My 1957 Chevy Truck "Journey"

[bobinbc]

The amount of rake you set into the chassis will also affect how the wheel looks in the opening. I think yours looks great as is. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics, I barely have enough room to walk past my truck when it's in the shop...

[ambryatim]

Thanks for the vote of confidence on the look...

I have to deal with my wife on our garage, she wants to park inside, but I tell her there is no room at the moment. So, she wants me to finish my truck to free up the space that I am taking up.

[hammerdog57]

Originally Posted by ambryatim

Your welcome...

That is part of the reason why I posted this, was to see if it needs to be moved or not. Do you have any photos of yours at 1.25"???? I just wanna make sure mine is good to go, if not I can change it now. It will be soooooo much easier to do now than down the road.

But, the general concisus tells me that it looks good and I should just weld'er up and be done with that part of the build.

Dont weld it up just yet. 1.5" is a little to far foreward for a 55 to 56. Maybe for a 58 to 59. What you need to consider is is mocking up the radiator support. What i found out is the support controls the location of the fender then the cab.

[ambryatim]

Originally Posted by hammerdog57

Dont weld it up just yet. 1.5" is a little to far foreward for a 55 to 56. Maybe for a 58 to 59. What you need to consider is is mocking up the radiator support. What i found out is the support controls the location of the fender then the cab.

I understand what you are saying, I was wondering.

How far foreward did you move yours??? Any pics??? As for the rad mounts I figured if I have the fender and everything else on and where I want it, then I could just put the mounts where ever the rad support is and call it good.

The previous owner cut the mounts off of the rad support and welded on rad mounts for a camaro radaitor, so I will have to fab up tabs on the rad/core support and then fab some up for the chassis side. So, it would be a complete custom install. Unless I can find a good rad/core support for a good price, then I would probably have issues. I will try get some pics to show what I am saying. But, it will be sunday before I get back into town.

[hammerdog57]

Originally Posted by ambryatim

I understand what you are saying, I was wondering.

How far foreward did you move yours??? Any pics??? As for the rad mounts I figured if I have the fender and everything else on and where I want it, then I could just put the mounts where ever the rad support is and call it good.

The previous owner cut the mounts off of the rad support and welded on rad mounts for a camaro radaitor, so I will have to fab up tabs on the rad/core support and then fab some up for the chassis side. So, it would be a complete custom install. Unless I can find a good rad/core support for a good price, then I would probably have issues. I will try get some pics to show what I am saying. But, it will be sunday before I get back into town.

Here is a pic of mine with clip level with top of frame at ride height with truck frame level. 115" wheelbase. What do you think?

[ambryatim]

Looks really good!! Pretty close to mine I think. So you went out 1" correct???

[hammerdog57]

Originally Posted by ambryatim

Looks really good!! Pretty close to mine I think. So you went out 1" correct???

28 7/8" from were cab mount meets frame to front of shock eye hole. What number do you come up with?

[ambryatim]

Originally Posted by hammerdog57

28 7/8" from were cab mount meets frame to front of shock eye hole. What number do you come up with?

When you say front you mean the side closest to the gear box right???

[ambryatim]

Read post #295

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...148978&page=15

Looks like mine might be 3/8" more foreward than yours.

[hammerdog57]

Originally Posted by ambryatim

When you say front you mean the side closest to the gear box right???

yes the side of hole closest to gearbox.

[ambryatim]

Hammerdog57....

Ok, mine is a little different.


Photo 1-This is what I have right now.


Photo 2-And this is what it would look like at the measurement you have.


Rad/Core support clearance, you can see the old camaro rad mount that is bent up.


Passenger Side

I don't know if it makes any difference but my truck is a LWB and the clip is from a 79 TA with the 1-1/4" (the fat one) sway bar. Might be slight differences there to make the measurements not be the exact same on each truck.

So, if I move it (the clip) back about 1/2" it would make the tire/wheel not centered. I am going to take a couple more measurements and then I will be ready to weld it up. So, who likes photo #1 and who likes photo #2 better????

[ambryatim]

Ok, I was browsing thru some of the threads around here and found this clip install.

His measurements are almost identical to mine.....and his is a LWB, so I wonder if there is something different about the LWB vs. SWB up front??? He is turning his into a SWB just like I am going too, but he is going a different route with his, me I am cutting 9" out of my frame behind the cab and welding, fish plating and using the old cut off piece to box the area also. Just some food for thought Cheers.

[bobinbc]

I shortened my frame and used the cutout piece to box it just like you are planning. Worked perfectly, you'll also have to cut a small amount off the tail end of the frame don't remember the exact number but it was something like 3".

[ambryatim]

bobinbc....Thanks for the info.

Was wondering has anyone made there own panel to fill in the hole in there fender where the spare tire goes??? Someone once told me that I could cut out the section in the fender where the spare goes and just flip it over and do a little work to it and it would work just fine. Suggestions???

[hammerdog57]

Originally Posted by ambryatim

Read post #295

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...148978&page=15

Looks like mine might be 3/8" more foreward than yours.

Question what was lux's magic number and were was he measuring to?

[ambryatim]

Originally Posted by hammerdog57

Question what was lux's magic number and were was he measuring to?

He was working with a 58 and his magic number was 28-1/2" to the center of the shock hole. He was measuring from the cab mounts also.

But, I had a thought last night. Are we all measuring from the same point??? I am measuring from the mount itself where the cab attaches to the mount, some might be measuring from where the brace mounts to the frame. And when they do they measure from the flange right against the frame. Does this make sense??

If so, then that could be why we all have different numbers....Just a thought.

[hammerdog57]

Originally Posted by ambryatim

He was working with a 58 and his magic number was 28-1/2" to the center of the shock hole. He was measuring from the cab mounts also.

But, I had a thought last night. Are we all measuring from the same point??? I am measuring from the mount itself where the cab attaches to the mount, some might be measuring from where the brace mounts to the frame. And when they do they measure from the flange right against the frame. Does this make sense??

If so, then that could be why we all have different numbers....Just a thought.

measure from the front edge of cab mount were it is rivited to top of frame to front of shock hole and tell me what you have. Thanks

[ambryatim]

Ok here you go hammerdog57.


If I measure like this I get....


This...sorry for the bad angle...but it is at 28-3/8" to the front edge of the shock hole.


If measure like so.....


It is

[MrSinister]

Originally Posted by ambryatim

bobinbc....Thanks for the info.

Was wondering has anyone made there own panel to fill in the hole in there fender where the spare tire goes??? Someone once told me that I could cut out the section in the fender where the spare goes and just flip it over and do a little work to it and it would work just fine. Suggestions???

unless you want to spend alot of time massaging the fender i would just keep an eye out for a non spare fender...I had a cut out fender also and I cut out the section from a rusted fender to fill it and it was not even close to fitting, spent alot of time on it before I gave up and found a new fender

[ambryatim]

MrSinister....

Thanks for the heads up, I would probably be in the same boat if I were to try. I think the hardest part would be getting the body lines to line up. After some research I have decided to do what you did and just get a "new" old fender and just sell mine or trade it off.

[yukon ratrod]

My thoughts would be to go with what suits your eyes. its a custom truck being built to your taste. I also did a 79 trans am clip on my truck but what I did was build my own rails from 2x4 mild steel. I also raised the clip two inchs to get alittle lower to the ground before I end up doing spindles or springs. I have a 454 going in my truck so Im not to sure just where im going to sit in height just yet. the biggest thing to remember is to bolt down your cab and re pin your door hings before you hang your doors. always hang your doors and bolt up your front clip before your build your rad support mounts. be a shame to skip this step and hope for the best just to get bitten in the ass. I could do a measurement or two for you, but as you know its hard to get a straight run with a tape measure. let me know if I can help and I will gladly do some measuring. just remember "mind over metal"!

[yukon ratrod]

I was lookin around on here and nikwho has the info you are looking for! check out his truck!

[ambryatim]

Originally Posted by yukon ratrod

My thoughts would be to go with what suits your eyes. its a custom truck being built to your taste. I also did a 79 trans am clip on my truck but what I did was build my own rails from 2x4 mild steel. I also raised the clip two inchs to get alittle lower to the ground before I end up doing spindles or springs. I have a 454 going in my truck so Im not to sure just where im going to sit in height just yet. the biggest thing to remember is to bolt down your cab and re pin your door hings before you hang your doors. always hang your doors and bolt up your front clip before your build your rad support mounts. be a shame to skip this step and hope for the best just to get bitten in the ass. I could do a measurement or two for you, but as you know its hard to get a straight run with a tape measure. let me know if I can help and I will gladly do some measuring. just remember "mind over metal"!

Thanks Yukon....I was reading thru your build the other evening, hoping to see some progress....sans the box trouble.

I always am open to knowledge, from everyone.....Like they say..You don't Know.......WHAT, you DON'T KNOW!!!

Thanks Again and keep up the good work on your build.

[ambryatim]

Well, I had been working on my wiring harness and double checking all the wiring. WOW!!! that took some time, but I am glad I did it...I found the control wire for injector #8 had a break in it and I had to repair it. Other than that all was good.

Before

After photo to follow....

[ambryatim]

Well, all was good until I decided to pull my engine up from behind my truck (it is in my garage) and I wanted to bar the engine over and What!!!! It would not budge. So, I get my torque wrench (needle type) just to see how much torque I was putting on it and it was reading 225ft/lbs and still not budging. So, i thought about it all night last night and decided to take the head off this morning just to see if there was any "rust" in the cylinder bore. Remember this....The person I got this from said it was running when it was pulled and had been setting for a little over a year. Before I got it I hooked up a battery and used a remoter starter switch to see if it would turn over and it did. But, now after setting in my garage for about 4 months this is what I found.









I also took the oil pan off to see what it looked like inside and all was good there, I should have taken some pictures, I could still see the "cross sectioning" marks from the original honing. So, now I am in a delima.....I was just going to run the engine as purchased.......but, of course that is not gonna be possible. Should I just rebuild it or go get another from a salvage yard??? At the moment my budget is kinda tight so just looking for options. If you know of a good rebuild kit please post a link. Thanks