TX 58 Air Ride/LS Build

[CMFT]

Well, the time has come to start another build thread. I still struggle with lack of time, tools, space, etc., so as with the build of my old ’64 C10, Hales Speed Shop will be contributing a lot to this build. I do more and more by myself each time I get into one of these trucks, but I’m not ready to take on the full task just yet. I have a lot of respect for you guys that spend the time and energy building these yourselves, and hopefully on a future build I can join the ranks.

Here’s a pic of my old ’64, so you can get a sense of the style I like – short box, BBW, air ride (stock front cross member), SBC/700R4. I rushed into this truck and wish I had done a few things differently, so I made a decision to let it go rather than go back and re-do what I didn’t like. I sold the truck to a guy in Southern Cali, so it’s cool to see it getting some sun.



I was looking for a 55-59 when I bought that ’64, so I knew what my next build would be. There are a lot of good trucks here in TX, but I found a really good deal on this truck out of southern California. The plan has been to slap an LS in whatever truck I bought, so buying a truck that was inoperable was preferred, and I was successful. This truck came from the desert and went through a resto a while back, so I’m starting with really good bones. Floors are solid, all but one cab corner are perfect, interior has a real classic look which I’ll be keeping for now, good bed wood, un-cut dash, glass in use-able condition, and just the right amount of scratches/nicks in the paint to qualify as a great driver that you can park anywhere and not worry about it. I drive my trucks, so I honestly did not want another nice paint job to baby. I don’t like washing/cleaning, so I wanted a truck I wasn’t afraid to just jump in and drive. It’ll get cleaned every now and then, but I’m not babying this thing.













Here’s a shot of my wheels – Wheel Vintiques O.E. chrome – 15x7 rear, 15x6 front. WW’s – 235/70 rear, 205/75 front.



Summary of plans for this truck:

Complete chassis build by Hales – truck will lay frame
Ford 9”
Disks all the way around
6.0L/4L80 – 70k miles from a 2007 2500 Silverado – minor mod’s for now, will get cammed and a few other goodies in the future
PSI stand alone
EZ wiring harness
Vintage Air AC
Aluminum gas tank in the rear
Ididit column shift – still deciding on steering wheel
Classic Instruments gauges in white
Lizard Skin insulation and sound deadener, as well as another layer of FatMat on top of that – should be able to hang meat in the summer time
Raised bed floor – will keep the wood bed that’s in it now
Custom stereo at some point
Interior will stay the same for a bit, but I’d like to get a new seat and ditch the door panels at some point
Exterior window trim all the way around
Rear window is tinted, which will be peeled off
And to make my wife happy, she’s finally getting a truck with seatbelts!!!!

Little things have been done, but Hales should get going on the chassis within a few weeks. Stay tuned, I like to take pic’s of the progress, so I’ll keep you guys/gals informed…