My 56 3100 3.5 year build lots of pictures.

[Bangkok Dean]

Picture of the 56 when bought in CA, it was mounted on a 1983 ¾ ton chassis with Power steering and breaks. The motor was a 350 with a 350 auto.

[Bangkok Dean]

After getting the truck in Thailand and giving it a close inspection it was obvious it was full of problems, like rust covered in bondo, nothing worked A/C and the steering column ignition switch.
All the glass was scratched the seats were sun faded the motor was tired with no oil pressure. So I bought a $5,000 truck for $20,000.
Now that it was here I decided to make it the way I wanted it to be.

First I removed the steering column and wood from the dash and this is what I found.

So seeing this I then decided to make it right hand drive seeing that a new dash was necessary. So I had a talented metal guy fabricate a new dash, he did this with no tools and an old piece of rail road track as a mandrel.

[Bangkok Dean]

He also made a glove box from scratch. I had ordered an Ididit chrome tilt column and he made a sheet metal piece to hold an A/C vent and the other side to house the A/C switches.

[Bangkok Dean]

Now the fire wall must have had 50 assorted holes so they were welded up and the fire wall was covered with a flat sheet of metal.

[Bangkok Dean]

I had ordered a rebuilt 350 with a TPI system and a 700R4 old Trans for the truck.

[Bangkok Dean]

A new rear mount was made for the Trans.

[Kim57]

Was a shame the truck wasn't what it was supposed to be in the beginning.
It turned out great in the end though.
Kim

[_Ogre]

wow. nice build, nice truck

i'm always intrigued by these right hand drive conversion, looks like you had skilled craftsmen working on your truck
odd (to me) to see the ac and alt switched under the hood and trying to fit a vintage air into the opposite side
gas/lpg dual fuel is interesting, as is the whole project

[Nev68]

very nice!
What headers did you use?

Do you have a heater or only AC? I know there might not be much use for a heater in your part of the world.

[Bangkok Dean]

Originally Posted by Nev68

very nice!
What headers did you use?

Do you have a heater or only AC? I know there might not be much use for a heater in your part of the world.

The headers came from Summit racing along with most all parts for the engine,trans and cooling system.Body assories and seals came from LMC.

As for a heater over here it never goes below 70*F.

But A/C is a must.

[Nev68]

Originally Posted by Bangkok Dean

The headers came from Summit racing along with most all parts for the engine,trans and cooling system.Body assories and seals came from LMC.

As for a heater over here it never goes below 70*F.

But A/C is a must.

Were the Summit headers Full length or shorty style?
I tried some block huggers with mine with Jag IFS but the header outlet dumps rights on top of the steering rack shaft. Looking for other options for RH drive.

[Bangkok Dean]

Originally Posted by Nev68

Were the Summit headers Full length or shorty style?
I tried some block huggers with mine with Jag IFS but the header outlet dumps rights on top of the steering rack shaft. Looking for other options for RH drive.

The polished stainless steel headers were full length with 3 inch collectors.I don't remember the part number as I bought them 2 years ago.

[CharlieSheen]

Very impressive build.Dean,did you buy the truck unseen?This is why so many folks (like us) basically just want to start from scratch.So many vehicles out there just lipstick on pigs.I would imagines that the duty on the truck must have been a killer,would it have been much better to have just shipped over all the pieces in a container and start from there?Where are you from originally,Dean?

I had to smile a little bit seeing that there is a body shop in Thailand with a big vintage ESSO sign and what looks like some U.S. Navy artifacts inside.And filled with tired old Mercedes and Jags and your truck in the middle.Are most vehicles diesel there?

[_Ogre]

i'd hate to see bangkok's shipping bill
i squeal when a vendor wants $9.95 to ship a part

[Bangkok Dean]

Originally Posted by CharlieSheen

Very impressive build.Dean,did you buy the truck unseen?This is why so many folks (like us) basically just want to start from scratch.So many vehicles out there just lipstick on pigs.I would imagines that the duty on the truck must have been a killer,would it have been much better to have just shipped over all the pieces in a container and start from there?Where are you from originally,Dean?

I had to smile a little bit seeing that there is a body shop in Thailand with a big vintage ESSO sign and what looks like some U.S. Navy artifacts inside.And filled with tired old Mercedes and Jags and your truck in the middle.Are most vehicles diesel there?

Hi, I bought it from a dealer near San Jose off the net, In the pictures it looks good and when I received it I was very disappointed. In hind sight I should have flown over to the states myself and bought something else. I agree it would have been much cheaper to buy a truck as a basket case, that would have saved me $50,000. I have lived here for 29 years and had been into drag racing in the 60s and street rods for many years. Clubs I was in were The Eliminators of RI, SNTA, Yankee hot rod counsel, NHRA, South Florida street rods,ISCA, Cincy street rods, The Hard Time car club in the LA area,KKOA and the West Coast customs.

The body shop is owned by a friend and he does complete rebuilds of antique and classic cars from all over Asia and Europe.

Originally Posted by _Ogre

i'd hate to see Bangkok's shipping bill
i squeal when a vendor wants $9.95 to ship a part

You have that correct.......lol

[Hampshire]

Superb job - one would be hard pressed to find better craftsmanship.....

[Dan in Pasadena]

Nice truck. Sounds like cubic dollars had to be spent. I assume(?) the manhours in it are numerous but the labor is cheaper there than here? Just imagine if it had been done here! Of course it probably COULDN'T have been built the same way here. It always amazes me how guys with little or no tools but loads of know how can make literally anything. Incredible.

[hopped up]

Sa wa dee kap! Wow that's a great transformation ! Inter string to see Classic Chevys in Thailand

[eagleuh1]

And the air is so much better to breath without all the diesel and 2 stroke smoke. I worked there in 90 and 91 teaching scuba diving in Pattaya. The traffic police wore O2 masks with a bottle on a dolly. In 2005 the air was a spectacular difference . I liked all the Harley's the guys at TQ's had. Plus liked watching the guys build those rental jeeps from scratch. Amazing work. Yours turned out really nice too. Jim. If I could just get my Thai wife to knock out some replacement panels for my truck I'd be in heaven. LOL.

[Bangkok Dean]

Originally Posted by eagleuh1

And the air is so much better to breath without all the diesel and 2 stroke smoke. I worked there in 90 and 91 teaching scuba diving in Pattaya. The traffic police wore O2 masks with a bottle on a dolly. In 2005 the air was a spectacular difference . I liked all the Harley's the guys at TQ's had. Plus liked watching the guys build those rental jeeps from scratch. Amazing work. Yours turned out really nice too. Jim. If I could just get my Thai wife to knock out some replacement panels for my truck I'd be in heaven. LOL.

Did you know the TQ burnt down and was rebuilt. Woody still owns the place and the Jesters and others still go there. I used to go there in the 90s with my HD but after 2001 stopped going to Pattaya due to the traffic.

[yossarian19]

Hey Dean, glad to see you made it over here. As long as I've been working on my '57, my old man (MrVette / Gilligan on the Corvette boards) has been telling me to get a hold of you. Now it's easier
Gorgeous build.
Ever get that rough idle figured out?

[Bangkok Dean]

Originally Posted by yossarian19

Hey Dean, glad to see you made it over here. As long as I've been working on my '57, my old man (MrVette / Gilligan on the Corvette boards) has been telling me to get a hold of you. Now it's easier
Gorgeous build.
Ever get that rough idle figured out?

Hi, Mr. Vette had mentioned that you were into old trucks. I did get the idle fixed thanks to people like Gene, the problem was with the ECU and with a little trick it was easily fixed.

So what is the deal with your truck,year, model, progress?

Cheers from the land of smiles.

[Bangkok Dean]

Originally Posted by Bangkok Dean

Hi, Mr. Vette had mentioned that you were into old trucks. I did get the idle fixed thanks to people like Gene, the problem was with the ECU and with a little trick it was easily fixed.

So what is the deal with your truck,year, model, progress?

Cheers from the land of smiles.

Sorry I just read your bio.
1957 Chevy 3200, big rear window & 6 lug.
Front disc, power steering, Vortec 4.8 / 4L60E swap, hydro boost brakes & patina.

[yossarian19]

No worries at all.
Mine is a year and a half in. I'm thinking that stage one, get it running & driving around town w/ the LS swap, is almost done. In the coming years, I'll try to come up with the money / time to get the body straight & painted. I'm in school (again) and my wife and I are having our first this fall, so priorities are changing. We'll get the registration up to date, get the exhaust finished & put an upholstered bench seat in it. From there... I don't want to say "quits" but it'll be pretty slow I imagine.

[Bangkok Dean]

Had a busy December attending a couple of Vintage car events.