My 55 Chevy 4X4

[marc55]

Put the exhaust together. Going with flowmaster delta 40s. Wanted to stainless steel but my TIG skills are not there yet.

[dsraven]

for anybody lurking, you can also weld stainless with an arc welder. I just did a repair on the wifes audi exhaust with my old arc welder. the exhaust pipes are from 2001. it turned out great. clean the metal well first, don't use a regular steel wire brush to do that.

[marc55]

Have the gas tank ready to install and working on the radiator hoses.

[G&R's57GMC]

Great project .
Congratulations on your marriage, I was married on Halloween also .

I’ve got a genuine factory installed NAPCO ‘57 GMC that’s been finished for decades . Soon it will go under the wrench and become a two wheel drive air ride 5.3 automatic Currie 9” .
It also will have power windows ,Altman latches a/c etc. The new chassis was done in 2010 then other projects took over the shop .

Did you use Bear Claw or Altman door latches ?
Looking forward to your solution to getting Electric into the doors, I’m thinking contacts also .

[marc55]

The kit was an Altman kit. I need to do more adjustment on the doors. right now they latch but after I get the door gaps where I want them I might not have the adjustment I need for the striker. The power windows are Nu-relic and they went in nice. Just a little trimming on an inner brace for motor clearance. I rather just use contactors instead of the sliding loom style for door power but I have some folding steps I want to install and not sure what they need to switch them to work.

[marc55]

Got a BP automotive harness and started wiring the engine bay.

[marc55]

The engine started up just fine and I let is run for about 30 seconds. The next day I had a small leak from the top of the gas tank. I was never happy with the mounting bracket I made for the tank. Verry hard to remove the tank. So I decided to redo the bracket so it can be removed easier. I am also going to add hard lines to extend past the top of the tank so I can disconnect the flex lines without having to lower the tank.

[marc55]

I fixed the gas leak issue. Got my air intake routed and plumbed the power steering.

[marc55]

Added all the fluids and ran the engine up to temp. No leaks and the fan turned on at 190 degrees. So now I can start the wiring. Doing the ignition first. Everything but the starter is going through a 200 amp megafuse. Then I am using a button that controls a 200 amp relay that send power to an engine bay and dashboard power distribution block. The dash power is also protected by a 150 amp breaker. I figure the relay is a convenient way to disconnect the battery and prevent a draw when sitting.

[marc55]

Getting closer. Front end is on. Lights are done. Shocks installed. The rear was a little squatted so I removed the 2" lift blocks and installed a 4" shackle reverse kit. I also found some bucket seat that work better than the bench seat I had and I bough a dakoda digital dash.

[rgunlock]

Truck is looking really good... and pretty much done! What is left to do?

[marc55]

I am registered and will start doing some shake down runs in March when the weather gets better. I am working on the interior. Going to put the sound deadener in, picking carpet colors, and designing a center console, adding 3 point seat belts, and a heater. Looking to do a tannish Carmel with black. Down the road I will have the seats reupholstered to match. It feels good to be done. I have 2 more projects on deck. a 38 ford rat rod that I started when the truck was in paint jail and a 68 Firebird I bought over 30 years ago with my lawn mower money when I was 15. I want the 38 moving at the end of summer and the 68 on the road in 3 years.