Smoke did you get that truck you posted pictures of on 12-4-06?If you did please post some pictures of the interior.

Hello everyone,
Thank you Kim for directing me to this thread. Well i have a 55 Chevy that im going to restore/hot rod. Im going to put a built 350 in it..... but i need a manual tranny for it. the truck has a 283 with power pack heads and a Saginaw 4 speed on the floor, im willing to sell them if anyone is interested. i was researching IFS set ups and i came across a tread that was for a 73-87 Chevy 2wd truck frame conversion or a 73-89 2wd suburban frame. has anyone done one of these conversions.... i would like some advice on it. i can get a front section of a frame right now for $75-100.

hope to hear your advice soon...mike

I'm heading to the wreckers soon to look for a gas pedal assembly for my 57. The location of the pedal itself ends up being below the curved portion of the firewall so I need to find something that mounts on the flat portion of the firewall almost above the original brake pedal and has the pedal located over to the right of the mount. *I'm wondering what others have used from the wreckers.*

I've also temporarily mounted the GM van steering column about where it needs to be, did the column linkage to the 700r4, and have to figure out how to join the column to the Volare steering box. I'll be checking around for options while I'm at the wreckers.

I used a 82 caprice Assembly and took the pedal off so it would line up with the existing pedal.I cut the rubber off the back of the pedal so it would sit flat.I used a 77 truck throttle cable to hook to the carburetor.I drilled a hole in the fire wall and squared it off with a small file and plugged it into the firewall.

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I would sub frame your truck with a camero or even better a trans am WS-6 subframe with the later front mount steering box for more header clearance, and drop a big block in. but no matter what you do, they still do not have any leg room in the cab for taller people, that is why I sold mine..

i dont know how much you want to spend but i have a master power hanging brake pedal i was about to list on the HAMB board. it is left over from a prior truck project so now i have 2 pedals for my 57 step side. it is already cut to length to fit front to back. just a matter of adjusting it up and down to fit where you want it to. Brand new. paid $125 but want to move it so was gonna ask $85 on the board. if interest will sell for $75 to fellow chevy truck guy. let me know at hotrodsbyray@yahoo.com.
as far as leg room - i am about 5' 10" tall and my wife is 6'. have 2005 buckets with the built in belts from a silverado. mounts almost in a coupple of the original holes and i have adequate leg room to be comfortable driving. box off the floor on the passenger side and even more room over there. i thought about making an extended cab but this project has alreay taken a millenium to get where i am and still not on road so i decided against that.
another thing i am doing is building a storage box behind the step area in the door to put jack, tools, battery, etc. will try to start journal when get more into it.

streamline55 Sorry I didn,t get back to you sooner but it has been crazy around here for a while now.I haven't done a front end conversion on mine yet but I have run a tape measure over the frame on a 67 to 72 and the frame is almost the same width.Tom Meyer has pictures in his project journal of the camaro sub-frame swap he did on his.you should go look at them.I live in snow country so I don't want to lower this truck at all or it will just be a snow plow.I had to drive 12 miles through 10 to 18 inch snow drifts last night to get to work so I need my ground clearance.Good luck on your project and keep us posted of your progress.

Handsom Harv.I agree with you on the no leg room issue.When I rebuilt the frame work of my seat I made C-clips for the springs inside the seat and hooked all the springs together,This made the seat so you sit on it not in it.I also mounted the tracks on 1 inch blocks to raise it slightly.It gave me more room for my stereo equipment under the seat and made it so my legs are level when on the seat.Fortunately for me I am 6 foot tall but have a long body and short legs.I do have a son in law that is 6 foot 5 inches tall and he can barely drive it because his legs are against the steering wheel.But his complaint when he borrows it once in a while is too much power from the high compression 427 under the hood.

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Theres no such thing as to much power.
Kim

I agree with kim..... more horse power the better, i just purchased a 1985 4 bolt main bore 40 over. CNC flat top pistons. It has world product head with stailess steel valves. Hydrolic roller cam from lunati, 234/244 duration and 488/511 lift. The motor is topped with a weind X-celerator intake with a demon 750...... im hoping that it will make some good power. what do you guys/girls think?

You should be able to break plenty of parts with that motor.You will want the neoprene mounts for the engine and transmission to keep it in place I loved breaking the mounts on my traction bars hope you can do the same.

I think it would be kinda cool to twist a drive shaft....... wont feel to good in the pocket but i could say that i did it.

I broke the u-joint but I haven't twisted the drive shaft yet.So far I have broke the transmission mount the drivers side motor mount twice and broke the traction bar mounts on both sides.Here are the broken traction bar mounts and the new ones I designed,made and installed to cure the problem

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Hey guys great topic and lots of usefull information here. I just bought a 58 apache that has a 70 chevelle frame grafted in front complete with suspension and sway bar. also has a chevelle 12 bolt rear installed. truck came with a another 58 parts truck complete minus engine and trans and a whole bunch of extra parts. the previous owner was a rod shop owner that started the project but due to health reasons had to go out of business and i happened to be in the right place at the right time..everything you see in the pictures plus a whole lot more and it only cost me 500 george washingtons he had 1500 worth of chassis and frame labor in it alone. it will be a bit of a project but i'm optimistic. Bob

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Welcome to the forums Heaterman.
Looks like a great project. Keep us posted on the progress.
Kim