Bob,
Sad story but it's neat that you are going to try to restore the mess they
made.
1. I haven't found that having a 3/4 ton truck has made parts hunting that
difficult. Some of the trim parts can be a chore, but suspension parts and
mechanical parts are not too bad. I'd stick with the 3/4 ton frame.
2. I would recommend keeping everything stock. It sounds like the truck is
going to be a working truck and that's what these beasts were originally
designed to be. If you think about it, many of these trucks have been
running on original suspension for 50 years. That tells me that they were
engineered to be tough. Certainly, the original front end will feel all of
the bumps, but when rebuilt and adjusted to original specs the drivability
is fine. I guarantee that the original, I-beam, front axle will shrug off
abuse (to be expected in a working truck) that would make a Mustang or other
IFS roll over and moan.
3. Can't comment on the rearend question, since I've never had to do
anything major to the stock rear end in my 53 3/4T. Again, I'd look at a
solution that was a close to original as possible. 3/4T truck rearends are
built tough and don't go wrong a whole lot.
These are just my humble opinions. For further backup and more about the
engineering reasons for keeping your truck stock, you might email Bob Adler
(Advdesign1@aol.com) off the list. He has worked with and studied the AD
line of trucks for years and understands and respects the original
engineering that went into the development of the AD line of trucks.
Good luck on whatever approach you take.
Jeff Nelson
Paducah, KY
1953 3600
> -----Original Message-----
>
> 1. should I find a 1/2 ton frame to make parts hunting easier,
> 2. what is the recommended front suspension (is the original
> really
> that bad),
> 3. what is the recommended rearend for easy installation?
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the long
> message.
> I've only been on oletrucks for less than a week, but I have
> already
> learned a lot. I've also learned a lot from magazines like Custom
>
> Classic Trucks and Street Rodder, but as someone else here stated,
> their
> fixes are often on the pricey side.
>
> Bob Keeland
> 51 AD 3/4(?) ton 5-window project truck
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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