Hi, I am new to the forum. I stumbled across it a few months ago and figured I'd give it a shot!
My name is Frank L. VanderBroek and I live in Madrid, Iowa.
I have always loved 55 56 57 Chevy cars, same for old trucks, and 4x4’s! This vehicle tied all three categories together for me!
First spotted this truck about ten years ago. Thought to myself, someone’s got a nice project. Drove by same place a couple days later and it was gone. Did not give it any more thought. Jump forward to a year and a half ago, and a call on my cell phone from a friend told me to get to a certain location NOW. Wasn’t doing anything, figured, what the heck, and met up with him. We walked into a large fenced in car storage area. Walked halfway down about six rows of cars, and stopped in front of this truck. Told my buddy, hey, I remember this! He looked at me and told me the owner wanted to sell it. I figured, great, here comes a price I can’t afford. But I asked anyway, how much? He quoted me a price that I could simply, no way, crazy if I did, not resist. Called another buddy up that had a truck and trailer and said, get here now! He asked, what for and I said, you’ll see when you get here. He showed up! Cash and title was exchanged, and, as I call the truck, “Mater’s cousin” had a new home.
I knew the truck was a four wheel drive and had
manual lock outs, but absolutely had no idea what I was about to uncover. After cleaning out the box of many extra parts, garbage, and a few unidentifiable items (two of which were moving) I moved on to cleaning out the cab. After another big pile of debris, I noticed the two
shift levers, one each side of the transmission shifter. I thought, wow! Immediately crawled under the front of the truck, looked at the front axle, rubbed some dirt and grease away, and found a
Napco casting, and a
Napco tag. Fantastic! Flipped the transfer case over (which had been sitting in the box of the truck) and found a second
Napco tag. Anybody ever do a happy dance?
After much cleaning, the truck appeared as in
these photos.
Finally got truck in my
shop, and made sure motor was free, transmission worked in all gears, and the clutch was not stuck. Time to make the motor run. An oil change, spark plugs, plug wires, cap, rotor, points, coil, and some research to discover the motor was a 1966 283. Some fresh gas, turn the key, hit the starter button, timing adjustment, and the motor came to life with a belch, smoothed out, and purred like a content kitten.
Fantastic! After getting it to move, next project was to get it to stop. After tearing down to check brakes, I figured out why transfer case was in box of truck. Front axle was a 3.90 gear. Someone previously had changed the rear axle to a 4.56. That meant I had to find another rear axle, but needed it to stop anyway. Rebuilt all wheel cylinders, replaced master cylinder, bled brakes, and was rewarded with a nice, strong brake pedal.
Bored with mechanical fixing, changed my sights to cosmetic repair. Stripped and repainted the grill, painted the rear bumper, installed seat (all swap meet finds) and decided to put in a poor man’s floor in the box, and box sides simply because I like the
look .
Now was time for lights. Kinda improvised here, as the tail lights are trailer lights that look similar to what was original with home made brackets. Front driving lights are actually after market backup lights with a filament change. Not correct, I know, but all lights work. Will correct as I get parts.
This effert thus far got me to my first
car show in Madrid, Iowa.
Lots and lots of lookers, lots and lots of questions, and one main question: What the hell is Napco? Kinda like telling your child the same bedtime story a hundred times in one night. I had lots and lots of fun!
Currently the truck sits
as is .
I have found the correct rear end, and my efforts are going to be focused on getting all mechanical as close to correct as I can. I’ve had several projects over the years, but me and Mater’s cousin have become extremely great friends.
Mater's Cousin told me he would like to make a bunch of new friends. Any and all are welcome!
Here's a picture of me and Mater's Cousin. Thanks for letting me share!
Frank L. VanderBroek
