Hi! my '59
 

Hi, I said hello in the Welcome area, so now I'm saying hello here as I'm going to need some suggestions! ;)
I bought this truck from a lady here in Houston. It's already painted a beatiful maroon/burgundy metallic with pearl. It has a 230/250 I6 with a 4 speed tranny(granny gear). Ive spoke to my husband about what I'd like to do, but money is a little tighter than usual, but that's why it's a long term project, but not as long as if I were have to paint it!

It has the stock suspension, has been upgraded to power front disc brakes(master cylinder/booster under the floor).
The rear axle on the drivers side is set back about 2-3 inches due to what I can tell the driveshaft is too long. The passenger side is where it's supposed to be. so I guess I'll pull the driveshaft, bolt the rear axle to where it's supposed to be, measure for the correct length and get the driveshaft cut to fit.
The 230 I6 upon firing it up after a couple years, made an aweful noise and found out there were tiny metal things in the combustion chamber. I pulled the head and found there was a war going on inside 1-4 cylinders, I removed the debris, then pulled the pistons, my motor man inspected the head/pistons and said its ok, put it back together ; ) IN one of the photos, you can see that the front "engine moung" is one piece of metal with a bushing holding the front of the 230 up! I was looking for a better way to mount the motor, but unsure if I want to keep this motor/tranny!
Anyway, Got it running but I just can't get that Rochester carburetor to do right! argh! I'll order another carb kit and try again!

* I just don't know whether to look for another motor(V8/automatic).
* I feel the front end just sits a little too high and see that a vendor offers a lowering kit of 3"'s utilizing the same front leaf springs?
* I definitely would like power steering

My husbands thoughts: just get it running and see what I can do with what I have to work with right now.

I'll just leave it at this for now and see what you guys/gals might have to say~ ; )
dne'

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../onthelift.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...idesupport.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...motorblock.jpg

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Hi again~
This is the motor right now. I took the intake/exhaust manifolds apart, had to drill out all the old studs holding it together, but all turned out ok. The heat riser~ i put a set screw in it on the halfway open/close to keep it from ratteling.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/Denee/engine.jpg

I know very little about rear axles and don't know what this came out of. But the one photo shows the axle is not bolted up correctly, like I said due to the driveshaft being too long. The driveshaft is together all the way where the spline is, so there is no give. Well, that's about it for now. I'm going to shop for a motor/tranny just for fun even though I probably wont buy anything~ you know how it is~!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...e/rearaxle.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...sideofaxle.jpg

Re: Hi! my '59
 

So this is pretty much how the stance of these truck were? I'd like to get a front windshield in it pretty soon.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...e/allfours.jpg

Re: Hi! my '59
 

i'm willing to bet that the rear end is like that becasue they used the wrong style of u-bolts,that should have the square style bolts. you probley could unboltit and slideit back can you get a picture of where the drive shaft goes into the transmission?

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Nice looking but whoever worked on it is a real hacker. It's not really driveable with the axle like that, don't try it.

that front motor mount is horrible. THere's stock parts available to fix this.


Congratulations got out to you for being willing to get into something like this. Feel free to hang out here, there's lots of help available.

Re: Hi! my '59
 

oh boy, I feel right at home already!
Here's a photo of the front of the driveshaft.
Tmobile, what stock parts can I use to support my motor?

I'll be ordering the correct ubolts this evening along with some other necessities.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v417/Denee/spline.jpg

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Nice to see another four-holer. Welcome to the forum
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Hi! my '59
 

I suggest you look into this too-
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CLASS...#ht_1553wt_948

If it doesn't come through, this is a restoration book for these trucks. It is helpful.
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Thanks for the tip, just ordered it! thanks! need all the help I can get! ; )

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Welcome. The rear ubolts are in upside down. The round part goes around the axle, the plate goes on top. There is a hole in the plate that the little pin goes in. They may be the wrong size but try that first before spending any money, I've seen worse. Nice truck, have fun

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Welcome, looks like a good truck to start with. With the other "problems" that have been pointed out I would go thru it with a pretty critical eye. Brakes, fuel system, electrical. Good news is all those little mechanical things are relatively easy to fix, much easier than the body work in my humble opinion.

Re: Hi! my '59
 

3/4 ton up type parking brake drum on the rear of the transmission, and at least theres a dual master cylinder already installed. I agree with OrrieG the mechanical stuff is easy, the painting and body work is the most difficult. Nice to see women are interested in these trucks, and you work on it as well, thats fantastic.

Re: Hi! my '59
 

This looks like a nice truck. It just needs someone like you to finish the assembly. OrrieG is right. The mechanical stuff is easier and in my humble opinion, more fun!! You will find that we here on this forum like lots of pictures, and we don't mind at all if a sweet '67 mustang happens to show up a bunch.

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Welcome to the board.
Nice looking truck.
Rusty Hooker is right about the U bolts being installed wrong. That should be an easy fix.
Kim

Re: Hi! my '59
 

See if the u-bolts will go the other way, with the round end over the axle. The plate has to stay on the bottom, it's also the shock mount. There's holes in the spring perchs on the axle housing that fit over the center pin or center bolt. That's what aligns the housing to the rest of the truck.

Don't know why the driveshaft would be too long. Maybe it's the wrong shaft for the truck? Maybe it just looks too long?

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Nice looking truck.
As others have mentioned the rear axle is not bolted in correctly but to fix it is easy.
The bottom plate needs to be placed on the top of the spring pack and the U bolts placed around the bottom of the axle. It does appear those U bolts though are too small to fit around the 3" axle tube. A trip to a local trailer parts or to O'Rielly's will get you U bolts for a 3" axle tube if those you have do not fit around the axle.

I would suggest getting the rear axle mounting resolved before measuring for a new driveshaft.

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Good morning ya'll! slept well last night for a change! ; )
I was thinking about this motor support problem~ how about me fabricating a bracket of some sort running from the block where there are motorsupport holes and running them to the front crossmember. Any ideas are welcome on this! ; )
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...inesupport.jpg

When I bought the truck, the lady said a guy made here this linkage piece to hook up the carburetor. Right now it's working ok and I consider it temporary until I find something better, but at least I can start the truck and move it around.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...enginecarb.jpg

This is how the springs are in my book~ mainly regarding how the springs are held in place. The u-bolts go in from the top, but I need the square u-bolts.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...can0010012.jpg

lastly, thank you for noticing my '67 Mustang! That was my 3 year project, and that's where I learned a lot of what I know by fumbling along "restoring". I painted it in my garage~ not sure if i'd ever be up to painting a vehicle again! It's not perfect, but i get a lot of people saying how nicely the paint looks ; ) ~
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...IMG_9369-1.jpg

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Do you know if the axle and springs came out of the same vehicle?
The reason I ask is it looks like the axle should be on top of the springs instead of underneath like what was original on these trucks. This would lower the rear of the truck a few inches.
Just a thought.
Kim

Re: Hi! my '59
 

I have the correct U Bolts and mounting hardware I changed my rear set up shoot me a PM if interested

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Is this the same Denee from TLZone?

Re: Hi! my '59
 

OMG! yes!! I saw your user name and my brain was saying i know that name!! Really put a smile on my face and instant memories!! It's been a while! I had to give up bikes mainly due to health reason, tinnitus mainly, plus I want to be around for my grandaughter and I think old cars n trucks may develope more memories ; ) How are you?? I've really dove into old cars! A lot of fun n challenges and much more expensive! lol

Gosh Rude Dude, I ordered the parts this morning : (

Kim~ I don't think this rear axle is original, I don't think anything from the motor and back is original. It has that great big tranny (4 speed), ,but has the shifter on the column. So, I have a Frankenstein drivetrain! lol

*********************************************************
oh, update on the rear axle thing: The bolt that goes through the leafspring on the drivers side was broken allowing the leaf spring to shift(ordered new centerbolts) The driveshaft, I was still able to squeak a little more out of it, it moved easily on it's greasy splines, and I think it's going to be ok, the rear U joint is bad though. I'm not sure about beating out a u joint, it looks like it's really stuck in there! Surely a shop would charge too much to replace a lonely little u joint! I get enough encouragement, I can probably do it ; )
* Would I be happier with the standard 3 speed transmisson vs. the 4 speed on the floor. My column is kind of messed up/seized up. However, is the 4 speed tranny considered an upgrade?
dne'
Mr. Tucker, this is about one of my favorite photos. Gosh those were some exciting times! sigh~
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...e/IMG_3707.jpg

Re: Hi! my '59
 

I thought it was you, until I saw the last pic of you by the mustang then I was pretty sure. I gave up the bike thing too. It brought back too many painful memories I'd rather not dwell on. Plus, I have a little daughter now, so it's good motivation to move on to safer hobbies.

Still think about that old tiller tho...and the DRZ....and the SV....lol, ok maybe I do miss bikes, lol!


Glad you found this board! It's probably the coolest forum I've found since I left the TLZ...

Re: Hi! my '59
 

Agreed! it's just another chapter in life gone by, something to make more memories!! now, most friends can be included in this era of life, at least ride around in my old cars! I felt badly when my husband would go to the track with me, but couldn't take part, plus my kids couldn't take part, but again, now they're seeing the effort that goes into old cars, and enjoying riding around! ; ) I'm babysitting my 3y/o grandaugther, so I'll be back! ; )

Re: Hi! my '59
 

If it were me, I would fabricate some mounts that would bolt to the standard mount points on the frame, I don't remember if those sixes had the 2 bolt points up front like the old V8s did, going to the side mount points is too far to go. So did the truck not have a windshield? Hope there isn't a good reason for that, like something being tweeked.

Re: Hi! my '59
 

don't re-invent the square wheel, get the stock motor mounts and bolt it up. They can be bought reasonable at any of the major vendors. (IOW, the usual suspects)

Glad you got off the bikes, there's just too many sad deals there.