57 Chevy Panel Van

[Ferrofil]

Originally Posted by 57ToyBox

Thanks for the heads up Grimss.. I'll look into a replacement sheet B4 I start tearing in to this one.

Luke
I was surpriced to see that the cargo area is made up of a big peice of plywood with those metal slats mounted on to of the plywood.

I was expecting to see a similar floor as the pick up truck box. I'm wondering if I can make a fleet side box floor fit ???

The reason for the plywoodfloor in the paneltruck was to prevent dust coming into the truck
The earlier ones had planks...
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[lower50's]

Any news ?

[Bigblue29]

If thats the case you could hide a seem in the plywood under one of the metal strips and no one would be the wiser!

[Woodbutcher]

Hey |toybox,
I thought I recognized that panel from the CR forum. Some of us get around, eh? Any progress as of late??

[57ToyBox]

Hi Woodbutcher
Thanks for checkin out my thread. Sadly No updates on my panel resto.
Confession : I'm guilty of getting side tracked on a couple of my other projects.
I've been working on a new 07 Chevy Silverado 2500HD Duramax and my 57 Mack truck.
Mack is now for sale and the 57 Chevy Panel van is still sitting in a safe place and is gonna get 100% of my attention this spring.
I'm trying to figure out what the CR forum is you mentioned. I'm sure as soon as you PM me I'll kick myself for not figuring it out. LOL

[57ToyBox]

Originally Posted by Woodbutcher

Hey |toybox,
I thought I recognized that panel from the CR forum. Some of us get around, eh? Any progress as of late??

I'm curious to know what the CR forum is.

[Woodbutcher]

Originally Posted by 57ToyBox

I'm curious to know what the CR forum is.

CR forum is the Canadian Rodder forum... Mostly cannucks with a sprinkling of Aussies and a few yanks. They aren't limited to any particular era - any classic car or truck is appreciated and everyone on there is pretty nice. A few of the guys here go there, too.
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[57ToyBox]

Well my project is on hold again for a while. Damn, sometimes life gets in the way.
We're selling again. This time I'm excited. Cause if we can sell we have an accepted offer on a house in Callander Ont that has two 2 car garages

[56chevy1300]

Awesome project! Love the panel.

[57ToyBox]

Thought I better give my thread a bump.
I finally got my truck home... I feel a lot safer know it's and not at that storage facility.
There was times I went to visit it and found the doors left open. Not a good feeling, know there was people snooping around my truck.

Now it's home I can really go over it and assess it and come up with a plan of attack for the resto

[dennis57]

Glad you have it home. I'm looking forward to reading the build.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Congrats on gettin her home and gettin her back to chevrolet status

[57ToyBox]

Hi Guys
I've got sum bad news and
I've got some exciting news.

First the bad news.... just because I like to save the best for last.
Bad news: Since I've had my 57 Panel at home I've hardly touched it
Well... I've cut off the rotten left (Driver's side) step and mocked the replacement step.

The good news !!??!! While I was at the Barrie car show and swap meet buying parts for my Panel I bought a 1957 Mack truck
I still got a bunch of parts for my panel LOL

Not to offend anybody or step on any toes but here's a link to my new truck. (link to follow)

[RCbowtie69]

nice project

[57ToyBox]

OK I'm having a BEACH of a time sourcing out chassis parts ie: brake shoes, brake drums, suspension bushings etc,

So I'm gonna have to do what I didn't want to do. But drastic measures ....

So I need your help. I'm gonna do a FULL Chassis swap and seeing as I'm gonna go to the expense I might as well go 4x4.

Any suggestions on a recommended 4x4 chassis?
The wheel base on my Panel is 114.5 inches
Four wheel disc would be preferable

Any help would be HUGELY Appreciated

[bensimmons_05]

Believe it or not, your local parts store carries a lot of the spring bushings, brake shoes, drums, etc. I worked at autozone for years and had part listings for all the things you listed. Sometimes it takes a little finess and knowing how to operate the system (looking for different year trucks with the same hardware, etc) but it is definately not impossible! Try to find an employee that knows how to use the system and you should be able to find a lot!

[57ToyBox]

Thanks Ben
I'll give that a try. I would be easier for me to Safety my truck that way then to try and safety the truck with 4x4 mods done to it.
Some mechanics just don't want to take the responsibility to allow a heavenly modified truck to be licensed and on the roads. Risking their mechanics license.

So if I can find the OEM parts I will be further ahead. Then convert to 4X4

[mr48chev]

Cool, I had a 57 Chevy panel with a stout 327 under the hood when I lived in Texas in the early 70's.

[Coupeguy2001]

I just removed axles from my 57. what parts do you need? I have 2 sets of kingpins I cant use any more as well.

[57ToyBox]

Hey Woodbutcher... Thanks for the reminder. I haven't been back there in quite a while. Went back and visited just in time to catch the get together in Sudbury at R & R Classics. Nice turn out.

[Wheelie]

Huge SCORE! Congrats on your GMCHEVY!