'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.