1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Hello fellow junkies

this is a 1956 chevy 3100 build. I have had this truck a little over a year, i sold it in february then bought it back in march because i couldn't see it go. Then i got a wild hair up my arse and decided to build it for the Viva Las Vegas rockabilly show April 1-4 2010.
MY plans for the build are a traditional hot rod/ rat rod:

Front suspension
* CPP's 3 inch drop straight axle
* CPP's 3 inch drop mono leaf spring

Rear suspension
* CPP's 6 inch reverse drop mono leaf spring

Engine compartment
* Original 235 inline 6
* Offenhauser dual carb manifold
* Fenton cast iron dual exhaust headers
* Manual exhaust cut outs

Well here goes nothing

currently not letting me upload photos but soon to follow
sorry

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Sounds like a cool project.
We do need to see pics.
Kim

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

here are some pics of the truck:

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Looks like it has good patina. Are you planning on paint or not?

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

no paint thats how its going to stay as long as i own it

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

sounds like a whole lot of fun. should be a fast, easy, and "cheap" (if you consider this hobby "cheap") build. look forward to seeing this one

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Was it originally a military truck?
My 57 was a Navy truck and had a tag on the firewall.
Kim

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

yes it was an army vehicle.
My brother bought it from the old man that purchased it from the army in 1965. my brother has had it for 13 years and i aquired it last summer.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Very nice truck. Please keep the pics coming as you progress.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

alright did some work here are some photos

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

When i was getting ready to put in the mono leaf I noticed that the driver's side rear bracket had 2 of the 4 factory rivets, so I air hammered them off and put it back with grade 8 bolts.
Passenger side front bushing the goes thru the frame only took 2 hours but man prevails once again
Now on to installing mono leafs

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

yesterday i received a package from old dominion trucking company all the way from michigan
i was so excited but diesel didn't care
these i think will look SICK !!!!!!

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Today was a good and bad day. First the good
Starting the spindle and drop axle work, old king pins a breeze to remove. New king pins even easier so i installed them on the axle.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Now the BAD
after installing the axle on the truck i was looking over everything and noticed that the holes in the brass bushings no longer matched up with the grease fittings. After further investigation the bushing were spinning inside the spindle. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
well we all know what that means.... spindles are no longer good, i knew as much but i didn't want to accept the fact. but the show must go on and i finished installing the axle on the truck then called it a day, figured i needed to get on a computer and start looking for replacements.
I called every major player but to no avail then i remembered reading about a guy that converts straight axles to drop axles you might know him as www.droppedaxles.com or Nostalgia Sid's. I called him and he rebuilds worn spindles YAHOOOOO!!!!!!!!! we talked for a minute about how he goes about it and even told me how to do it but i thought this time around i would leave it to the professional and ordered me a set of rebuilt spindles.
now we play the waiting game
but there is still plenty to get done before they arrive
thanks Sid you rock :metal:

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

very nice work i like the old school approach to lowering. what's the plan for the bump stop? the original was very tall. i used a piece of conveyer belt rubber sandwiched between the ubolts. in an upside down u..
GT?
ps what's the dogs name

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

thanks
the bump stops are on order thru napa went with 11/16 of an inch from energy suspension.
the brindle is Diesel and the apricot is Semilla (ce-me-ya) they are both English mastiffs thats just long for lap dog.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

You, sir, go fast. I like the way you work. Can't wait to see it lowered with the new wheels and tires.:metal:

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Sid is an awesome man. I love this build, can't wait to see more.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

This is going to be a very interesting build to watch! I can't wait to see more of it.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Ok, I'm digging these wheels, care to share some info on them?

Thanks,
Sam

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Nice work.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

you must have a big lap if those are lap dogs!!!
keep the picts comming!!!
GT

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

That's the way to do it. I wish I would have done that with mine. Oh well, live and learn.

From the looks of your thread so far your already half way done. You'll be driving that thing around even before '010 even gets here. :metal:

Keep those updates comin'!

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Tell me about it. 10 years ago when I took my truck apart to start the build rat rods and patina were not a factor, everything was shiny. Looking at my before photos I could have just done the cab corners and lower hinge pockets, reprimered those parts and let the rest stay as is. I'm watching this progress too.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Nice build! I can't wait to see it all come together...

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

hey sam
they are sick huh?
i bought them from a guy in michigan, they are from the late 40's with original hubcaps and tires. They are a 16x5.5 wide 6 lug with 600x16 old school truck tube tire.
i cant wait to put these on and see how they look
soon i hope
thanks

also i got the bump stops today but taking the day off from the truck
i went with a low profile energy suspension PN 9.9102R

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

thats what I'm using in my rear c-noch, when i put them in i thought they were too flimsy but so far they are taking the beating just fine...
good choice
GT

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

61Superman, I don't know about the rims but those hubcaps from the tires you got are the one year only 1954 truck hubcaps. Very hard to come by in good shape!

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

no kidding i had no idea. i just needed some 16 inch stock rims and saw those for sale and bought them. the dude i bought them from was the one that told me they were late 40's. it really didn't matter to me what year though i just needed the rims the hubcaps were just a plus. but thats cool that they are somewhat rare. they have a couple of small dings but overall in great shape.
thanks for the info :metal:

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

You got a rare score and didn't even know it. The rims themselves do look to be quite old. I would say late 40s at the newest.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Ah so those rims are original and not new aftermarket, very nice.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Very cool build. Looking forward to more progress pics.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

Cool build,and nice work!

Like the dogs.Have an English and a Bull mastiff myself.

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

I like what you have done so far! Cool dogs too!

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

alright its been a couple of days since i've posted
sorry to report not much progress because of the waiting game.
but since i was waiting i decided that i needed a 10 inch table top drill press and a 20 ton hydraulic press in order to assist in the build, here they are

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

i have drilled out the old style tie rod ball in order to put in the new tie rod ends with the heavy duty bar. once i drilled a hole in the bottom of the ball then it was a hammer and punch to press out the ball, the hole allows for the sides to collapse inward while the ball this being forced out. It was pretty simple.
I also received the new spindles from Sid at www.droppedaxles.com and they are perfect already took the old ones off and the new ones on but it was to dark for a photo. once again Sid you are the man!! thank you

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

alright yesterday i had one of the wild hairs again and put the whole front end together just to see the tires and the front stance of the truck. i know i'll have to just take it all apart to redo the front brakes but the suspense was killing me. the rear end just has a jack lowered to the ground and it still was not level the drums were resting on the ground as well. i should gain a couple of inches once the rear mono is in place so here is just a sneak peek.

hope you'll enjoy as much as i did......

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

wow, that looks great!

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

That makes me want one real bad....:ito:

Re: 1956 las vegas or bust build
 

So far so good. Can't wait to see the back laid out. I wish my '63 would sell so I could do the exact same thing, lol. :lol: