52 Project

[pgf545]

Cole, Sorry I missed your post. I think that a good small block would be a better choice. The reason I say that is because a big block is really tight. The distributor is going to hit the already recessed firewall and the water pump pulley is only about 1/4 inch from the radiator fan. We had a radiator and fan setup custom built and everything is still really tight. The reason we are running a big block is because we already had it and I was up to the challenge. If it was mine and I was starting from scratch the small block would be the motor of choice. This truck is going to be cool when it is done but it has been a ton of work and for your first truck I think keeping it simple would be the way to go. There are a lot of projects out there that never get finished because the owner gets in over his head. Get the thing running and then you can do other thing to it as you can afford it or have the abilities to do them. That way you can enjoy the truck. I have been working on this thing for 2 years and hopefully we are going to have the running gear in it soon and then we are going to do the body work. If you have anymore questions post them and I or someone on here will try to answer them.

Bernie

[pgf545]

Prostreet, Too bad you had to sell it but i understand. I guess the Corvair turned in to the other 58. My niece runs a jr and has done pretty good with it. She won the division 4 finals 2 years ago and has won several times this past season. My sister in law has a web site with a bunch of our racing stuff on it, both past and present, check it out.

www.moondustmotorsports.com

Bernie

[wigadore]

@pgf545

Originally Posted by pgf545

It is a very nice piece. The quality is outstanding and the best customer service I have delt with in a long time. You can order it any way you want, we got it with the electric fan and shroud, the condenser and all polished plus we ordered a cap to go along with it. Here is a link for them.

http://www.prchotrod.com/

Bernie

I have been speaking to a rep at this shop trying to get a rad like yours for my project and so far, even with your pictures, they are unable to tell me what it would cost to have such a rig built cause they can't remember building such a unit. Do you have the specs or list of what you wanted to get this built? Any help would be appreciated.

[53lochevy]

I would definetly go with the small block LT/LS1 motors and just give a 100/150 shot dope to her and get that instant hp rather than go with a big block the weight factor for one in the front along with it driving like a heavy car because of the weight up front heavy sway bars up front to handle the roll u gonna have because of the weight up front. You also going to need to beef the frame up to handle to horsepower and yes it is going to be very tight in there also with cutting back the innner skirts ur not going to be able to get the motor low enough for the stock clearence on the tunnel for the transmission a whole new firewall. The back end of these trucks are light to begin with the truck would be more evenlly balanced with a small block. Just my opinion bud

[pgf545]

Wigadore, I just looked back through my thread and saw that I had talked to John at PRC. I am sure that we would remember building that radiator because I talked to him several times. I don't know what you are looking for but I just called him and told what we were building and they hooked me up. I did give him the measurements for the hose sizes but that is all I remember giving him. They must have the dimensions for that thing. If you want I can give you more specific pictures if you will tell me exactly what you are looking for. I included a couple of pictures that may have a better look for you.

Update: We had the frame blasted and dad painted it last weekend but had some issues with the paint, so he was going to try to reshoot it this weekend. Once that is done we are going to install the front end pieces and put the motor in for the final time. So all the running gear will be in at least and then on to the body work. Hopefully if all goes well then maybe later this year we will get to take a ride...lol.

Bernie

[CAL 58 GMC]

Wow Bernie, thats one sweet radiator! Were did you get it?

[pgf545]

Cal, We got it from Prc Hotrods in Illinois. Very nice piece and great people to work with. I am going to order one for the Camaro pretty soon but it probably won't be all shinny...lol.

Bernie

[CAL 58 GMC]

Originally Posted by pgf545

Cal, We got it from Prc Hotrods in Illinois. Very nice piece and great people to work with. I am going to order one for the Camaro pretty soon but it probably won't be all shinny...lol.

Bernie

Is it custom made or are they distributors of them?

[pgf545]

Cal, They are the manufacture of them. They make models for several applications, but the one that I had built for the truck is a semi custom unit. I think they had the basic measurements but I had it built for the big block and had them move the fan and made sure the hose barbs were the right size. The workmanship is outstanding and the price was comparable to other units.

Bernie

[pgf545]

Ok I finally got some picture worthy work done on the truck. We got the frame blasted and painted along with all the front suspension parts. Dad and I got the A-Arms, Springs and spindles installed and then went to put on the rotors and ran into some trouble. It seems that the new rotors that we got are about 1/4 inch shifted farther to the out side than the originals. He is going to make some calls this week to see what we can do to fix this. Here are a few pictures that I took yesterday.

Bernie

[Cole_lol]

Just a quick question. What did you do inside the frame that was boxed? Did you clean it up and put some rust preventer down or do you not see any problems with that down the road?
Thanks,
Cole

[pgf545]

Cole, What I did was to wire brush the heck out of the inside of the frame and then paint Rust-o-leum on the inside of it and the boxing plates. Also in the area where I was going to welding I painted it with weld through primer. The frame had been sand blasted years ago so it was pretty clean. We also tried to get as much paint on the inside as we could while painting the frame. I am thinking that will be enough because we don't plan on driving it in the rain and bad weather. This is my dads toy so I don't think we will get it out unless the weather is good.

Bernie

[jkaylor68gmc]

Chassis looks great, I am about to start painting the '51 frame.

[Daniel U]

Looking good enough to eat off of!

[CAL 58 GMC]

Looking really good Bernie!

[pgf545]

Hey Thanks guys, the frame turned out really nice, although not show quality it is what we were looking for. This is going to be a driven truck and not a show truck...lol. Hopefully in the next few weeks we are going to put the motor in it and then start the body work. More pictures to follow.

Bernie

[pgf545]

Here are a few pictures of some stuff that I got done last weekend. My dad and brother finished installing the front end stuff and got it set down on the ground with a set of mockup wheels. Also we bolted up the tranny to the motor and set it in place. I also got all the March drive belt stuff installed. Now that most of the chassis is done it is time to start the body work.

Bernie

[CAL 58 GMC]

WOW!!! That looks super sick! I love the motor with its March drive belt! Your Dad truck is going to be really nice based on the work already done.

[tylordurben]

hey there Bernie,

maybe i missed it i just looked back thru your posts, but whats up with the rear shackles for the rear leafs? on the 50 GMC im working on i used the front shackles on the rear they are 1" shorter, but yours look even shorter! thats means more drop, do tell please.

thanks,
Yaril

[pgf545]

Yaril,
That is an after market spring kit that I think we got from CPP. It comes with the new springs, front and rear hangers and new pads for the rear end. It is supposed to lower it some but I don't know how much. The shackles are only about 3-4 inches long. Also the springs have less arch than the originals. Dad didn't want to bag it so everything we have done so far is with springs. If you need anything else let me know.

Bernie

[tylordurben]

cool thanks Bernie, ill see if i can buy just the hangers with hardware.

[jkaylor68gmc]

Bernie,

Whats next on the list. WHat are your palns for a fuel tank?

[tylordurben]

found the web site, they seem to have everything one would need, but they also seem to not sell those hangers and hardware separately.

[pgf545]

Originally Posted by jkaylor68gmc

Bernie,

Whats next on the list. WHat are your palns for a fuel tank?

I got the tank to work. Next thing is doing the body work and get it painted. Will probably do things like run the lines for the brakes and fuel while the body work is going on. Still need to figure out the steering column and shaft setup. Hopefully the body work won't be too bad cause the old body isn't in that bad shape...(keeping fingers crossed)...lol. I think most of the running gear is ready but dad did mention the other day that he was thinking about a 700R4 so that is still up in the air but I can deal with that later if he wants to do that. Then it is all the other time consuming projects like wiring and interior that will come last.

Thanks Bernie

[hvychve]

always nice when the kids wanna help, keeps em out of trouble... cool