[Second Series]

Thanks for the comments and feedback. I had the radiator mounted in front of the core support with the ’54 235, It should fit there with this 5.7. I may have a new radiator modified or built. There are a few issues with the radiator that I will look at. 3 core vs. 4 core. Vertical flow vs. crossflow. Location of the upper and lower ports. Copper vs. Aluminum regarding Galvanic reaction with the engine.

I would like to keep everything stock, or as much as possible on the body, and the drivetrain. There is already a lot of headscratching going on to figure things out. Moving the engine, or moving the steering gear would cause dominoe effects. That adds to the cost of the project, and this work is being done in a shop so I need to keep the focus on the big picture.

I found a couple vendors that offer wheels with vintage looking hub caps, I may go that route, of get the clips and use my original hubcaps, but I will be driving this before that happens.

I saw that Chevrolet did a frame swap a couple years ago. They widened the front fenders. I have considered it. The bigger truck fenders is another option too, I believe the hood would also be part of that swap since the rear lower corners of the hood are different on those. I am real happy with where the wheels sit now, so I’ll leave it at that.

Things are moving along. The shop owner has his son’s working since one is a Barber and can’t work otherwise. I’m glad I can help support the economy during these trying times. The front sheet metal is being fitted. Time to get everything mocked up, so I delivered some parts last week. Awhile ago I picked up a new GM steering column from someone who gave up on a jeep project. While I was looking for similar builds, I saw on Old57’s build that he used Kugel Komponents Brake bracket. I called them and ordered separate Brake and Clutch brackets since they didn’t offer a separate clutch bracket. I need the clearance for the stock brake booster. Ordered on Tuesday, arrived on Thursday, Wow! I also went to the parts yard and cut a fuel filler door panel out of a Nissan, that was fun…

I have been keeping busy figuring out a way to keep the stock speedometer. It just might work. I have a motor mounted to the back of the speedometer, and am developing code to make it work, so far so good.