Greetings everyone!!!
Registered here a couple of years ago, but I'm just now finally getting to work on my project truck.
It's a 1955 Chev 3/4 ton truck that I bought from the second owner in 1998, and have "stashed away" since. This truck has some sentimental value for me, in that my (dearly missed) late grandmother owned and drove a 1957 1/2 ton until 1970, when she replaced it with another Chevy 1/2 ton. I LOVED that '57 truck, and have had a soft spot in my heart for that series ever since, even though I'm a hardcore Olds man. (Hence, my screen name.)
Well:
My son started a business called "Andrew's Classic Gardens"
He's landscape architect, and he also happens to be, just like his dad, (The apple never falls far from the tree!) a hardcore gearhead. And a darn GOOD one at that!
We thought it would be cool to fix this truck up, and use it as his signature vehicle, maybe even eventually using it in his advertising. Although it will be well taken care of, and he's promised me he WILL NEVER drive it in the snow, it's still gonna have to earn its keep. I plan on eventually designing and fabbing a flatbed with dump capabilities, and it's also probably going to have to tow a trailer with a skidloader. All of this will be local, so highway duty is not improtant.
The drivetrain will consist of a 1968 Olds V8 that I got out of a Vista-cruiser. It's a turnpike option V8 with a TH400 attached. When I removed it from the very rusty doner, you could twist the key, release it, and the engine would be idling like a watch. No rocking, no missing, etc. It's a torque monster. I remember driving that thing along the freeway, and at 70mph, it was merely loafing. Tap the gas, and it would just leap. Trust me, a '68 Vista-Cruiser IS NOT an unsubstantial car, yet tap the throttle, and the thing turned onto a lightweight.
Well, you get the idea of where I'm headed.
I've got some of the original 6 banger parts to sell, (Pictures are coming.) and would love to talk to anyone who's done this sort of thing before.
More to come.
Glad to be here.
Dave
