My 1955 Chevy 3100 build

[murd969]

Good looking build.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I then welded receiving nuts to the back side of the cab and cut out another piece of MDF to fit over the nuts and bolted it through the MDF to the back of the cab.

I then fit the subwoofer between the bucket seat frames and into the MDF mounted to the back of the cab.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I then made an enclosure for the subwoofer and mounted it to the MDF bolted to the rear of the cab. The angle of the enclosure allows the seat to be moved back and tilted to a comfortable position.

I still need to fill in the last hole to make it a true sealed enclosure.

Even though the enclosure is not yet sealed, the JL Audio 12" subwoofer sounds great!

[55 Chevy Dave]

I then made my center console out of 1/2" MDF. I started the console by making a cardboard template and continued trimming the cardboard until the fit was correct.

The switch panel will fit on the lower "ledge" while the back portion of the console will be for storage under an armrest.

The console is a bit narrower than I expected because of the width of the bucket seats and their location in the cab, but it will still provide a fair amount of storage.

I designed the console to mount to the angled face of the subwoofer enclosure and extend forward to just behind the shifter.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I then made the forward portion of the console again using a cardboard template to start the process.

I did not like how the front console was straddling the transmission cover, so I removed the factory cover and made a new one out of a scrap piece of sheet metal.

The Tremec 5-speed manual transmission does not sit above the floor, so this wasn't too difficult. I still need to add a piece to the cover to fill in the hole.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I temporarily wired up the headlights and front parking lights to make sure everything worked. And, to be honest, I really wanted to see what they would look like lit up!

The white LED halo ring will light up when I turn on the parking lights. Whenever I hit the turn signal, the corresponding amber LED halo ring will blink.

I think they look great!

[55 Chevy Dave]

After mocking up my first switch panel, I realized that I did not leave enough room in the rear console for all of the switches. So that console went to the scrap pile and I made a new one pushing the switch panel forward.

I also had to heat up the billet aluminum shifter and push it forward a bit. The new position of the shifter feels fine. I still have a bit of sanding and polishing to do, but you won't be able to tell it was modified when I'm done.

Now I have enough room for all of my switches.

[Nut Case]

Shock & awwwww. Blown awaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!

Fandamtastic, Strong work..

Do you have a color selected yet?

Dam son! you're just killin it...


Nut Case

[55 Chevy Dave]

Originally Posted by Nut Case

Shock & awwwww. Blown awaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!

Fandamtastic, Strong work..

Do you have a color selected yet?

Dam son! you're just killin it...


Nut Case

Thank you for the compliments Nut Case. Regarding the color, I want to do a Black Cherry Metallic. I haven't dialed in the exact color yet, but here are a few examples.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I made a control panel with stainless steel push button LED switches I bought from Billet Buttons out of Australia. I was a bit nervous about buying parts from outside the country, but they were very responsive and my order came fairly quickly.

I have made 3 attempts so far to drill the panel correctly, attempting to line up the holes, punch each one, start with a small bit and work my way up to the final hole diameter. So far, one or more buttons have not been exactly straight, so I am going to need to try it again.

Eventually, this panel will be sunk into the center console about an inch and hidden by a sliding door cover.

[55 Chevy Dave]

My relay center and auxiliary fuse blocks are mounted to another piece of 1/2" MDF and are then mounted behind the passenger seat.

These relays will control nearly everything in the vehicle as the push button switches cannot handle more than a 5 amp load.

I have connected all of the wires with weather pack plugs so that I can easily disconnect everything after the mock up phase is complete.

The wiring is still a bit messy and needs to be cleaned up.

[55 Chevy Dave]

I removed the driver's side rear fender to mount the taillight assembly and realized that there is still some sheet metal work to do. The mounting flange on the back side of the fender had a fair amount of rot in it.

I switched gears from wiring to body work and cut out the bad flange, leaving a lip to weld the new 16-gauge sheet metal to.

[murd969]

Looks good.

[55 Chevy Dave]

After the fender was repaired, I was able to weld in the studs for the Hagan LED taillight assembly housings. The lenses will eventually be sanded down flush with the fender, polished and reinserted. I think I will really like that smooth look.

I bought the kit from Speedway Motors.

[55 Chevy Dave]

After working out all of my wiring bugs connecting the push button start and electronic ignition to the universal wiring harness and running everything through my LED push buttons and then through the relay center, I was finally able to get the motor to turn over.

This past weekend, my friend and previous owner of the engine came by to oversee the initial startup.

After correcting some leaky connections in the fuel system and testing one last time for leaks, I pushed the button. After sitting dormant in my garage and his for nearly 2 years, the engine came to life. It started on the first try and immediately went into a high idle. After coming up to temperature, the idle dropped down just under 1,000 rpm and continued to run until I shut it off.

Another major milestone reached!

I am not sure how to attach a video to this thread, so here's a link to a YouTube video I uploaded. Clicking on the link below worked for me. Please let me know if it doesn't work for you.

https://youtu.be/3rSwy7K_r4w

[ptc]

Electrical looks great! I used those same fuse blocks and relay blocks for my aux stuff too. they worked out great.

Where did you get the plug on end for your push button switches? been looking for some of those too. Im using them for my door poppers on the door panels, they fit in the crank holes pretty well.

[55 Chevy Dave]

Originally Posted by ptc

Electrical looks great! I used those same fuse blocks and relay blocks for my aux stuff too. they worked out great.

Where did you get the plug on end for your push button switches? been looking for some of those too. Im using them for my door poppers on the door panels, they fit in the crank holes pretty well.

ptc,
I should have given you credit in my thread for providing the source for my relay center. In your thread, you mentioned Del City as the source for your relays and blocks. I ended up ordering the components for my relay center from them as well.

The plugs for the push button switches came with the switches from Billet Button. Not sure if they will work for your switches, but you can contact them to see if you can buy just the plugs. They responded quickly to the questions I e-mailed to them. Their website is here:
https://billetautomotivebuttons.com.

[Advanced Design]

Great update! Very nice work Dave. Engine sounds good and crisp.

[Dave0]

Very cool stuff so far Dave! I will be going thru the whole thread...

Does the sub/box rattle the back panel when it hits hard? I'm still kicking around ideas... Thanks!

[gigamanx]

oh man that's gotta be exciting. I love the clamp on the exhaust. Didn't even wait for the welds to cool before starting it up

[55 Chevy Dave]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Great update! Very nice work Dave. Engine sounds good and crisp.

Thanks Doug. I am very happy with the engine and definitely happy with the sound!

[55 Chevy Dave]

Originally Posted by Dave0

Very cool stuff so far Dave! I will be going thru the whole thread...

Does the sub/box rattle the back panel when it hits hard? I'm still kicking around ideas... Thanks!

Thanks Dave0. If you take a look at post #452 a bit earlier in this thread, I bolted the rear MDF panel to the back of the cab. Nothing rattles at all, and I don't even have the subwoofer surround mechanically fastened to the rear panel yet. The final test will be when I complete the sealed enclosure, but I don't expect any issues.

[55 Chevy Dave]

Originally Posted by gigamanx

oh man that's gotta be exciting. I love the clamp on the exhaust. Didn't even wait for the welds to cool before starting it up

gigamanx, it was very exciting. The exhaust was fully welded some time ago except for the connections in front and behind the mufflers. The elbows for the sidepipes start immediately behind the mufflers. I didn't mount the hangers for the sidepipes yet because I wanted to hear how loud the exhaust was going to be first. If it was too loud, I would have routed the exhaust to the rear instead.

After hearing the sounds coming from the side exhaust this past weekend, I quickly decided that I will be leaving the exhaust the way it is! Expect one of my future posts to show the sidepipe hangers in place.

[Dave0]

Originally Posted by 55 Chevy Dave

Thanks Dave0. If you take a look at post #452 a bit earlier in this thread, I bolted the rear MDF panel to the back of the cab. Nothing rattles at all, and I don't even have the subwoofer surround mechanically fastened to the rear panel yet. The final test will be when I complete the sealed enclosure, but I don't expect any issues.

I did see that post. I was thinking of bolting mine to the floor instead of the back panel. Maybe I am just overthinking stuff again

[55 Chevy Dave]

I worked the Mecum Auto Auction in Schaumburg, IL last month and got to drive some pretty cool trucks. Over the last 8 or 9 years working that auction, there seems to be more and more trucks each year.

In the order they appear below:
Ford F600 Fire Truck
1913 Ford Model T Huckster
1929 Ford Model A Fire Truck
1917 Ford Model T

I even managed to get on TV a few times! I know they are all Fords, but they are still trucks, right?

I drove some cars also, but you don't want to see pictures of those here!