More progress on Old Blue! Pulling the tired old 235ci 6 cylinder and the 3 speed or 3 on the tree out for a nasty LS swap. Some folks consider this ruining the truck but I honestly don't care. We saved this truck from rotting its life away and never seeing the road again. Now with a 376ci LS3 swap and an automatic with over drive he will be a daily driver, getting a second chance on life. Big fat burnouts and road trips are in old blues future!
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!