WE CUT THE FRAME IN HALF!!! Long bed pickup trucks make great shop trucks.... short bed pickup trucks make great hotrods! We traded a 1960s Internation Harvester 18-wheeler cab for a short bed in semi okay shape a while back... Ol Blue was a 3200 series long bed truck, and we are going to shorten him up a little. 9 1/4" to be exact from the center of the frame and then we will bob the rear of the frame and pull the rear bumper in close but that will be after its assembled. We did the cut in such a way that the frame would overlap and be stronger plus we added a fish plate for strength on the inside of the frame. The plan with this killer old barn find pickup is pretty cool. New and fresh underneath the barn fresh patina paint and a little rust. New suspension and an 8.5" Chevy Colorado 10 bolt rear end swap. 3.73 with a posi and the housing is about 2 inches narrower than the factory one. The LS3 6.2 Liter LS swap with a built 4L60E and a small converter should be pretty rowdy. Holley Terminator X Max will keep it all dialed in and reliable for a daily driver!
We bought this awesome 1957 Chevy Truck last year and got the chance to drag him out of the barn. Mr. Herring was nice enough to sell us “Ol Blue” so we can save him and put him back on the road. Old Blue has been in the Herring family for about 63 years, his dad bought him used in 1960 and was used up until about 1976. The last time the truck ran was in 1980, we plan to get it running at least once before we pull the motor and transmission. This is one awesome old step side pickup truck. Ol Blue was born in 1957 in Atlanta Ga. He’s got a 235ci 6 cylinder and a 3 speed on the column, or 3 on the tree. Blue is a 3200 series step side long bed truck. It’s 6 lug with the small back glass. The trucks got a little rust but worth saving for sure. We plan to LS swap Ol Blue with an aluminum block LS3 I’ve got. Tick Performance Polluter camshaft and some ported 823 rectangular port heads. Most likely a built 4L60e with a TCI 3200 stall. Lucky I found a Chevy Colorado rear end with the G80 locker and a 3.73 gear. The Colorado rear end is the perfect swap because its about 2 inches narrower and the leaf spring perches are on the bottom. Believe it or not they line up almost perfect with the leaf springs on the 57 Chevy pickup so its perfect or an axle flip to lower the rear end about 6.5 inches. Those slotted mags look so good just have to get the truck own low and it'll be perfect! The short bed conversion should be fairly straight forward and simple. Cut 9.25 inches out of the center of the frame. Then I will determine how much off the back once we set the bed and cab on. The LS swap should be simple, I am going to run a K5 blazer tank and an in line fuel pump. Holley Terminator X will control the motor and trans. I will patch all the areas that need it and then Poppys Patina clear coat the truck to preserve that awesome as found paint. Power steering conversion is also on the list along with power brakes. Disks up front retaining the 6 lug and drum will be fine on the rear. I hope yall will enjoy this build series and follow along as we build Old Blue!