1957 Chevy truck re-rebuild

[Stepside Jim]

Thanks Kim, once that little alteration was done and painted on the trans cover I had to sit back and admire it for a bit.

I mentioned mounting a transmission cooler in one of the last posts. One way of mounting it is to use the zip tie things and some rubber cushions and mount it directly to the radiator, for some reason that just never settled well with me.

Next up is using one of the heat sink units and mount it on the frame some where, for some reason that just never settled well with me either.

I see the new style transmission cooler is the stacked plate unit, it settled well with me so I ordered one. I received it and once I got a closer look at it, it settled even weller with me. The idea is the the same as the old tube and fin design but the air has to change direction as it passes through it plus it is a sturdier unit altogether. I also like how I can use fittings vs using hose and clamps to hook it to the coolant lines.

Next came where or how to mount it. With this truck, somebody before me removed the "X" brace that goes in front of the radiator, so I fabbed one up some time back and bolted it where the original one was. Hmmm, sure looks like a good way to mount the cooler, it's my "X" brace, I can cut it up if I want to.

'X" brace cut, gotta look closely.


With the "X" brace cut, I need to fill the gap between the four sides and have a way to mount the cooler.


A most excellent fit.


After some welding and grinding, I now have a multipurpose "X" brace.


Great, no extra brackets welded or bolted to the radiator support, to hold the cooler.



As for the cooler mount itself I used 3/16" vs using 1/8" plate. I have no idea if there would be any twisting going on within the "X" brace so I figured I'd use a safer thicker material.

Although it stands out in the pictures, once the truck is done the new aluminum radiator will be black on the front side and so will any mounting bolts. I want the space behind the grill to be a black deep space.

[oldman3]

Very nice and clever ideal with the mount. I have the same type cooler in my 50 and as far as I can tell it works great...Jim

[Advanced Design]

Very nice mounting and I like that cooler design.

[RockTonka]

Cool mount, great idea!

[RockinKees]

Great idea on the mounting brace, just perfect!

[Kim57]

That's real cool.
Kim

[ChuckDriver]

Looks awesome!

[Russell Ashley]

Beautiful work as usual for you, Jim. At first I didn't think you were going to have room for that behind the grill but it looks like I was wrong.

[butchp]

Jim did you say where you got the cooler and which one.

[Stepside Jim]

Originally Posted by butchp

Jim did you say where you got the cooler and which one.

I went with B&M 70273. They have others of the same size with the hose clamp on style but I wanted the 1/2" npt fitting ends.

Just like so many other things that we can research on the internet, it can be confusing choosing how to connect the lines.

What I mean is.... some say run through the B&M cooler, then through the radiator cooler, then to the transmission. They say it will provide a more consistent temperature in the transmission.

As for me, I will go through the radiator cooler, then through the B&M cooler, then back to the transmission. It worked for me in the past, so I'll stick with what has worked.

Otherwise, thanks everybody for the kind words. I've spent a couple of weeks running this mounting system through my head and finally decided to do it, now that it's done I'm extremely happy with the look and fit.

Tonight I've been welding up the exhaust where I installed the ball sockets. Next the radiator goes back in so I can bend and shape the transmission coolant lines. I also want to run steel braided lines off the cooler so I need to do some measuring and ordering. Then a little more wiring and perhaps in the next couple of weeks this truck will be able to move under it's own power.

The last set of license plates are dated for 1986, I hope to update those this year.

Fingers crossed, Jim

[tune_1]

It sounds great that you are within a few weeks of moving under it's own power. What a good way to start the spring. Looking good.

Dwight

[Stepside Jim]

Still putting along I'm slowly knocking items off the to-do list.

I did have to take a step backwards though. Russell Ashley, was close when he mentioned the transmission cooler not having space. Once I got the steel braided hoses from Jegs and installed them I found the grill made contact due to the outside diameter of the braided hose being larger vs metal coolant tubing.

When I originally made the x brace mount I left a little extra space between the radiator and the cooler, looks like I have to use some of the space for this all to fit.

I began by bending the x brace to move the cooler back a bit. It just wasn't working out how I wanted. Plus, the more I bent the x brace, the weaker it would be in the long run.

Here's the bending I attempted along with the new cut pieces. This time instead of welding flat tabs on steel rods I just cut the legs with the flat ends as part of the legs.


With this setup in place I have just enough room to fit everything together without any touching where it shouldn't be.


That took care of the cooler mounting, now I have to get the transmission fluid to the cooler. We have so many choices when starting from scratch. I knew I didn't want the transmission cooler lines to get in the way of removing the starter, and of course we want them to look neat and orderly.

I also know I want to support them with some kind of rubber mounts between the transmission and the radiator/cooler. I kept looking at the two openings within the motor mounts and decided I'd go through them and use them to get support to the coolant lines.


After some thought I had a plan, rubber grommets, yeah, that'll work. Along with a stainless plate I got what I wanted.


If anybody is thinking the grommets and the plate is a one time deal, I can push the grommets out of the plate, then roll the grommets over the line nuts, then the plate holes are just big enough for the lines to slide through.

I still want to cut a 2 finger bracket to come off the bolt, plus I had to add to the line, the brass fitting is directly under the fuel pump, should hide it pretty good.

Otherwise, still pecking away at the to-do list...........

[Advanced Design]

Really nice work! Did you use a water jet to cut the bracket and legs out?

[ChuckDriver]

Nice work on the lines!

Looks like your water pump gasket may have slipped out on the drivers side?

[Kim57]

Very nice fab work.
Kim

[Stepside Jim]

Advanced Design, close, I use a plasma cutter instead of water jet, either way they allow you to be more creative.

ChuckDriver, yup, I found if I at least get all the odds and ends in their location, I don't have to look for them later when it comes time for final assembly.

Kim57, you bring up a good point. I think for many of us, the truck or the vehicle we are working on is the recipient of our need or desire to fabricate and redesign parts and pieces.

For example, people ask what I do in the shop, I say restoring an old 57 Chevy truck. The next reply is "oh, a mechanic", my first reply is "no", it's all about handcrafting and fabrication. The vehicle is the item that is receiving the fruits of my labor of love of which is fabrication.

Next comes the reply "I'll call you next time I need my car worked on".

With a very firm "NO", I tell them I hate working on regular car stuff, it's only bringing the vehicle back to it's original state. I have absolutely no desire to do regular maintenance work other than what my own vehicles need to keep running.

As you all can tell, I've recently had to discuss this with someone. Thanks everybody for letting me vent for a moment.

[Advanced Design]

Jim, I understand the venting about car repair from much personal experience myself. The same conversation you mention has happened with me as well.

Apologies for the follow-up...Did you free hand the pieces with the plasma or use a plasma cam? My plasma cutting abilities need drastic practice!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[Stepside Jim]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Jim, I understand the venting about car repair from much personal experience myself. The same conversation you mention has happened with me as well.

Apologies for the follow-up...Did you free hand the pieces with the plasma or use a plasma cam? My plasma cutting abilities need drastic practice!

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

Follow up anytime you want.

My freehand is terrible, so yes it was done by using a CAD system on my laptop then let the Torchmate due all the cutting.

When I first got the Cad system I knew nothing, I kept telling myself I could do it faster freehand. Then once I learned the CAD system I don't hesitate to design my stuff on the computer and let the Torchmate take care of the cutting.

Somewhere around page 16, I did a bunch of pictures of the system and the steps taken to make some cuts with it.

Jim

[Advanced Design]

Thank you Jim! That is on my wish list now...Excellent tutorial!

[greystoke]

Is this truck done now? I'm having update withdrawals

[Stepside Jim]

Originally Posted by greystoke

Is this truck done now? I'm having update withdrawals

Ok, ok, let's see if can help you out.

The progress is extremely slow going........... Let's get a couple of pictures up.

Still looking for everything I can do to personalize as much as I can, I found I needed a washer for where the Lokar accelerator cable goes through the firewall. Hmmmm, looks like another opportunity for personalization. I"ve done enough bowties, time for something new.


Long ago I got rid of the front turn signals, I finally settled on a set of headlights from Brothers. I have the high and low beams, plus a dim and bright set of amber LED lights. Perfect, I have running lights and turn signals all in the headlights. This is with the running lights only.


I'm super pleased with the whole front light situation now.

Then I darkened the shop to see the look of just the running lights again.


With the chrome headlight trim it looks great.

I'm glad to say that the truck is running. So far I've only backed it out of the shop.


For some reason once I got the truck running and dialed in, these marks have showed up on the shop floor, must be some Missouri concrete virus going around.


The last couple of weeks have been a struggle, long story, but if any of you deal with ridiculous issues along the way, and wonder if you're the only one dealing with stupid crap, don't sweat it, there's enough stupid crap for everybody to get their share.

Really, nothing major, I suppose it's better to get it all out of the way now that down the road.

Right now the exhaust is too close to the shifter cable, the old shifter had the cable go above the oil pan, this new one goes below the oil gasket level.

Couple more issues like this to modify, then I should be down to getting the bed and fenders painted, hopefully in the second week in May.

Some of the time spent is due to my own attention to certain longevity issues, when it's done I want to be able turn the key, fill'er up with gas and enjoy the drive.

Thanks for checking in greystoke, Jim

[oldman3]

Jim, truck looks great...Jim

[Kim57]

Looks great.
Kim

[Advanced Design]

Most impressive washer I've ever seen! Truck looks very good.

[greystoke]

thanks for the update, inspiring build and one gorgeous truck even though it's not quite finished.