Father (1955 Chevy Hot Rod), Son (1955 GMC 4x4)...The build begins!

[OYMC]

My name is Josh Trostle, and I am the owner of a Toyota land cruiser importing business... I won't say the name of the business because I am not here to advertise.

I am a huge fan of the 1954-1957, and 1967-1972 Chevy / GMC trucks...

I am currently building a 1987 GMC Crew Cab Short Bed 4X4, a 1955 Chevy Pickup (Hot Rod), a 1955 GMC 4X4, and a 1954 shop truck named (Crash).

As a kid I spent my after school days hanging around an old mans hot rod shop. I enjoyed listening to this man's stories, and the art he had developed in creating automobile masterpieces... (This is where my sickness began)

When I neared my 16th birthday, my Mom would take me out in our 1954 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup, to teach me the fundamentals of driving.

This was a stock 54' with all the pedals (Starting from the far left): Parking brake, high beam switch, clutch, brake, gas, and starter... For a first time driver, it looked very intimidating to look at!

Now, rather than go through all the information from my 15 year old driving experiences to my now 29 year old "Father / Son" build off (My Dad is the Chief of Police, and has absolutely no fabrication experience), I'll just fast forward.

I am a fabricator, and love spending hours in the shop (Not long walks on the beach, but that doesn't sound bad either).

As a tribute towards my appreciation towards my Dad, and to develop recognition for both the street rod, and 4X4 world, I am building two trucks.
A 1955 Chevy, and a 1955 GMC 1/2 ton pickups.

Both trucks will be painted the same color, and will feature similar interior designs. The only difference between the two will be their drive trains, and suspension setups.

The 1955 Chevy (Dads):
Unfortunately I have already built a large majority of this truck, and features the following. Heidts Mustang 2 suspension with tubular control arms, completely boxed chassis, "X" member center crossmember, triagulated four link rear suspension on a 8.8 narrowed limited slip axle, a "K" member up front, and a "K"member in the back. A wiring conduit was welded inside the chassis to hide all the wiring, and all body fastener nuts have been tig welded to the inside of the frame rails.

I'll have more photos tomorrow:

[ya it is a classic]

this is looking good already! MORE PICTURES!!!!!! thats sweet that your building a truck for your dad. can you give us a little teaser of whats to come?

[OYMC]

55 GMC 4X4 (Son's):
I purchased this truck from an old washed out, wannabe rock musician (We'll call him "A-Rose"). If I were to give my Dad a welder, and a truck, this is what it would have turned into.

A-Rose had purchase a 1979 1/2 ton chevy 4x4 as a donor for his project 55'. He welded in the front leaf spring mounts, and bolted in the rear axle suspension hangers. After he realized that he had welded in the front suspension to far back (The axle was off stock center line by over 6", and the tires were hitting the back edge of the front fenders) he parked it in discouragement.

It didn't end there! After A-Rose had digested his mistake, he decided to install the motor and drive train. This was installed to far forward on the chassis, so the water pump was hitting the radiator...
Hmm, what should I do now, he thought? I know, I'll twist the radiator core support forward, and weld it to the crossmember for clearance!

Long story short, he F*$ked this thing up...

Why did I buy it? This thing had been kept out of the elements for over 10 years, and is in excellent body condition...

Currently, I have sold all the 1/2 ton parts except for the leaf springs.
I have a 8 lug Dana 44 front axle, and a 14 bolt FF rear axle. Just purchased a fully built 700r4 with a 205 transfer case setup.

I will be installing a 4" skyjacker soft ride lift kit, and converting the front push / pull steering over to a crossover / high steer setup. I am using a 1968 Impala saginaw steering box mounted to the inside of the chassis for more wheel / tire clearance.

I have cut out the old front spring mounts, and have started welding in the new mounts. The wheels fit perfectly centered in the wheel wells now!

I'll go into more detail on these builds later...My wife is giving me the "Get off the computer" look!

[OYMC]

As you can see the frame looks like swiss cheese... I have no idea why, but all the holes are getting filled...

This is kind of how I want the GMC to sit (Just slightly taller for 35" or 38" tires):

[Kim57]

These both sound like great builds. Be sure and post lots of pics. We love the pics.
Kim

[hotrodrookie]

This looks really cool, Im interested in seeing how you did the triangulated 4 link with the 8.8.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very cool. Anymore progress on these?

[OYMC]

The Dust has been removed...

So months ago I started this thread, and like many other threads on this site, I started off with all kinds of motivation, and at the end of the dismantle stage (Cheapest part of building a vehicle) its as if I threw out an anchor and my build(s) came to a screeching halt...

With out giving you all of my valid excuses as to why I haven't posted progress on these builds, I will just start off with an update:

1. Bought a 1955 GMC 3/4 long bed parts truck for my Dad's 55' Chevy
He prefers the GMC front end over the 55 Chevy (I agree)

2. I sold my 55 1st series pickup but kept the C4 corvette running gear I had purchased for the truck which I will be using on my Dad's 55' rather than the 8.8 Ford rear end...

Here are the next phases that I will be covering over the next week:

1. C4 corvette rear axle installation on my (Dad's 55')
2. Building and installing my 14 bolt Full Float rear axle with a disc brake upgrade..(My Truck)
3. Building and Installing a 3/4 ton Dana 44 flat top knuckle front axle (My Truck)

Photos are of the parts truck that was purchased...
We only used the front grill, core support, doors, and bed (Building a trailer for my truck)... The rest is going bye bye, but is very clean and solid...

Sorry about pic size... I'll scale down in the future...

[Dieselwrencher]

Nice parts rig!

[thirdstreettito]

Josh, any updates on this beaut'?

[OYMC]

Originally Posted by thirdstreettito

Josh, any updates on this beaut'?

I'm glad you reminded me about this write up. As with my normal way of indecisive behavior I have abandon one idea to move to another.

My 55' GMC will still be a napco style conversion with exception to a Cummins drivetrain, NV4500 Trans and 1 ton running gear.

I'll post photos of my progress in the next few days (Don't let me forget)...

Unfortunately the 55 Chevy I was building for my Dad has ended. I had completed most of the chassis mod's: Mustang 2 front, Corvette C4 Rear, boxed in frame with all fastners tig welded to the inside of frame rails, and a steel conduit for wire loom also inside frame rail.

My Dad's truck sat in my garage for almost two years with out a dime spent on it, mean while he was getting private golf lesson and buying all kinds of golfing gear. I told him time and time again that his truck need to have some sort of progression (Even just one part per month) and it finally came down to me loading all of his stuff and dumping it in his garage. This combined with a great deal of other issues resulted in us not talking for over 6 months and counting... I should have charged him storage and my shop rate

[thirdstreettito]

Sorry to hear about you and your dad, I know how that is. I'll make sure to remind you!

[OYMC]

Well, it's been way to long since I have worked on the old 55 GMC... Since I filled in all the swiss cheese holes along the frame rails, and moved the front leaf spring mounts forward I pretty much stuck the truck in my back shop and kind of forgot about it... To many other projects (Customer related) going on.

The 55' is now under axles and wheels at least. I have a HD dana 44 eight lug front (Axle housing is nearly 1/2 " thick) with the passenger side flat top knuckle (Soon will have a cross over / high steer setup).

The rear axle is a Corp 14 Full float that I recently purchased a disc brake conversion setup for.

The future plans include a Cummins 12V with a NV4500 5 speed manual trans and a atlas 3:1 gear reduction transfercase. A custom radiator and inter-cooler will be built for the pickup, along with bigger injectors / turbo and a 4"exhaust.

A few things still need to happen before I am 100% underway on this old girl: my 1987 Crew Cab short bed, and three customer cruisers need to be finished...

I may get to a few little things here and there but this coming summer should be my 100% commitment to the project.

I am still not talking to my Dad after he made clear that his material belongings mean more to him then his family so I feel that getting this pickup done would be a great salt to his wound!

Stay tuned!

[bajabob]

oymc
Sorry bout you the ol man, maybe he'll come around and get back to helping you with his build... Your truck looks awesome and I stumbled onto some youtube videos the other day of 4xclassic 4x4 chevies with diesels in them. Sounded and ran great, burnouts and all...

[OYMC]

55 GMC photos...

[OYMC]

A couple more photos...

[waybad]

subscribed