[trbomax]

I would really like to have it running by summer,but that wont happen. The frame clip,motor and front suspension change,electrical upgrades and partial refinishing will take me longer than that. I just dont get as much done in a day as I used to!All the work around the compound eats a lot of time up too.

[ghost28]

That car is so nice.

[trbomax]

That car is so nice.

  Thank you,but ITS NOT TRADITIONAL<ITS PLASTIC!!

[TFoch]

That car is so nice.

  Thank you,but ITS NOT TRADITIONAL<ITS PLASTIC!!

Still cool in my eyes!

[chopper526]

That car is so nice.

  Thank you,but ITS NOT TRADITIONAL<ITS PLASTIC!!

I like plastic.... and it's yours!!

[trbomax]

  I still havent done any real work on the car yet but I am figureing things out and getting more direction.Of course the independent front will go, along with the front 1/3 of the frame I built for it in '62. The front clip will be from the '56 1/2 ton frame that I bought from arizona. This frame and front suspension is sooo nice,no surface rust and all original paint,unbelieveable.
  I wanted the front to have the same 5 x 4.75 wheels as the rear so My plan was to switch out the hubs/drums with 54 pass car units. Its only a 2400 # car so I didnt really see a need for discs. After priceing out the 54 hubs/drums/shoes/hardware/hoses/wheel cylinders and such,I found I was spending a lot more $ than I had planned. I started looking and found a disc brake/5x4.75 conversion for my 56 axle for $369 from performanceonline.com. This was about the same as I would spend for drums,so it was a no brainer. I called them today and was offered free shipping (from CA) that was worth $70,so there was no reason to wait untill spring(when I figured I'd need it) and I ordered it up along with braided ss lines and proportioning valves. So my pile of left over scrap will get bigger!
  I had steel slot full chrome Astro wheels on it in '61. They are still on it now but are very rusty just like all the other chrome on the chassis.Ive thought about why this happened because it was pristine when I put it in storeage and the only thing I can come up with is that the floor in my pole barn does not have a vapor barrier under it and I poured it over what was the septic drainfield (at the time) for the old house that was there. We were putting in sanitary sewers anyway and dozed the old house to build a new one. So maybe the funky moisture comming up thru the concrete did it,I dont really know.Anyway,I briefly fantisized about getting them rechromed,mostly just to preserve as many original parts as I could,but then I didnt want 6 bolt front wheels and 5 bolt wheels anymore,so I started looking for some nos astros or even decent used ones to go with the rears so I would have a full set alike. This went nowhere and I couldnt get anyone to consider rechromeing them anyway. Then I found a guy on the HAMB who is makeing these wheels again.Apparently he has the dies and builds them to order in regard to both width and backset. The pics are absoultly beautiful and the price is reasonable at $265 ea.,so as soon as I get my disk brake parts and can figure what backset I need I'll get those comming.
  So my parts pile is going to get bigger as is the scrap pile!I'll post up more on this thread as progress dictates it,maybe some pics of the disc brake setup when it gets here!

[munch]

That car is going to be awesome Trbomax...

[trbomax]

The disc brake /hub conversion came today.All of the parts are/were sealed in plastic bags and boxed.It all looks like good quality,but you can only tell just so much visually.One thing that was discerning to me is that there is no COO stamp on any of it. I'm stillbehind on my maintanence chores and haveing to push snow all day sunday and again today isnt helping.The way the weather is going I'll be plowing for the next 2 - 3 days. I'm going to dig the front axle out of the snow and bring it in to mock up the brakes and hubs. I need to do this so that I can provide John Phillips with the backset numbers for the front wheels.The 56 axle is about an inch widerat the kingpins than the independent thats in there now. I dont want the front end any wider than it has to be,so I will use a custom backset dim to help narrow it down.

[trbomax]

The axle is in and I will make a stand of sorts for it and fit up the disc brake parts this w/e.

[themoose]

turbomax

Those parts look to be of pretty high quality but as you said time will tell. Not too many part are still made in this country and these days there's no guarantee that the ones that are still made here are of the best quality either.