'57 Stepside road-race build

[OneOffStroker]

I've had this '57 since I was 13 years old (31 now) and it has had a little bit of work done over the last 18 years, but not much. Back in the late '90s I put a mean little 283 in it and rewired the whole truck with a Painless kit. (BTW, it's pretty much a standard for me now to rewire every project that I do, and it should be for anyone else as well. A clean wiring job will save hours of headaches down the road.)

I joined the Navy in 2005 and put my truck in storage back home in Western Nebraska. I got stationed in Japan, then Hawaii, and now I'm in Virginia. So after nearly a decade in storage, I finally got this 'ol girl shipped out to me. Of course, since I have kept her safe for the last 8 years, it would only take a little bit of time before something disasterous happens.

I had it parked in the street in front of my house while my driveway and garage were occupied with other projects. Some chick in a Honda Civic was hauling ass through my neighborhood on her way to school and decided that my wide empty street was not good enough for her, and she felt like riding the curb at what I can only assume was close to 35-40mph. She slammed into the back of my truck without so much as touching her brakes. The impact launched it up onto the curb and into the concrete light pole on the corner of my block. The impact of the curb sheared the spring pins and drove the front axle back about 8 inches, and the light pole took out everything on the passenger side from the bumper to the cab corner. The rear bumper was mangled and pushed into the driver's rear fender. The bumper brackets did not break and the bolts did not shear. It actually split the frame like a cheese slicer or something. I was mildly impressed by this.

Anyway, the attached pic is the only one I have at the moment, and it is of the truck as it arrived at my place in June of this year, after being in storage for the last 8 years. It doesn't look like much, but she is 95% rust free. There are about 3 small spots on the floorboards that have some pinholes, but that is all. The insurance payout from the wreck gave me enough monney to buy brand new front fenders and doors, plus a few odds and ends, like a windshield and some gaskets.

It has since been moved to my garage and has received a Jaguar XJ6 IFS and will soon get the matching IRS. A 5.3 and a 5-speed will follow soon after. I'll try to keep this thread updated as I progress along with the build.

[Kim57]

Sounds like a cool build.
Glad you're able to put it back together after the hit.
Kim

[ChuckDriver]

Nice looking 57, love the Patina!!

[OneOffStroker]

Thanks guys!

Chuck - I loved the patina as well, and really looked forward to driving her like that for a while, but all of the new sheetmetal that I was forced to get will come in black EDP, so the patina has to go.

[OneOffStroker]

It was uncharacteristically nice today in the Mid-Atlantic, so I got a ton of stuff done. I didn't take pics of everything I did, but here are a few:

- The Jag IFS is all welded in

- I powder coated the calipers gold. Also the 2" spacers for my high offset wheels

- The aforementioned wheels: 1995 Corvette ZR-1

- The 5.3 placed for a very basic mockup so that I can see where I'll need to make motor mounts.

[Kim57]

Looking good.
Kim

[Flames97]

Looks good, bet it feels good to be working on it after all this time.
-Aaron

[yossarian19]

This is going to be very, very cool. Looking forward to some updates!

[ChuckDriver]

Gonna be nice!!

[bowt1ed]

Hey OneOffStroker, Good to see another TF lover here in VB! I've recently started back up on my 57 (w/55 front clip, Camaro IFS, 8.5 10 bolt, Fat Bar). Soon pulling the cab for frame blast/powder oat, etc. Wouldn't mind checking your 55 out sometime. Jim

[OneOffStroker]

Thanks Jim! Just wondering, where are you getting your frame done? I do powder coating, but I don't have an oven big enough for car frames. I can do motorcycle frames and a lot of pretty big parts, but not whole car frames.

I have to put the '57 on the back burner for now, which is upsetting since I just got so much progress done to her recently. I have to get my '69 Suburban fixed and sold so that I have money to keep going on the '57.

[bowt1ed]

OneOffStroker,
Been talking to Lou (another retired MCPO) down at Precision Coating. Also looking for a source for body work (welding), if you have anyone you can refer. I'm down at the Red Mill area of VB. Jim

[OneOffStroker]

Jim, you're not far from me. I'm between the Amphitheater and the Courthouse.
I have welders and can do a fair amount of metal fab. PM me with what you need done to see if I can be of assistance.

[bowt1ed]

PM sent. Jim

[OneOffStroker]

Jim, I did't get your PM.

[bowt1ed]

PM sent again. Jim

[bowt1ed]

Hey OneOff, any more progress?

[OneOffStroker]

I went out west for Christmas and just got back, so nothing has been done in a while. I did get into the passenger side door a little, rebuilt the top hinge, and found out that I need a new lower hinge altogether, because it's beyond repair. I also found some rust in the hinge pocket, so I'll have some more patching to do.

I'm out of money because of the Holidays, so I have to get my '69 Burb sold in order to do anything else on the '57.

[OneOffStroker]

Well, it's been a while since I've posted any updates, but I have done a few things to the '57 since the end of December. I also sold my '69 Burb on New Year's Eve, so that money has helped move the project along a little bit.

I took off both doors to repair the hinges, but two of the hinges were too far gone. Luckily, I had one top and one bottom that were usable, so I rebuilt them and used them on the passenger side. New hinges for my door.

I also installed bearclaw latches. I got the Altman kit (Trique). They seem good so far. I'll have to see how they work over time, but I don't anticipate any problems. It is true that they don't allow for locking from inside, so I also got new outside door locks, which is good, because over time I lost the key to the driver's door anyway. I'll also have to cut the door panels to allow for operation. Only a little bit will need to be cut...I hope.

While I was in the doors, I put in 1-piece windows. My wing windows were too far gone to be economically repaired, so I went this route. I got the Brother's kit when it was on sale for one reason or another...it was like $100 off. HOWEVER, just like everone else, there are fitment issues. I repurposed about 22" worth of vent window channel to support the front of the window, and everything is good until about the last 2 inches or so when rolling down. It gets tough, but I think I can make it smooth with some more adjustment. Also, the top channel is gapped from the door frame by a good amount in a few places. With some urethane sealer, it will keep the water out and still look good, but it's not perfect. It took me most of a whole Saturday to get them installed in both doors. The second one was pretty fast, as they always are after lessons are learned.

I also had to fabricate captive nuts for the lowest bolt for the door hinges, as mine had rusted. To get them into the enclosed space, I cut a square out of the pillar, welded it to the back, and then welded the square back into the pillar. It works...

I haven't done much else besides that. I have a new windshield that I'll install once it warms up a little bit. I'm basically trying to get the cab back together and weatherproof so that I can put this beast outside and reclaim some garage space again. I have 4 motorcycle projects in the works, and those are quick compared to the truck, and they will all make me money, so I need to get them done soon.

Finally...I decided that once I have my motor installed and I have to make custom exhaust, I might as well plumb it for a pair of turbos, since I ultimately want a twin-turbo LSx '57. I don't feel like making exhaust twice, so I'm just gonna pull the trigger on the turbos from the start. I spec'd some turbos that will start to build boost by 1800 rpm and keep pulling to redline. Software estimates ~840HP and ~790TQ. Not a bad estimate for a little 5.3! I just hope my trans will hold it together....

Sorry I don't have any pics. I may take some this week of the work that is done, but there won't be many 'action shots.'

[Kim57]

Sounds like you made good progress.
We need some pics of what you've done.
Kim

[OneOffStroker]

I haven't done much with the truck in a long time, because the weather here has been horrible and cold lately, so I haven't spent much time in the garage. Whenever I do get out there, I usually work on one of my race bikes or the '65 Electra-Glide that I'm getting prepped for Myrtle Beach.

However, I did get a major milestone achieved over the past weekend. I got my new windshield installed!!!! A buddy and I tried to put it in a couple months ago, and we failed miserably. I have been waiting for the sun to come out so that I can use its power to heat the glass and the rubber gasket to make it more pliable. It went in on the first attempt! When we got it to go in, it was because we went about it a little different than the first time. We used the string trick both times, but when I finally got it to go in, it was because I was able to pull in all the excess gasket around the lip before pulling the string. It seemed like it wasn't going to seat on the bottom around the corners where it wraps around, so I took a chance with a prybar and stuck it in a lip a the top and used pressure to force the window downwards, which enabled us to seat it on the lip in the corners.

Basically, it was easier done than said, if that makes any sense. It took some courage to use a prybar on a piece of glass, but it worked out well.

By the way...it was a made in China windshield that I got on eBay for $160, and the rubber was the one that Classic Parts sells.

After that, I put in new door seals and used some urethane to hold the door window felts in place, so now I should be able to get the truck out of the garage and reclaim some much needed space!

[OneOffStroker]

Yikes! I can't believe I haven't posted anything for 7 months. I'll snap some pics and add some stories over the weekend. I've made some progress lately, so I guess I'll share.

[RockinKees]

Yes please OneOffStroker!!

Let us see your progress, I'm going with Jag IFS and IRS too, so the more I see the better it is for me

I'm looking forward to see how your build is going!

[OneOffStroker]

So I have a ton of photos of my progress, but they are all on my phone, and I suck at technology, so I can't get them onto this thread.

But, here are some photos that I snapped over the weekend, in no particular order:

A patch panel that we welded over a rust hole about 15 years ago.

Top layer cut out to reveal original rust hole. I'm going to clean the patch and re-weld it in after I cut this piece out.

Passenger side lower hinge pocket. I need to fab a little piece to patch this with, but I have to replace the lower captive nut for the hinge first. I already did the driver's side.

Finally, you can see that the seam on the outboard side is pretty rotted, so I'll be making that as well and welding it in.

[OneOffStroker]

I made this boxing plate for the front frame rails. I CAD drew it MasterCam X8 and cut it out on a water jet at work. It is a full 40" long, so it covers from the radiator support bracket all the way back to the original transmission cross member.



And I added the cutouts for access to the sway bar mounting bolts.


I cut out the little lip from the original steering box, and I will weld in a new piece to comply.