My 1955 Chevy 3100 build

[Advanced Design]

Dave, another option for hangers are these I used. Rather than weld them to the pipe, they are welded to a piece of angle iron. The angle then supports the muffler with an exhaust clamp bolted to it.

Not as nice looking as I initially planned though this will look OK with stainless clamp and the hanger painted black.

[Advanced Design]

And these from Welder Series look good. I ordered some and decided not to use them. Kinda wondered how robust the grommets would be.

[55 Chevy Dave]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

And these from Welder Series look good. I ordered some and decided not to use them. Kinda wondered how robust the grommets would be.

Thanks for your ideas on the exhaust. I looked at the grommets prior to your post and thought the same thing. I don't think there would be that much give.

I ordered a pack of rubber hanger blocks and stainless exhaust hanger rods. I'll post the exhaust complete with hangers soon (hopefully)!

[55 Chevy Dave]

I received my crossflow aluminum radiator with dual electric fans from US Radiator. So far, I am very happy with the construction. They included wiring kits for both fans in the box.

I decided that the factory radiator core support wasn't good enough for my new shiny radiator. The gaps between the original core support and fenders were not even and I would have had to cut out the original mounting bolts to allow more air to the radiator anyway.

I started with some angle iron. I welded receiving nuts on the underside of the upper member for the front cover as well as on the sides to bolt the core support through each of the inner and outer fenders.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I continued to add angle iron down each side following the bend in the inner and outer fenders to avoid gaps.

I had to add another mounting bolt just above the bend to suck the fenders in tight to the core support. Fits nice and tight now!

[55 Chevy Dave]

I finished off the bottom of my new radiator core support by running another piece of angle across at the bottom of the radiator.

I think the radiator will fit nicely in its soon-to-be new home!

I took the core support out of the engine bay, finished all of the welds and did some more grinding. I wonder how many grinding wheels I have gone through so far on this project!

[55 Chevy Dave]

I welded on some more meat on the 2 bottom corners of the core support to accept the 4 lower mounting bolts.

After drilling the mounting holes, I welded some 1/8" plate steel on either side to keep the whole assembly from racking left or right. I believe I should be able to do away with the factory cross bracing with the addition of these plates.

I think the new support is a definite improvement over the original design.

[55 Chevy Dave]

The rectangular opening I created for the radiator wasn't doing it for me. I decided to round the four corners of the opening. What an improvement that bit of work made!

[55 Chevy Dave]

And here is the new radiator core support with my new radiator temporarily clamped in. Definitely happy with the results!

I also included a couple of pictures of parts I made to mount the radiator to the core support. The idea of clamping the radiator between a couple of plates on the top and bottom of the support doesn't excite me. I would prefer to mechanically fasten the radiator to the core support with good ole' nuts and bolts. I'm gonna need some help from a friend welding the aluminum. My MIG welder doesn't seem to play nice with aluminum. Just kidding - I didn't actually try it!

[55 Chevy Dave]

It was a nice day, so I decided to put the front end back together and push her out into the driveway so I could blow the dust out of the garage.

I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of her soaking up the sun!

[55 Chevy Dave]

The holiday weekend started with the installation of the Altman door latch kit I ordered from LMC truck. Everything went in fairly smoothly. The doors stay closed now!

[55 Chevy Dave]

I also made up some new braces to fasten the inner fenders to the cab. I couldn't use angle iron as the angle between the inner fender and the firewall is not 90 degrees. I think they will work well and allow for some adjustment of the fenders forward and back.

I need to get some shorter bolts as they are a bit too close together right now!

[oldman3]

Doing some great work, looks sweet...Jim

[Kim57]

Looking real good.
radiator core support came out real nice.
Kim

[ptc]

Dave the build is coming right along.... looking real nice.

[II_Slow]

Nice detail work. That little stuff makes a big difference.

[Advanced Design]

Really nice work Dave! Good ideas and execution.

[55 Chevy Dave]

It has been quite a while since my last post. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten much done on the truck as work and other summer activities seem to have taken over my free time.

I did manage to get the pedals figured out. I determined that the firewall penetration for my steering column was too low and decided to cut that area out and fill it in with a patch panel.

After struggling with exactly where the brake and clutch pedals should come through the floor, I finally made a decision and cut the holes.

I then had to attach the pedals at the floor to the assembly already mounted to the frame.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I couldn't find a clutch master cylinder for that would fit my pedal assembly, so I finally bought a Wilwood unit and proceeded to modify the assembly so that the unit would fit.

The mounting holes were in a different location so I welded up the original mounting holes and added some metal for 2 new mounting holes that would work with the unit I purchased.

[55 Chevy Dave]

Here's the new Wilwood clutch master cylinder mounted to the assembly.

The pushrod is sitting right next to the pedal. I ordered a Dorman adjustable pushrod that will hopefully have the parts I need to connect the clutch pedal to the pushrod.

[55 Chevy Dave]

The Lokar shifter I ordered did not feel quite long enough, so I added an extension. This will all be hidden by the console I plan to build between the seats extending up to the firewall.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I also got to work on the hangers for the exhaust. I had planned on picking up some 1-1/2" steel tube to mount the hangers to the chassis.

For years, I have been mowing around an old swing set in the yard that the previous owners installed and decided that the tubing from the swing set could be just what I needed. After cutting down the swing set, I found that the tubing wall thickness would definitely be thick enough for my application.

I welded up some hanger rods to some plate and bolted them to the muffler clamps.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I cut a piece of my swing set tubing to fit between the frame rails and welded some plates to it that would accept the hangers. I then welded the hangers to another piece of plate that I could bolt on.

I also plan on using this tube to mount another driveshaft loop.

So my exhaust is now hanging from the frame without the use of bungee cords or ratchet straps, I have plenty of 2" diameter tubing if needed and I don't need to mow around that old swing set any more! My wheel barrow and swing set have both taken on a new life as part of my truck!

[Kim57]

Lots of good progress.
Nice to re-purpose things you don't need.
Kim

[oldman3]

Moving right along, like the exhaust hangers...Jim