'55Chevylover's 55stepside build up

['55Chevylover]

This is what the rear end looks like after the finished installation.

['55Chevylover]

Well, wouldn't you believe it, when I went back out the next day to admire my work, I noticed a puddle of oil under the right axle housing. After I checked it out, I noticed it had a very small hole and was leaking the gear oil out. I tried to weld it up but had no success. Oh well, I guess all that work was in vane. I will have to go another route. I found a 9" Ford rear end that came out of a '98 Ford Explorer that was the right width.

['55Chevylover]

So I loaded all that stuff up on a trailer and took it to a hot rod shop in Waxhaw to get the frame sand blasted and painted.

['55Chevylover]

I also had them build their version of the Mustang II front suspension. They aked me if I wanted a drop built into the axle and I told them to put a 3" drop and they asked me if I was sure, that they had done a '56 Chevy truck and the front bumper was just about touching the floor. The owner of that truck had them change it to a 2". I told them to just make it straight. They told me that would still give me some drop to the front end.

['55Chevylover]

This is what the frame looked like after sandblasting and painting. I wanted it powder coated and they told me that powder coating had to be put on bear metal and any rust pits would really show up bad. They suggested they prime, sand and then paint it. So that is what I had them do.

['55Chevylover]

This is what their version of the Mustang II suspension looks like finished. I had them build me one with power steering.

[poncho_villa]

Boy, are we ever glad you have a good camera and know how to use it. This build is sweet.

['55Chevylover]

In this photo you can see the axle installed on the frame. They also boxed in the part of the frame where the new motor mounts were welded on and the mounting bracket for the new dual master power brake assembly is going.

['55Chevylover]

This is the new 9" rear end. It also has the 4 link brackets welded on, sandblasted and painted. One also shows the new 3.90 positraction unit that will be used.

[hotrodrookie]

This is the making of a great build. I was wondering why you installed that 4 link when you mentioned you had a 9 inch. And how did you find a 9 inch in an 98 explorer?

Question: What are the sizes of your coilovers? Spring rate? And how far in from the inside of the framrail is the top shock mount in on that cross member?..
...I plan on building my own..

thanks

['55Chevylover]

This photo show the new dual power master cylinder installed on the frame.

['55Chevylover]

These two photos show the disc brake converson kit that I installed on the new rear end.

['55Chevylover]

While the frame was in the shop being painted, I found out that I could buy a crate motor cheaper than I could build the motor I had. So I got this from Doug Herbert. It is a 383 crate rated at 425 HP. It also has the March cerpentine system with A/C, Generator and Power Steering pump. The original carb setup came with a single 4 barrel but I bought the Edelbrock Endurashine dual quad set up and had them use it instead.

[nickp51chevy]

You have a crazy awesome build going on! Keep the pix comin'.

['55Chevylover]

I took the engine to the frame shop and had them put it all together. The engine and a 700R4 trans. Loaded it up and took it back home. It has a 2500 Stall converter from a Corvette. Trans is rebuilt and guaranteed for 3 years from the time I start driving it.

['55Chevylover]

Another engine shot and a pic of the frame.

[ya it is a classic]

wow this is looking very good!!! how did you sand the paint to bare metal? i use a 6in da air sander but i cant get into the cracks like you do. keep it up!!!
ps my bro in law is from charlotte nc. kewl

['55Chevylover]

Originally Posted by hotrodrookie

This is the making of a great build. I was wondering why you installed that 4 link when you mentioned you had a 9 inch. And how did you find a 9 inch in an 98 explorer?

Question: What are the sizes of your coilovers? Spring rate? And how far in from the inside of the framrail is the top shock mount in on that cross member?..
...I plan on building my own..

thanks

I am not sure what the spring rate is. I ordered this kit from Classic Industries and everything was there. I can take some measurements on the shock mounts and see if I can find the spring rates and coil size and add that to this thread.

['55Chevylover]

Originally Posted by ya it is a classic

wow this is looking very good!!! how did you sand the paint to bare metal? i use a 6in da air sander but i cant get into the cracks like you do. keep it up!!!
ps my bro in law is from charlotte nc. kewl

I used an aircraft stripper and then I used a 4" shaft mounted nylon 80 grit abrasive circular brush that I bought from Harbor Freight item #91371. Put it in my 3/8 drill and went crazy. Of course I used several to get the whole cab done. They also have a 120 grit wheel that I used after the 80 grit.

[JML55]

Who did you get the 4 link kit from? Can you post a closeup pic of how the panhard bar is attached? My kit uses a different style panhard bar but i like yours much better.

[ya it is a classic]

Originally Posted by '55Chevylover

I used an aircraft stripper and then I used a 4" shaft mounted nylon 80 grit abrasive circular brush that I bought from Harbor Freight item #91371. Put it in my 3/8 drill and went crazy. Of course I used several to get the whole cab done. They also have a 120 grit wheel that I used after the 80 grit.

hay thanks! also did you spray paint the primer on the cab. thats what i did on my 67 gmc its rustoleum sandable automobile primer. its really nice but i can take my finger nail and just barely scratch it and leave a mark. its nice and durable though

[av8tr33337]

Great build thread. I don't have the $ to do as nice a build, but I hope I can put the same touch on my metal work as you did. Can you elaborate on what you mean by aircraft sander??? I built Jets for Cessna here in Wichita and we used Dotco's with cut off wheels, sanding pads, and scotchbrite pads, quite a bit but not sure if thats what you mean.

[ya it is a classic]

Originally Posted by av8tr33337

Great build thread. I don't have the $ to do as nice a build, but I hope I can put the same touch on my metal work as you did. Can you elaborate on what you mean by aircraft sander??? I built Jets for Cessna here in Wichita and we used Dotco's with cut off wheels, sanding pads, and scotchbrite pads, quite a bit but not sure if thats what you mean.

its a aircraft STRIPPER not sander. i think its a liquid that like softens and eats away the paint. then you take a wire brush and pretty much wipe it away

['55Chevylover]

Originally Posted by ya it is a classic

wow this is looking very good!!! how did you sand the paint to bare metal? i use a 6in da air sander but i cant get into the cracks like you do. keep it up!!!
ps my bro in law is from charlotte nc. kewl

The frame was sandblasted. That is the only way to get into all the cracks and crevices. Any rust pits need to be filled and primed with filler primer and sanded down before painting.

['55Chevylover]

Originally Posted by ya it is a classic

its a aircraft STRIPPER not sander. i think its a liquid that like softens and eats away the paint. then you take a wire brush and pretty much wipe it away

That is correct. It is a stripper that I bought at Lowe's. It does exactly that, it softens the paint, actually bubbles it up and seperates it from the metal, and then you just scrape it off with a putty knife. Then I used the sanding wheels to bring it down to the bare metal.