Sheneeda 56 f100 build thread

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patina

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Messages
476
Location
Newfoundland
Sheneeda becuase she-need-a that and she-need-a this. Another project that i have been working on for while.

Started out with this complete rust free 48 frame and a good 56 body.
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the only major difference between the 56 frame and 48 frame is the front rails are pinched and all the mounts are different
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so i fixed that....
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considering that these trucks had manuel steering and manuel drum brakes i wanted to update it a little bit so in went a camaro clip. After some carefull measuring and lots of help and adviced i had it completly welded in.
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so i put some brand new springs in the back with the main leaf reversed so it would sit a little bit lower in the back
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So i bolted the cab up to the rear cab mounts and temperorly mounted the fenders just to see where the wheels will sit in the wheel well. I have to move the cab forward about a inch witch is no big deal. because i still have to fab up front cab mounts any way but here is how it sits know.
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I love these trucks, sounds like you've got a good plan for it.


Haha i think i do... 350/700r something clean and simple to cruze to car shows and a road trip. I want something comfortable for me or my old man to drive. I have my 31 model a rat thats probly gona be load and vibrate and not be fun to drive long periods of time but it will look cool hahaha.

So I found two of these in the woods. One had front bumper
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So I chopped the front off one of the 56 chassi's this will work for bumper brackets and mock up. Brand new chrome bumper will have to be order in the spring
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I had to move the cab ahead 1 inch so the front wheel would be centered in the wheel well. No problem rear cab mounts bolt on and the fronts I removed when I added the car clip. Not as easy as I Thought ... Found a stress crack no big deal drill the ends out so it dont spread , v it out and weld it up.... More work
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I forgot to take pictures of the rest of the work, once I had that done I drilled new holes for the rear cab mounts. Perfect now on to the front cab mounts. I found three cab mounts on the the trucks in the woods. Only one was useable and one was shot and the other was repairable.
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The next step is to get the engine and trans all into its new home and find a steering column out of a 70's van for its narrow size and being able to bolt up to a gm style rag joint and hook up to the camaro steering box and shaft.
 
Over the holidays i spent some time getting a sbc and 700r mocked up and all fitted. i moved the engine ahead so i wouldn't have to cut the fire wall and floor. I am 6.2 so every bit counts. I also decided that i wont be leaving the gas tank behind the seat although i do love the filler neck on the side of the cab.
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So i had to fab up some new mounts and make a cross member for the transmission.
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191/crazy_newf_2007/56%20f100/2233BB72-BEF4-4157-8867-068ACC00AAE0-101-000000033ACE37EE.jpg
I also hate taking the old mounts off the subframe... i dont know why gm used nut and bolts when there just about impossible to get at with out taking out the lower control arm. So i welded nuts on the inside of the new mounts. And for the crossmember i just used some tubing and sleeved it for the bolts.
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and looks like i i wont be running the ram horns i hoped to use. I guess i will just have to find some manifolds that dump at the rear.
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I couldn't find a steering column out of a van like i wanted but i did find one out of a boom truck. The column was smooth with no key hole and only indicators on it. And as a bonus it had a nice 3 spoke wheel on that looks very close to the 56 wheel. The only problem with using the column from this truck i have to shorten it, but it does use the same style rag joint that gm used in just about everything else. Heres the truck i got the column from. I forgot to take a picture of the wheel and column, when i go back tonight or tommrow i will get a picture
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Here is the column and steering wheel i got out of the old boom truck.
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The column is a bit on the long side but i can shorten after. The first step was to figure out where i wanted to sit in the truck and postion the wheel. So i cut a section of the dash and fire wall that i will replace after. Better then cutting a bunch of holes trying to line it up with the steering box.
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once i had the wheel where it was in a comfortable postion it was time to shorten the rest of the column and adapt it to the camaro steering box. After dissembling the column i started cutting .... no going back know.
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I had to take a section from the middle to get it to the lenght i need. I tack welded some angle iron on to it to keep it straight while i welded it.
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Here is the stock shaft compared to the new column. Next to cut that down as well.
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The bottom bearing was bad in the column so tommrow i will have to get a new one before i put it together and fab up some mounts for under the dash.
 

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