1936 chevy low cab build 1.5T

jfg455 said:

It is probably a 2.5" diameter or so. It looks a lot like a front gas shock for like a C10 pick up if that makes sense. I will measure it and send you a pic tomorrow.

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Gas shock size is about right.. I took a look at a jeep one this weekend.. they are just under 2" in diameter.. pretty big, but Im not so sure I need a bigger damper anymore...

I redid the kingpin on the passenger side, and really I dont think the bushings were out of spec, when I reassembled it the first time it felt the same. What changed was when I decided to see if I could get some shims in the assembly and that made a world of difference. The front is very solid, I dont think there is any play now.

Took it out for a ride.. cruised at 55 for a good 20 min.. decicded to push it.. over 60.. thats when I got front end shenengins again... But now I think it is definitely wheel related. So next step is to get them balanced and if I have to see if I can find a place that does the tire shaving..

Ill get it eventually... little by little checking off the list of possibilities.. Still had fun cruising around.. My fiancee was with me this time.. thankfully she wasnt freaked out by the shimmy situation..

Does anyone have any experience with those balancing beads? I think I will go traditional balancing first.. but just wondering..

Corpo, I had a similar problem when I put the 31 on the road. The dampner didn't do anything. I had new kingpins and everything else up front related to steering and suspension. I jacked the front of the truck up and made a temporary truing stand by just clamping a piece of steel where one end was fairly close to the side of a tire. Gave it a spin and found that I had a slightly bent rim. When a took the truing piece down, I noticed it probably wasn't needed. You could line your eyesight up with the tread on the front tires and definately see the problem.

Smallfoot- I built the front rims so I know they aren't perfect but hoping I can make them work otherwise... Well I don't know. I can't recall what the runout was but it wasn't bad... At the time I spoke to someone who built dirt track tires and he said I was well within a reasonable spec to run them without problems.. I'm thinking it was around a 1/16th

Dad took them to the tire shop today... They were able to get them to balance. Unfortunately one needed a pretty sizeable weight on the outside... But at this point if it fixes my problem... I'll be happy

Here's the big weight on the outside... We will have to paint the weights to make them blend a bit...



Won't be able to find out if this fixes my problem till this weekend...fingers crossed

I bet the balancing fixes it, but if it doesn't, changing the toe might (I forgot if you already did that). Most vehicles get set up at toe in, but sometimes going toe out 1/8" will stabilize it.

I remember being impressed with the set-up you had for building the wheels. It was probably better than most shops and certainly was better than the '50's hot rodders who reversed their own wheels.

Thanks DJ,

I am currently set to 1/8 toe in.. which is what the original truck would have called for.. not that anything has changed when compared to the original.. lol

I have high hopes (and some confidence) that this fixes the issues with the front end. (fingers crossed)

All right.. more updates on the same issue.. Im sure you guys are tired of it... probably not as tired of it as I am...

balancing helped.. maybe? [S

I have determined my issue is not speed related, road condition related. I had the truck up to 65 several times.. then a few min later coming off a bridge at probably 35-40 MPH.. got the wobble.. but im thinking its not so much of a wobble as a bounce... turned around went back. Flipped the tires from one side to the other just to verify. Went back over the same bridge and it happened again... So I am now thinking that I am not controlling the front end enough. So stiffer shocks may be the next step..

Digging way back in the archives... I bought these shocks for the front end exactly 5 years ago today.. weird and man I am slow.. anyway...

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Carre...Comp-2-Reb-2,32218.html?OriginalQuery=2553372

which are 2 in compression and 2 in rebound .. Im assuming a higher number means a greater force??? I need them to be the similar heim/bearing end style... not seeing a good option here yet...


Its a bit of a bummer.. but we will get it figured out eventually. Dad seems a little discouraged but I told him, of all the crazy mods we did, everything is working... were really close and ended up with a problem lots of builder have experienced

Tell Dad to keep the faith, you will fix it and when you do you will have a very cool rod to drive anywhere you want.

You've got a lot of unsprung weight withe those tires and wheels. You're probably right that a #2 calibration shock is too light.

Thanks guys.... I honestly couldn't tell you how I based my original decision and ended up with these shocks... I think it was based mainly on the travel requirements ...

Installed some new 6/6 shocks today.... Man what a world of difference... Rides so much better and no front end bounce... Cruised for a while no suspension issues... Got me thinking new shocks for the rear and maybe she will drive like a new caddy...

New problem... Turn signals decided they don't want to work right now [S

Not sure what the problem is, break lights still work... I thought the fuse was going to be blown... Nope...

I haven't put much thought into what the problem might be.. Open to suggestions though

CORPO said:

Installed some new 6/6 shocks today.... Man what a world of difference... Rides so much better and no front end bounce... Cruised for a while no suspension issues... Got me thinking new shocks for the rear and maybe she will drive like a new caddy...

New problem... Turn signals decided they don't want to work right now [S

Not sure what the problem is, break lights still work... I thought the fuse was going to be blown... Nope...

I haven't put much thought into what the problem might be.. Open to suggestions though

Click to expand...

It's awesome when something you change actually makes an improvement, isn't it?

Turn signals - dead flasher would be my first guess. Bad switch would be the second.

DJ3100 said:

It's awesome when something you change actually makes an improvement, isn't it?

Turn signals - dead flasher would be my first guess. Bad switch would be the second.

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Im thinking flasher.. I checked all the harness connections... all look good, and the brake lights are still working and those go through the switch.. is there a way to test a flasher???

as mentioned above brake lights still work.. so..

action shots! My mom took them, they didnt know we were going to show up in the truck.. I keep telling her to hold her phone the other way but.. thats ok..









Theres a few short videos.. maybe Ill post them up.. it was a beautiful day for a cruise.. The new shocks have her driving so much better!

Thanks guys

Good to see ya out having fun with it. Turn signals are a pain sometimes. If you have brake lights and yours is set up for turn signals and brake lights on the same filament, that proves the wire circuit good. The flasher will over ride the brake light and still make it flash if the flasher is good. With the wire part of the circuit good, it could only be the flasher or a bad switch.

There is a reason I wire my turn signals as a separate circuit .......easy to trouble shoot.

New flashers fixed the problem... a nice simple fix..

Started working on my "trunk" for the truck... I really need some space to store some tools and what not... been driving around with tools wedged between the seats...

The trunk has turned out to be way more a labor intensive project.. but thats how I generally seem to operate. I got a big steel box of CL, what a mess that has been.. I should have walked away....when I showed up to pick it up.. (I had been told was between 30-50 pounds) it was probably closer to 150-200 pounds as the bottom of the box was 3" of concrete, a detail left off the listing. When I showed that I wasn't so sure I wanted it, the little old lady seemed upset that it would still be in her way. So I borrowed a hammer and broke out the concrete so I could lift it.

The box length was dead on.. but was too tall and too wide... So thus far it has been shortened and sectioned. Then I decided it was still way to heavy, so now the large paneled front and back has been cut out leaving a 1" steel frame around to which we have attached aluminum sides...

Then the hinges.. cool looking ones sourced off ebay.. but they were so sloppy, I had to drill and sleeve the pivot areas... plus some additional mods...

would have been easier to start from scratch... Oh well... using old materials is what makes it cool.. (i think)

Also need to make some cup holders... how can i make that overly complicated...Im sure i will find a way!

Whatever...we just need pix [cl and yep, don't want to start using new stuff now

Your truck looks awful good on the street.

wow an update...

Heres a screen grab from ebay where I got the hinges from, cause I dont have a before shot...

As mentioned in a previous post.. they have been drilled and sleeved in the pivot areas in order to make them less sloppy... who would have guessed hinges this old would be sloppy? Honestly, doesnt look like they were ever installed. there was still casting slag over 1 of the mounting holes... The strap portion appears to be hand forged, they are quite a bit different..


So cut and actually lengthened the strap section, dad got his creative on and beat on the new steel to age it also added in the 90 degree section.. you can see the pivot area here.. (ignore the pivot pin not being all the way in) Im super pleased by the fit of the trunks lid to the frame rails...



Here is the overall look. I didn't grab a shot with it open, but to add to the difficulty, the round 3" frame cross member runs through the box, between the lid and the body of the box...



Thanks guys

Well i got around to finishing the box, installed a key lock in the center.... the latch hooks to the cross member tube that runs through the box. You can see the side panels were cut from a large sign..

(im not sure why this is coming up rotated... doesnt show that way in my photobucket)



Well i guess its not finished, its still just raw steel, we also built a box for carrying tools







Me and the misses went for a nice cruise before we headed back into the city... most likely this was the last time she will be on the road this year...

This project starts this weekend... built in 1898..


Thanks guys

Look at that freekin' house! Okay....i'm staaartin' to feel pangs of jealousy now.
Awesome work on the trunk of course. Thanks for posting Cpo.