[lodown58]

Originally Posted by G&R's57GMC

lowdown58'

Laminated glass is 2 pieces of plate glass bonded to both sides of a sheet of plastic.
The plastic keeps it intact when broken. It can be cut by scoring and breaking then using alcohol lit on fire to melt the plastic.

Tempered glass is 1 piece of plate glass that is heat treated to strengthen it and cause it to break into little bitty pieces. After tempering it cant be cut without shattering .

All the factory glass on our 50's trucks is laminated.

Cutting a curved windshield is doable but real scary. You may go through a few windshields. Best bet would be to practice on flat glass first then practice on a few junk but not broken windshields.

OR... you could cut and sink the stock window opening down into the cowl keeping the stock windshield and creating a pocket for hidden w/s wipers .

YEAH im not an authority on glass i was under the impression tempered ment it had the plastic in middle
thats why i was told yuo could only cut half way thru then flip
i am sure you are correct with the terminology as it makes better sense.
saw the sunk in cowl look didnt quite look the same for me

[57halfton]

Hey Lowdown nice truck , how much did you chop the top ? I noticed a couple of things in the pics you posted, 1, it looks like the mounts on the top of your axle housing for your upper bars are on an angle , not the same as the front mounting of the upper bars. This could cause binding when it moves up and down in the suspension travel ????? Also it looks like that big block sits alittle low in the chassis, is it already sitting on motor mounts ?
Show us more pics of your top chop job.
Gene

[57halfton]

Bowtiez I think the 55 bed would bolt on the same as the 72 bed did ( I think ????? ) . Post some pics so we can check it out.
Gene

[lodown58]

Originally Posted by 57halfton

Hey Lowdown nice truck , how much did you chop the top ? I noticed a couple of things in the pics you posted, 1, it looks like the mounts on the top of your axle housing for your upper bars are on an angle , not the same as the front mounting of the upper bars. This could cause binding when it moves up and down in the suspension travel ????? Also it looks like that big block sits alittle low in the chassis, is it already sitting on motor mounts ?
Show us more pics of your top chop job.
Gene

Thanks for the suggestions. Actually the top bars are at the same angle it just looks off in the pic> just a wierd angle taken with camera phone.
Motor was sitting on jack everything not hooked up yet> just wanted to see the look.
Chopped the top 20 yrs ago believe it or not took 4 1/2 inchs out all the way around. You have to cut roof in half and then tack it on it will not fit exactly but nothin body guy cant fix easily. It stayed that way tacked on with gap down the middle for 20 yrs. Took it out of storage this yr got the top done first guy did a great job cant see seam at all.
Got the truck when i was 16 , Im 46 now> and cant wait to get her right

[ogre]

lowdown
nice looking truck. before you go any further, i'd suggest getting a windshield for your truck. i've seen task force trucks junked because of a lack of suitable glass to go in there. if the chop is not done right the top of a cut windshield won't line up with the frame. not trying to piss on or diss your project, just trying to give some advise.

bowtiez
welcome to the thread. get some pics of your truck up. lots of info on our trucks here, take the time to read most of these posts.

[lodown58]

Originally Posted by ogre

lowdown
nice looking truck. before you go any further, i'd suggest getting a windshield for your truck. i've seen task force trucks junked because of a lack of suitable glass to go in there. if the chop is not done right the top of a cut windshield won't line up with the frame. not trying to piss on or diss your project, just trying to give some advise.

bowtiez
welcome to the thread. get some pics of your truck up. lots of info on our trucks here, take the time to read most of these posts.

Thanks for the warning, yeah this project has been totaly researched
The guys doin the work are first class and the cab is perfect no concern with windshield not fitting the concern is getting a winsheild cut> i have three nice windsheilds.

[ShadetreeTim]

I have an amusing story for you guys.
Since putting my 57 back on the street I have been chasing an oil leak. If I didn’t exceed 50 MPH the leak was barely noticeable. When I hit the freeway and ran 70 MPH it was really messy. Oil would be dripping off the frame when I stopped. The worst yet was a few weeks ago when I drove down to Dana Point to help a friend. It was 70 miles of freeway driving, one way. I tried to stay around 60 MPH on the trip to minimize the leaking. But when I got off the freeway I could smell oil burning off the exhaust. To top it off, now the brakes were pulling to the left. What the? What’s next? With the exception of the master cylinder all the brake parts, including the steel and rubber lines, are new. That evening I got the truck back home, shoved it in the garage, and walked away.
Waking up this morning I was determined to find that oil leak, fix the brakes and repair a slight exhaust leak that had developed. I had been theorizing the past few weeks that it must be the harmonic balancer seal leaking since I had already replaced the fuel pump block off gasket. I began on the top side by pulling off the alternator and fan. I couldn’t break loose the harmonic balancer bolt because the motor kept turning over so I put it up on jack stands to secure the starter ring. Lying under the truck I studied the oil pattern and realized it couldn’t be the harmonic balancer. The back of the harmonic balancer was dry, as well as the driver’s side of the frame and the top half of the front of the motor. Did that piece of crap chrome block off have a pinhole in it? I went down and picked up a new block off and gasket. After scraping off all the gasket material and examining the old block off there is no way this thing is leaking. In frustration I felt around inside the fuel pump cavity and feel the bolt hole penetrating through to the front of the block. And that’s when it hit me; I am an idiot. I never put the bolt back in the front of the block when I built this motor 10 years ago. @#%*&!
And those brakes that were pulling to the left? The oil blowing out at freeway speeds was getting on the right front brake disc. Problem solved.
I cleaned everything up, put it all back together and changed out the driver’s side exhaust donut. Next I drove down to the carwash and blasted the frame and under the hood. Then I hit the freeway for about 20 miles at 75 MPH and… no more leak! The brakes work fine too. While I was underneath I also figured out where the squeaking was coming from that has been bugging me. When I got home I changed the mounting of my splash apron so it couldn’t bounce off the frame.
All in all it has been a great day. I might be an idiot, but right now I’m a happy idiot! The truck has never been better; sounds great, rides smooth and best of all, no leaks or squeaks.

[octanejunkie]

Originally Posted by ShadetreeTim

In frustration I felt around inside the fuel pump cavity and feel the bolt hole penetrating through to the front of the block. And that’s when it hit me; I am an idiot. I never put the bolt back in the front of the block...

Same deal here. Blocked off the fuel pump and didn't realize the bottom front mount bolt hole was open to the pushrod cavity - what an idiot!

I pulled the fuel pump block off plate twice, the timing cover and balancer once and was about the pull the pan till someone on another forum pointed that out to some other guy - then it dawned on me to check mine - bingo, mystery oil leak solved with a 3/8" bolt.

[DOUBLEDICK]

Got to laugh I have done that too.My old 68 suburban I rebuild the small block 400 and forgot to put the bolt in when I put it back in.I take out the bolt and finger tight in a longer bolt to hold the fuel pump push rod in place when putting the stock fuel pump on.I dressed out the motor on an engine stand so it was upside down when I installed the fuel pump.I am embarrassed to admit how long it took me to figure that out

[ogre]

Originally Posted by 2doorchev

With all the experiance here, im hoping to get the pros and cons on my problem. I purchased a 56 frame a farmer who had in in a barn. I removed the body and

realized the frame is junk holes ,rust, etc, etc. I need to replace the frame .I need to use another one theres the problem . I need as much info as possable, as to what frame is the best and the easyest one that can be used. hope you guys can help .What frame has the least amount of changes. thanks guys . Tony

2door posted this in another thread. eloc sent him here. i'll answer him here.

first off, read the 2000+ posts in this thread there are a lot of frame swap discussions here.
i have the opinion that the best frame for your truck is the factory one under it, however your is shot.
i say your best bet it to get another 55-59 frame, they are all the same.
find a halfton frame as all the after market stuff fits only halfton frames.
if you can afford the $6K+ cost of a new chassis, you avoid all the work of customizing a stock frame.
no stock frame will fit under your truck without a lot of work.

[evilbeef54]

Hey everybody, got a couple of questions for you, and please beofer anyone redirects me politely to the search button, i am stuck on a ship in the middle o' nowhere and my internet connection sucks...

I am trying to do this truck on a budget, but at the same time do it safe and reliable, i was working on the body before i ran out of time before getting deployed again, in the last few weeks i have completly removed all the B.S. bed that was there, stripped everything on the back half/roof/drivers side fender down to bare metal... still have to strip the rest of the cab and the starboard fender (the old paint is horribly EFF'ed, thats why i am stripping) I have a few months to plan the next moves, i am trying to do EVERYTHING i can my self, i am not afraid to try/learn new things, here's what i got...


1) dent/crease on the fender/some rust holes (lower aft section only)... is this possible/woth fixing, again i am working on a budget, if it can be fixed and i can learn body work at the same time great... how do i go about fixing this, i was quoted $350 to fix it but hell i can get a new fender for that, and i still learn nothing, i dont mind trying and if i fail i can buy a new one...







2) when it comes to the body work, it is all original mostly rust free metal (except for the cab corners/bottom aft of the front fenders which have rust damage) there is quite a few small (quarter size 1/16" deep or less) dents/dings in the fenders, should i glaze over just the low spots with the glazing putty or hit the whole fender then sand the whole fender smooth









3) As i said i ranout of time before getting deployed again, and i live in Northern Cali and i really didnt want everything i just stripped rusting out so i sprayed it with Rustoleum automotive grade primer... yeah i know not the best choice but i needed to seal it, andi dont have a compressor to spray good primer, it may not be descent primer but i took time do do a good job, several light coats, went on smooth, looks good with no issues, can this be sanded/primered over when i get back or does it all need to be stripped again, again working on a budget, just trying to go flat black with a matte clear, but dont want the paint to fail because of some BS primer


4) I would like to lower the truck, it definatly sits way to high, what am i looking at price wise to get it low, i dont really have the experience to do a camaro clip... yet... i have about $2k-2.5k left to play with right now, need to finish paint/body, interior, and lowering... the motor/trans will run strong one i get done with it, already have a new painless harness waiting to go in, its mainly the paint/body and interior that have me worried, it is such a solid body i want to do it right, but need to do it cheaper, i know usually those two thoughts are mutually exclusive

[evilbeef54]

... from another one of my forums...

Originally Posted by rorytsm

how are you looking to lower it? cutting the frame or just suspension work?

i am defiantly open to ideas, i want to do what ever is SAFE, but cheaper is better, just looking at my options/prices, again i do not have an aircompresser/air tools/plasma cutter/welder, i have been checking Craigslist but no luck... may be able to rent, u have heard bad things about just doing a flipped axel mod, but i really dont know, in the end it will be a 350ci, 4 speed, with maybe some bolt ons and if i keep it probably about 150-200 of N2O, so i need a safe frame but cheap is good, if i have to i will wait on lowering it, but i know that droping it will really help it look MUCH better

[ogre]

evilbeef
first off; that truck is in way too good of shape to be buying a fender for or any other body part.
that is the first 55-59 cab i have seen that didn't need cab corners.

working with your budget is going to be difficult.
working without a welder is going to be difficult to lower the truck.
working without a compressor is going to difficult to paint it.

here's what i would do if i were your age/knowledge/finances:
since you have stripped the paint, get the body back into shape with some paint on it.
you will need to pull the fender off to get at the back of that crease.
once you do that it makes sense to pull the front clip.
jack up the cab and replace the cab mount rubber, these were probably the cause of that crease in the fender.
do the bodywork on your cab and fenders and put it back together.

you will need a compressor; a big one is better, but a mid size one will do.
this is not a body/paint thread, not a lot of body guys hang here.
i am for sure not a body guy but i was taught to: strip, prime, bodywork, prime, glaze, seal, paint.
you need to read up on body work. how nice your paint looks will depend on your prep work prior to paint.

[Bowtiez84]

I have a 55 3100 I'm restoring, and I'm in Norther Cali, let the forum know when your back in town and maybe you can borrow what you need. I have access to all the tools you described.

[evilbeef54]

Thanks for the info guys, i'll definatly hit you guys up when i get back, i'd love to meet some other guys and be able to learn as much as possible. I should be back by summer, not really sure where i'll be living when i get back though, hopefully still in the Bay Area, just depends on transfer season.