1956 Chevy Pro-Street Build

[ptc]

Well been slacking at the project lately with my daughter visiting in town from the USAF, but she tells me to get on it too.... I will!

Dont know if any of you guys check out a show called FULL CUSTOM GARAGE - http://www.fullcustomgarage.com/..... but this guy is really talented with skills and vision on metal fabrication. He sure gave me some much needed encouragement to get out in my shop and start hacking and hewing the steel on my truck!

Working on the rear wheel tubs still with trying to get them all measured out identical and getting the bed built around that Alston rearend is a chore. But moving along. Im at the point where Im ready to start welding everything in now. Will post up pics as that gets going.

I have also been researching engine options. Its going to be normally aspirated, probably single carb with a hydraulic roller cam into aluminum AFR heads and will probably have to do some custom headers the way I want them run over the frame and dumping out the front fenders. Been playing with some pvc pipe to see it fitted up. -more pics on that later.

[mud.man.rj]

Now I am all amped up waiting for pic's, like your engine choices.

[ptc]

Looks like I lost everyone with all this talking stuff going on.... mud man thanks for hanging in there!

So I got my bed frame all in place and am ready to get the tubs now welded in place. I had to remedy alot of bedside bowing from the cutouts and the rust repairs that heated them up too much. But they are straight now.

ok well heres some pics of my tubbing....

So I made my own tub parts using 18 ga. sheetmetal. Had the circles cut out by a local HVAC shop. They can cut it easy with a circle cutter to whatever diameter you need and then simply shear it in half and you have 2 sides! Mine were 36" diameter! I then cut two 48" x 12" wide pieces for the flats and two pieces 1.5" wide x 48" for the bed side strips that would attach the finished tubs to the inside of the bed.

So Pic 1: is the strips layed out and hole-punched for spot welding - these can be drilled also.

Pic 2 is the tub hole in the bed side

Pic 3 is the strip welded into place with the punch marks about 1/8" inside the bed to be able to spot-weld the tubs onto once they are fitted in place.

[Roadkill58]

Looking good! You should be able to put some big tires in there.



.

[ptc]

Heres another shot of the Strip welded into place.

Oh and I added in the new battery box too on the passenger side, 1) to offset balance of FOD (Fat Old Driver)... and the starter is on that side too!

[Advanced Design]

Good idea! Where did the battery box come from? Liking the look.

[ptc]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Good idea! Where did the battery box come from? Liking the look.

I got it at my local speed shop TOGNOTTIS - $39 - no tags or anything on it, probably just a local welder making a few extra bucks with a water jet and his nice skills!

Lakewood makes one that looks like it and Ive seen them on ebay too. It fits an Optima battery perfect so thats where Im going with it.

[Kim57]

Real nice stuff.
Kim

[mud.man.rj]

Not sure if you mentioned it but what size rim and tire are you planning on running, looks to be quite a bit of room, radial or bias ply also.

[55 Chevy Dave]

Nice job so far on the tubs!

[ptc]

Ok so I am TUBBED!!!! well almost.... got both tubs made and fitted into place this weekend which was the biggest chore of this bed so far. I should have just left it all open and covered it with a tonneau top!!! I'm pretty much doing the wheel tubs because I don't want to be cleaning RUBBER off of everything, every time I do a burnout!!!! I've seen some of the drag trucks out there with open rear ends.... very messy!

Here's some pics of what I did:
Pic 1 is the outside of the bedside with the strip welded into place and a couple repairs to get the 'wowwys' out of it.... The tub placed is sitting on the strip and the back of it on the longitudinal (black rails) I added.

Pic 2 This is the inside of the bed showing the tub laying in place on the rail, fitted tight up (1/16") against the main frame rail. enough to slip past.

Pic 3-4 both tubs fitted and in place - I made it so the whole bed will come off of the ORANGE frame and will slide right back into place over the frame. The center section will have a aluminum paneled cover over it and the rear area will be the aluminum fuel cell. All the bed side and tubs and floor area will be painted in bed coating.

Pic 5 is the finished bed layout with cross rails in place too. I used the UNISTRUT steel channel because it was already lightened with holes and works great!

The bed has to come off to remove the rear wheels... So my plan is to make the bed easily removed with just 4 Bolts total. So next is to lay in the panel covers (front and rear) and then weld in some tube inserts that lead to the bolt holes and make them accessible.

[ptc]

Originally Posted by mud.man.rj

Not sure if you mentioned it but what size rim and tire are you planning on running, looks to be quite a bit of room, radial or bias ply also.

The rear wheels are WELD 15 x 15" wide with a 5.5" offset. The tires are M/T Sportsman Series tires 33 x 21.5 x 15 the biggest they make.




I would like to run 18" x 15" wide rears for street driving with some M/T SR Radials but they stopped making them in that size. SO I may have to go to 20" in the rear to get all the rubber I want back there.

[RockinKees]

Those tubs are looking greaat!!

[Kim57]

Very nice set up.
Kim

[ptc]

If anybody needs some new bed bolt kits I am not using the ones I bought for this bed. I have both the complete bed bolts kit and the bed to frame bolt kit and rubber pads.

see it here:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=682665

[Roadkill58]

pm sent.




.

[mud.man.rj]

Of course the tires are the biggest you can get, that is one of the main reasons I like your build, super cool all in.

[cameo]

Just a suggestion on the roll bar...
With that motor you are going to be in the 10s I'm thinking, so do the bar right. Check to book to be sure, but I know IHRA requires the bar to be tied to the frame. Use 6x6 pads on subframe vehicles only. For a roll bar you need 4 mounting points specific dimensions from the driver's head. A roll cage adds the halo and front legs. You need the front legs tied together with a dash bar.
I see you are in CA so NHRA rules will apply. I'd hope your local track would make you comply with the same rules. Here on street legal Friday's if a car goes quicker than it's safety equipment allows then it gets shut down until it is de tuned or meets the requirements.

Nice truck by the way

[ptc]

Hi Cameo, thanks for the input. Yes I am working on the roll bar frame 'pads' as we speak. That is my next step in this cab fitment process.

I have designed and cut out some templates for the rear hoop mounting so far. They will be made from 3/8" steel plate approximately 6" x 9" that will get welded completely around the front and rear body-bolt frame mounting plates. This will then be gusseted to the side of the frame rail. Then a 1/4" steel standoff plate matching the hoop foot will be welded to that. The roll bar feet will be welded to the cab floor but will have mounting bolts to these frame pads through the floor so the cab can still be removed. There will be a cross bar and Z bar welded between the rear hoop for shoulder harness mounts.

The front feet will integrate with the down legs right in front of the forward part of the door. Once the side hoops are in, the front feet will mount the same as the rear. Then weld in a cross bar under the dash for a full 4-point bar. I think I'll play with integrating the under dash bar into the dash to make the underside edge look more 'finished' too.

Have a few other ideas for cross bracing to front and rear but will play with that more after the main cage is in. I dont want the roll bar to be obtrusive anywhere on the truck but still do its job.

[ptc]

Well after some mind numbing deliberation between my motor builder, suppliers, parts sellers, my bank and my wife ..... I have finally decided upon a motor platform.... not entirely but its a start.

My builder believes (and I agree) that only going with 700-750hp in a big cube block (632+) is a waste of its ability.... these blocks were built for 1200+ hp MINIMUM to make them worthwhile and that is just well beyond reasonable for a street car. So we decided that was not going to happen ----- at this time!

Just for fun I went out and test drove a HELLCAT to see what I thought was a "tamed" 738HP street car could do.... Well have you ever smoked the tires off a car going down the freeway at 70 mph in 4th gear (of 6) by just PUNCHING IT???? WOW!!!!!! this is an amazing car. Loaded sticker price $92,000 out the door - That doesnt include INSURANCE!

So back to my "Budget Build" - 700+ hp on the street is dangerous to say the least for ANYBODY without ANY driving ability.... So being that Im building this truck for resale ultimately, my goal is to make it like a normal everyday vehicle that a "reasonable" person "with some driving experience" can drive 'safely'.

So I found a GM 502 base block - actually it is a complete motor at this point that I found a deal on including a TH400 transmission all for $2500 - Such a deal!

The stock engine specifications:
Power: 450 HP @ 5250 RPM, 550 ft. lbs. of torque @ 3500 RPM
Displacement: 502 CID
Bore x Stroke: 4.47” x 4.000”
Compression Ratio: 8.75:1
Recommended Fuel: 92 Octane
Block: Cast Iron, 1 piece rear seal, 4-bolt main caps
Crankshaft: Forged Steel
Connecting Rods: Forged Steel
Pistons: Forged Aluminum
Camshaft: Steel Hydraulic Roller Tappet
Cam Lift: .510” Intake / .540” exhaust
Cam Duration @ .050”: 211 deg. Intake / 230 deg. Exhaust
Lobe Separation: 112 Degree
Cylinder Heads: Cast Iron Rectangular Port
Combustion Chamber: 118cc
Valves: 2.190” Intake/ 1.880” Exhaust
Rocker Arms: Stamped Steel, 1.7:1 Ratio

So we are gonna crack it open, freshen it all up first and foremost. Then we are going to make a few minor changes to the cam & lifters to get it to breath more and possibly a head change to help with that aspiration. Intake is still being decided.

This block is easily capable of 565 Inches with a stroked crank and that is a decision that I need to make next if I want to take that step.... That means gutting the whole thing and starting from scratch. Looking at dollars right now to see if it is in the cards..... sure wish that lottery ticket would come thru!

[mud.man.rj]

Still a big block, interesting the difference in cubes, waiting to see your choices on parts, what do think the truck will weigh finished and driving.

[ptc]

Well from the education I got from my builder, the Dart aftermarket block (short deck) is capable of alot. The tall deck is capable of even so much more, 2000hp NA or blown. He builds alot of Tractor Pulling motors that need big Torque - STROKING it is where it all comes from....

The GM Gen 6 block (502) is what I found and has forged steel internals, so its good to go, just needs new bearings and a hone to freshen it up for another 100K miles and a good cam to make 500 ponies easy. It would be a very low stressed motor at that point.

If I do go 565" with a new crank stroked to get 700hp and maybe 660+ ft/LB torque with new heads, valves, cam, intake etc, its a whole new ball game, but still a block that can handle it easily at a 10.5-1 compression ratio. just more $$$

[Nut Case]

Boy oh boy, I'm anxious to see the engine come together. These are some great combinations. Strong Work. NC

[ptc]

Ok heres the pics of the new motor (used) I got for building my powerplant. It is so clean inside its like messing with new parts! This thing cant be MUCH used.

Some of the parts I got extra with it and ALL OF ITS FOR SALE:

MSD HEI Disty - SOLD
Edelbrock RPM Air Gap Manifold - SOLD
Vintage Cal-Custom Alum Finned Valve Covers - SOLD
Crane Roller Rockers w/ new ARP studs -SOLD
High Torque Starter - SOLD
Ext. balanced 8" Dampner & Flexplate
Remote Oil Filter mount
Lokar oil dipstick - SOLD

This motor has the 088 rect port heads with Stainless 2.19-1.88 valves and dual springs for cam below, - For SALE, Not going to use them

Hyd roller cam and lifters, which look like new.... so it is an HO motor. Its a medium lift about .540" - For SALE, not gonna use it

Found some upgrades inside too.... love opening up an engine to find GOOD stuff every once in awhile....

Forged 7/16" rods with upgraded ARP rod bolts, SRP Alum flat top pistons 4.5" bore! Means its already a 509 CU IN... So these can be used for blower if I go that way.

[mud.man.rj]

Man you lucked out on that engine, was wondering the end driving weight of the truck once streetable, just curious.