How to build a 57 in 1000 easy steps

[bobinbc]

So about 2000 I got tired of sitting around and decided to find a nice truck to play with. Was looking for a 63 when I came across a 57 longbox, all stock sitting under a tree for about the last 10 or so years. I cut the box and frame down, put a monte front clip under it, painted and flamed it. Went with a bench out of a 91 Silverado with a mexican blanket, upholstered door panels and a ratchet shifter with a big, long handle. I built a mild 350 and TH400 with a shift kit, polished up some mags I had since the 80's(with new tires) and put a Nova rear in with a PowerTrax locker and traction bars that I built myself. I was pretty happy wth how it turned out and drove it lots including beating on it repeatedly at the local dragstrip most Friday nights. Here it is just after I did the flames>


And here pretty much finished.



I always wanted more under the hood so I built this



But then someone offered me stupid money for it so I let it go, the engine never made it into the truck but went into a 48 Anglia(!) instead.

Fast forward a couple years and a few toys later and I'm really missing my truck. Looked around and tried to find one to replace it for about what I sold mine for and guess what, rust buckets, bondo buggies, ugly paint, scary chassis mods! I guess maybe the guy who bought mine was crazy like a fox! So I decide I'll just have to build another and I bought a truck over the internet from Reno, Nevada. It's a runner with a rust free body and the guy says it could drive home to Canada no problem (about 1200 miles) Wow, sounds really good. But I get it shipped, just in case ya know.

[bobinbc]

So here's the new truck

Has a 327 and a Turbo 350, and 3 INCH exhaust with shorty bullet mufflers that stop just behind the cab, can you say Holy Crap, Batman this is LOUD!

The PO was a little optimistic, I drove it about 30 miles from the truck to home and that was waaaaay too far. The rear tires rubbed the fenders, even though they had folded the lips AND PULLED the fenders out as far as they could (different rims would've been a better idea) The front springs had most of the leaves pulled out and the axle bottomed directly on the frame every time I ran over anything more than a shadow. The rear was lowered with some very long shackles and missing leaves as well.
BUT, the cab appears vey solid with only very minor small patches needed, better even than what I started with last time.
So here it is last week when I finally got to start tearing into it, this ain't going to be easy but it will be fun


If you look closely you can see the exhaust just behind the cab, DO NOT use these on your street truck if you want to still have any hearing the next day....

[bobinbc]

So I popped the box off but I had no way to move it out of my tiny shop by myself so I quickly fabbed up a dolly to move it to the side.





It worked like a charm. Here's a look at the rear suspension and those bullets




I STRONGLY recommend that you DON'T drop your truck in this manner, the way it "handled" on the highway was EVIL!!

[bobinbc]

So I took all the front sheet metal off as well and that's about as far as I can go and still keep it mobile. Parked it around the side after I blew the box apart and moved the dolly out of the way. Next project was tearing apart the 56 GMC that I was using as a frame donor. You see, the PO forgot to inform me that this truck had originally been a LONGBOX and the frame had been shortened. Although that was how I did my last one I decided to use the other frame because it was available. So, meet donor number 2



Shortbox, 56 GMC no engine or trans, I offered her up for resto but no takers



So apart she comes...

[bobinbc]

Here's what was left of the box



And after I cleared away most of the rubble, a nice straight, solid frame.




Last time I used a 85 Monte frame for the clip but this time I decided to do it a little different. Donor number 3 was a 65 GTO, grabbed the frame chunk just as it was being loaded to go to the crusher Saved part of the car anyhow. Here is the frame mocked up at ride height to check a couple things




And here is a shot of 2 of my newest bestest friends, Mr Lincoln and Mr Plasma cutter. These guys rock !

[bobinbc]

Well, I have the frame ready to get started on but I realized the rearend I was going to use wasn't going to work with my wheels so I went looking and found donor number 4

1984 Buick Regal FREE ! Borrowed a trailer from a good friend and dragged it home, took 3.5 hours to get it loaded on probably the warmest day we're going to have this summer. Who-eee, I'm having fun now, feel like 17 again.



Pulled the diff out with the help of another new friend, Mr. Engine Hoist. Sure beats packing these around although these little 10 bolts aren't that bad, now a Dana 60 on the other hand...



While I was at it I cleaned off all the unnecessary brackets and junk to make it a little smoother. The trailer made a good workbench. The body goes to the metal recycler tomorrow.

That's all for now, I'll update when I can. Thanks to everyone on here who has posted pics and ideas from their builds, it is great see and there is always something new to learn. I've been doing this kind of thing for a while but have had to slow down quite a bit after having some medical issues. But I consider myself lucky and I can still do what I love to do. It's still fun and that's the best part!

[Kim57]

Very cool. Your front clip is very similar to whats on my truck (67 chevelle).
Keep the pics coming.
Kim

[masshole]

looking great..i am on step 1 of 1000 won't be long now

[bobinbc]

Kim I've been watching your build with great interest for quite a while, the chevelle and GTO frame are pretty much twins. Did you mount yours to the frame or was it already done when you bought the truck?

masshole, they say the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step - you are on your way!

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by bobinbc

Kim I've been watching your build with great interest for quite a while, the chevelle and GTO frame are pretty much twins. Did you mount yours to the frame or was it already done when you bought the truck?

masshole, they say the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step - you are on your way!

I had it done in the early 90's by a guy who had done others. He was the same one who I had do the back half of my frame.
Kim

[addicted2dunes]

Hmmmm..... what are you doing with the left over GMC parts? I'd be really interested in buying the core support from ya if it's still there.....

[bobinbc]

Addicted2dunes, sorry I couldn't help you out. Are you sure those pics you sent me aren't 58-59?

Not much to show this week, a lot of you guys are getting a TON done on your trucks, awesome!

I got rid of the hulk of the Buick and put $75 in my jeans. They didn't like having pix taken there but I got a couple anyway.




Then I stuck the diff in and tacked the GTO frame chunk to the truck frame after a LOT of measuring and head scratching and rolled it outside for a look.





Everything measured out well and it sat ok, but the ride height is just mocked up for now. Then I took the old truck for one last drive up behind the new chassis for a pic and then backed her into the shop. Cab off !

[bobinbc]

Then I dropped the cab on the new frame just to make sure I placed the wheels right. I wanted to double check before welding and boxing everything in solid. I think it looks ok, comments welcome. Anyone have a decent set of 57 3100 fender emblems they'd like to trade for 3200's ?



After that, I pulled the cab back off, rolled the frame back out and PUSHED the other chassis back in to get the cab outside again. UGH, got to get this thing running again soon. That thing is heavy, almost blew a gasket pushing it over the 2 inch lip going slightly uphill into the shop

Then pushed the new chassis back in and blew it apart to finish it off. Boy, sure would be nice sometimes to have a little bigger shop but I manage just the same...



Next on the list is a serious clean-up of the shop and put together a blast cabinet that I picked up on sale at Princess Auto. Then back to work on the truck, slowly but surely....

Bob

[ambryatim]

I would say that the wheel in the opening looks good. Mine is very close or exactly where yours is located.

[jjjmm56]

Looks great!

[Kim57]

Originally Posted by bobinbc

Then I dropped the cab on the new frame just to make sure I placed the wheels right. I wanted to double check before welding and boxing everything in solid. I think it looks ok, comments welcome. Anyone have a decent set of 57 3100 fender emblems they'd like to trade for 3200's ?
Bob

I have a set I'm not going to use.
Not sure if they are both original or not.
Here're a couple of pics. As you can see they don't match each other.
If you take care of the shipping they're yours.
Kim

[Fat Mike]

Can you show some close up pictures of your graft of the subframe?
Thanx!

[bobinbc]

Kim57 that is very generous, thanks. I'll PM ya.

Fat Mike I'll take some pics the next time I get out to the shop, look for them tomorrow night right here....

[bobinbc]

How I did the frame clip. First I set the frame up at my planned ride height, determined the axle centerline and marked it on the frame.





Then I measured from the cab mount to my mark





Here's what the clip looked like before I trimmed it, notice the curved part towards the rear. Sorry about the blurry pics...



I opened up and straightened out the curvy part as much as possible so it would slide inside the truck frame. Here's what they looked like the first time I slid them together.

[bobinbc]

I'd taken measurements from a stock GTO so I knew where the clip should sit. Earlier I'd mocked up the clip at the ride height to see how it would match with the frame at it's planned ride height and the 2 were a good match.
I tacked it in a few spots after lining it up and measuring in every direction including diagonally. It was a very tight fit going together ("cut close,grind to fit") and the tacks held it fine. Assembled suspension, mocked up cab,fender and rad support and confirmed fit.
Down to the bare frame again I started to weld it in. A lot of this welding is just to blend the 2 pieces, a lot of strength will come from boxing it, that's next.




The frame horns were tacked in according to the measurements I took before I cut the frame. They will be boxed and blended in also.

[ChuckDriver]

Nice work! You'll be driving her in no time!

[Kabwe]

Looking good man, looking good. Keep up the good work.

[Russell Ashley]

I'm enjoying this thread, keep posting pics of the progress.

"Looked around and tried to find one to replace it for about what I sold mine for and guess what, rust buckets, bondo buggies, ugly paint, scary chassis mods!"
I think there is an un-written rule that you can never get as nice a ride as you sold for the same money, LOL. Sounds like we bought our 57 trucks from the same person. Sometimes I think "previous owners" are the worst thing that has happened to old trucks.

[bobinbc]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

Not much to report right now, working on the boxing plates and have 2 welded in so far.

[CAL 58 GMC]

First of all I need to say your first truck looked sweet! Your build is coming a long nicely. You’re giving a lot of detail, which is great for those who are working on there own builds. Keep up the great work!