My Truck is a 1957 Chevrolet 3100. It has the stepside bed and small back window. It originally came from Arizona. Then I bought it from a fellow car club member. I paid $3000 for the truck and drove it home, only to have the steering fall apart and damn near kill me. I've had it for about 12 years now. I used it as a daily driver for 4 years. It has gone thru several changes since then. Starting with yanking out the used and abused 327 and installing a 350 4 bolt main small block that my Father and I built with a high lift cam, solid lifters, 750 Holley, gear drive and headers. Upon seperating the old engine and trans, the bellhousing fell into three pieces so I bought a new reprogrammed th 400 with shift kit to make it go again. I bought a subframe for it at the local swap meet for 50 bucks and stuck another 300 in it to rebuild it. I took it to Southern Street Rods in Huntsville, AL and they cut the old straight axle and frame off and welded my 80 Z28 Camaro sub-frame in. The wheelbase was lengthened 1 inch to get the wheels centered in the fenderwell. It dropped the front of the truck almost 3 inchs. I took it out and blew up the old rearend (a 55 passenger car single track) within a month so I replaced it with a 9 inch Ford posi with 4:11 gears. It has a Cadillac tilt/teloscopic steering column, Camaro bucket seats and a handmade center console with a B & M Megashifter controling the action. I added power brakes which mount under the cab to keep the old stab pedal and a chrome spoon gas pedal from Lokar. I even put a stop light viewer on the dash and will try to install a working spot light from an old semi. I removed the stock gas tank from inside the interior and mounted an aluminum fuel cell under the bed. I bought a new wiring harness and took the truck apart hopefully for the last time. I smoothed the firewall off and relocated the battery to the bed. It currently sits waiting for me to finish the bodywork and paint it. Some original equipement it had on it and I kept were the original steel cab visor, deluxe heater controls, factory stereo w/speaker over the rearview mirror (with a new Kenwood head unit mounted in the glovebox) and the original radiator fan shroud. I bought a Dakota Digital door shaving kit to lose the handles and an ooga horn for attitude. I'm going for an old school hot rod look with new technology. I love the truck, it has been a learning experience and I love cruising town, talking with people about it at the shows or racing it at the track. The people I have met because of the truck are so nice and helpful with answering my questions, their help has been invalueable. Without these people the truck wouldn't be where it is now.
Thanks to Dad, Benny B, Tom C, Dale H, all those who helped when I was on the side of the road! and those who answer my questions online Thanks to my girlfriend Beth, who knows why I'm always broke but doesn't complain about my other girl (except how little she gets to ride in it)
I'm still working on it. Almost ready for paint. Got the interior ready. Wiring ready. Still need a fuel cell. But should be cruising by spring. I hope!
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MYSPACE
AUTO LOG
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