Warhoop re-hab

[meter swinger]

I've finally gotten around to starting on this truck again.

Three houses in ten years and five boys have slowed me down a couple years, and i've almost sold this truck twice ( returned to my senses).
the hemorraging of cash into my new house and landscaping should slow down this spring so i plan on giving this piece of americana it's due.

it was a weekend driver when i first bought it. it had 31" a/t tires on it, and cedar fence boards for the bed floor.
it's got a 327 out of an early 60's car, with a 350 trans.
I just got it back from a friend who re-wired it for me ( thanks christopher!) who did it for the cost of an aftermarket harness. he does electrical auto repair for a living, so it was easy for him to make a harness and put it in.

i just put on a 62 impala steering wheel i got from a friend ( thanks shawn!) it looks better than the formuling that was there.

the next order of business is to fix the drivline mounting debacle.
the block is currently sitting by the front mounts by two tabs of flat steel welded onto the front crossmember ( yikes!) i ordered tube cross members for the engine and trans.

next the exhaust; its hanging on by rope. and the donuts are non-existant. i have some new glasspacks ( i know, but i like the sound) that will go on after the driveline is set right. i plan on putting a car tank in the rear so i will probably end up doing a center dump, because i dont want it going out the sides.
after this its shocks/ brakes and a lot chassis issues that need fixed.

i plan on putting a plywood bed in until i get farther along as i will probably pull this thing off a couple times.

the paint is older single stage laquer that buffs really well but chips if you look at it wrong. i'm not a big fan of red so this will eventually get repainted.

thanks for checking out my junk and feel free to tell me what ya think
Sam

[meter swinger]

the plans for the motor are to return it to nearly stock look. i have a friend who has some mid 60's vette heads that are NOS i am going to buy. i also have some early 60's chevrolet script valve covers. i still need to find an old air cleaner. this truck will not be built for speed, just for cruising and looks

i plan on driving it around until later this year, then replacing the i beam front end.
i plan on a mild custom look and want to do a 58 impala bumper like this white truck.

[meter swinger]

rust is present of course cab corners, looks like someones idea of dealing with it was to cut the corner off
theres some up under the front of the cab, and one of the rear fender bottoms where they bolt to the cab. i know theres more but i don't want to know about it right now. lol

[meter swinger]

these came as some extras with a 59 suburban i used to have, i kept them when i sold it cuz you just gotta have louvers!
they'll get painted to match the intierior.

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by meter swinger

i plan on a mild custom look and want to do a 58 impala bumper like this white truck.

That is really cool, kind of looks like the fender and doors were sectioned at the bottom too.

[_Ogre]

really nice steel on that truck.
you guys out west don't understand what rust is.

i can't believe how many cool fleetside trucks are in this forum.

i saw that white truck on the hamb (aka hundreds angry men bitching )
i don't think he modified a thing to make that bumper fit, other than mounting brackets.
no mods to the fenders, no mods to the bumper; pretty cool mod too.
i looked at 58 impala bumpers on ebay, wow. pricey to say the least.

[meter swinger]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

really nice steel on that truck.
you guys out west don't understand what rust is.

i can't believe how many cool fleetside trucks are in this forum.

i saw that white truck on the hamb (aka hundreds angry men bitching )
i don't think he modified a thing to make that bumper fit, other than mounting brackets.
no mods to the fenders, no mods to the bumper; pretty cool mod too.
i looked at 58 impala bumpers on ebay, wow. pricey to say the least.

Im gonna have to steal your hamb acronym.
your right about the condition of the steel around here. I dont know if i could pull off the kind of work you guys in the rust belt do.
I love the the fleets. I love the 58-62 big styling that gm did on all its vehicles.
I found this one after giving up on buying a 55 cameo from a friend who was letting it rot into the ground. ( and still is)

I found some 58 bumpers at all american classics down by portland, theyll need re-cromed, so it will cost some $$$ but oh well, i just gotta do it!
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[oldcouple]

Looks great, and great plans as well.

[Red Foreman]

The steering wheel looks good on, original column I assume?
Btw I like the way Glass packs sound also!

[meter swinger]

Thanks guys

Originally Posted by Red Foreman

The steering wheel looks good on, original column I assume?
Btw I like the way Glass packs sound also!

yes red foreman its the og collum, it will have to go eventually since its pushing the wheel into my gut.
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[_Ogre]

58 impala bumper? there is a 3 piece and a 1 piece bumper, the 1 pc is less likely to rust.

58 truck? they're cheap just buy them from brothers

[Fleet '66]

Hey Meter Swinger, looks like a nice project. I always liked the Task Force Fleets as well. Someday I'll find one but I just have too many other projects to focus on currently. Keep the photos coming, I'll be anxiously following this build. Good Luck.

[oldcouple]

http://fresno.craigslist.org/pts/2877208588.html

http://ventura.craigslist.org/pts/2876634230.html

Nothing in Wa, Or, Id, Mt, Ut.

[meter swinger]

Well I guess i should get on here and put an update before it's lost somewhere in the annals of time.
I haven't done much to the old indian, but i did get the exhaust on. dual glasspacks starting at the back of the cab and dumping right before the rear axle. It sounds great. I was afraid it was going to be too loud but it sounds just right so far. time will tell as the thrush glasspacks breakdown over time and become "seasoned".

I flipped the rear axle so now it's on top of the leaf packs. I don't have bed wood in yet so once i get to that point i'll see if it needs notched. right now it has plenty of clearance. now it's nose high "gasser style" until I get the front done. my wife hates it
I started sanding on the paint with some scothbrite pads and simple green in an attempt to get some of the oxidation off. It's looking better, i'll get updated pics up as i progress. I think I will go to sandpaper next time and wetsand it down further. i wanted to ease into it at first. The paint is old single stage laqquer and it's really thick. I'm not so much trying to salvage it as i am just to get myself to where I can stand to look at it (I hate red paint, no offense intended if your truck is red)

the plans are still to bring it in the garage and rip the front suspension off and replace with IFS this fall/winter. I have two other trucks I am going to sell to fund parts. I had money saved but i spent it on another stationwagon ( i'm addicted to station wagons) so that warhoop would have a stable mate.

[Kim57]

Looking good. I do agree with your wife though, the front is a little high.
Kim

[mknittle]

good looking truck i like the fleetsides.

[_Ogre]

that paint/body looks good, try some old fashion rubbing compound to get the oxidation off
it should leave you with a decent shine too

as for the c-notch, yes you will have to do it with a flipped axle
i did 3 inches and had to use air shocks to keep off the bump stops
i'd recommend 4 or 5 inches and raise the bed wood even with the notch

[meter swinger]

I know this is going to send some folks on here into shock, but i got a bumper bolted up on the 59 today.

This is the first time this truck has had a rear bumper on it since ive owned it. I got the bumper from brothers about a month ago when it was on sale. I picked up some outer brackets from a boardmember. The drivers side bracket was about an inch off from the other one so I put my hitch mounted vice in the back of my dually and talked to it with a sledge hammer.

Heres a couple pics.
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[meter swinger]

Little bit of an update.
I aquired a jag frt. end for a really good price (free) was planning on starting the install soon.
But now for a little bit of a twist:
i've had an itch for a 4WD again. I havn't had one in awhile, not counting the wifes daily. And I just can't seem to get it out of my system. My Travelall is low, and the dodge will be soon.

Soooo. I picked up a 78 six lug 12 bolt and dana 44. I have the 12 bolt in the rear and will have dana in this weekend if I get my hands on some clamps.
Ill toss up a few pics when I can steal my wifes Ipad when she's not looking.
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[dubie]

when ya get that itch, ya gotta scratch it.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by meter swinger

the plans are still to bring it in the garage and rip the front suspension off and replace with IFS this fall/winter.

what happen to plan A
life gets in the way

[meter swinger]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

what happen to plan A
life gets in the way

That it does. LOL. Well the IFS is sitting in the garage, but the truck is outside
Ill keep the jag unit incase i get tired of the 4wd.
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[meter swinger]

well I've been collecting 4wd parts, but it was nickel and dimeing me to death. so I went and picked up this 75 k10. it was cheap, and it may well be the ugliest thing I've ever brought home.
I will sell/scrap the body and then start cleaning the rest.

[OrrieG]

I went thru two 74's to get all the parts I needed and still wish I had kept the K10 around until I was completely finished, lots of small brackets and such I could have used.

[meter swinger]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

I went thru two 74's to get all the parts I needed and still wish I had kept the K10 around until I was completely finished, lots of small brackets and such I could have used.

Yeah, it was just getting crazy orrie. I picked up a set of axles, leafs, steering box, master/booster, and some other stuff. I was trying to avoid blowing apart another rig at my house but it just wasn't going to cut it.
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