49 chevy 5 window, resto mod - on air w/patina

[49-5window]

Hi folks,

I am new to the American iron scene, but not new to building cars. I wanted one of these AD trucks for a while and had recently finished building a VW bus and was looking for another project.



I decide to create this thread to post progress and ask questions about things that are new to me. Thanks in advance.

After finding a REALLY clean and dry truck from North Dakota in Nov of 2019, i went and looked at it in person and bought it.

As i bought it (Nov 2019):


Delivered:


The (1957 Canadian Pontiac 261 with 848 high comp head):


1974 Nova 10 bolt 8.5" rear end (3.08 for cruising):


started to take it apart:


Pulled the body off:


bought a Turbo 350 (TH350) Auto Trans,
ordered the langdon trans adapter kit (Great kit! Bought the starter locally because of international shipping costs and those starters are dirt cheap),
installed a Mustang II IFS and brake upgrade. it was a generic kit and was pretty tricky to install (get the geometry correct)



installed a Mustang2 IFS and rust paint-matched it, also fabbing up engine mounts for the inline 6:



trimming the inner fenders to clear the IFS and engine mount supports





installed dual 8" MC and smaller trans cooler (i live in Canada):