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My '57 is driving me nuts with the wiring job the p.o. did and I can't get the 265 to fire off.
I think I need to yank the 265, and go with a stout V-8. I want a PDB upgrade, SBC, TH 350 or 400, and I picked up a 12 bolt from a guy parting his 57 truck. The rear has been modified to fit the truck perfectly. Please feel free to jump in and give me some pointers, as this is my first truck build...I want to:

Add a disc brake kit (leaning towards "the source" all inclusive kit)
Buy bolt on engine and tranny x-members and install
Look into different steering units while the engine compartment is bare and detail out the chassis
Build/install engine and tranny
Rewire the whole truck (leaning towards EZ Wiring)
Sheetmetal patch panels and bodywork
Paint and reassembly
Interior work

I have been reading and searching here on the site for months, but still torn on the front end upgrades. Seems like an aftermarket IFS would be great, but the $$ are a bit more than I care to spend and there has been enough posts where guys have problems on the installs that I am leary about it. I could go find a Pacer or Camaro front end and then cut and weld on a used IFS, but I only have a 110 Lincoln mig and my welding skills are not that great yet. Is it possible to have decent brakes, steering and at least workable ride quality using only "add ons" instead of the IFS swap? Thanks for any pointers/help!
Dan B :confused:

Dan, you can have excellent brakes, steering, and ride on the stock straight axle, skip the spendy IFS - lots of kits available for power discs and power steering for the 5-9's

Bill

Getting the 265 to fire is a less daunting task than anything else you listed, so maybe you should tackle that before tearing everything apart. What problem are you having? There are only about three wires needed to get it running.

Baldy, The truck came to me with no ignition. Just a handful of snipped wires hanging under the dash. I have bought 3 different ignitions/keys for the truck. I think the previous owner did a partial rewire of the front end and some of the dash. None of the wiring is the same as in my shop manual! I have tons of splices and some wires that hang loosely under the dash. Seems dangerous to me... I have had a few friends come by and look at it and say "better you than me pal" :rolleyes: I know that the 265 is not seized, but don't know if it's original to the truck or added later. The rivets to the front engine mounts are missing and the brackets are bolted in, suggesting that it has been swapped at some point. Thanks for the pointers Red!
Dano

bolted frame mounts point to non-original Dan, but what will tell you for sure is if the vin number starts with a "V", which they did if they had the V8 installed

I'd get a wiring harness and get the electrical right first off, easy enuff to do and the 265 might fire right up, tho I'd be inclined to replace it with a 283

I'll see if I can get a rundown from my bud\'s 56 panel on the brake and steering parts

Bill

Bill, Your bud has a nice panel! mine will be nice too one day... Here's the first car I restored/resto-modded
http://home.earthlink.net/~mrdanb

It's under construction, so please excuse the mess...
Dano

Dan the wiring problems don't go away if you change motors or anything else about the driveline.

These changes would only delay solving that problem.

Its up to you if you build a hot rod or restore the truck, I'd hot rod it if it were me, but eventually you'll have to make the wiring work regardless of approach.

Post over in the electrical bay and ask about wiring the ignition to make it run.

as said earlier,,it only takes abt. 3 wires to make it run. try hotwiring it.

Steve, That's why I posted that I thought I would strip the engine/trans and go for a new wiring kit, and drivetrain for the old bolt. Re-wiring the whole truck is always a real pita, but at least when you're done you get that satisfaction and feeling of accomplishment. Fixing messed up rat nest wiring IS harder in my opinion and I have spent waaaay too much time trying to get the thing to fire off. Having said all of that, I think if I had a wiring genius come by and take a look, I might get a different answer. I think I will be patient and have someone a little more knowledgeable with wiring come give me a hand. That way, if we can get the 265 to fire, then I might be inclined to keep her more stockish. If not, then it'll be more HP/TQ and a complete rewire... It's funny, I can paint, rebuild carbs and do some of the harder things to a vehicle, but wiring kinda makes me skiddish. Maybe time to read a few good books on wiring. lol
Dano

Dan I won't claim 'wiring genius' but I can bluff it enough take electrical off the list of reasons a motor won't start.

Of course if you want to replace the 265 and hot rod the truck, it may not be worth the trouble to make the 265 run.

I know you live somewhere on the north side of the metro. If you want to PM or email me an address we could try to find a time over Thanksgiving weekend when I could come by.

My family may have plans but I can probably break away for a few hours and come take a look at it. I'd probably come over on the Kingston-Edmunds ferry. Downtown Seattle will probably be a zoo and best avoided!

I know what you mean about fixing old wiring. I usually start by cutting and tossing until all the old stuff is gone. I've rewired several trucks and personally prefer that approach to repairing someone else's old repairs and modifications.

Thanks for the offer Steve...But I will be out of the country for Thanksgiving. I think soon after we could get together if you have time on a weekend! I live in Marysville btw. Just north of Everett, Wa. Super easy to find. I will pm my info to ya.
Dan B

In my opinion its much better to gut the wiring and follow your diagram.

Wirings MUCH cheaper then replacing all the stuff the burnt up in the fire. :p These old trucks are easy to. Im on my 2nd truck complete rewire now and am almost done.

And like they say, itd be real easy to hot wire the engine. Your looking at just a couple of wires. Good luck!

Jeff

I think the first thing Jeff must do when he gets a truck is strip the wiring and start over! First time I saw his COE it already had new wire in it.

Hot wiring is real easy on something like your truck.

I'm in Oregon the first weekend of December and Florida the next. The weekend I'm back my daughter arrives home from college. It may be late December before I have an open weekend...

But if you don't have it solved I'll be over!

Anyone care to PM me directions on the "bump n start" (aka hotwiring) method? I was a "good" kid and never learned... Steve, thanks for the offer. i will be back sometime in the afternoon on Sunday, but most of us head back to the salt mine on Monday morning... Hope you guys have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I will get the thing to fire off yet
Dano

Does the truck have the foot operated starter and if so, does it turn the engine over with a fresh battery?

Baldy, Looks like the truck USED to have it, but removed at some point. The ignition has no wires attached to it (I tried to follow the schematics and got frustrated by the P.O. wire job) I DID attach the batt, acc, sol, wires and try to turn it over, but no click or anything. Then I started tracing wires and found just what a mess I was dealing with. I will try the 'hotwire" method first. I just thought it would be good to see if the 265 will run. If so, then I will leave it and hook up the trans and rear so I can at least move the thing around...
Dano

Might mention Hot Rod Wires for your wiring kit. Their terminal block is soldered and complete!

Thanks CGresham! I had not heard of them before. I'll look into Hot Rod wires...
Dano

Not having a key for my '54 GMC I hot wire it every time I fire it up. My hot wire kit consists of battery cable to starter, one wire with alligator clips from coil to battery cable, 1 old screwdriver from battery cable on solenoid to small wire terminal, takes about as long as taking key out of pocket, and since I'm under the hood anyway is more convenient to turn it off by just taking the wire off.

Great news!!! I bought the remote starter kit at Harbor Freight today and with that and an old screwdriver, I got the '57 to turn over!!! I tried to get some gas to dump into the carb with the linkage, but it got too cold and the NFL game started... I need to get some fuel into the carb and it might just run yet!! Woo hoo!
Dano

Dan,
when ya make the conversion to a V/8 , check out Ron francis Wire-Works ,I am currently installing one of there kits an it is dream to work with .