albolton

I boxed mine to half way under the cab, just used a ball peen hammer and cardboard to make a template and had it laser cut out of 3/16 plate. then I welded the remaining riveted joints. very cheap to do now that so many shops have plasma and laser tables, and I really believe it went a long way to stiffening the truck

Christmas is over...Bring on Spring!

I am just reading this for the first time, I have a 54 with the coke bottle frame and fat man fits really well, and works amazing. But you need to watch your oil pan, I have done V-8 conversions with the stock axle with no issue, but had to redo the firewall to set the engine back further with the fat man, mine is a small block with a rear drop pan...not saying you will have problem..just throwing it out there.. I have lots of pics if your interested drop me a note

I run a one wire dodge 100 amp from Tuff Stuff...works great, and to me it looks better than a Delco alternator on that dodge engine.

For what its worth, I run a hydraulic brake switch off a Harley Davidson on my truck and it has been bullet proof, they are very sensitive, so you don't need to jump on the brakes for the lights to come on. I have run these switches on a few rods without issue.

I can tell you that I have 15K plus in my drive train swap and did 95 percent of the work myself, its the small stuff that kills you, however this is the second one I did, I had the budget and didn't skimp on anything that I can think of, the truck handles like a new car, and has tons of go. but...all that being said, the first one I did was on a budget, and was still a ton of fun, a little patience goes a long way. the big money is in the IFS, stay with the stock axle, you can still add disc brakes, and a rack, lower it and stiffen it up. Its not IFS but it still works fine. If you stay with the stock axle you no longer need to cut the firewall and rework the transmission tunnel because you can mount the engine a little lower in the frame. go with a one wire alternator set up and your charging system is up and running. there are lots of decent engines for sale that don't need to be completely rebuilt. buy a decent 360, put a cam in it, reseal it, paint it add some chrome and drive the thing. the truck is light as hell so you don't need 400 horses to be happy.

just my opinion, but it would have to be REALLY hot under the hood to cause much of an issue, the whole bottom of the frame is open on these things, there is lots of air moving around. I have a 54 with a 360/727 combination, reasonably stout engine...12" fan pushing, not pulling. I installed an aluminum rad from a 57 chev, cut the stock rad mount of mine and it bolted right in, No engine fan, I beat on my truck and it runs at 180 all day., I've never had any issue with vapor lock or anything else.

Yes, the truck has an open diff, dana out of a Cherokee, 3.73 gears as far as i know , i beat the hell out of it and it hasnt broken yet, the truck will will get 4 link and a 9 inch someday, but once you are driving them, its hard to stop and take it apart again. does have a line lock, used it to take a set as you said. My original plan was to do the front half of the truck, then tub it the next winter, but once the truck was done, with the style i went with , tubbing doesnt seem to me like it will look right, so now im thinking 4 link. the way it is now i can have lots of fun, and break no parts! As for the trest of the driveline, it is a balanced 360, 1973 block, nice street build, still has the cast crank, J heads, flat top forged pistons, milidon gear drive, thumper cam, MSD ignition, headman shorty headers, had them ceramic coated inside and out, flowmaster 40's performer intake, also ceramic coated inside and out, Holly 650 dual feed, double pump, mechanical secondary , the trans is a 727, 3500 stall, the whole setup works great and sounds awesome.

I love 57s. Mine is a 54, there were 2 frames used between 54 and 56, im not much of a historian so im not sure when they switched, one is a cokebottle style, the other is much wider, fatman makes a kit for both, I cant say enough about fatman, it changed my truck. I can drive with 2 fingers on the wheel all day long, handles great, stops great, the truck has an awesome stance in my opinion. Tech support is great, and all the replacement parts are now off the shelf napa stuff. I boxed my frame to the back of the cab, and welded all the rivited joints on the stock frame. My plan is 4 link on the rear, and i will box the rest of the frame then. I am not much for clipping stuff, and the stock frame allows all the original sheetmetal to bolt right up. not saying its easy, im a millwright by trade, so layout and metalwork is something i am exposed to on a regular basis. if you are handy, you can do it, obviuosly you need to be a fairly copmpetant welder, or tack it up and have someone else weld it, there is only a days welding on the whole job. the results are definitely worth the effort, my truck puts down a fair bit of power, and i didnt build it to look at it, it gets abused more than id like to admit., and i have had no issues.

haha..nope!...360...drives like a new car!

i have a coke bottle and used fatman...i dont think you you stub it...keep your original fram ..all the sheetmetal lines up nice, there is plenty of room, you do need to cut your firewall though, but if your handy, you can do it...feel free to contact me any time...i can send pics of whatever you need, i documented mine pretty well...You will love the fatman kit!..there is a thread here from my build, o and i offset my engine about 1 1/2 inches to the right to give more foot room for the driver...works really well email me anytime abolton@aecon.com, or i can give you my number...ill tell you anything i know...

just a little video for you guys Turn it up!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64hzBtPpg7g

yes..built it a couple of years ago

just a little video for you guys Turn it up!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64hzBtPpg7g

took a while to grow on me..but wouldnt change it now

A good way to go in my opinion is stay with the stock frame, change the diff, and install a Fatman IFS kit, there are lots of chassis swap threads here, and this is just my opinion, thats what I did, and my truck drives every bit as good as my wifes 08 mustang...seriously! and the benefit is all of you sheet metal bolts on the way it should.

Land of the Lost!!...not destined to be a classic, but a cool 54 Dodge ice cream truck

I lowered my 54 by removing a leaves then recentering the steering prior to doing a full suspension swap, it looked awesome but the ride was just ok, I finally ended up taking it to a truck spring shop and having the springs re-arc'd to give me back the ride, I put some good shocks on it, but the stability still just wasnt there for me when i removed leaves...depends on how much you drive it i guess

Yes, its a March performance setup,it was quite reasonable to buy, works really well, and very good quality, I would have liked a serpentine setup, but they are really expensive for the mopars. The March setup has really good tensioners, and a nice clean look.

nope..other stuff came up this winter...so the poor girl sat comfortably under a cover, next winter I hope...this year i will just drive and enjoy

Thanks I love it...just drove it tonight for the last time before winter.....let the games begin

You need some decent fab skills ..if you can't weld it yourself you could get it all tacked up and have a friend weld it up..I found the firewall and trans tunnel more work than the suspension, I am a millwright by trade, and I bet I still have at least 100 hours in it between the suspension, and the firewall,

Ford explorer 8.8 is also a good fit and it gives you disc brakes, I also offset my engine almost 2" to the right for foot clearence, for me with the fatman kit i had to make a whole new trans tunnel to get clearence from the X member to a rear sump pan, the fatman kit has the back of the xmember beveled for the rear sump...not sure about anyone elses kit, engine mounts are right out of paul horton catalogue and work awesome. take the time to box as much of the frame as you can...not just at the IFS mounting points...might as well if you have it apart, I also mounted my master on the firwall, i know most guys dont, but its already tight enough down there on my frame, I think yours is quite a bit wider, my brake pedal and master cyl mount again are right out of hortons welder series catalogue, and they fit well., I run a flaming river tilt colomn and came through the floor about 2" lower than stock, this gave me alot better u joint angle and let me make the connection to the rack with 2 joints and eliminating the need for a hanger bearing.

From what ive seen, the majority of them, including mine, were green from new,

Obviously 54 is my favorite , people are probably getting tired of me throwing pics of mine on here at every opportunity you will find alot of very helpful information on here, I have learned a ton, from some very smart guys...you dont see very many 5 windows in the 54, looks like a solid base for a great truck..good luck