56 shop truck build

[dubie]

Well it's been out cruising a couple times but we were having an issue with over heating. After 15 minutes, the temp would climb to 225 so it's now back in our shop receiving a bigger electric fan set up and I'm going to adjust my water/ antifreeze level and add some water wetter to the mix and see what happens. We also decided to remove the doors so we could install the seals with greater ease. We will put it all back together this morning and take it back out to test it again
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[71swb4x4]

Check your temp gauge Tim.
Have you checked the water pump? I pulled an old pump once and the impeller had been eaten away.

[dubie]

The gauge is a mechanical one and they rarely go bad. The water pump is brand new. I'm thinking it was because the fan was only a 16" without any shroud on it. It just didn't seem to cooling it off right.
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[Chevette]

Originally Posted by dubie

The gauge is a mechanical one and they rarely go bad. The water pump is brand new. I'm thinking it was because the fan was only a 16" without any shroud on it. It just didn't seem to cooling it off right.
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It's probably that crappy radiator you installed. Hahaha, just kidding.

[sqrlnts]

Originally Posted by dubie

The gauge is a mechanical one and they rarely go bad. The water pump is brand new. I'm thinking it was because the fan was only a 16" without any shroud on it. It just didn't seem to cooling it off right.
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Tim, what fan were you running previously? I went through two no name fans before settling on this Maradyne

[dubie]

Originally Posted by sqrlnts

Tim, what fan were you running previously? I went through two no name fans before settling on this Maradyne

I take it you haven't been running into any other over heating problems since you swapped out your fan?

[55Cameo]

Very nice build. I like what you have done and gives me an idea on how low you can get with the straight axle still. My daughter wants me to build her a basic truck like this. Great job.

[dubie]

I'm not sure of the brand but it looks very similar to the one you posted. I went to th wrecker and got an 18" fan from a 93 Plymouth Voyaguer and mde it fit. We also drained some coolant out to make the mixture have more water than coolant and added some water wetter to the mixture. The gauge was reading fairly hot last night, around 220 so we pulled over, shut the truck off but left the fan unending or 5 minutes. W got back in, started the truck and the gauge read 195. They can't cool down that fast soi think it's the gauge. We will e checking it with a heat sensing gun tonight to see if its the actual gauge
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[dubie]

another little video of it in the garage

Magnaflow mufflers on my 56 Chevy pickup - YouTube

[dubie]

here's one that my daughter shot last night.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201700298138754

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by dubie

here's one that my daughter shot last night.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201700298138754

Looks real nice coming at you.
Kim

[dubie]

this one is pretty low with the axle, leaf spring and wheel and tire combo. It all depends on where and how you're going to drive it. Mine may be a bit to low for where I live and how I drive but it's done and driving. I can now play around with tire and rim combinations to make it ride better than it is currently. The front tires don't have enough side wall to them for my liking. But all in all, it steers great, looks cool as all hell, and sounds even better.

[55Cameo]

Originally Posted by dubie

this one is pretty low with the axle, leaf spring and wheel and tire combo. It all depends on where and how you're going to drive it. Mine may be a bit to low for where I live and how I drive but it's done and driving. I can now play around with tire and rim combinations to make it ride better than it is currently. The front tires don't have enough side wall to them for my liking. But all in all, it steers great, looks cool as all hell, and sounds even better.

I'm just impressed to see it can get pretty low if you plan it that way. I like the stance it has right now. Also how is the steering effort on the truck now on the current set up?

[dubie]

Believe it or not, the steering is actually very nice. You don't really know it doesn't have power steering until you're moving at a crawl speed. Mind you, I still have the 17" steering wheel still on it. But when driving it, the steering wheel always comes back to centre after you are through the turn.
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[alaska gasser]

Nice truck.

I drove a '59 Chev pickup in high school that was so low the front bumper just cleared a cassette tape standing on end. Just remember to hit speed bumps, etc. at a 45 degree angle and don't be in a hurry. I never did bottom out.

[dubie]

Thanks. It turned to have the exact stance I was hoping for. So far so good on to ottoming out. I have 3" of clearance from the lowest point on the truck, to the ground. Lie you said, just take my time.

BTW your extended cab build is the single coolest extended cab build ive ever run across. Incredible fab skills man
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[dubie]

i absolutely love the way it looks rolling down the road. I bet I've watched that short video 25 times now. I'm going to paint and install the front bumper tomorrow so it'll look even better once that's on

[shadow1967]

Looking good! I can't what til my lives again.

[Stepside Jim]

Gotta feel great to get to take it for a ride.

It sounds good also.....

Question.. I finally got high speed internet and am considering a video camera. Yours seems to capture the sound better than some that I've heard. May I ask what camera you use to record the sound and action?

Thanks Jim.

[dubie]

The videos of it running in the shop was shot on my IPad and the one of it driving was taken on an IPhone 4S it feels really good to be able to drive this thing. It sat dead since 1985
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[Denee007]

I'm so happy for you!!!!! Did you feel a little nervous driving it? You know, just getting to know its quirks n such
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[dubie]

I was nervous but curious at the same time. The whole time was spent listening to rattles, squeaks,thinking about the front tire alignment, how it handles, how it steers and most importantly checking the brakes often. The next 5 days I am on holidays to work on the truck and load it on a trailer to drive 600kms to participate in Cruise Weekend in Saskatoon. We are rapidly working the bugs out
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[sqrlnts]

Originally Posted by dubie

I was nervous but curious at the same time. The whole time was spent listening to rattles, squeaks,thinking about the front tire alignment, how it handles, how it steers and most importantly checking the brakes often. The next 5 days I am on holidays to work on the truck and load it on a trailer to drive 600kms to participate in Cruise Weekend in Saskatoon. We are rapidly working the bugs out
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Congrats to Team Dubie!

How does it drive compared to how you thought it would drive? So happy for you to have it on the road, enjoy your holidays and especially the Cruise!

[dubie]

I will admit that after the first ride, I was les than impressed with the ride. But there were ok contributing factors to that. We didn't have the door seals installed, the inner fender bolt wasn't installed and the bed was missing the 2 middle supports and the floor so it was just one big rattle trap. But after taking it out for multiple short cruises, we bought it back to the shop and have been having down every single one of them. Now that its all ugh tenting up, I'm rather enjoying the ride. I wasn't sure what to expect because this is my first solid axle truck, but I like the nostalgic feel to it. And I love how easy it is to steer, even with no power steering. But I do need to replace the giant factory steering wheel
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[sgtusmc]

What are your thought on the 2 speed Ford Taurus fan? I have them in both my 53 & 59. I couldn't be happier with them. They can be wired to come on at low speed. Then if needed wired to run at high till the temps drop via a switch. I've used the in the past with other v8 projects and have always been happy with them. They pull a lot of air.