Hi all Thanks for all the help I have got here in the past, I have a struggle with what to do with the two trucks or a truck and a half I have collected.
Afew years ago I found a 1955 2nd seris on E bay, it was listed as v-8 auto trans tilt front end straight body clear title and so on. The first issue was the title did not exist, and after about 3 months of phone calles neither did the chassis numbers so we re negoticated a price and I went to Fl and picked up a pile of parts.
what I got for my money was a 12 bolt rear, a nice short box bed, and a late model chevy chassis five bolt pattern,( a pickup or blazer I think ), an auto trans TH 350 the drive line is complete
BAD STUFF includes the cab has heavy diamond plate welded all over the floor, it is completely stripped and the tilt front end looks like it was done well, never mind Its useless. all the glass is gone or busted

so I found another 55 its all there and it has a straight six with a thrown rod its a 3200 long bed, typical rust a post step cab corners and alike I have the pcs to repair!

here is my question should I hang the cab and front end on the newer chassis taking advantage of the IFS, disk Brakes, 12 bolt rear and short bed along with a nice 350 small block I built

I never had any intention of building or restoring a numbers matching OE truck just a fun hotrod

please let me know what you would do

I also have a 1979 doner van for odds and ends I can pull from

Sounds like you have enough parts to put together a nice truckrod. I'd probably take the OEM frame, graft the late model front clip onto it (assuming it has a workable width and in decent shape), shorten it to accept the short box, add the 12-bolt rear, and go from there. It's a lot of work, but it might be less work/more fun that trying to adapt the sheetmeatl onto the late model chassis.

Thought you might be interested in seeing my 56. Is now roadworthy and ready to be my daily driver. Just have to add A/C hoses, speakers for my radio and a glovebox. Has a 79 Camaro front clip with p/s, pdb, 350 SBC freshly rebuilt along with rebuilt TH350 A/T. New Driveshaft. All new American Autowire Highway Series 15 harness. Rearend turned out to be a 2.73 instead of 3.73 that the PO said it was. I'd be upset but with gas at $3/gal, I'm happier with the 2.73 gears! New driveshaft and all new brakes. Steel bed with bedliner, new guages and fresh paint. The paint was a weekend exercise. Truck is now a solid 10-20 footer. Will get to bodywork down the road and repaint. For now it's in BPS Tractor Enamel in Gloss White and BPS Truck and Trailer Hunter Green. Applied with Brush and roller. May wetsand and buff in a month or so. All in all, I'm happy and this has taken me about a year. BTW, never trust what the PO told you, even if they are a "professional mechanic". Check it out for yourself. My steering had a lot of slop at the centerlink to pitman arm junction. Got a new centerlink assembly and when I went to change it, I found no cotter pins in either the pitman arm or the idler arm junctions. God works in mysterious ways. Glad I had the slop, or I might have found out the hard way down the road. Photo of flat black is a shot taken just before it was painted.

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Hey oscarlovel
Looks like a nice truck. Wow! rolled on paint. I know this has been done before with decent results and yours looks O.K.
Kim

I have a 59 chevy truck I'm building. I have a 75 Nova clip with disc brakes. I have aftermarket rear disc. I'm mounting the master cylinder under the floor without a power booster. Has anyone done this? Its been suggested that I use a 1867 Corvette master cylinder. I don't know what size of bore to use. I could use some input on this subject. I'm going to install 2 psi residual valves in the front line and rear line and an adjustable pressure valve in the rear.

I have 4-wheel disk and the underfloor Corvette master cylinder/proportioning valve assembly in my 55 stepside. But I went with a power booster (8"). I called CPP for their recommendation on bore size, etc. Nice and helpful folks to deal with. Give them, or any one of the other major suppliers a shout.

Just a thought to think about: You might find it a PITA to deal with the underfloor reservoir, especially if your truck is lowered like mine. I opted for a remote reservoir mounted on the firewall. Much easier to fill, eliminates the need for residual valves (I have spare new ones if you want them!) and it allows you to see if your system is low on fluid. Not trying to talk you out of anything, just offering insight based on my experience (read: my mistakes!).

Thanks for the master cylinder/booster information. I'm trying to stay with manual brakes because of my budget. I will give them a call for their suggestion. I want to get all the input I can before my final decision.

Can anyone offer help as to how to remove the doors from the cab, I don't know if along the line somebody changed the bolts but I am having some issues getting them off of the cab, Thanks

Hey Chesapeake
There are three bolts that hold the hinges to the cab. 2 of them are on the jamb and a third is inside of the jamb. Hope this helps.
Kim

Thanks Kim, the bolys on the bottom appear to not have socket style heads but carrage bolt headsm I keep digging

You may be able to get to them from behind the front fenders.
Kim

Chesapeake The february issue of Classic Trucks has a article in it titled (Unholey Transformation)It shows you what to do on the project you are doing right now.They are working on 55 to 59 chevy cabs.Get yourself a copy.It is $6 well spent.

From time to time people have asked about information on camaro/nova/firebird front clips for 55 to 59 chevy/GMC trucks. I found a step by step article in Custom Classic Trucks issue dating June 1999 under "Clipping a Chevy Pickup". I did my 59 chevy truck by the directions in this article. It went very smooth. When it was done the truck sat very low in the front. The article didn't say any thing about checking the ride height before cutting and fitting everything together. I have a 4/bar setup on the rear and to get the frame anywhere close to sitting level I will have to C/notch the rear frame. The 4/bar kit I bought sits too high. It was designed to be installed without a notched rear frame. It will have to be modified. It will workout OK when I'm done. With a little more forethought I could have done a ride height adjustment and it would have turned out better. It is a good article printed black and white (some of the picture detail is hard to see). It worked out well for me. Some clips are easier than others. Front steer is better. Cars without the shock mounted bumpers are easier. The worst setup I have seen is where the guy cut the original frame off and bolted the subframe on the way it was installed on a camaro from the factory with camaro bushing, bolts, and washers. He has driven it for 5 years like this. To my knowledge he has not had any problems with it. It just don't look very sanitary. To each his own.

I have a slight problem & wondered if anyone could help.

Will a '50 Stepside tailgate fit a '41? Apart from the fact that the '41 is plain & the '50 has the Chevrolet name, is there a size difference?

Thanks in advance.

I just dont know.I never worked one one.