RRTer advice seriously needed

[jaybee]

The best advice I ever received on RRT came in response to probably my first post, from Skip.  The question was "how do I get into this hot rod thing?"  The advice was to buy a slightly rough but serviceable A, part out the running gear to collectors for almost what the car cost, box the frame, fill it with an SBC, 8" Maverick rear, dropped front axle, and drive it all Summer.  Work on it all the next Winter.  Drive it the next Summer.  Repeat, repeat, repeat until I'm happy.

Like most REALLY good advice I didn't take it.  I HAVE realized, however, that in order to get my car on the road I need to get my car on the road.  I love my job, love my industry, but trucking has already been in recession for 2 years and clearly it isn't going to turn around right away.  Time and money will continue to be at a premium and I need to plan for that.  Therefore my plan is to follow Skip's template to the best of my ability, getting the car on the road ASAP and upgrading over time.

What's the best way for me to proceed then, keeping in mind both that I want my car driveable in the least possible time and of course want to minimize the rework that will be inevitable?  What do I need to have functioning at minimum to be legal, safe, and driveable?  FYI in Iowa we don't have emissions checks or annual vehicle inspections and I'm a little unclear as to equipment requirements.  Anyone with advice on how to proceed please answer.  Anything other than "sell it for scrap and start over" is welcome.

For reference my starting point is a 1957 Chevy 150 Handyman wagon in rough shape.  Cargo floor is good, passenger compartment floor not.  Body is not good but door and tailgate openings are square.  Very little except a body shell, doors, and tailgate.  No interior or trim, needs some glass.  Chassis is original one piece, needs full refurbishment.  No engine, trans, or front sheetmetal.

The goal is a Pro-Touring styled ride with wide tires at both ends with minimal stagger and nods to the past of these wagons as Junior Stockers.
-Front dropped 2" through cut coils, poly bushings, disk brakes.
-Explorer rear to get a sturdy unit with disk brakes.  Parts for the original are getting very expensive and you still have small, drum brakes that don't self-adjust.  Three inch drop springs with a modified second leaf similar to the Mopar Super Stock springs.  It worked for the Trans Am Camaros of Gulstrand and Penske, it'll work for me.
-Late, 5.3L GM Gen III/IV V8.  They're cheap and plentiful in the boneyards and are an easy way to get 300+ hp with parts available at every GM dealer or NAPA store.  Yeah, I'll have to deal with the electronics.
-Manual overdrive trans.

So I'm asking, what do I have to do to get on the road quick and dirty, what parts of the plan should I put off or change entirely, advice on what to do now vs later, any and all comments welcome.

[oiler]

This is what I would do in no particular order

Move to Cold Lake Alberta ,every oil company within 100 miles is looking for truck drivers
You can name your price and drive 30 days a month if you want to.
I'd drop the 5.3 idea and go with a 350/305 and 700 trans combo.
The money you save I'd use on some better wheels/tires and brake upgrades
Do the body as you have time and money I'd rather see a driver that's rough with a good powertrain than vice versa
Set your priorities llife is more than important than cars
Pics would help
Jeff

[reborn55]

Keep the stock rearend(depending on ratio) and install 65 or so full size Chevy self adjusters.  Fabricate your own sheetmetal.  Cargo rear floor being good is a big plus.  use a good crate motor--trans optional--and enjoy

[phat46]

I'd do the bodywork first, finished to the point where it was good to primer. I find if I get to the driver stage and it still needs bodywork the bodywork will never get done...too much fun driving! Besides, by that time you will have changed your mind on the drivetrain anyway!!!

[GPster]

I took my boots off after being at the junkyard so I'm safe to put my foot in my mouth. I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to think about sub-framing the chassis front. Wide tires and lowering are a long way from what the stock suspension was designed to work with. The front of any   tri-5 might get into some strange clearances and as a driver it would handle better if it was built low rather than made lower. Disc brakes and power steering are something that can be done with that early stuff but a later chassis was designed to use the wheels at a height you might want. Getting the steering box out front  might make it easier to get exhaust out from under a lowered frame. Remember to build a transmission crossmember and at the rear by changing spring mounts side-to-side would get the springs inside the frame rails and not "Pro Street" the frame, just give you room for wider tires. With the top weight of a wagon and the weight towards the rear maybe you'd be ahead to let someone like Posie's engineer some rear springs for you at the height you want. With leaf springs in the rear the rear ends could be changed on a whim. If you used a GM metric front frame clip there would be any number of changes that could be made to brake size, steering ratio and sway bar size by bolting on the upgrades. With a transmission crossmember and side mounts for the engine you could be re-powered every weekend. I think I'd do the chassis then the floor then you could change your mind if you wanted to drive or change it frequently. That body style alone will catch eyes no matter what it looks like and there are a lot of people that would find something wrong with it no matter what. Enjoy it but don't set your desire so high that you can't enjoy it while you're getting there GPster

[enjenjo]

Well, the thing to remember, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Do what is needed to get it on the road, then use off season downtime to fix the other stuff a bit at a time. A project like this can be overwhelming if you step back and look at the whole thing, so just concentrate on one thing at a time. Pretty soon it will start coming together.

[BFS57]

Hello;
What works for me, is I sit down and seriously look at what needs to be done. Then I put those activities on a list of stuff to do. Next, I evaluate what really needs to be done first, second, and so on. Then I assign numbers in order of things to get done to the to do list I made first. When I am finished with one thing, I cross it off and go to the next, and so on.
You will be quite amazed at how much things you can get done in order of first to last and cost wise, and don't forget to ad more to the list as you go along! It will never END!

Bruce

[jaybee]

As far as I can tell I need to start with;
-tread on the tires
-brakes, service and parking
-windshield
-wipers
-brake lights
-turn signals
-head lights
-mufflers
-horn
-unsure of cut off on seat belts, but I don't drive without them.

Here in Iowa we have no inspections, either annual or at title transfer, and equipment violations are a matter of fix it tickets limited to the few critical systems plus oddballs like excessive window tint.  Hmm, this could work.

[enjenjo]

well, I would start with the brakes. You can rebuild the stock brakes pretty cheaply, and convert to a dual master cylinder with little trouble. This will get you on the road, and you can convert to discs later.