New to board and new '53 project

[53farm]

Been reading regularly for awhile but just joined. Just bought a '53 Chevy long bed, running, and already converted to 12V. Will be bringing it home later this week. My father has always been into cars and I grew up hearing about and walking past his two '57 Bel Airs (one convertible and one 4 door sedan) and a '65 Pontiac Tempest convertible...unfortunately all of which don't run and have been tarped for all of my 31 years on this planet. Shameful.

Anyway, finally got a house and space of my own to keep stuff. Also have a running and driving all original '63 Chevy Bel Air 4 door sedan.

Been on a truck hunt for awhile and am psyched about this '53! It was built at the Baltimore plant, which is cool for me being a native Marylander. I thought I was all set of the whole lowered deal (which i still dig) but someone has put small (inch-ish if memory serves from a week ago) lift blocks under despite it being 2 wheel drive...which now has me thinking 4 wheel drive conversion! This is definitely out of current skill range to do it all myself but do have a friends that are competent professional mechanics/fab folks.

I've always had 4 wheel modern jeeps and this '53 in 4WD form would be bad ass I think! I realize it's a major project. Anyone done this? On this version of truck? I have done some reading on the NAPCO stuff, but a lot seems to be the tri-five stuff. Any thoughts on usable front axles/transfer cases? Id like to keep original frame and motor/trans (straight 6 and 4 speed on floor with granny gear) but am kinda just trying to brainstorm. First order of business will be fresh brakes and suspension links, get it running as good as i can, and drive it! It has the rear fenders with it but no bed sides or tailgate. I'm thinking flat bed for the short term, unless i find a bed at the right price.

Anyway, any thoughts on the 4WD thing on these trucks would be great! Thanks, and looking forward to learning more!
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[flyingtim01]

I used to have a '51 one ton, that I always thought would be great as a 4WD. And initially I agreed with you, to keep it as original as possible and just 'add' a front axle and transfer case.

The problem with that is all the time, work and money it will take. And at the end, you've got an old weakish frame with drum brakes and an empty bank account. I guess if you have your heart set on a Napco clone to show and drive in parades and stuff, then go for it. Those trucks have a really high cool factor.

But if you want a truck to drive and get some use out of, lots of guys will take an AD body and put it on a 67-72 frame. And if you put it on a 71-72 4x4 frame, you're already set up with power brakes, power steering, open knuckle front axle and a relatively modern running gear with easy to find parts. Just my two cents, something to consider. I don't have the links handy, but take a look around the board, these builds are around.

[classicundercar]

Hey there! I'm in silver spring too!

If you really want to go the 4wd route, I'd agree a frame swap would be the ticket. Just need to research the wheelbases, track width, etc of your truck and find an appropriate donor. That and google is your friend, I'm sure someone has done this conversion or similar before.

Don't underestimate the amount of work and time involved here, either.

That said the local Craigslist is generally packed with older rusty 4wds that could serve as great donors. Good luck!
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[53farm]

Thanks for the info. Yes I agree, a frame/chassis swap would be a much easier way to get it all at once. I think the chances of me finding any NAPCO stuff is next to nill...but those things are SO bad a**! Who knows what I"ll end up doing to it. Anyway, finally brought the truck home this afternoon. First order of business is to get the motor running smoother and more reliably. It starts and runs, but when you give it gas it wants to (and will some of the time) stall out. The seller said it definitely has some old/bad gas in it which obviously isn't helping it. There is also something that is draining the battery. It has what looks like an almost brand new battery in it but seller said he'd been leaving battery unhooked so it wouldn't drain. its already been converted to 12 volt so I'm sure the issue is in there somewhere. I'm mulling over just buying a full new wiring harness so I know its all fresh. We'll see. So, here are a couple pics. According to some paperwork the seller gave me I was thinking it was a long bed...but its a 3100 and sure looks like the short bed to me. Thoughts from the pics? I'll measure it tomorrow. All the windows are busted but it did come with all new glass, the rear fenders, the original carb, and all new door seals.

[53farm]

So after some more measuring and reading..it appears I have a 3/4 ton, not a 1/2 ton. Sticker in the door jamb says 5800 lbs GVW and the measurements seem to check out. Back of cab to end of frame rails measures 86", or 7 feet. from center of rear axle to end of frame rail measures 36" and some change...which matches up to the 3/4 ton specs that I found. It was advertised as a 3100 in the ad. Doesn't much matter to me, still psyched!

[53farm]

Still exploring the idea of converting my '53 3/4 ton AD to 4WD and had another question for everyone with far more experience than me. The current rear axle in my '53 measures right around 60" in width between the outer faces of the brake drums. If I understand correctly, a "full width" truck axle is in the 67"-69" width range. Definitely a difference. I have 2 late 90s 4WD Jeep Cherokees and the axles in those measure in the same ball park as the current rear in my '53 AD. Anyone running or heard of anyone running these later model Jeep axles (Dana 30 front, Dana 44 or Chrysler 8.25 rear) in an AD? They obviously don't have the beef of a full size truck axle but I know there are many folks in the Jeep world running up to a 35" tire on these axles. I have no intention of running a 35" tire on an AD, regardless of what axles are under it. The later model Jeep axles also have the front differential on the drivers side which is opposite of a lot of the Chevy stuff it seems. Guess then you'd want to use a transfer case in the Jeep flavor (NP231 is a common one) and transmission so everything lines up....but have no idea if the Jeep transmission could even be made to work with the Chevy 216. My '53 AD is the 4 speed on the floor (3 with granny gear) and I would definitely want to stay with a manual if I ever swap out transmissions.

I did read something about some folks using the older full size Jeep Wagoneer 4WD axles in these AD's but don't remember where that was. Its all starting to run together. Anyway, guess I'm just wondering if anyone has any knowledge or experience using Jeep running gear in a Chevy AD? Don't worry, I still realize that just putting my cab on a later model chassis would be overall easier...but think that the increased width after doing that would definitely be noticeable in comparison to the truck in stock form. Now how much that really matters in the grand scheme is a different question. Thanks for looking.