The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop New Project Truck

I went with my Brother-in-law yesterday to pick up his newest project. He bought a 57' 3100 that from a local Classic Car Sales, the truck has been worked over to say the least. While I don't consider myself to be a "Purest" there are some things that I just don't agree with. I wish he had let me go over the truck before he completed the deal, it seems I now have some work to do.

The roof has been chopped about 3'or so inches, it has an older Corvette rear suspension with an early Camaro subframe grafted on the front. The fit of the windshield is questionable, the door glass isn't much better. The front suspension is way out of camber and the springs are aided with turn locks. While it does have 4 wheel disc brakes it has no booster or proportioning valve, no residual pressure valves. The brake master cylinder is mounted high on the firewall leaving the pedal a ways above the floor. The brakes barely stop the truck. There is a nasty vibration at 50MPH that gets worse with speed. The steering darts all over the place and hitting a bump will knock your teeth loose. I has a SB (he was told a 350??) with a mild cam and a what believe to be a Power Glide trans as I only count one shift.

The paint is a pearl white and looks decent from 20ft, the body work isn't that great either. There doesn't seem to be a uniform theme with this truck, it has roll pans front ant rear, hidden tailgate latches, 39' ford taillights, aftermarket HID headlights. The bed has a wood floor that was LineX'ed , the inside of the cab was also treated to this. The Battery is under the passenger side floor, accessed through a plywood cover.

I suppose I'm making a big deal of this but it just makes me wonder about some of the work that gets done to these old trucks. I fully understand wanting to make a Custom truck of your own design and style, but shouldn't safety play a large part in the design. I'll get off my Soap Box now.