My very soon to be 54 project

[Matt300ZXT]

I'm trading my 73 240Z to a guy I know for this 54 of his. Still has the stock inline 6 (not sure of the c.i.d.) but as a whole the truck looks very clean'ish. The 240Z is worth more in this case so he's going to build/install the floorpans it needs for me and repair the rust in the cab corners since he's a paint/body guy. He'll also hook me up with an 010 350 block and heads with lots of work done to them that I'll probably sell as I don't want to build an engine, I just want to find one that's running already. Anyways, it has all the body parts there, just some are removed as seen in the pictures. The only real rust is the pans and cab corners, the rest is just surface rust that'll knock off with a sander and then I'll spray it with some nice flat black primer for a rat rod look, and maybe paint the fenders and running boards. He said it already has widened wheels in the back. Not sure if I'd want rims, or just clean up the stock wheels with some white walls...that looks pretty hot on the trucks I've seen, even though I'm pretty much against stock wheels on anything.

I'll probably just get a 4" dropped axle from droppedaxles.com and hook up a TCI rear leaf kit, and if that 3" isn't enough I'll get some blocks to lower it a little more. Not a whole lot of plans, just clean it up, make it look cool, and drive it.

[Dan Bowles]

Nice. Looks like a 235. That would have been stock. Get a T5 and an open rear end and run it. '54s are the ginchiest baby! Windshield isn't cheap, though. Shipping is more than the glass.

A guy on the HAMB, Sinr is in mid-KY and has a '54 panel and Trucked Up has several '54s. They may help you out with some missing parts. Look around for the filler that goes over the ducts. And don't lose the glove box door!!

[Matt300ZXT]

I'll be sure to look around for parts as soon as it gets to my driveway. Found a windshield, clear or tinted for $175 I think it was, but didn't think to add one to the cart to see what shipping would be. Maybe I'll get lucky and find a local place that has one or can get one so I'm not hit with a crazy shipping fee.

[Dan Bowles]

I was REALLY lucky. A guy on Stovebolt knew a glass guy who'd ordered one for someone who never showed up to get it. After like 2 years, he put it in the Stovebolter's truck and I bought his for like cheap and had it relayed from TX to Detroit for Autorama by one of the vendors! It can be done but a new one for me was like $185 shipping. Hard chunk to swallow when you are on a budget but if got the truck cheap enough, why not.

The '54 gauges are unique and so is the steering wheel and bell. Speaking of bell, so is the bell housing and cross member. And the frame...and the bed...and the front fenders...and the hood ornament (hood will interchange but the mounting locations for the badge are different).

[Matt300ZXT]

Hmm, well who doesn't like a challenge huh?

[chev3600]

Speaking of steering wheels, that wheel is a 53. My 54 and 55 both have a different style wheel and horn button.

[chevyman95]

Where are you guys finding windshields for 175? Everywhere I have looked is way more expensive.

[Houston54]

LMC has the windshield for $180.00. They have sales sometimes too. I got mine for $99 plus shipping a couple years back.

Looks like a good start to a project. What is your build plan? If you have not made one yet I would recommend doing so now. It will save you time and money.

Having been down the path you are about to go with your 54 I will be glad to share some lessons learned if you want.

Get a title with the truck if you can.

[918733]

Your truck is a real insperation I saw it at the Old Town Spring show a while back.

[Daniel U]

Very cool to see another '54! If I had it to do over again, I would have kept my I-6 and bolted a T-5 to it with another rear, put some disc brakes on the front, small body work with flat black paint, and drove it! I ran out of funds, so mine is just garage art for now. Anxiously watching this build!

[Daniel U]

Oh yeah, I spent a bunch of $ on the '54 specific parts(gauges, glove box door, bed rails, etc.) If you keep it simple, you can save some $$$. Feel free to check out my build so you don't make some of the same mistakes, lol. You can buy an after maket gauge kit for a 47-53 with a bezel kit if you don't mind llooking at it that way. My goal was to keep mine as original looking as possible but update it with new running gear/brakes. Keep a clear goal in mind while you build your truck. Just my .02!

[Matt300ZXT]

I don't mind making it unoriginal, so if a part or two from another year model will fit then that gets the vote, unless it's just ugly I was looking at gauges for the truck and didn't see anything for 54, only 47-53, and then 55+. I don't even want to try and rebuild or clean up and re-use what's in there if I can get new or rebuilt units that fit.

To the guy who asked, I'm going to rat rod it. Gonna get a hand sander and knock the rust down, clean it and then spray it flat black. I may try to get the i6 to run to at least move it around now and then until I have all the parts set aside to drop in a SBC and get it to fire so that I don't lose motivation from a project that won't run.

[Dan Bowles]

Houston, the shipping is what was killing me. It was more for the shipping than for the glass!!

[Daniel U]

Originally Posted by Matt300ZXT

To the guy who asked, I'm going to rat rod it. Gonna get a hand sander and knock the rust down, clean it and then spray it flat black. I may try to get the i6 to run to at least move it around now and then until I have all the parts set aside to drop in a SBC and get it to fire so that I don't lose motivation from a project that won't run.

Very good idea. The wind has left my sail many times as mine sits in the garage!

[Matt300ZXT]

Well I've got some progress on the truck. The first few pictures are of it a few weeks ago when I had the hood off and the front grille/bumper removed. I was prepping it for pulling the engine, then figured why not get EVERYTHING out of the way, so today I pulled the fenders and inner fenders. I just hope the inner fenders aren't as hard to get back on as they were to remove. I don't even know HOW you're supposed to get to the backside of those bolts that bolt to the firewall area right near the bottom. I had to Dremel and drill those out, took about an hour just to get the pass. side inner fender off. The driver side one came right off easy though.

I'm pulling the engine and selling it, or parting it out and then scrapping the rest (in case anyone wants a part or two) and making way for a 283 or 307 since xaircav says he figured out a way to get a SBC in with the stock steering box. That should save me big money over paying $600+ for the steering conversion kit.







Here's the shots from today:

[enick72]

good project. I was just in chattanooga Sunday looking at a truck for parts. I kept my 235 and I like it but it had also been in a barn with everything on in so it didn't take much to get it running. Have fun.

[Matt300ZXT]

Well I have a 55 Bel Air 235 sitting in the driveway covered. It was running when pulled a few months ago when I bought it. I just went outside earlier and it turns over. Having to use a crowbar on the flywheel to spin it, or a breaker bar on the flywheel bolts and it's not the easier to turn over, but then again the flywheel bolts aren't exactly centered and the front pulley is right up against a tire the engine's resting on, so that's some extra resistance. If I decide not to use the 283/307 for now, I bet I could get that to fire with just some gas and spark.

What truck were you looking at? Decide to pick it up or passing on it? I've got a friend with a 49 that he's already restored the cab on pretty much, so I may swap that onto my frame and have the cooler 49 split window cab and much easier parts to get for the 49 cab vs my 54 cab.

[enick72]

it was actually a parts truck for my 65. The truck I looked at is a 78 with a 250 inline 6 PS,and aftermarket AC.

I like the different grill on the 54-55 just because there are so many of the 47-53s but if your buddy has a cab that is all done that would move the project along quicker.

[Matt300ZXT]

Got the head off today, that was pretty easy. Barely any torque holding it down, but when it's broken down to like 15 or so bolts holding the head on, I guess you don't need a lot of torque per bolt. Anyways, aside from what looked like a possible headgasket failure due to some rust on some of the compression chambers and valves and the tops of a couple of the pistons, the bores were smooth as silk. I got it to spin over too, fairly easily once the head was off but I guess the tranny was stuck in gear because it'd kick back over after an inch or so of piston travel. Now to pull the motor and make way for the other inline 6, or a SBC depending on if I find a good deal on a small displacement v8.
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[Matt300ZXT]

Well I finally got that old motor out. I wasn't prepared for water and oil gushing out when I removed the flywheel bolts but whatever, I was already filthy anyway. That motor spun over so easily, I almost could have cleaned up the head and put it back on and run it like it was, but oh well, hindsight is 20/20. It'll give me a chance to clean it up some before I put the 55 Bel Air's 235 back in it and run it.

Next order of business, find a way to get $250 so I can get Speedway's front disc brake kit and get 5 lugs at least on the front for now

[Dan Bowles]

Change to a '49 cab?!? Silly wabbit, splitters are for kids!

Spend the $250 on an S10 frame and then drop in your 283/307. You can make the mounts in an afternoon.



What "parts" do you need for your '54 cab? All of the sheet metal patch panels are the same. Windshields are a LOT more!

[Matt300ZXT]

haha YOU can make the mounts in an afternoon maybe. I have zero fab or welding skills, and very little hot rodding skills. Putting parts in and working on a Datsun Z is waaaay different than a 3100.

And yea, a 49 cab. It's way more economical for me to go that route since the 54 cab needs cab corners, a whole floor, some toe boards, and some work done on the very front sides, just between the doors, and the tail end of the front fenders, and door work. The deal I made with the guy on trade was he had to weld in the floors and cab corners for me if I purchased the parts since my car was worth more in the trade. So I can spend $500-600 on the floor and riser, and $60-70 on the cab corners, plus who knows how much more on the other panels, OR I can trash the 54 for scrap and pay a few hundred for his 49 cab that already has new floors, cab corners, toe boards, and all that stuff in it, AND good doors. Plus, I prefer the look of the 49-53 cab

[Matt300ZXT]

She's naked now! Well, sorta. Got that engine out yesterday, sprayed more purple degreaser (forgot the name brand but works WAY better than Purple Power of Simple Green) I got from Ace, scraped more with the scraper, and pressure washed it some more. I guess I'm going to start looking for a good drop axle, maybe I'll find someone selling a used one, or one they bought but sold the project or something for a good deal. It's either that, or disc brakes first. I'm sure when it comes time to pick up the drop axle I'll be asking you guys some stuff about what other parts I need, what I should use aftermarket or what should be oem, etc. Anyways, here's some fresh pics from today:





By the way I have some various linkage pieces to the old starter laying around, and some linkage pieces from the bellhousing which I'll gladly let someone name a price, assuming I don't need those bellhousing parts for a 4 speed swap.

[Dan Bowles]

Actually, my son made the mounts in a day! He's MUCH better than I am at it. 4" square tubing cut at an angle with angle iron welded to the back side and a lid put on it. He dug around in his hockey bag for 4 pucks and we've got 2 cabs mounted on S10 frames!!

[Matt300ZXT]

Back from the post grave! I did some more work today. I had gotten the bug again since it's warmer outside now. I ordered some new motor mounts from Patricks the other day and got those in yesterday. I am going to be ordering the water pump that allows me to run my 55 Bel Air 235 in my truck, and did some work on that motor today. I cleaned up the 54 bellhousing some and then removed the one that was currently on the motor and got the back end cleaned up some. Next I'm going to be "mounting" the engine in the truck and drilling the front plate for the front mount, then bolting it in place and installing the water pump. Maybe sometime soon this thing will at least fire up and run in the engine bay.





That rear plug is good evidence the motor has been possibly freshened up at one point, which I suppose is a good sign considering how clean the motor is (aside from dirt being on it) and how easily it spins over.