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johns bucket list

yes I have confirmation spoke with the gentleman I bought car from and he clearly remembers going up to Van Nays to buy the body in 1963 so it is a Cal Automotive 1963 body
john
 
Man, this is a way cool build!! I met a guy at the Lafayette Indiana "Hot Summer Nights" car show this past weekend who had a similar "barn find" car. There was a cool puddle of oil sitting beneath the engine and he told me that when he bought the car he learned it was originally built in the sixties. The 283 was original but had no carb, so he vacuumed out the mouse nests from the intake, put a carb on, changed the oil and it fired right up...After a few safety upgrades he's been driving the car three to four summer nights a week. What an awesome story...I'll definitely keep watch for future updates on your build.
 
Thank you for the kind words I dont have much of an update just yet I'm waiting for the motor to mount the tranny and steering an brakes, I did order the rear tires yesterday 31/12.50/15 .hoosiers
john
 
I do have a bit of an issue .
I need advise on weather I should have the 55 rear end rebuilt at about $200-$300 ish or find a s10 rear from a bone yard and stick that in.
the 55 needs both axle bearings and a rebuilt kit plus maybe drums
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK
john
 
Those axle bearings are a BEAR to replace! And expensive too. I just did them on my '55 and I won't do that again, lol. I would buy new axles with bearings installed already. The '56 bearings are a retro replacement as they are sealed and don't use the rear end grease to lubricate. It may be a little wide for a bucket too. The S-10 axle is common for buckets because they are the perfect width and the parts are readily available. That's what I'm using.

Cool build BTW. Great find!!
 
I'm with Bob I think the S10 rear is the way to go as well. The S10 truck rear is 54 inches wide and parts are cheap I got mine out of a 2003 with very low miles for $150. RPM makes all the brackets you will need for the S10 diameter tube which most are 2 5/8" I believe. You can also get disc brake upgrade for it for less than $300 and give you 4 wheel disc brakes.
 
Where do you get the disc brake upgrade.
 
Many of the newer S-10's had rear disc brakes. Do some looking at the local pic a part. Also, the S-10 Blazers had the same rear end but approx 4-5" wider so if you need a bit more width than 54.5", this is a rear to get. Make sure to get one with the gear ratio you are looking for. I like the 3.42 and the 3.73.

See the info in this post: https://tbucketeers.com/threads/what-year-s-10-rear-end-is-best-to-use.15805/#post-170685

look at my post #4 for info as well as a post #11 with a photo of the RPO tag in the glove box.
 
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I need the narrow width of the pickup but would like the disc brake. I need every thing brake wise any how so I could just as easily buy new disc parts. Probably just as cheap.Will this interchange parts easily
 
Many of the newer S-10's had rear disc brakes. Do some looking at the local pic a part. Also, the S-10 Blazers had the same rear end but approx 4-5" wider so if you need a bit more width than 54.5", this is a rear to get. Make sure to get one with the gear ratio you are looking for. I like the 3.42 and the 3.73.

See the info in this post: https://tbucketeers.com/threads/what-year-s-10-rear-end-is-best-to-use.15805/#post-170685

look at my post #4 for info as well as a post #11 with a photo of the RPO tag in the glove box.

Any S 10 with 4WD is wider than a 2WD whether they are pickups or Blazers.

Jim
 
Hi guys started working on bucket again and think I have an issue with the brakes what say you and any ideas on how to fix it, the caliper bracket seems to low to me shouldnt be up around the 1 oclock position? the hose banjo will hit the axle and what will i do for steering arms, think i may have gotton wrong style brakes?


heres the gas tank freebie i just had to shorten it a tad

I also got my rear tires in 31/12.50/15

and as a roller

 
thanks guys I wonder if the spindles are upside down due to the bracket only fits one way I would have grind the boss of the king pin a bit for the bracket to fit Ill see what happends if I swap spindles around Bob ill look at your build to see if i can notice your spindles
john
 
Bob on your build the second page picture with the jack under your front axle notice how the upper king pin boss has more meat around it than the lower boss. iI think I need the caliper bracket like you have not the one that I have ?
 
Bob on your build the second page picture with the jack under your front axle notice how the upper king pin boss has more meat around it than the lower boss. iI think I need the caliper bracket like you have not the one that I have ?
Hmmm, it looked from here like you could flip the bracket, but I guess not. I'm not familiar with those brackets...maybe they're designed to mount like that? Are those Ford spindles you have?
 
See if the bracket will rotate one set of holes counter clockwise. That notch in the bracket looks like it will clear the kingpin boss.
 

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