My “FREE” 56 truck build!

[Krustyone]

Got me a free truck! Brought it home, tore it down and here we go.
It’s a 56 Chevy short bed step side. A family member built it in high school about 35 years ago. It’s been sitting for a LONG time. Here’s some pics to get it started.

[mongocanfly]

can't beat that price...welcome aboard

[Krustyone]

Pulled the cab off. Flattened out the steering box lip, removed shock towers. I’m starting to dislike rivets.

[Krustyone]

Pulled the cab off. Flattened out the steering box, removed shock towers. I’m starting to dislike rivets.

[Krustyone]

This is my goal for stance. (Example below) I could use some advice. Planning to bag it I think.

Here is my plan:
I have a 420 hp small block from my old 32 roadster ready to run.
4 spd Muncie m22 and found a forward mount shifter to allow a bench seat.
Ford 9” posi of some sort. Probably source from curry.
4 link rear with watts link or panhard. Possibly a triangulated 4 link.
Stock looking exterior and interior. Love the classic look, with some modern convenience like vintage air and carpet dynamat etc.
Bench seat with shoulder belts and a middle seat belt for the little one.
Flat blue or black paint with steel wheels and whitewalls.
Disks all around, power rack and brakes.
Classic wood stained bed, raised a little for dropped suspension.
Rear mounted gas tank or or fuel cell.

[71'tahoe]

You have a good foundation to start with! When I started my project it was only a body. Good luck with he build and post tons of photos.

[jjzepplin]

Who the heck gave that away? Seems like it was nice at one point. Still looks good! This will be fun!

[ChuckDriver]

Free is always nice!

You should talk to Nate and Dave at PoterBuilt Fab in Apache Junction, they have some killer suspension setups for the 55-59's!

[Scottish58chev]

That's an awesome truck for a starting point and you can't beat the price.

[Krustyone]

After staring at the frame and all the work its gonna need to bag it and set it up like I want I decided to build a frame from scratch. Starting with some 2x6 square tube narrowing down a bit in the front and grafting 2x4 in the rear for the drop. Welders series MII and rear 4 link. Any input on the frame will be much appreciated as I’ve never built one from scratch before. I do have some friends and family that I can recruit for help that are experts in this. Better bone up on my welding skills. Many pics to follow..... Love this site. I’d like to do porterbuilt front and rear, but holy crap, big bucks!!!*

[joedoh]

is that a giant sunroof?

cant beat free!

[47 Fasttoys]

Man this thing has got old school all over it: gold anodized valve covers, T-bolts holding them on, twin carb intake, Centerlines, large sunroof, drum brakes and a solid axle and two tone paint. What's not to love, this thing would have been the hot rod truck of my high school back in 1980. Cool project.
Rob
PS. I just noticed it also had a tilt front end? Yea, someone was on their game back in the day.

[Krustyone]

Little update.. got the chassis table done, and flipped and level. Had my son do half the welding. He did great. Got the 2x6 tube cut to length for the chassis rails. These two pictures are both taken the same way, wtf one rotated??? Grrrrr

[Krustyone]

Little update.. got the chassis table done, and flipped and level. Had my son do half the welding. He did great. Got the 2x6 tube cut to length for the chassis rails. These two pictures are both taken the same way, wtf one rotated??? Grrrrr

[slammed57]

Originally Posted by Krustyone

Little update.. got the chassis table done, and flipped and level. Had my son do half the welding. He did great. Got the 2x6 tube cut to length for the chassis rails. These two pictures are both taken the same way, wtf one rotated??? Grrrrr

awesome... I know this too well with the frame table... great to see your son is involved.. Looking forward to your build. I moved the front wheel center forward an inch and the rear about 1/2 an inch to center the wheels in the wheel/fender opening, it will track a little straighter and give the front end a little better handling due to the weight shift with the front end... I still have all my frame measurements documented as when i built my frame if needed.. welder sieres is a great place to get your supplies as i got it from them as well

[gigamanx]

Wait a second...is that a sunroof?

[Krustyone]

Originally Posted by gigamanx

Wait a second...is that a sunroof?

yup. That will be a fun little repair. I have a spare cab waiting with a good roof skin.

[Krustyone]

Originally Posted by slammed57

awesome... I know this too well with the frame table... great to see your son is involved.. Looking forward to your build. I moved the front wheel center forward an inch and the rear about 1/2 an inch to center the wheels in the wheel/fender opening, it will track a little straighter and give the front end a little better handling due to the weight shift with the front end... I still have all my frame measurements documented as when i built my frame if needed.. welder sieres is a great place to get your supplies as i got it from them as well

Your build log on trifive inspired me to try this frame build. Looking to do something very similar. If you have those dimensions that would be awesome and serve as a sanity check... Your's looks great.

[slammed57]

Originally Posted by Krustyone

Your build log on trifive inspired me to try this frame build. Looking to do something very similar. If you have those dimensions that would be awesome and serve as a sanity check... Your's looks great.

Yep not a problem, I'll see if I can scan them tonight and I'll send them over, Mike

[dsraven]

are you going with the same width of frame or changing it to fit a certain donor geometry?

[dsraven]

grab yourself a digital level. they are awesome. you will be surprised how "off" you will find a bubble level can be.

[slammed57]

check your PM

[Krustyone]

Originally Posted by dsraven

are you going with the same width of frame or changing it to fit a certain donor geometry?

Same width as stock.

[Krustyone]

Originally Posted by dsraven

grab yourself a digital level. they are awesome. you will be surprised how "off" you will find a bubble level can be.

I have one. I use it along with the bubble level. It’s great for angles.

[dsraven]

yup, I used mine a lot installing the MII front end. great to get the frame perfectly level side to side and at the rake angle you want, then it works great to get the crossmember level side to side and fore to aft. I used it in conjunction with a 4ft level (used to span the width with the digital level sitting on top) to check for level with it sitting on the control arm lower pivot bolts (they were sticking out the front side). that way you get actual and don't have to worry about the shafts being level with the top or bottom of the crossmember. I also used it on the lower control arms to ensure they were level fore to aft and side to side when I was mocking up the assembly. it comes in handy to get the anti dive angle dialed in on the upper control arm shafts as well.
keep posting up pics, it is incentive for the rest of us.