Dug's 1959 Fleetside

[dug224]

Had an opportunity to revisit the seat/floor/trans hump install. As I concluded earlier, I won't be using the Trailblazer seats. As can be seen from the photos, the seat control motors take up a substanstial amount of room and hang well below the seat. I stood up a "speed square" so you could see the relative dimension. The second photo is from behind the seat. Note that if the seats were the same height all the way across as the right side (passenger side), I would be using them. I need about 8.5" from floor to top of seat to fit. Dug

[dmack91]

Are all of the motors and crap that hangs down just for adjusting the seat front to back? If so, you could just scrap that stuff and find a manual seat track that you could bolt to the bottom of the seat.

[dug224]

Originally Posted by dmack91

Are all of the motors and crap that hangs down just for adjusting the seat front to back? If so, you could just scrap that stuff and find a manual seat track that you could bolt to the bottom of the seat.

dmack91 - They control all that happens in the seat...up, down, lumbar, front and back. Would have considered your idea until I reached up under the front lip of the seat and it crumbled in my hand due to rust. Piled all the stuff back I can't use on the frame and it is headed to the crusher. Got a bead on some manual grey leather buckets out of a 2003 Saturn Vue for $100 total. They are flawless, never been rained on and may fit with little or no modifications. Also looking at a set of cloth buckets out of a 2011 Corolla. They have been rained on a bit but are in good shape. - dug

[Kim57]

Looks like you're making good progress.
Kim

[dug224]

Mounted the brake booster, master cylinder and pedal assembly. The brake lines and master cylinder clear the engine nicely. Two of the the booster bolts (passenger side) ended up on a raised part of the firewall so I will have to somehow shim the booster so it is more flat against the firewall. The installation feels pretty soft. Will have to thicken the firewall and/or create some support to keep it from feeling so soft. The bottom of gas pedal is 3.5" above the floorboard.

Included a couple of shots of the steering column shortened. Note the 2 inch piece of the casting I cut off.

Also, inlcuded a before and after shot of the steering shaft. I had two steering shafts. The one on top represents the nearly finished product. Still needs to welded. The two pieces on the bottom of the photo represent what I started with. Ultimately had to cut out a total of 5.75" from both pieces to make it work.

[dug224]

Marathon weekend fabricating and installing the steering column. The entire systemed tightened up nicely with the struts installed from the main plate to the firewall. Used four bolts to mount the steering column casting to the steel plate. Welded and installed the shortened steering shaft. Brake pedal is unusually far from the firewall and way above the gas pedal. When you move your foot from the gas to the brake, you have to lift it up pretty far not to land behind the brake pedal. Will have to modify that later. On to the seat install next. dug

[dug224]

Began the process of installing my seats. First step was to lower the seats by 1.75". Did this by cutting metal from the back legs and welding the mounting plate back to the bottom of the shortened legs. Heated and bent the front legs to create flanges for two bolts. Turned out pretty good.

I cannot mount the driver seat until I fix the portion of the floor that I had to cut out to miss the high spot in the plastic fuel tank. I plan on draining the full tank of gas that came with the frame so I can remove the tank so I can weld the floor. The structural piece on under the cab on this panel was removed. It still interfered with the tank. Will weld the panel back in and add angle iron under the cab when I take the cab back off the frame.

The photo of the back of the cab shows the result of lowering the seat.

[dug224]

...more seat photos...

[Kim57]

Looks like you've got them to fit pretty good.
Kim

[dug224]

Stich welded in the floor that I cut out to clear the fuel tank. Before welding, I siphoned out about 17 gallons of gas and then dropped the tank. Those plastic tanks are incredibly light weight. Installed the driver seat. Still have to lower the passenger seat so it will not go in for a bit. Will have to weld a nut in the top portion of the rail the front of the seat sits on. I drilled and bolted all the way through the rail for now but the metal is a bit light and collapses if I tighted the front seat bolts. You can actually see it in the last photo. The rear bolts are in single thickness material and will get a large plate to keep them from pulling through. Besides the unusually high brake pedal position, I am real pleased with the location of the seat, pedals and steering wheel.

On a side note, the radiator and fan assembly the LS series out of an '05 to '08 Corvette is the same as the SSR and will fit nicely in the the '59 core support. Found them on Ebay for about $100 each including shipping. Once I triple confirm the dimensions, will get those ordered. Shortening the driveshaft is next.

[Kim57]

Looks good.
I will be curious to see how the radiator and fan works out as i need them also.
Kim

[dug224]

Originally Posted by Kim57

Looks good.
I will be curious to see how the radiator and fan works out as i need them also.
Kim

Kim..could not remember if you were using the original core support nor could I remember which size LS you had. If using the original core support, per my research, the radiator will actually slide inside the radiator opening rather than mounting on the inside face. This will give more room for the fan assembly which, in my case, is critical. I am woefully short of space between core support and engine pulleys. The good news, in my case, is that the lower hose connection point on the radiator is on the side about 6 inches from the bottom. This will clear the crossmember and massive sway bar and I may even be able to use the factory hoses. Top hose is pretty long and twisted. ....by the way, you got me thinking about a little paint for the engine. dug.

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by dug224

Kim..could not remember if you were using the original core support nor could I remember which size LS you had. If using the original core support, per my research, the radiator will actually slide inside the radiator opening rather than mounting on the inside face. This will give more room for the fan assembly which, in my case, is critical. I am woefully short of space between core support and engine pulleys. The good news, in my case, is that the lower hose connection point on the radiator is on the side about 6 inches from the bottom. This will clear the crossmember and massive sway bar and I may even be able to use the factory hoses. Top hose is pretty long and twisted. ....by the way, you got me thinking about a little paint for the engine. dug.

I'm using the original core support. I have a 6.0 LS2. I would think the vette radiator should keep it cool. I also have the engine sitting pretty far back on my clip.
Kim

[ricott]

Your build is looking great. How tight will the pulleys be? If you need an 1 1/2 (or less) you could go with the vette style brackets and save this much space. Your thought about putting the radiator inside the support also seems to be a good solution. If you do this, would that cause problems with the AC condensor? The most drastic solution would be to move the engine back 1 to 2 inches. I know for your build this is probably not an option, but I think the engine could be moved back without causing other problems (oil pan hitting the rack) based on looking at the wifey's Envoy Denali. Thanks again for taking the time to post the build. You are definitely making it a lot easier for anyone who may want to do this in the future.

Ricky

[dug224]

Originally Posted by ricott

Your build is looking great. How tight will the pulleys be? If you need an 1 1/2 (or less) you could go with the vette style brackets and save this much space. Your thought about putting the radiator inside the support also seems to be a good solution. If you do this, would that cause problems with the AC condensor? The most drastic solution would be to move the engine back 1 to 2 inches. I know for your build this is probably not an option, but I think the engine could be moved back without causing other problems (oil pan hitting the rack) based on looking at the wifey's Envoy Denali. Thanks again for taking the time to post the build. You are definitely making it a lot easier for anyone who may want to do this in the future.

Ricky

Looks like I have 2-13/16" from the engine side of the core support to the tip of the threaded portion of the main pulley. It seemed bigger than that until I put a straight edge on it. If I can get reliable thicknesses for the condenser, radiator and fan assembly, I can make a decision. If it all fits inside the core support, it will be a matter of moving the entire assembly forward until it clears the threaded end on the pulley. All I would have to do is remove the cross bracing in front of the radiator and re-engineer that somehow. Once I get the stacked dimensions, I will respond to your condenser comment. If I can change the main pulley and lose the threaded portion, I will gain an inch or so. This may be what you meant by the "Vette style brackets". Not man enough to move the engine back at this time.....I love what the Chevy Engineers have done at the factory. Stay tuned...dug

[old yelr]

Awesome!! Love the stance and the blackout headlight effect is really cool!

[dug224]

Installed the passenger seat. After I got it installed, I realized the center seam is sewn in an arc rather than straight like the driver seat. Provides the illusion that the seat is in at an angle. Welded nuts flush in the top of the floor beam and bolted them in. I will probably remount these using a piece of 1/8" plate the width of the seat on top of the floor beam. Not real comfortable with how the are currently mounted with regard to pullout during a wreck. Note the passenger seat bracket at the driveshaft is hovering in space where the transmission tunnel belongs. Will have to bend and mount it once the tunnel is in place.

Received my Corvette (fits '08 to '11) radiator tonight. Got it on Ebay for $109 including shipping. Trimmed the four condenser mounting brackets off of the tanks using a wood coping saw and slid it into place. Radiator fits nicely between body mounts and flush on the face of the core support, however, I will have to trim the passenger side mount 1/4" more so the radiator is centered in the core support opening. I have 3-3/8" from the radiator core to the tip of the threaded end on the pulley. That's good news. May even be able to use the Corvette cooling fan. If not, I can always use an aftermarket thin unit. Will purchase radiator hoses next.

[Kim57]

Looking good. That's cool that the radiator fit.
Kim

[dug224]

Fabricated the bottom radiator mounts and got them tacked in place. Used old bed rails. Gotta get some fresh scrape metal. Fabricated one of the top mounts and bolted it in place. Bolts go through the sheetmetal that covers the core support and the top angle iron of the core support. When I tightened it, the sheetmetal distorted so I will have to do some additional work. Factory rubber mounts used for the bottom and a pair of off the shelf grommets used for the top. Radiator is good and tight. Not sure but it may be a bit too tight. Passenger side of the radiator is about 1/8" from the body mount. May trim it a bit next time it is off.

Hitting the wrecking yards trying to find a radiator filler cap assembly and overflow tank. Grabbed a number of old GM hoses and began chopping them up to get cleanest installation. The top hose will be a bit complicated but the bottom one is not.

After the gravity run the other day, I have been distracted by the thought of tacking the bed together and putting it on just to see how it looks. What I really need to do is pull the engine and transmission since, in my hurry to get started, I chose not to install the torque converter or new engine mounts. It will give me the opportunity to finish some of the welds that are currently just tack welds.

[Kabwe]

Looking great man, looking really great. Good work.

[dubie]

great progress. Those seats are going to be killer comfortable

[Wheelie]

COming along great! I love the maiden voyage. lol

[dug224]

Pulled the front clip, engine and transmission so I could install the new motor mounts and torque converter. While I have it apart, I will catch on some blasting and welding.

Fired up the new 110 lb H.F. sandblaster and blasted the core support. Had to buy a deadman for it to turn it into something reliable. Went to the local supply house to buy sand. They don't sell it anymore so I bought some black blast (coal...really). $9 for a 100 lb bag. Had to screen it to get it thru the blaster which took out about 30% of the bag. Used the entire bag on the core support and still had chunks that stopped up the deadman. Got to find something easier to use. Leaves quite a texture which I have not decided is good or bad...yet. Paint will have not problem grabbing on.

Core Support...removed the cross bracing and added an angle iron at the bottom of the verticals. Filled holes and finished many of the welds. Also cleaned up and welded the sway bar gussets to the ends of the frame horns. Remember, I took 12.5" off the ends of the frame horns many months ago. The sway bar on this thing is massive hence the flat cornering in the gravity video.

[Kim57]

Looking good.
Kim

[wutnxt]

I just finished ( mostly ) my 58 with a LS 2.....And had it out yesturday for a drive...and nothing but nothing says loving like a LS ....

Great build keep up the great work...