[willys36@aol.com]

I show how I installed a Monte Carlo front clip in a '57 starting on page 30 of my journal. Sweet fit, sweeter ride.

[Kim57]

Hey DD
I have a 454 4 bolt block that I'm going to stroke to a 496.
Want to run the old hilborn style injection thats been upgraded.

[Kim57]

Hey weirdbeard
Check DD's name (Richard Jhonson) = Doubledick.

[gator412]

I have a 1955 2nd series truck also. Check out my journal to see what I have done. I am always looking for ideas for my truck. So I will put you on my buddy list. By the way I have a friend named Richard Brain.

[weirdbeard]

Originally Posted by Kim57

Hey weirdbeard
Check DD's name (Richard Jhonson) = Doubledick.

Alright. Your smart. I am slow.

[Camarofiend73]

Originally Posted by DOUBLEDICK

Camarofiend73 the fleetside bed was 58 and 59 only.Do you plan to keep that bed?Is it the short bed?Hard to tell from the picture.

The previous owner swapped out the bed- I'll probably keep it as is.
Yes, it is a shortbed.

[rj57]

There was a '58/59 truck at the recent Rebel Run in Lima, Oh this past weekend with a subframe under the front. Looked like a Camaro or possibly Monte piece? I think the asking price around $7,000, no engine, no transmission, no interior.

Say does a '57 Sedan Delivery count as a truck since Deliveries were advertised in the truck line back then?

[DOUBLEDICK]

Wow.I was beginning to think not many guys bothered with these trucks.Thanks for all the responses.As for the name doubledick The guys at work gave me that name as a form of harassment for being a butt all the time.They have called me that for so long now some of the guys at work don't even remember my real name.58 Apache I pull a trailer with my truck all the time.I used a 68 hidden hitch receiver from brothers trucks so I can hide it behind the plate.The 87 rearend I installed has the big 11 inch drums and uses the wide brake shoes.I run a power-trax locker with 4.56 gears and 31x10.5 tires.My truck is a work truck.I split the leaf spring pack and added a heavy overload leaf on top of the straight overloads and bolted it together with a new bolt.Now if the rear squats more than an inch it is on the overload leaf.The front and rear anti-sway bars and the traction control bars keep the trailer from pushing me around.I run coil-over Edelbrock sensatrack shocks on the back and coil over shocks on the front so it wont ride like a buckboard when it is empty.I do have the front disk conversion from brothers with the vacuum booster and have no problems stopping even when I had 2700lbs of sand in my trailer.Rear disks are nice but there is a reason semi's use drum style brakes.My truck is just a 58 Chevy 3100 but it weighs 6000lbs empty so a heavy trailer is not a problem,I just have to have a balanced trailer with very little tongue weight.You shouldn't have any trouble with a 1 ton suspension stock or modern.Your options are unlimited.A tape measure and a trip to the wrecking yard will help you find what you are looking for.Good hunting my friend.

[DOUBLEDICK]

RJ 57 a sedan delivery is as much a truck as an Elcamino is. My engine is a 78 454 block that is balanced and blueprinted as a 427 with the rectangle port heads and the old tarantula single plane manifold and a edelbrock 750 carb.I don't know the specs on the cam but at idle you can tell it is lumpy Camarofiend73 I like the fleetside box it has more room inside and you can install a roll top bed cover to keep your stuff out of sight so it stays your stuff.A roll pan real finishes of the bed.I threw up a picture of mine so you could see it.Qwantus do you plan to run the stock leafs and traction bars like me or go with a 4 link like Kim 57?Tmeyer I have checked out your board before but it wont let me log in as doubledick so I am not a member yet.Gator412 I will check out your journal when I finish typing this.I haven't figured out how to start a journal yet I am more at home in the shop than in front of this computer.I just figured out(a friend showed me)how to resize pictures and attach them.But I will have a journal eventually.I did post a bunch of pictures on the club website at classicsandrods if you want to check them out.feel free to email me anytime I check my email daily when I am home.I am taking my truck to the Super Run in Henderson tomorrow.I plan to be in the roaring engine contest the slow drags and the burnout contest.It should be allot of fun.I got a 2nd place trophy in the roaring engines contest at the 2004 show.I am taking a set of 31x10.5 tires to burn till they explode.should not be a problem with over 500 ft lbs of torque and 4.56 gears and a power trax locker I put in a line lock on the front disk brakes just for burn out contests

[DOUBLEDICK]

Wills36 that is quite the journal. Gator412 I was checking out your journal and noticed you don't have a sway bar on the front.The one from brothers trucks works great.You just have to make better mounts. the angle iron under oneside of the U-bolt was sad to say the least. I posted some pictures of the ones I made.I made them out of 1/2 inch plate steel and counter sunk the holes both sides with a 3/4 inch drill bit for the lip on the rubber parts to set down into so they stay centered..I also put in shorter bolts and cut down the spacer to level off the sway-bar.I used brother trucks rear sway bar and traction bars too.I made heavy duty front mounts for the traction bars as I broke the one that came with the kit.Mine are made of 1/4 inch plate for the mount welded onto a 3/8 plate steel backing.I also made front shock mounts out of 1/2 plate steel because the coil-over shocks were too much for the stock mounts.I just drilled out the rivets to remove the stock mounts and traced them onto 1/2 inch plate drilled the holes then cut them out with a metal cutting blade and my skill saw.

[gator412]

Actually DD I have front and rear sway bars. Like you said it makes a world of difference on the old trucks. (I might have to make the mounts like yours now!) I have front disk on the straight axle along with the brake booster. I also installed power steering with a tilt column. As soon as I get my new shop finished I will be moving the truck in there for a complete tear down to the frame. I am not going to make a show truck...just make a daily driver out of it. I am thinking about cutting the frame to make a shortbed out of it. I posted the question here. Shorting a 1955 truck frame..should I?

I was hoping for more input, but i guess not many people have done it. I will get with Willys36...he seems to have alot of knowledge in these areas. I also would like to have a gasser look to it so Willys36 seems to be the gasser king..I will ask for his input when the time comes. (Willys has been a great help along with a bunch of other guys to help me with my problems..I love this site. So Willys36..any comments on the frame shorting?)

[bullheimer]

you picked a great guy to ask. but allow me to butt in.
my truck is a 4x4 now. it was a 2x five years ago. i had to cut 8 inches out of my frame to get it under my 56, which is in my photo album. the way to do it is obviously you need a flat surface. take lots of measurements from key areas, front to back and across diagonally to keep your frame square. then you want to make your marks, use a template i spoze would give you the same distances. pick a part of the frame that is flat and straight. you want to make your cuts at a diagonal, not straight up and down as i did, although i don't think it matters much. then weld it together with some good rod, then some filler rod. grind it flat, then you want a solid steel plate welded over both sides of the frame, inside and out, that covers the whole weld. this is called a fishplate for some reason. i would say put a straight edge as long as you can on the top of your frame before you weld it together. get someone who can weld good if you cant. it was easy. you want to cut enough out so that your wheels are in the centers of your wheel wells front and back. peace out bro

[Kim57]

Hey gator
This is just a thought. From what I remember about the frame on my 57 before having the chevelle clip installed was that it's rails were straight in the front. If you want to keep the straight axle why cant you just move it back on your frame and then just cut off the excess from the front? This would save you having to piece together a cut frame. If you want mdern suspension you could do the same thing with a front clip or one of the MII kits. Just a thought.
Kim

[DOUBLEDICK]

Did you check the wrecking yard for a short bed frame?We have two in our little yard up here and one has a short box on it.Cant hurt to look.It only takes a tank of gas and a day to look around.I am a yard rat myself I just enjoy looking around.California has been gone over i'm sure but the Yards in Vegas still have a few.All the yard are tied together by computer.Any yard in Cali should be able to check with the Vegas yards on line and Ely is just 250 miles up the road from Vegas.

[gator412]

Hey DD I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I think you are right I will look for an old frame first then do the cutting it I can't find one. But I will have to look at all the options the guys are throwing out here. Worst comes to worst I might have to take a trip to Ely and get one of the ones sitting around your yards. (I love road trips!) Bull I am going to be checking out your journal to see what was involved in a frame cut.