My long term 57 project

[ChuckDriver]

Here are the brackets from Alan Grove. They are very nice and fit perfectly. I tig'ed a couple of the steel spacers in place to make it easier to install, then put them through the blast cabinet before spraying them with a single stage paint that looks like Eastwoods Cast Blast grey.

Instead on using the larger steel spacers, my Dad turned out the aluminum ones with the knurl detailing. They look perfect, thanks Dad!

[ChuckDriver]

No turning back now!

[ChuckDriver]

Brackets went on perfectly. I think they look good this color instead of the orange it was before.

[Chevette]

Lookin' good, Chuck.

[ChuckDriver]

Since I have the grill out I blacked out the core support. I wanted to do this long ago to highlight the grill and not the red behind it. The color behind the grill on these trucks and especially the 55 sedan looks must better done this way, in my opinion!

[Rods57]

Looks good so far. I just ordered mine this week, I will be watching yours to see how it goes. love the brackets too.

[ChuckDriver]

Originally Posted by Chevette

Lookin' good, Chuck.

Thanks Chevette!

[ChuckDriver]

Originally Posted by Rods57

Looks good so far. I just ordered mine this week, I will be watching yours to see how it goes. love the brackets too.

So you'll be posting pics next week I hope!!

[ChuckDriver]

The condenser is big! It completely fills the support opening. The brackets fit great, but the paint quality sucked, so I scuffed them and painted them semi-gloss black.

You have to remove the diagonal x-brace for it to fit in front on the radiator, and the brackets use the stock mounting holes.

[Rods57]

Originally Posted by ChuckDriver

So you'll be posting pics next week I hope!!

Not so much. my shop looks like a body shop exploded in it right now,I have it striped down to jam and do body work, need to paint the firewall and the engine in first.

[99 to Life]

looks great man, might be considering a kit like that for my AD truck or two.

[Kim57]

Those are some nice looking brackets.
Kim

[Dan in Pasadena]

JJ,
I really like how these look painted that color. I'm totally with you that they'd look awful (and frankly kinda "shadetree" cheap). I'm curious as to why you didn't use one of the low mount options instead of these?

Also, which part numbers are these? I went to Alan Grove's website and I'm wondering if he offers a set that work on my camel hump heads that have no holes on the front? I don't mind yours that are on top of the engine but I don't care for the ones that stick way up high - just my taste, I suppose.

[oldman3]

Very nice looking...Jim

[ChuckDriver]

Dan, I went with these to fill up the wide engine bay. They'll come in a little when I get the belts on them. I'm pretty sure they make some that dont bolt to the heads, check these out, 123R and 223L

I went with these: 234L Alternator, 402L PS Mount, 134R AC

[ChuckDriver]

Making some progress. Going to mount the heater control valve on the back of the unit, so I made a small bracket for it.

[ChuckDriver]

To mount the unit to the firewall I redrilled and tapped the four mounting points for the battery box that I had welded shut many years ago! Now I can bolt up a flat piece of 16ga to use as a mounting point for the bracket supplied by VA, after I make sure I have it placed exactly where I want it! The circle in it is for a flat nut that was welded to the back of the firewall at the factory, I think its a ground for the battery. But I have now ground the nut off so the VA bracket will sit flat to my panel.

More to follow soon!

[ChuckDriver]

Made a little progress. Since I painted the Alt and AC brakets I needed to clean up the PS brakets. So I put them throught the blast cabinet and spryed them with Eastwood cast blast. They are slightly darker, but want be as visible down low on the motor, also added the aluminum spacer my Dad made for me! I painted the pulley to match the brackets, as I had to replace the aluminum one I had with a steel one. The aluminum pulley had "mushroomed" on the back side on the shaft and would not bolt up straight and true.

[ChuckDriver]

Got most of the wiring laid out. The harness with the kit has plenty of length to it so you can place it as you like. Made a small bracket to hold the 2 relays and mounted it to an existing tab on the firewall. I put them up side down just so the wires would be tucked up higher under the dash. The main power wire was ran back across the upper part of the firewall and out under the cab by the lower hinge pocket to the battery on the frame.

Now I'm waiting on a few fittings and bendable lines to finish up the routing of the hoses under the fender! I'm out working this week, so I want have any updates till next week!!

[Kim57]

Looking good.
I like your brackets.
Kim

[Rods57]

Looks great, keep up the great work on the "instructions" for me on how to install mine Mine showed up this week.

[ChuckDriver]

Thanks Kim and Rod! Hope to have more pics next week!

[ChuckDriver]

Putting the hood latch panel back on revealed a slight problem. The support on the back side has a bend in it that will not allow it to slip down in front of the condenser. So I marked it, made two relief cuts and bent it back flush. Now it fits with no problem, may work it a little more and weld it back together.

[ChuckDriver]

Got some work done with the help of my good friend Charlie. We ran the lines for the condenser throught the core support. Made them using fittings, hard line and bulkhead fittings. Will paint them flat black to continue the blacked out look. Need to get a grommet for the #6 line!

[ChuckDriver]

Here's a shot from the engine side, it also shows the 2 bulkhead fittings for the heater lines. Also, you'll see that I painted the sides of the radiator while it was out!