57 Panel "FAKMLC" build

[T-P Auto]

Fakky;

I just come across a 55-58 panel.
It is in rough shape, the dr side is rusted out bad, plus someone hooked up to the floor hold to pull the body of a trailer.
You can ck out the pic on my post (New project 57chevy panel)under my blog name (T-P Auto)
Will keep a look at your postings;

Thank you;
T-P Auto
Tim

[FAKKY]

Nice ^^^

Haven't disappeared...... Bought a decent welder and been practicing. How do you guys determine your welds are good enough ? Cross member.



Gas



FCAW



6011 rod on top (hard to weld for me)

6013 on bottom

Need to try some 7014.


Trying to decide if I can get good enough to weld in this crossmember.

Bought a 211i tweco/esab ....

[yossarian19]

I'm far from expert but Youtube will be your friend here.
I am for welds going into the metal instead of onto. If you can't feel a ton of weld above the surface of the work material, it's penetrated well.

[FAKKY]

Was getting messy as doubled posts from some earlier stuff
So did a separate thread so other people could find if doing same thing.

FINISHING OFF THE IFS
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...89#post7954389

[FAKKY]

So after this I bought a 8.8 rear of a 2000 Explorer (31 spline) V8. $150 shipped to my door from local full service yard. Good condition.
Basically pulled the rear axle and gave it away.
Put the new one on furniture dolleys and put into position. The leaf spring perches wont work as too wide (2.5 or 3") versus the 2" OEM ones and not right width (which I already knew).

So cut them off. Sawzall and then grinder.



Then positoned under truck.








Think IM going to buy these .....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/350527219174...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Then reem out the 3" to 3.25" to fit the axle. Then hook the axle up ...... but dont weld anythign in place until end.

Now here are my measurements.

*************
OLD OEM AXLE.
*************
41.5" center of leaf to center of leaf
56" backing plate to backing plate
3" width each drum from backin plate to WMS
62" TOTAL

There was about a 6" gap from fender to base of WMS (base of studs on rotor).

*************
NEW 8.8 AXLE
*************
39" leaf center to leaf center
54 3/4" backing plate to backing plate
2 1/3" from backing plate to base WMS

59 1/2" TOTAL (this was nice as it is VERY closet to Dakota Front End Measurement)

So ....... really want to get some wheels so I can wheen the truck out in order to get the engine in in future ..... as well as for cleaning down (sanding front ready for rattle cans etc). The panel trucks have a little more a lip over the wheel well so makes needing a tight/accurate offset/wheel thickness fit.

Whats the best way to work this out ? Which wheels will fit well that I can get in and out ok. ?

[FAKKY]

Think I'm going to fab up some cardboard cutouts of tires and mount to axle. Then measure distance to inner and outer fenders to try and work out offset.


YOSS - you did a hydroboost right ? I found the pic on your thread but couldnt see what parts you used.......
trying to see if I want to take that on or just buy
http://www.classicparts.com/1955-59-.../#.WS8Mh-vytpg

seems a little pricey

[yossarian19]

The hydroboost I used came out of an Astro van and I just bought a replacement master cylinder for the same year / model. Later on I replaced that hydroboost with one from a ~80's C20 van due to leaks, kept the same master cylinder. No problems.
There is a seller on Ebay who makes hydroboost brackets with all sorts of bolt patterns, I'm sure you can find the right one for your use or just hog out the firewall bracket with a die grinder as needed and use the bracket that comes with the hydroboost.
I really like hydroboost brakes as the pedal feel and performance is very very consistent and the pedal is always firm. Braking performance is improved as well.
Hydraulic lines... I'm pretty sure you could actually use whatever junkyard lines you came up with, at least going from box to booster. Booster to rack, well, find lines that come wtih the right end fittings / tube bends, cut them off cleanly with a tube cutter, measure how long a hose you need (mock up with garden hose or some such?) and bring it to a hydraulic shop. I actually flared the ends of the tubes I salvaged 37* and had the hose shop just make a xx inches hose with JIC female ends. Cheap & serviceable.

Hydroboost is a minor PITA compared to vacuum but I thought it was worth it, now that it's hooked up I'm glad I did it.
Hope this helps.

[FAKKY]

That helps.

The main parts though I dont quite get are

1) How do you know THAT hydroboost from that truck will work. Assume some have different PSI ratings/settings/returns depending on size of truck. Dont want to be blowing seals or too aggressive brakes - but guess it can be all controlled by PV ? Or another valve etc.

2) The linkage on backside to pedal. What does that look like. Did you use the existing truck pedal or the donor astro van pedal.

3) Dialing it in. Did you put a gauge on it to see how much flow/pressure and adjust .... etc

Apart from that an running the hoses seems similar to putting in the vacuum assist brake etc.

[63chevyll]

Cool pannel to start with. Looks like your going in deep. Have fun

[yossarian19]

1) I didn't / don't know for sure, but the '98 Chevy Astro uses the same part number power steering pump as the 2005 Chevy Silverado with 5.3 - reservoirs may be different, flow valves may be different - but the pump is the same. I was willing to take a gamble and see how it turned out and I won. If you want to be more scientific about it, what you want to do is compare the front / rear caliper piston areas on your setup to various OEM designs and match your MC diameter to one that has a comparable brake package. In my case it worked out pretty close to an Astro van which was convenient, but you want a master cylinder sized to your brake package. Next, you can steal the flow control valve (fitting that screws into the pump, which the high pressure line screws into) from the vehicle you get your booster from & put it in your pump.
Really, though, I tend to just trust the General (General Motors, that is) to keep it simple in their parts inventory and trust that things will work together "well enough" that I can make any changes I feel necessary later on.


I used a firewall brake pedal setup. I used to have a frame mounted setup but found it a royal PITA to work on anything in the vicinity of it under the truck & almost impossible to bleed the brakes. I wound up chopping the end off the hydroboost & threading it 3/8 fine all the way down so I could get the pedal height where I wanted it with the frame mounted kit. I would bolt it all together, see where your pedal height comes out, and adjust things as needed. That applies to vacuum setups, too: you can't expect aftermarket parts to be exactly what you want right from the box. Or at least I haven't been able to so far.

The extent of my playing with the hydraulic system has been to switch to a 13" steering wheel to reduce the leverage & slightly increase steering effort because even with the hydroboost, it felt really light. If you wanted to you could get a set of 3,000 psi gauges & flow meters and go nuts but for the expense and time involved... it's a bit much. Rockauto.com can give you part numbers & lots of information about parts; from there, just rip off as much OEM design work as you can and it'll work just fine.

[FAKKY]

Originally Posted by yossarian19

I used a firewall brake pedal setup.

Something like ?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Universal-Fi...ZXWzd8&vxp=mtr

Thanks Yoss.

[joedoh]

looking really nice! you do plan to put the axle on top of the springs, right? I ask because it looks like your axle is upside down in the pictures, the brakes wont bleed that way and the oil in the rear might not lubricate the pinion correctly and the vent will be a drain.

if you buy a universal pedal like in your ebay link, remember that it wont come with any provision for a brake switch. you will also need to reinforce it with brackets to the dash, the sheet firewall will flex a lot without the tie in to the dash and dash brace. the 82-93 s10 pedal assembly is a great choice, has provisions for a brake switch already and has the correct pin to catch the yoke on a hydroboost (but you may still need to shorten the hydroboost shaft) and is easy to tie to the dash and dash brace.

keep it up!

[FAKKY]

Originally Posted by joedoh

looking really nice! you do plan to put the axle on top of the springs, right? I ask because it looks like your axle is upside down in the pictures, the brakes wont bleed that way and the oil in the rear might not lubricate the pinion correctly and the vent will be a drain.

Hey Joe.
Initially I want to get the truck up and running so I was planning to use the same 2" OEM leaf springs and run the axle underneath so I don't need to
C-Notch the frame. Yes I think looking at that picture it needs to be flipped - will be done when I get the brackets and align everything up - good eye.

Originally Posted by joedoh

if you buy a universal pedal like in your ebay link, remember that it wont come with any provision for a brake switch. you will also need to reinforce it with brackets to the dash, the sheet firewall will flex a lot without the tie in to the dash and dash brace. the 82-93 s10 pedal assembly is a great choice, has provisions for a brake switch already and has the correct pin to catch the yoke on a hydroboost (but you may still need to shorten the hydroboost shaft) and is easy to tie to the dash and dash brace.

keep it up!

That's an awesome tip !! Thanks Sir. I had planned to use a hydraulic brake switch like Yoss did ...... but if I can find a better fitting bracket with it built in - have at it - appreciate it. Mostly concerned with fitment and keep custom fabrication to a minimum - but am learning you have to get used to that idea on these builds

[1958Warrior]

Panels coming along nice,Hey Fakky here is a website that helped me out a lot when I was practicing to get ready to weld in my Camaro clip, covers all types of welding.
http://www.weldingtipsandtricks.com/

For spring perches look at local trailer supply store , I got my u-bolts pads and perches for like $25 picked up.

https://www.southwestwheel.com/c-38-u-bolt-kits.aspx
https://www.southwestwheel.com/c-811...xle-seats.aspx

[yossarian19]

OH! The brake switch - I am using a CPP firewall kit from Ebay and it has a mechanical brake switch mount that I am now using. With the LS motor don't forget you need to use a "normally closed" relay so that it gives a signal to the PCM when you are just driving along and cuts that signal (and powers the brake lights) when you hit the brakes.

I can't find the CPP firewall kit that I used on Ebay right now but it may still be there. The POL kit I know nothing about except that it looks similar. The CPP kit worked, was annoying to install but not overly difficult. The big flaw to me was the pedal arm is clocked high on the pivot shaft, so the pedal by default came out really high with the hydroboost shaft - vacuum boosters might have shorter rods? Sawzall & a threading die fixed it though. Shorter booster shaft = lower pedal.

[FAKKY]

Can't get much done this weekend have friends over today and cleaning house and yard this morning.

Did pick up some sheet metal 20 guage as well as a electric junction box for 1" punchouts.



Soaked the punchouts in a bottle of phosphoric etching acid overnight ready for welding holes in firewall .... Hopefully tomorrow.

Not sure how to cut the large hole though for heater core ..... Or leave alone until I get to that project.
Really want to get wheels and paint front end.

How did you guys decide on wheels for offset and turning radius. Worried about getting ones that are too tight once I put the front panel back on.. 3 year from now .. lol

[FAKKY]

Larger heater core hole.

Rest are 1" holes or smaller.

Also bought a 1" x 6" x 3/8" copper piece and drilled some holes in 4 corners and glued e6000 some strong magnets ..... Backing for my sheet metal welds.

[FAKKY]

Heading outside now to cut off some rivets and remove the manual brake assembly and the old rear transmission cross member support.

[FAKKY]

2 hours yesterday and another 1.5 today have the manual brake assemby out as well as the transmission crossmember.
Damn rivets take time.

Trying to decide if I need to take the steel channel bracket out that sits sort of behind the manual brake assembly as well as the front brake pedal bracket on frame ..... as the rivets for these also double up for the body mounts.

Probably will ..........

*** updaet

took the bracket assembly out fore the break pedal ....... but left the larger one in as I think it could be useful for hiding part of teh harness behind (tie). If I need to later will cut it out.

Need to focus on getting the rear axle mocked up so I can by wheels/tires.

[FAKKY]

Might have found my AC/HEAT source as well.
These guys are like 10 miles from me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/A-C-KIT-UNIV...item3d16217ec5

[FAKKY]

Well...... Welding sheet metal ain't easy either .....

[joedoh]

do it a few years, it gets slightly easier haha. I usually set the power in the middle and the wire a little less than half on my MIG, lets me hold the tacks a fraction longer and not pop through the old metal. Thats just my experience though

[FAKKY]

Found it works much better with wife holding the copper backing flush at back rather than the 1/16th gap I was dealing with.

Also got rear positioned .. mocked.
Had to weld in the spring perch holes and redrill to 0.485 " .....

And then ground out to fit axle tube better as was slightly small.

[FAKKY]

[FAKKY]