Hi all,
New to the forum, so thought I best share what I'm up to, and how I came to join the forum...
Having used and had my fun with the old '58 Chevy Panel Van for the last few years, I fancied something a little older so I sold it on. I then waited for the right thing to 'pop up', 2 months later I'm now the proud owner of this lovely, super solid RHD South African Delivery. With me living in England and driving on the left, a RHD is a buit more sensible. All of my previous US-made cars have been LHD, and a van can be particularly tricky on Motorways (highways) when overtaking the even slower moving folk. Overall it's very nice and has survived the years very well and has had any upkeep carried out sympathetically. It's now 12V, it runs a '58-60 Truck 235, dual system exhaust, electronic ignition and a poorly unknown 2bb Carter (I have a Weber 38DGAS lined up)
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It had been sitting for the last 8 years, but it started and kinda stopped, so off I went! The drive home closely followed and monitored by the good lady was insightful... so now the front suspension is all out of the car and I have chosen to upgade a few parts and refresh other parts, meanwhile I'm mulling over transmission/rear end options. I've looked into older threads that refer to the issues I'm having, but nothing I have found definitively covers the questions I have, so I'm hoping that I can pick a few brains as well as share some hopefully useful info...
First up was the front shock absorbers, which were clearly toast, and leaking. A friend with a '48 AeroSedan tried to convince me to install a Jaguar IFS front suspension as it near enough bolted straight into his, but I wanted to keep the original type front end ideally. With the cost of replacement shocks being so high (especially with shipping/tax/duty on top) One option was to let the shocks drain themselves and install tube shocks, but I didn't like the idea of running the bushes dry, so I opted for making a jig from the original top shocks and converting the top 'wishbones' to run rose/heim joints, fit tube shocks and utilise said-friends old Fatman lowering drop arms. So far I have done the conversion for the top arms and cleaned most parts up ready for reinstalling, but I am still waiting for the tube shocks (i'll post photos of how I mount these).
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One question I have which I am struggling with, is regarding the transmission/rear axle, so any guidance would be greatly appreciated-
The original vacuum-assisted shifter mechanism clearly doesn't work properly, it was initially very difficult to find gears, and even though I have learnt to work around it, it is still difficult to change and 1st/2nd gear are clearly shot due to how loud it growls. Combine this with the poor original rear end gearing of 4.11-1 and I am forced into accessing my options for the driveline. Is there anyone on here that knows of trans/rear end combos that bolt in with minimal alterations, in order to get rid of the vacuum shift mech and to change the gearing to 3.55-ish. I am happy to run a floor shifter,,,?
Thanks for now, and I'll be sure to post new photos as-and-when!
Drew