47-59 Daily drivers

[woodwright]

Any daily or near-daily drivers? Trying to get ideas. Maybe post specs and MPGs. Thanks

[nvrdone]

Ok my semi daily driver is a '49 AD with a 400 + hp 327, m21 and 12 bolt with 3:55's.
We don't talk MPG. I say its a semi daily because it only gets driven on dry, sunny days.

[mr48chev]

I daily drove my 48 for years as a lot of the time it was the only vehicle I owned that ran. To the point where I wore the 250 that is in it out so bad that it didn't have enough compression to run.

When I first put the 250 in the 48 in 1989 It had 95 K on it and with the 3 speed and a Nova 3.08 rear it ran down the road and got 20 mpg on road trips.

I drove it to work most every day for 15 years and at times worked out of it on the dairy. Use it as a work truck all week, give it a bath and a clean up on Friday evening and drive it to a Saturday car show. I even took it on one long trip to Bonneville and Pleasanton and back in 1998.

The Big issue with a truck with drum brakes is you have to learn defensive driving to a high level and always give yourself room to stop behind the car in front of you and always know where your escape route is around that car if needed.
Unless you have so much money in the paint job that you are afraid to park it where it will get dinged or such a radical engine that it is a bit too tempermental for daily driving most of these trucks can be daily drivers. Some may not be snow rigs because pickups that are don't have good weight bias are lousy in the snow. I ran studded snow tires on mine a number of winters because I had to get to work The real issue in cold weather is that these trucks are drafty unless you have done a lot of work with weather strip and other keep the cold air out and what warm air you have in efforts.

Still we all know guys who have older rigs that are nice but not over the top expensive of builds who don't drive them much because they "are too valuable" but their daily driver is an 80,000 buck F350 with every bell and whistle you can find. We do have a guy in Yakima who drives his GMC with a blown 302 six almost every day year round. He has a shop in Yakima where does custom wiring jobs on vehicles and usually you see him running around town and at almost every rod trot in the area.

Truthfully when my truck gets done this time around it isn't going to get driven in bad weater or winter weather intentionally . Hitting a rain storm while on the road isn't an issue or even hitting a bit of unseansonal snow on a high mountain pass in late spring as Nvrdone or I might do if we take of on a nice spring day and head to Seattle or even Levenworth for the day. I've been in 3 inches of fresh snow on the 28th of April on top of the pass on the way to Henry Haulers car show one year. The plan is to keep it a lot nicer and not use it as a truck this time.

[dsraven]

are you looking for ideas for a daily driver project or power ideas or project style ideas for an existing project? are you still looking at that 5 window dump truck in the field? looking for ideas for that? maybe add some parameters and get better responses?
for me, a daily driver has a fuel injected late model engine with an electronic o/d transmission and gears that will support cruising down the highway with a boat in tow or hauling a load to the dump. I want suspension that is soft enough to level out the road bumps but will still haul a load. since I am a chevy guy that means an LS engine and 4l65E trans likely. my daily driver is a '15 silverado crew cab 4x4 with 5.3 auto o/d. 3.43 gears. it gets about 10 litres per 100 kilometers, or about 23 miles per gallon. i have had it as low as 8.8 l/100 km, which is about 26 mpg, and as high as 17 l/100 km, which is 13 mpg. that last number is towing a boat through the rockies uphill into the wind most of the way with rain and a full load of stuff in the truck. my old '03 avalanche had a 5.3 auto o.d with 4.10 gears and it did the same thing the '15 silverado does but with more comfort and at least as good mileage. the difference is it had a 4 spd auto and the 15 has a 6 spd auto with cyl cancelling injection and the annoying "auto learn" that is always upshifting itself into no power mode and then downshifting when i step on the gas to get going. i always say they spent a lot of money to get the sameoutcome for fuel mileage. haha

[woodwright]

Originally Posted by dsraven

are you looking for ideas for a daily driver project or power ideas or project style ideas for an existing project? are you still looking at that 5 window dump truck in the field? looking for ideas for that? maybe add some parameters and get better responses?
for me, a daily driver has a fuel injected late model engine with an electronic o/d transmission and gears that will support cruising down the highway with a boat in tow or hauling a load to the dump. I want suspension that is soft enough to level out the road bumps but will still haul a load. since I am a chevy guy that means an LS engine and 4l65E trans likely. my daily driver is a '15 silverado crew cab 4x4 with 5.3 auto o/d. 3.43 gears. it gets about 10 litres per 100 kilometers, or about 23 miles per gallon. i have had it as low as 8.8 l/100 km, which is about 26 mpg, and as high as 17 l/100 km, which is 13 mpg. that last number is towing a boat through the rockies uphill into the wind most of the way with rain and a full load of stuff in the truck. my old '03 avalanche had a 5.3 auto o.d with 4.10 gears and it did the same thing the '15 silverado does but with more comfort and at least as good mileage. the difference is it had a 4 spd auto and the 15 has a 6 spd auto with cyl cancelling injection and the annoying "auto learn" that is always upshifting itself into no power mode and then downshifting when i step on the gas to get going. i always say they spent a lot of money to get the sameoutcome for fuel mileage. haha

Your ideals are very similar to mine. 😄 realistically, I'm having project withdrawals and I'm jonesing bad😁 If you look through my signature build, I took parts from 6 different trucks and some hand fabricated parts and was building a 70 GMC into something GM never intended. Then I went through a nasty divorce and I just couldn't look at it anymore. It was part of a life that was over. Then I met an amazing woman with 4 kids that needed a dad and was able to sell those bad memories for a killer ring to lock it down🙂. But it's been 7 years and I'm wanting to build something again. I was obsessed with the 69-72s forever but I want to do something different. I've seen a ton of the 1.5T+ ADs around in ranchers fields and thought it would be cool and different to build one with modern parts. And I could actually use a heavier duty tilt flatbed for work once in awhile. I'm a contractor and sometimes have loads too big for my half ton, and the tilt bed would be nice for demo runs to the dump. But on the other hand, a light, 2wd shortbed with an LS/5 speed would be a fun commuter for these high speed Montana highways. I also like the 55-59s. But I don't see many of those around.

[nvrdone]

Like MR48Chevy, I drove mine when I first got it as my daily driver in the Oakland area. Made one run to SLC. Had the bed loaded and a U haul in tow. Made another run to Boise to pick up a 22' boat that a friend won. Lots of trips to Dodge Ridge for tobogan runs. Had an extra set of wheels in the bed chained up if I needed them. Towed my own 19' Sanger flat bottom. Lots of fun trips with the truck. Now that I'm retired there are a few upgrades that will be done. But it will now really be a fair weather driver. Since I've moved to Moxee, Ive driven it more that in the last few years. and enjoyed it.

[dsraven]

if another project is seriously contemplated (with appoval from the wife, as that can be a big deal when you start spending a lot of time in the shop and money on stuff) i would try to find something that is in good enough shape so you don't have to spend a lot of time and money on repairs to the actual truck body. those repairs are what takes a lot of time. if you find something solid, body wise, you can spend some time, elbow grease and a few bucks to get it cleaned up and then work on a driveline and suspension for it that fits the budget and also quenches the thirst for some shop time. you would have a driveable truck in less time and then when the bug hits again you can maybe do some body work and paint on it, if you still like it at that point. maybe you could find a project somebody else gave up on. the reason I am doing a frame swap on my 57 is because the donor comes with a lot of stuff that takes time and money to get done. it was a fully operational driving truck before it became a donor. (it was an insurance write off due to the cost to repair the body. nothing wrong with the driveline or frame etc.
anyway, like I said before, if you want an old truck that drives like a modern deck truck that is possible with the big fendered field truck, you could do a frame swap and that gets you a full modern engine, trans, rear axle, etc., it is a lot of work to get the cab and sheet metal set up in the right spot let alone all the other stuff like rads, exhaust, fuel tanks, linkages etc etc. so you will be in for some work for sure. less work if the body is solid and you don't mind driving a patina truck for awhile till you see if you like it or not. but behind the cab is simply a deck which can be made to a tilt deck later-after it is running and driving and you decide if you like it or not. check locals laws etc before you start any of that stuff, just to ensure you go down the right path when you start.

[57tailgater]

These are all good points guys are bringng up. First you need to define "daily driver" and what that entails. I have used my '57 a couple of different times as a daily when I had nothing else to drive. It's been used both in midwest summers and winters but for local around town so the stock drivetrain did fine. The second time it got the SBC and still has the stock driveline and still did ok (note: all this is changing for next go around). But if your daily drive includes longer and faster routes with heavier traffic this is where I'd suggest modifications would be needed such as changed gearing (or rear end) to get RPM's down (=better fuel economy) and better brakes. It's one thing to putz around town up to 45 mph or so and it's entirely another thing to run 70+ out on the highway. The faster and safer you want to be is directionally proportional to what you will need to change/spend.

[joedoh]

i have built a butt ton of trucks, you can check out my profile galleries and even find the project threads in the project section. i set two hard and fast requirements:

1. my wife and daughters had to be able to drive it

2. my wife and daughters had to be safe in it

i did all the safety stuff like brakes and suspension and didnt cut corners on steering or cooling. some sound deadening and some new glass and seals and i had comfortable driving quiet and nice riding trucks.

[dsraven]

I like your requirement list. the next row, for me, would be the "safe to drive on the same road as all my family and friends drive-after it is sold"
you do some awesome work joedoh, and have inspired a lot of people on this site alone. you should be proud. keep posting up your threads as you have in the past, it keeps us interested and also keeps us thinking outside the box, like you do.

[57tailgater]

Originally Posted by joedoh

i have built a butt ton of trucks, you can check out my profile galleries and even find the project threads in the project section. i set two hard and fast requirements:

1. my wife and daughters had to be able to drive it

2. my wife and daughters had to be safe in it

i did all the safety stuff like brakes and suspension and didnt cut corners on steering or cooling. some sound deadening and some new glass and seals and i had comfortable driving quiet and nice riding trucks.

Sounds like you already have a great starting list! So I am thinking by this, maybe EFI, automatic, power steering, power brakes, seat belts (3 pt?), softer suspension, good wiper system, better door latches, better HVAC system so you have good defrost. Just a few thoughts but it sounds like you will be able to accomplish what you're wanting.