First build, 1953 pickup

[53Charlie]

Here is a picture of the day I bough my truck, December 1995. I started the rebuild in 2002, and with the exception of some work I managed to do during welding classes, the rest of the work has all been done in our two car garage. I will try to document here what I have done so far. And here is a summary of the truck:
Frame is original, boxed in front, Fatman MII front end, power disc brakes (MC under floor), all new brake lines, original crossmember adapted for trans support, rear axle from a Lincoln Mark VII (Ford 8.8), 90’s S10 Blazer gas tank under the bed.
I originally installed a 305/700R4, but I ended up stealing that engine for a ‘87 longbed, was replaced with a 4.8 engine and trans out of a 2002 truck.
The cab floor was all rusty, that was one of the projects I was able to complete while taking a welding class at the Community College. The steering column came from a 70’s Chevy van, had to shorten it to fit.
I have driven the truck out of our driveway and in our street. It moves, it stops, and nothing has fallen off so far 🤣. I am now in the headache of reassembling the front clip.


I tried to load current pictures of the truck but as they upload they get turned sideways. I appreciate if you let me know how to fix that!

Thank you for letting me share your space!

[53Charlie]

Here is a picture of the truck today. Close, but not quite finished yet

[6DoF]

heck yeah, nothing like a long-term driving project

[53Charlie]

In 2002, I sold the 235 engine and 3 speed. I removed the front clip and figured that was all the disassembly I would need to do!

[53Charlie]

But as it often happens, one thing led to another and I ended up disassembling the whole truck. I built a “cart” to roll the frame in and out of the garage and also to mount it on my little utility trailer. I boxed the front rails and put a Fatman MII crossmember.

[53Charlie]

I had to patch some rusty places, put motor mounts, I was able to modify the crossmember to serve as trans support. Adapted a gas tank (with internal fuel pump) from. 90s S10 Blazer.

[STAP54]

Love the direction you're going with this build!

[53Charlie]

Here is a picture of the gas tank installed and connected. I used the straps from the Blazer too. My plan (I have not done that yet) is to have the gas filler in the left rear fender.

[53Charlie]

I have tried to keep the firewall as clean as possible, so the power brakes booster and MC had to go under the cab. The original crossmember (and trans support) was in the way so I had to notch it a little bit

[53Charlie]

The cab floor was a big rusty mess. I cut it all out and put angle iron to reinforce and built it from sheet metal. I did this as my project while taking a welding class, I am very proud of how the hump came out, I just made a pattern and used a manual bending machine to tweak it into shape. Once I got the cab home I recruited a few neighbors to lay it on its back, I replaced a rusty cab mount then painted the underside with POR15

[53Charlie]

The bottom of the doors was all rusted through, so I cut it out and put new sheet metal

[53Charlie]

I mentioned earlier I wanted to keep the firewall as clean as possible, so I filled all the holes and did my best to smooth it out. I will have to drill some holes for heater and AC hoses, that will come later

[Shifty One]

Watching!

[53Charlie]

The tilt steering column came from a ‘70s Chevy van, I wanted the ignition switch to stay in the dash. But steering shaft was way too long, and the shifter arm was also too far down. To shorten it, it had to be disassembled, the outer sleeve, the inner tube for the shifter, and the steering shaft all had to be chopped.

[53Charlie]

I mentioned before this is my first build. I learned by doing and by reading magazines, and I owe a debt of gratitude to many authors. Here is my little contribution, a simple milling machine I used to grind the round steering shafts (0.75” diam.) to the “double D” shape, which meant grinding two sides flat until it measured 0.55” thick. It uses an angle grinder mounted on a “swing arm”. A bolt at the end of that arm brings it up as needed. I found a little chunk of rectangular tube (probably 1”x2”, 1/8”) that with a little tack helped me keep the shaft from rotating on top of my welding table, the shaft gets moved back and forth to grind it, then it gets flipped to grind a little on the other side. Do that gradually until it measures 0.55”

[Shark_13]

Looks great, ton of work you did there!

[53Charlie]

MOTOR
I wanted a fuel injected engine, ideally a TPI small block Chevy. But a wrecked ‘89 Camaro came available, with a TBI 305, 700R4, so that is what I used. But before too long, I needed that engine and trans for an ‘87 longbed I had just bought. So it was a good excuse to upgrade to LS. There is a shop in Paragould, Arkansas that specializes in low-mileage truck engines, they sell the complete package, clean, ready. I purchased a 4.8 with trans, and I was able to install with the same mounts I had already in the frame

[53Charlie]

REAR AXLE
I originally used the Camaro axle, but one day I found this Lincoln at the local U Pull It, it’s a 8.8, Traction-Loc, 3.27, disc brakes, this is the axle currently on the truck

[dsraven]

if you wanna have all the wheels with the same bolt pattern you could try a drill jig tool

https://m.roadkillcustoms.com/wheel-...ill-guide-jig/

https://www.hellsgatehotrods.com/pro.../drill-guides/

I had an 8.8 from an explorer in a frame I built. I redrilled the axles for the chevy 5 on 4.75 because the MII front end was set up for that. I made my own pattern and jig from the flange cut off a used rotor I also qauired at pick n pull with the axle. it's not that tough to do.

[53Charlie]

Thank you dsraven. It definitely would be convenient to have the same bolt pattern in all four corners, but for now I am using what I have, chrome steel wheels that luckily have the two bolt patterns. A coworker sold them to me for $50 !!

[53Charlie]

The behind-the-dash brace
Classic Trucks magazine (RIP) published several very interesting, practical articles by a gentleman named Mike Briggs. One had to do with building a brace behind the dash that could serve to mount things like the fuse panel, relays, wiper motor, AC fan/evaporator. Since I like the firewall to be smooth with no protruding bolts and screws, I really liked his idea. I built mine from 1” square tubing, and the side mounts from 1” angle iron. It mounts inside on the same bolts that fix the hood spring on the other side of the firewall, and I added one more mounting point in the center for stability. The last picture shows the brace with the fuse panel already mounted, the other tabs are to mount the wiper motor and AC

[53Charlie]

I said earlier that I have learned by reading magazines and books, and this guy is at the top of my list, Leroi “Tex” Smith (RIP). I was attending a car show in Lincoln Nebraska (maybe 30 years ago) and he had a booth selling his books and his magazine Hot Rod Mechanix. Prince of a guy, he walked out with me to the parking lot to pose next to his car, the “Dollar-a-pound” roadster, a truly homemade, low buck build he did for the magazine.

[53Charlie]

FRONT SUSPENSION REDO
The pictures of the truck show I used the original MII stamped metal control arms and struts. As I started to try to adjust the camber, I discovered the rear of the upper arm would bump against the frame, therefore camber could not be adjusted.

[53Charlie]

Tubular control arms from Jegs are now installed. But there is no such thing as “plug and play”. Steering rack had to be moved forward, requiring clearancing in the front crossmember, the steering shaft is now too short, the u-joint at the rack hits the left engine mount, and the sway bar is now on the wrong place. Other than that, everything is great!

[nvrdone]

It's a never ending project. That's why my license plate is NVRDONE