The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 51 6400 Body Drop

Hello everyone I just want to share my latest build with you all. I purchased a 1951 chevy 6400 about one year and a half ago. I knew I was going to build a rat rod. First order of business was to get her into running condition which did not take much at all, she just happen to have a 58-62 chevy 235 in her. Thank you old owner. Next in the order of march was to get this big momma to stop. I purchased a 7" hotrod dual brake booster mated up to a 70's c30 dual master cylinder that had the same size bore as the original master cylinder. I replaced the front wheel cylinders with new ones from Jim Carter truck parts, along with new lines and rubber hoses. I got them bleed and the front wheels locked right up I was excited that my Frankenstein creation worked. Now on to the rear. What a pain in the [censored] it was trying to get the wheels off and that ginormous drum off wow. Off they came and to my surprise the pads were barely worn at all. I cross referenced the part number and got the rear wheels cylinder from rock auto for 54$ each. I ran new lines and the rubber hose. Tried to bleed the rear and nothing. I bench bleed the rear resivor and tried again nothing!! I disconnected the line from the master cylinder to let it gravity bleed and nothing comes out. i bought a kit to do a reverse bleed still waiting on it to arrive.
So I moved on to lowering it. I did countless hours, upon countless hours of research on this site and all over the web. I called Sid who did my drop axle on a previous project. He told me he did not have the equipment to drop an axle of that size. I read Grigg's article on sectioning a modern chevy 3500 straight axle that has about a 2" drop on the stock 6400. I decided to do a body drop/channel to the cab and front end. I have never attempted such an operation of this magnitude before.
I left the stock floor intact in order to keep the dimensions and not have the cab collapse as i cut the floor out. I used 1"x1"x1/8" angle iron for the frame of the new floor. I raised the floor 5" all the way around. My plan was to drop the rear of the cab 5". Drop the front of the cab 4" and cut the radiator support 3.5". So that is exactly what i did. I measured everything twice, I marked out my cuts then remeasured. Once i was comfortable with my marks i dove in and cut her into a million pieces. A jig was made to lower her with a floor jack once the cuts were made. After all cuts were done i lowered the jack and down she went.
Everything went as planned. Except one thing!!! I knew I would be loosing some of my turning radius but it seems that I lost most of the ability to make a tight turn, heck even a shallow turn looks to be difficult. As of right now i have not put the steering column back in. I had to order a U-joint and have to cut it down a few inches in order for it to go back in the stock location. once that is done then I will really be able to see how much I lost.
So as it sits I need to complete the Cab mounts, weld the fire wall back on and make new floor pans. I will be making my own floor pans with a bead roller from harbor freight. I have never attempted this before so any tips will help.
I just wanted to share this build with you all. I am no professional by any means. I am an Active Duty Soldier with a little free time and has an unconditional love for stovebolts. This is my second. This forum/website has helped me out so much in the past and present. Its an honor to be a part of a such a good group of people. I will continue to update as the project progresses. Please feel free to critique or lend some advise on what i have done and need to do. Thank you all.
Here is the link to my photo bucket:

http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/tomc9770/library/?sort=2&page=1

I am interested to see how your new brake set up works and how and where you mounted the master cylinder and boosters. It sounds like a good idea.

As far as turning, it definitely looks like you may have issues with the wheel clearance. What is your plan to fix that.
Gene

I tested the front brakes when I hooked them up, they worked pretty good no real issues, but then again I wasn't up to top speed. The booster and MC are located where the stock MC was. A new bracket was made out of 3/16" plate, and welded it in. Had to trim a little of the original bracket to get it to fit. I will get some close up pictures of the set up soon. As far as the turning radius, I jacked up the front I-beam and tested the turning, not good. As far as solutions.......650x20 front tires section the fenders one inch wider, add a couple more leafs to raise it one to two inches. If any one else has any idea please feel free to chime in.

Smaller tires and wider fenders should help. Was the original master cylinder located under the driver on the frame I would like to see a couple photos of that new set up. I have been having much difficulty stopping my 59 chevy 2.5 ton and I am wondering if I should swap my obsolete master cylinder for one that is readily available and is compatible with my existing hydrovac unit.

Started work on the floor pans. Bought a harbor freight bead roller. I can't seem to roll straight lines lol. I guess that's what carpet is for. Attached it the link to the photos.

http://s1167.photobucket.com

Link takes me to a sign-up page?

Yeah,me too! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and Pic's! A BIGGER THANKS,for your SERVICE!! Welcome to Stovebolt! I may be mistaken,(I get it right about 25% of the time),but I think G.M.C. (3-ton,and up),fenders,of the same era,are wider,since they used wider axles. Maybe try finding 450-650 G.M.C. fenders,or hopefully someone,(who owns one),will chime in with the difference in dimensions. you may need to change the inner fender as well?? I LIKE the lowered look,but that may present another issue...over-heating. These engine blocks get hot,especially in city stop-and-go traffic. They rely on air circulation from under the vehicle,as well as through the radiator,to keep the engine block at operating temperature.You may need to add an electric fan/larger radiator. Hope this helps!

Thank you. Sorry about the link try this one.

http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/tomc9770/library/?sort=2&page=1

I am planning on using an electric fan, I put one on my other truck and it worked great. I will do some reaserch on the 3 ton fenders. Thanks for your help

Your project is certainly a different approach, I will be following it with interest.

Had a little time to tinker with the heavy Chevy. Took her out for a madden voyage and the tires rub, not to bad though. With my calculations I believe 650x20 will work. But I'm going to first use a flap disk and angle in some of the outside tread. That should take care of my steering issue.
Bought an EZ wiring 4 circuit harness. Don't have a clue about wiring. Spent most of the day separating the wires in the harness for in dash and engine compartment. I believe this will make my life a little easier. I have not installed any of it yet. I have only removed every bit of the old hacked up harness and random wires. I ordered all new switches due to the fact that they are cheap and working new is usually easier. I have attached a few more pictures of my progress.

http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/tomc9770/library/?sort=2&page=1

Nice build. I've got a 53 6400 that I'm going to do something similar with. I may ditch my fenders. Not sure yet. Keep the pictures coming!

On the fender clearance, I saw a show once where they rolled the truck forward with a baseball bat stuffed between the fender and the tire, allowing it to push the fender out as it was pulled through by the tire. seemed to work OK.

By the way, do you have a link to Griggs' article about using a modern 3500 axle in an old 6400?

Like your project.

It's been awhile since my last post. I got a lot done since then. Finished up the exhaust. Made the tail light brackets. I went back and forth on a couple designs but the most simple design ended up looking the best. I went with model A tail lights. I designed new bumper brackets, dropped it a few inches and tucked it roughly 5". I finally defeated the 2 speed rear end. I didn't want to monkey with all that vacume nightmare. Since I don't plan on hauling and thing, it will almost always be in high range. But I have the option if I ever needed low. It took over a month to get my seat back from the upholstery guy. Seat came out amazing, I couldn't be more pleased. The interior was painted candy teal over silver. I still have a lot of interior to tackle. But she's a work in progress.
On a good note I have her on the road and have been driving her from time to time. It is a blast to drive. Even though 47 is my land speed record on the flats. Tires rub when pulling into tight places. I guess we're just working out all the bugs. Please check out my pictures on the link below. They should be in the recent folder. Thank you all for your help and support.

http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/tomc9770/library/?view=recent&page=1