And now for something completely different.....

[Flipper_1938]

Sounds pretty mean for a mail truck! [cl

I think I'd keep it off of Mullholland Drive. The handling looks kinda spooky.

 

[nos487]

You are not going to make any money delivering ice cream doing burnouts with gas prices the way they are. [cl

 

[falconvan]

Sounds pretty mean for a mail truck! [cl

I think I'd keep it off of Mullholland Drive. The handling looks kinda spooky.

You aint kidding on the handling; even with a good tight frontend and new shocks it doesnt handle very well. Straight axle with drum brakes, a high center of gravity, and the steering wheel on the wrong side; not exactly a slot car. I wouldnt want to run it down the track but it's pretty fun for an around town shop truck.

 

[jfg455]

Thats awesome! I dont think I would try a doughnut though, might flip it! [cl

 

[falconvan]

Yeah, look at the last part of the vid. I started to but i felt the back wheel coming off the ground. It probably would have ended up on it's side and that would have really sucked!

 

[bob w]

Besides having a look all its own, it sounds great.[cl

 

[falconvan]

Thanks, Bob! First car show this weekend! I still dont have a back door on it but it's going anyway.

 

[falconvan]

Back door is finished! I cleaned it up to go to a show tonight but gave up on finding baby moons that fit right. They're all too small except one set I found but they fall off. So I guess I'm just sticking with painted wheels and trimrings.

 

[bob w]

I'll bet you got a great reception at the show. Doubt I could tackle a job that big. Have you had it on the highway yet?

 

[falconvan]

I'll bet you got a great reception at the show. Doubt I could tackle a job that big. Have you had it on the highway yet?

It was cool to get as much attention as some of the really high dollar cars. Only one guy was negative about it; couldnt understand why I'd waste my time building something like that. But I dont regret it, it's totally different and was a lot of fun to put together. Yeah, it's screaming at 65 mph; could definately use an overdrive! But what the heck, it's still fun to tool around town in.

 

[falconvan]

I really hate to admit I'm wrong but after trying to sell the I-Scream for the past month or so I've got to admit it wasn't such a hot idea. It looked good, sounded good, but from a drivability standpoint it was pretty disappointing. The combination of the small drum brakes, RHD with a small steering wheel, too low geared, and being so short and tall all made for something that was amusing to putt around town as long as you didn't jump on it and downright terrible at highway speeds. The RHD is confusing enough without trying to keep it on the road with a small steering wheel. I'd do a cool burnout but i think trying to go fast would be a death sentence. Most people who looked at it really liked it until they tried to drive it; and i had to be honest with folks from out of town who wanted to know if it would drive back to their state if they bought it. I thought about upgrading the brakes and going with an overdrive but after a lot of thought I decided enough is enough. This thing was just not built to have a lot of power. I pulled the 455 and sold it and bought a good 292 straight six to go in it's place. I also pulled the little Grant steering wheel and put the original back after some cleanup. The manufacturer designed it with an inline so rather than trying to re engineer the whole vehicle I'm going back to what it was meant to be; just a cute little delivery truck.
Good lesson learned; just because you can, that doesn't mean you should. I sure wouldn't want to sell this to somebody and then find out they got killed driving it. I'll throw a couple more pics on when it's done.

 

[bob w]

You needed to dump it on a S-10 chassis. That's what everyone else does.

Sure is a cool looking rig though.

 

[Tim...Ok]

with a home made 4 link with completely whacked out geometry[P

 

[falconvan]

Not a bad idea but I'm just about at my max cash layout on this project; probably a little over if I have to be honest. My wife's been on me to get back on the 48 Plymouth I've been building for several years. She's right; it's time to close this one up and get back to it.

 

[jfg455]

or chop it 10" and lower it...............[S

 

[clamor]

or chop it 10" and lower it...............[S

Yeah...I was looking forward to seeing phase 2
[ddev

 

[Sam_Fear]

I don't know if you've spent much time in a delivery truck before, but they feel top heavy no matter what. I spent a few years in all sizes and they really aren't tipsy until you load 'em up, they just seem to be because your butt is higher than most car roofs - so when it sways you move a lot. Well, maybe if you try to drive 'em like a car with a big motor and a tiny wheel they might be kinda hard to control....

 

[falconvan]

Yeah, I had a GMC Valuvan stepvan and it drove like a big waterbed. I think this will be much better as a stocker. Here's the new mill, Looks fast, doesn't it? My special spray can rebuild!

 

[Sam_Fear]

That motor is gonna feel right at home in that truck.

 

[falconvan]

Yeah, I think so. I bolted the trans on it and set it in there last night. Everything clears, just need to fab up some motor mounts and move the trans crossmember forward about 6". Should be a no-brainer.