What is it ???

2001 Chevy Silverado 1500 Extended Cab, 4x4, 4.8L V-8, 60LE Transmission (OD, same as 700R4 but computer controlled.)

1953 Ford F-250: In process
Beautiful Cab which is remaining entirely stock, is painted metallic blue with silver flames. Grille is painted Silver. Bumpers are painted black. Frame is cleaned and coated black. To come are: Chevy 350 with fuel injection from 88 Camaro, Headers, Camel Hump heads (angle plugs) with 10:1 CR, Camshaft advanced 4 degrees for our 6200 ft altitude, bored 020 over with JE forged pistons, shot peened rods 5.7", balanced forged steel crank. 700R4 Tranny with 653 Transfer Case (left side) with manual lever, 77 Ford Dana 44 front axle (Hi Pinion) with 3/4 Ton front hubs with disk brakes, 8 lug wheel hubs, Power cross steering, frame boxed in front, cross steering box mounts in front of axle on frame, drag link goes to right side spindle, so no possible bump steer. Using a tilt GM column with directional signals, steering lock, and u-joint output to PS box. Using original 53 gauges (all four) run at 6V with electronic regulator I built myself. My heater is already 12V as it is from a '56, and I converted the wipers to 12V with a '56 motor and a little pin switching on the output arm of the motor.
Truck will have a 9' flatbed from a late truck, I have it already. It has diamond plate cab protector, wood slats, built in tail lights and class 3 trailer hitch, and rear bumper. Since the cab is so small, there will be a large tool box mounted at the front of the flatbed, offset to the driver's side so the full 9' is available for pipe or wood loads. Other toolboxes are to be mounted in front of the rear wheels under the flatbed, a full 9' long. No stakes. Rear axle is stock Dana 60 with a 4.88 gear, and am changing the front to a 4.11, and will be changing the rear to a 4.11. Will run 16" radials, 265R16 on 7 or 8" wheels. AC will be Mark IV add on style under the dash with an offset for the cowl vent handle toward the driver 6" and the AC offset to clear the vent handle. It comes out almost centered. This way my stock wipers and glove box stay intact.

Third truck is an 86 S10 Blazer 4 x 4 which we use for our dirt road activities when we are exploring. It gets 26 MPG on the road with its V6 motor. The big Silverado gets 20MPG on the road.

There are two cars:
A 2001 Pontiac GrandAM which has been absolutely wonderful and gets 28MPG (4 cylinder)

My ProCruise Style 80 Olds Cutlass 2 door which is a G-Body. It has been fitted with a Buick Style 8.5" rear end with a 4.11 Posi and aftermarket 4 link bars. The Buick/Pontiac/Olds rears that were 10bolt 8.5" use retainers on the wheel bearings, not c-clips. The front has a larger sway bar and new a-arm bushings. Coils are from Global West and are progressively wound. Rear Coils also. Exhaust system has Headman Headers, 2 1/2" pipes, two glass packs and exhausts under the rear bumper. No catalytic converter. Transmission is a beefed 2004R (Overdrive). Car not quite finished, is about a month away.

I am using GM engines in my projects other than Ford Flatheads for cost reasons. None of the OHV Ford engines are IMHO suitable for a Ford Truck of the F1 to F100s to 1970 due to their weight, other than a Windsor 289, 302 or 351. However a Ford costs 2500 to build and a 350 Chevy only 1200. The automatic ODs that GM makes are far superior to Ford's AOD. For Trucks we are talking the 700R4 which was continually improved by GM until it was very strong. The later ones last forever. GM in 1987 went to IFS and the transfer cases after that time went to the left side the same as Ford. This makes the Ford cross steering Front ends used from 76-80 perfect for our old trucks. Most are Hi-Pinion designs which keep the driveshaft very level and if one wants to lift the truck, it is ideal.

Regards,

Alan

I currently have 3 trucks.

My trailer puller is a stock 1999 F250 Super Duty, 70,000 miles on it's V10 4x4 ext cab.

The current project is a 1957 Ford short bed, big window custom cab. So far it has received a 289/C4 swap, aluminum radiator, 1 wire alternator, Mustang II IFS, Big disc brakes on the front, Flaming River tilt steering, Lokar shifter, a 1970 Mustang gas tank under the box, removed every other leaf from the rear springs, converted the rear to 4.5" bolt pattern and put a new set of American Racing torque thrust wheels on it. Working on the body now. All new cab corners, steps, risers, rockers, some floor repairs and cab mounts within the last couple weeks. Everything on tihs truck has been done by me in my garage except bore the block, grind the valves and rebuild the C4. I like to do about everything. Check out my galleries on Ford Truck Enthuiast web site. Next step is rewiring and more body work.

http://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gallery/displaygallery.php?userid=402689

I also have a 1961 Ford Unibody short bed standard cab. So far it's been hauled home and had the tires and wheels updated. It's slated for a 292/3 speed, freshen the beam axle, disc brake the front and drum the rear and drive the crap out of it. It's in limbo until the '57 is further along. I am working on rebuilding the 292 right now and just picked up a '57 style 4 bbl intake for it (Holley pattern). Pics of it on Ford Truck Enthuiast, too.

So you don't think I'm just about trucks.....
I also have a 1961 Ford Falcon with a full tube frame, 460/c6, M/T 31x16.5x15 tires on Centerlines with a ladder bar/coilover rear and MII based front suspension of my design. It's basically a roller that is waiting for me to put the cage in it.

Also race dirt modifieds. Have a DirtWorks DW9 and an Impressive. One is 351W based and the other will have our Yates headed/Roush short block in it next time out. 364" with 735 HP, should be fun.

Like the site, hope to be able to learn and to help if I can.

Thanks,
SPark