what would be a good 4 speed at least that would eventually (see below) bolt up to a 420hp 5.3L?

The automatic route is my second choice, just because I love to row gears. What should I be looking at for autos? later 700R4's, 460le's???? Help!!

"Eventually" I want to do a carb'd, cam'd 5.3. Keep that in mine. If I can avoid buying two different trans, I figure I will be money ahead.

[Rude Dude]

You ask about the six lug all early half tons were six lug all the way up to 1970-71, GM went five lug for a while than back to six lug around 2000.

[Rude Dude]

That rear on your truck looks like a 66-71 cant tell with out numbers.

Originally Posted by Rude Dude

You ask about the six lug all early half tons were six lug all the way up to 1970-71, GM went five lug for a while than back to six lug around 2000.

[sqrlnts]

some pics from the Goodguys show here in Phoenix
http://s301.photobucket.com/albums/n...Goodguys%2012/

[LEEVON]

Wow, what a clean cab.

[_Ogre]

very clean cab indeed. welcome to the forum.

like others have mentioned, 55-59 is 6 lug from the factory.
easiest ifs is mustII, it will give you PS, disk brakes and 5 lug wheels all at once.
i run a 82-92 trans am rear end with rear disks and a 3.27 gear, good choice for me
ac, check out vintage air they have a surefit system

[sqrlnts]

Awesome, thanks guys. I have swap meet/car show overload. The Goodguys show was awesome. I found a set of 6 lug 16x7 truck rally wheels with beauty rings for $100. Similar to these. Need to see if they bolt up.


After leaving the swap meet I picked up my drivetrain. I scored a running 1972 350. It came complete from the 2bbl carb, to the oil pan. He also had the alternator, HEI, starter, 350 transmission, converter, cross member, driveshaft, exhaust manifolds, and mufflers $725 for everything.

Next, I need to find a radiator, a gas tank and the VIN on my frame!

[blackdiesel]

If you want to as you say it "go fast stop hard and turn quick" You will need to up grade your front end, either with a MII front ,or clip it with a camaro or something like that. I would want to up grade the rearend also, with a four link and some coilovers. I see you've got a new drive train, but your first choice I liked better was the 5.3 with the 4l60e. I love mine, tons of power, very dependable and good mileage. Got mine, wires, comp. and all for 1500. You can go to the biuld threads and see how alot of use biult our trucks and get some great ideas, and learn from our mistakes. good luck and IMO use the 57 grill in it.

[blackdiesel]

The vin is around the stearing colum mount on top of the frame, and under the cab agian, I think its just a partial # though. It should be on a tag on the a-pillar on the drivers side.

[sqrlnts]

No tag on the A pillar, will dig around on the frame to see if it shows up. I did hit a snag on my rim purchase. The front rims will bolt up but once tightened up the bead of the rim hits the spindle on the tie rod.

The rear rim fits the bolt pattern but the ID of the inner hole on the rim is not large enough to fit over and seat on the axle. There looks to be enough material to open the ID of the rim up but I don't know if it will clear the drum once fully seated. I think the rims have the wrong backspacing.





I have decided that doing a camaro clip or a IFS at this point is out of my budget. I will lower the front with a combination of drop axle and removing leaf springs. The rear will get flipped and have some leafs removed as well. Knowing that I can now upgrade the front brakes to disc, rebuild the rear drums.

Still need to decide on manual or power brakes and steering. I know the PS upgrade is a huge task but power brakes shouldn't be that hard. Correct me if I am wrong.

Gratuitous engine shot.

[sqrlnts]

Been awhile, time for an update. What I thought was a clean cab was, but it was tweaked to hell. Rectum, damn near killed em! The windshield would not fit and DS door would not close because the previous Lead repair on the DS pillar was 7/8" short. The roof was pretty hammered in two spots so I decided to find another.

Found an old replacement cab tonight, can't wait to start cleaning it up and fitting the 57 dash as it is a 58 GMC.

Had my frame sandblasted and then I brush painted it with Rustoleum. Have step notched the rear frame rails using Paul Hortons Welder series notch kit, relocated the '73 K5 Blazer gas tank to the rear and relocated the battery to under the PS cab step on the frame.

The lowered front axle is in with new kingpins, what a rodeo that was! Also on my second rear end, the first one spit out two pinion teeth when I was rolling it around, final painting it......whoops, lesson learned.

Need the temperatures to drop back down so I can lose my excuses and get busy!!!

[mud.man.rj]

Nice work on the c-notch, watch that 3 groove crank pulley, someone on here is having a hard time fitting a ps pump (alignment issues) he may find where you live and the pulley, haha.

[Kim57]

Nice progress. The stance looks good.
Kim

[sqrlnts]

Originally Posted by mud.man.rj

Nice work on the c-notch, watch that 3 groove crank pulley, someone on here is having a hard time fitting a ps pump (alignment issues) he may find where you live and the pulley, haha.

Funny thing, that 3 groove pulley is no more. I only needed two grooves, so I cut off the outermost pulley to avoid cutting any more crossmember out to fit the belt on. I then couldn't get a water pump pulley to align so....I went to a short water pump and Al pulleys.

Originally Posted by Kim57

Nice progress. The stance looks good.
Kim

Thanks Kim, I am a little worried the front will be too high but am not going to worry until I have the rest of the front end weight on.

[1project2many]

Howdy.

Solid axles can handle quite well. I've been involved with vintage race cars for a few years and those run dropped I beams all the time. If the roads where you are are fairly flat and aren't full of potholes then you don't benefit much from independent suspension. If you ride in a 90's Dodge 4wd or Jeep Cherokee you'll realize that solid axle trucks don't have to be a fight but they do have to be built correctly. Most of the stock '57 components are small by today's standards.

I run a stock chassis and for a few years before it was restored I used it as a driver that got rode hard. You'll want a front sway bar and a larger tie rod to begin with. I had a K10 Blazer tie rod turned to fit the stock rod ends at a machine shop because nothing larger was available at the time. I believe that CPP sells one now, machined and ready to install.

If you stick with stock sized tires the Pitman arm won't be too bad but if you go to something fat there will be quite a bit of flex as you turn the wheels. When I had my '55 back in the late '80s I was going to find a way to attach an arm from a 1 1/2 ton truck to fix that problem. I seem to remember the bolt centers were close but the larger truck parts used much larger attaching fasteners. I never finished the project and that was 20+ years ago. These days I've got a lot more experience and would probably be inclined to weld a supporting gusset across the Pitman arm. With your truck being lowered you might be looking at bending the arm to improve the drag link angle anyway so that would be a good time to add the gusset.

The stock steering box develops play in the output shaft bushings and you'll feel it when driving. It's easier to repair it now if you're keeping the stock box. IMO a better way is to use a Toyota power steering box from an '83 to '87 4X4 truck or 4runner. I've seen pictures of the install and I've had a box in my hand and it doesn't look like major surgery is required although it might get tricky if you keep the original column.

A steering damper might be nice. When I lived out west I never needed one but here on the east coast with the crazy drivers and narrow, rutted roads it's a big help. Mine's attached to the tie rod with a bracket I built that fits the I beam axle nicely. If you upgrade the box and other components you probably won't need the damper.

Stock drums can stop well for a short time but they are narrow and thin and will heat up and fade very quickly. Larger, finned aluminum drums can slow this but a ready made bolt on disc conversion is the best solution. "Back in the day" the swap was to use a late '60s fullsize Chevy rotor or drum because it fit the front spindle and came with a five lug pattern. There are kits available today with six lug rotors to go with those nice, new wheels.

When I put my truck together in '93 the Armstrong power steering and Brutus power brakes weren't such a big deal. These days my body complains that I should have replaced all the manual parts with power versions before the restoration every time I go driving. In fact all those years ago I had a seat that was not well aligned and ended up messing my one knee pretty badly muscling the truck through a nice, twisty road that required a lot of quick braking and hard steering. IMO if you're going to keep the truck, do the extra work for the power stuff now.

[OrrieG]

50's ford guys have been using the Toyota box for years. Here is a link to the most comprehensive how-to article.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/i...60_Trucks.html

From the photos you will see it is very similar to the chevy set up. If you keep your stock steering column you will need to get a column saver kit.

When I did my first 4x4 conversion I kept the stock 59 steering box. The local MOOG distirbutor found that an early 80's Chevy 1 ton van tie rod end had the same cone configuration as the 59 box with threads to match the 74 truck pitman arm. If you wanted a stronger pitman arm you could use a mid 70's chevy truck and find the tie rod ends to fit. The stress of 4wd and bigger tires eventually wore out the stock box.

[sqrlnts]

All really great info, thanks 1project and OrrieG.

Our roads out here in Phoenix are probably some of the nicest flattest roads around, good thing because I have decided to build the truck with manual brakes and steering. I don't have the funds to convert them now and I want to know what its like to drive this thing as it came from the factory, I think it will only make me appreciate the power options that much more, once they happen.

I did come across a beefed up pitman arm, I got it in trade, it sits almost perfectly flat to the frame and ground now. The tie rod will be stock size for now but will have larger, modern tie rods fitted. I do plan to attach a sway bar from something fairly soon.

[sqrlnts]

Originally Posted by sqrlnts

All really great info, thanks 1project and OrrieG.

Our roads out here in Phoenix are probably some of the nicest flattest roads around, good thing because I have decided to build the truck with manual brakes and steering. I don't have the funds to convert them now and I want to know what its like to drive this thing as it came from the factory, I think it will only make me appreciate the power options that much more, once they happen.

I did come across a beefed up pitman arm, I got it in trade, it sits almost perfectly flat to the frame and ground now. The tie rod will be stock size for now but will have larger, modern tie rods fitted. I do plan to attach a sway bar from something fairly soon.

And I meant to say beefed up drag link not pitman arm!

[1project2many]

I said:

If you stick with stock sized tires the Pitman arm won't be too bad but if you go to something fat there will be quite a bit of flex as you turn the wheels.

That's what happens when I post at 3 am. I meant to say the steering knuckle flexes, not the pitman arm. It's the part in the picture. I would add gussets or find a stronger version if you're going to use fat tires.

Good luck and happy building.