1954 Chevy 3100 Pickup LSX swap

[Cutlass400hp1986]

I'da put the vintage air in the Oldsmobile box, but that's me, I guess.

It’s not even close to the right dimensions at all. Wouldn’t work

 

[Cutlass400hp1986]

Wow!! Thanks for sharing the pictorial of your incredible progress. Nice truck...and cool score.
'54 is a cool and unique year.

Thank you very much and your very welcome!!

 

[fleming442]

It’s not even close to the right dimensions at all. Wouldn’t work

Well, certainly not with that attitude!

 

[pagrunt]

It’s not even close to the right dimensions at all. Wouldn’t work

This will make it fit anything.

 

[Cutlass400hp1986]

A fire wrench fixes everything!

 

[crucial118]

Beautiful truck and nice work. I see you bought it in Md. Where do you live?

 

[Cutlass400hp1986]

Beautiful truck and nice work. I see you bought it in Md. Where do you live?

Thank you! I live in Oaks, Pennsylvania

 

[ssn696]

Nice! What plans do you have for yours? Original or modified? I wanted one car that I didn’t obsess over the paint or have a heart attack when I get a chip or a ding in, os I built this truck. This is built to be driven. It’s nice to not have to check the radar on my phone before I take it out worried about getting it wet in the rain. I love this thing and it’s crazy the amount of attention it gets, even People who don’t even care about cars are all over it. It’s definitely a great truck and it rides like a brand new truck and handles and stops like a go cart. So fun to drive and even at 90mph it’s so smooth on the highway. It’s for sure a keeper

I appreciate your efforts documenting your hard work. For me, paint and body work is the hard part. I am in awe at the skills and more the perseverance of Forum members like Rcktpwrd and others who strive and achieve perfection. I aspire to perfection, but like you, I would spend the time being neurotic about driving the finished product out into a hostile world full of car door edges and runaway shopping carts. My old daily driver in the 1990s was a 1983 wagon that had an Earl Sheib $99 paint job used to cover up a multitude of New England environments. I rarely washed the thing and ultimately gave it up to rust. I have been cultivating my welding skills, but I still make 'booger' welds that require a lot of grinding. I could probably pull off a restoration like you have shown in this thread.
That said, the old timers I managed to collect are investments for the future. I don't have time right now to do much with them, but I have collected a fair number of stock replacement bits, including a complete running GMC 270 and a pair of Chevy 261s that can be cobbled together into a running engine. I hope to do some minor upgrades to the motors - I boxed up a pair of 4.3 TBI setups with harnesses and ECUs to see if I can make them work with these Stovebolt sixes. I have collected a pair of WC F-body T-5 transmissions to replace the granny low boxes. I found a 1972 4:10 pumpkin for the one-ton panel truck's Eaton HO72, and a 58 GMC HO52 yoke-type axle to to replace the closed drivelines in both trucks. I would like to keep the solid front axles in both trucks, with upgrades to disc brakes, but I kept an entire 80s 2WD front suspension in a big crate if I decide to go that way. Just need to narrow the crossmember and tie rod an inch to fit the AD chassis. I just hope the aftermarket is still there when I am ready to buy stock bits such as door handles and cab trim again.

 

[Cutlass400hp1986]

I appreciate your efforts documenting your hard work. For me, paint and body work is the hard part. I am in awe at the skills and more the perseverance of Forum members like Rcktpwrd and others who strive and achieve perfection. I aspire to perfection, but like you, I would spend the time being neurotic about driving the finished product out into a hostile world full of car door edges and runaway shopping carts. My old daily driver in the 1990s was a 1983 wagon that had an Earl Sheib $99 paint job used to cover up a multitude of New England environments. I rarely washed the thing and ultimately gave it up to rust. I have been cultivating my welding skills, but I still make 'booger' welds that require a lot of grinding. I could probably pull off a restoration like you have shown in this thread.
That said, the old timers I managed to collect are investments for the future. I don't have time right now to do much with them, but I have collected a fair number of stock replacement bits, including a complete running GMC 270 and a pair of Chevy 261s that can be cobbled together into a running engine. I hope to do some minor upgrades to the motors - I boxed up a pair of 4.3 TBI setups with harnesses and ECUs to see if I can make them work with these Stovebolt sixes. I have collected a pair of WC F-body T-5 transmissions to replace the granny low boxes. I found a 1972 4:10 pumpkin for the one-ton panel truck's Eaton HO72, and a 58 GMC HO52 yoke-type axle to to replace the closed drivelines in both trucks. I would like to keep the solid front axles in both trucks, with upgrades to disc brakes, but I kept an entire 80s 2WD front suspension in a big crate if I decide to go that way. Just need to narrow the crossmember and tie rod an inch to fit the AD chassis. I just hope the aftermarket is still there when I am ready to buy stock bits such as door handles and cab trim again.

That’s great your thinking ahead. I do that a lot. I try to gather spare parts when the price is right as I do tend to keep my cars(still have my first car almost 21 years now and my Cutlass over 19 years now).
I can see why you put away the 4.3 tbi engines, those seemed to vanish and turn into disc brake rotors after being crushed in the yards...it’s crazy how many of those in the you pull it yards waiting to be pulled.. seemed like a endless supply, now theres none in the yards. Wish I realized that 15 years ago when there was a surplus of G body’s in the yards!
Sounds like your doing all the right things. You can do it.. I took on the AD Project thinking it would be a 3 year project and surprised the crap out of my self on the things that I never thought I could handle and blew my self away at how fast I got them done and how well they turned out !!
Building this truck was a learning experience and a great one...just when you think you know a lot, I gained that much more knowledge and confidence in myself that feels like it would take 30 years to learn all in 5 months. Besides being burnt out from it, id for sure do it again, but not out in the driveway!!!

 

[Cutlass400hp1986]

Got all the cars out today since they have been hibernating since January, wanted to get some heat in the cylinders before they brine the roads again