My 1955 Chevy 3100 build

[oldman3]

Everything is looking great, you are doing very nice work...Jim

[Advanced Design]

I agree, looks good Dave.

[ptc]

Kim is right, the galvanized conduit is what the problem is with trying to weld it. Also (being an electrician) I will tell you that you are going to play hell in trying to get wires around the 'close nipple 90 degree' connectors, just squirt lots of wire lube at the ends there when you pull it in and it will help stop the abrasion damage to the insulation.

Good idea though, wish the guy who did mine had thought of that!

[55 Chevy Dave]

Thank you Kim, Jim, Advanced Design and PTC for the positive feedback!

PTC, I thought about putting slight bends in the conduits and letting them die into the boxing plates without the 90 degree elbows, but I didn't want to be left with big long holes to seal up against the elements.

I also thought about putting pull ropes through the conduits as I installed them, but didn't think those would make it through the process and be usable after I got the chassis back from powder coating.

My plan (which may or may not work) to get the wiring through the 90 degree elbows is to push a piece of welding wire from one end of each conduit out to the other end and then tie the wires to the end of the welding wire and pull it back through. Combined with plenty of lube at each 90 and I believe it will work. Guess we will all find out in a later post!

[ptc]

Originally Posted by 55 Chevy Dave

My plan (which may or may not work) to get the wiring through the 90 degree elbows is to push a piece of welding wire from one end of each conduit out to the other end and then tie the wires to the end of the welding wire and pull it back through. Combined with plenty of lube at each 90 and I believe it will work. Guess we will all find out in a later post!

Your plan should work fine, I would have a 'helper' feeding and bending the wire into the hole as you are pulling gently from the other end... it may take a bit of time but it will get there....

[ilikethewoods]

You should use .42 safety wire. Wrap/or tape one end to a piece and feed it through. I did a tuck a while ago and the safety wire worked out perfect. All I can say is check, double check, then call your friend over to check your grounds or you will be chasing wires until 5am. Good luck, and great build.

[55 Chevy Dave]

It has been a while since my last post, but I'm back! Other projects keep popping up that put the 55 on the back burner.

I continue on with the boxing of the frame. I left the piece just before the rear shock bar unwelded because I think I want to move the rear axle bump stops to the inboard side of the frame and want to be able to weld receiving nuts on the backside of the plates before welding them into place.

[55 Chevy Dave]

To box the frame flat in the back, I had to fill the bottom side of the frame on each side where the frame thins out.

[55 Chevy Dave]

Here are the rear boxing plates in progress. I still need to flip the frame over, fully weld the top side of each side and grind everything smooth.

The last picture is of the front and rear tubes fabricated for me by a nearby shop. Unfortunately, they don't make rectangular tubes in a stock height that matches the height measurements at the front and rear ends of the frame.

Hopefully, they will be fully installed this weekend.

[Advanced Design]

Really nice work Dave. Looks good.

[Kim57]

Nice progress. Looks good.
Kim

[55 Chevy Dave]

I trimmed up the rear custom tube so that it would fit between the frame rails. I had to spread the rails a bit as the heat from welding the boxing plate had pulled them in a bit. Nothing a bottle jack and chunk of wood couldn't fix!

[55 Chevy Dave]

After some twisting, additional trimming with the grinder and a bit of beating with a big hammer, the tube found it's new permanent home.

Everything welded up nicely. I still need to flip the frame over and get the top side.

[55 Chevy Dave]

After some more welding, it actually looks like it belongs there!

[55 Chevy Dave]

After looking at the front end of the frame, I realized that if I want the same clean installation for the front rectangular tube, I will need to do something about the front bumper brackets. I'm not sure why they ended up fitting inside the frame rails instead of on the outside of the rails like the rear bumper brackets, but they are in the way.

I cut some plates out of some 1/4" material I had laying around and drilled the holes in them. That is where I had to stop for the weekend. I plan to bolt the plates to the outside of the frame rails and weld them to the original brackets. I should be able to finish that project one night this week after work.

Eventually, I hope to post more than just pictures of my frame on this thread!

[Advanced Design]

Nice work Dave, looks good!

[Kim57]

Frame is looking good.
Kim

[oldman3]

Doing a great job...Jim

[55 Chevy Dave]

Now that I relocated the front bumper brackets to the outside of the frame, I moved on to cutting the front tube and installing it between the frame rails.

[Kim57]

You're doing a nice job.
Kim

[55 Chevy Dave]

After flipping the frame over, I spent the better part of a Saturday welding the top side of the boxing plates to the frame and then grinding everything smooth.

Now onto mounting my new brake/clutch pedal assembly to the inside of the boxed frame. I picked up the pedal assembly and master cylinder/brake booster frame mounting plate at Progressive Automotive. The mount is designed to work with their frame crossmember (shown in the 5th picture in this post).

With their master cylinder/brake booster mount, they include a fabricated tray that is to be installed in the boxed frame to allow room for the brake booster to fit between their crossmember and frame. The tray can be seen behind the pedal assembly in the first pic and installed at the top of the fourth pic. It looks like a pretty slick setup.

[55 Chevy Dave]

According to the manual, to find the correct location for the pedal assembly, the cab had to be mounted back on top of the frame (see the third pic from my last post). After dropping the cab back onto the frame, I decided to reinstall the front and rear suspension to get a look at the stance of the truck on top of its new suspension.

Thoughts?

[55 Chevy Dave]

She sure is screaming for some wider meats in the back, isn't she? Pay no attention to those weeds in the driveway! I've been busy, OK?

[Advanced Design]

Weeds, what weeds?....you have a truck build going. Looks good...maybe a bit more tire out back?

[Kim57]

Looking real slick.
Kim