56 made2drag

[made2drag]

[made2drag]

[made2drag]

it looks worse than it is....

***DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME***

the 2x4 between the firewall and the crossmember isnt doing anything...it isn't there now and i wish it wasnt in the pictures

[Kim57]

Nice progress.
Kim

[made2drag]

thank you sir

[made2drag]

[made2drag]

[made2drag]

[made2drag]

76 frame is now under it....im going to have to take measurements to see where and how i need to level out the cab. i need to put the bed and front clip on temporarily to see where the mounts need to be...then when cab is mounted i need to shorten the frame....16 or 17 inches....(3 inches more than when people shorten 73-87 longbed to short beds or there would be a 3 inch gap)

my goal for this week is finished. it may be a few weeks til the cab is mounted since im out of time this week. i would like to be driving it this fall.

[Kim57]

Looks like it should work out pretty good.
Kim

[made2drag]

Question:

should i be able to turn the fan blade easily with the spark plugs in? i can turn the fan blade with little effort and watch the flywheel spin since the manual transmission is off.

im wondering if this is a sign that the compression is low and may be a bad motor? im hoping this is normal for straight 6's...friends tell me it shouldnt spin easy unless the spark plugs are out.

any help would be great. i do plan on doing a compression test on each cyl but it will be a few weeks

[akdg87]

Even on the straight six its easy to spin with the plugs in, i asked my dad the same question. Low compression motor.

[made2drag]

Originally Posted by akdg87

Even on the straight six its easy to spin with the plugs in, i asked my dad the same question. Low compression motor.

thanks!!! makes me feel better now!

[made2drag]

I put a little gas in the carb and did the screwdriver trick on the starter...she cranked and ran great....no smoke...I need to clean motor up and buy plug wires, battery cables and motor mounts. The steering column and wiring harness is out of the 76 waiting to go in the 56. The brake pedal bracketry may be the hardest part to adapt. If anyone has any ideas, let me know

[made2drag]

[Kim57]

I'll assume those are your cab mounts you're fabbing.
Kim

[made2drag]

so on the 76 frame there is a 4 inch dip and the stock 56 frame is totaly flat. i knew the front cab mounts needed to be 4 inches higher due to the dip in the frame so i looked in my metal scrap and found a 6 inch i beam.

i measured my 56 front wheel center to the front mounting cab holes and came up with 29 or 30 inches and the holes were 8 inches from the frame rail on each side. i did the same measurement with the 76 and the 76 mounts were in about the same place. so i used the 6 inch i beams that i cut and they are about a 1/2 inch too low....so as you can see in the last pic i made kind of like a "ski" on each side....when i lift the cab on the ski's i should be able to slide the cab forwards or backwards a tad and then drill the hole for the cab mount bolt. whatever part of the "ski's" i dont need, i'll just slice off.

i have read on other builds that people move the cab an inch anyway to center the front wheels so maybe im in the ballpark...im hoping the cab will be too low....too low will be a lot easier to adjust than if it is too high...lol

[made2drag]

Originally Posted by Kim57

I'll assume those are your cab mounts you're fabbing.
Kim

yes sir...i know they're ugly but im thinking they will be hidden....

[made2drag]

the last pic is really ugly...i primed the mounts the day before and had the idea of the "ski's" and right after i welded them and i put the welder up i rained...you can see the rusty rain drops...LOL

[made2drag]

can i say ratrod on this forum?? well, unfortunately, this truck will be together with 76 or 56 parts and pieces from my scrap pile....not that it doesnt deserve better, but this will be low budget like they did back when aftermarket parts werent sold...not sure it will have any aftermarket parts on it other than maybe small Autometer gauges to watch oil and water.

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by made2drag

can i say ratrod on this forum?? well, unfortunately, this truck will be together with 76 or 56 parts and pieces from my scrap pile....not that it doesnt deserve better, but this will be low budget like they did back when aftermarket parts werent sold...not sure it will have any aftermarket parts on it other than maybe small Autometer gauges to watch oil and water.

There's nothing wrong with building on a budget.
Kim

[made2drag]

[made2drag]

[made2drag]

[made2drag]