Loco 57

[Tio Loco]

Well, after the Wraith gave me a taste of the scale world, I was casting around looking for something more 'real world', and naturally honed in on the SCX. At first I really liked the looks of the Honcho, being a Yota guy in real life, so I picked up a rtr.

But the more I read and looked around, the more common they seemed, and I was yearning for something more unique that I could put my own brand on. That's when I saw the Parma 57 Chevy pickup body. I grew up riding around in these trucks and knew I had to build one. There are some very nice ones on the site, but not enough that another one would be just boring.

Soooooo..... let the fun begin.

I want to do a full interior and didn't want to be fighting with the stock motor/tranny for that space. Started out with the GCM front motor mount, transfer case, CMS, and pan hard kit (very cool stuff).



The cab of the 57 (after cutting off the pickup bed) is shorter than the Honcho, so I got a bit of brazing practice fabbing up some sliders. Not the greatest job on the brazing, but I'm learning.



Threw in some aluminum links from the Wrath in the back temporarily. Made a front link for the three-link/pan hard setup, drag link and tie rod. Mounted up the new sliders and put the battery tray in the back.



Initially I thought to do an aluminum frame for a wooden bed, so knocked out this one using aluminum channel and cut and glued a 1/4" balsa wood floor, and trimmed the body mounts from the rear shock hoops.



I've since decided to do a steel frame for the bed so I can braze on the roll bar and bottom mounts, but this one let me do a preliminary mock-up with the body.





After seeing this, I really tried to convince myself that I liked the height of the bed, but it's just too high... on to plan B. I ordered some saddle packs that will fit above the sliders, and inside the body and still leave room for a floor pan and interior. We'll see. Now I'm trying to address the rear shock mounts to get the bed down about 1/2" or so.

I've got some pretty cool ideas about the roll bar to give it a kinda modern feel but pay homage to the classic looks of this truck. Stay tuned...

[norcalmk2]

I like the rock sliders. Good work for being your first fab work.

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[norcalmk2]

What did you use for those looks thicker than brake line?


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[Tio Loco]

Originally Posted by norcalmk2

I like the rock sliders. Good work for being your first fab work.

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Well not actually the first, but definitely the most ambitious, thanks.

It's 1/4" tube.

Tried a couple of things with the rear suspension. First a homegrown take on the inboard shock relocation, using Wraith shocks.





This does offer some pretty amazing flex in the rear, but it just didn't feel smooth. so I didn't bother to build proper lower mounts as I had another idea in mind.



This could definitely be more elegant, but it was just an experiment.



I like this better and the suspension is much smoother. The mount is just about exactly where I wanted the bottom of the bed, so I think it's a keeper.

[Tio Loco]

Finally got the halves for my steel flatbed frame brazed up. The second one came out much better than the first, so I may redo the first one. I still have another strip of sheet metal cut and now that I have a technique down, it does not take long.



Next I just have to trim them to the correct width and braze them together to form the frame, cut the wood and then start on the roll bar.

While I was in metal cutting mode, cut out some perforated aluminum to make some recovery ramps.

[Demodude]

Great work man!

[Tio Loco]

Baby steps, but this is starting to really be fun.

Got the bed frame brazed up and cleaned up. My brazing and metal bending skills are a work in progress, but I think once it's painted up it will do.



Found some very thin plywood, maybe 3/16" in my scrap wood, cut 1/8"x0.060" deep channels for the divider strips on the table saw. Added a couple of coats of Golden Oak stain.



Painted up the styrene dividers, and laid them into the grooves. After the stain dries completely I'll glue them into place and trim them to fit.



Finally, brazed a couple of rear supports that will form a hinge for tilting the bed to the rear. Once I have it mounted to the frame, I can get the exact height for the roll bars.

Got my saddle packs so I can start figuring out mounts for them and do some work on the body.

[LoneRanger]

did you use a router on that ply floor? looks really good- I agree that body isn't used much!


looking good so far-

L.R.

[Tio Loco]

Originally Posted by LoneRanger

did you use a router on that ply floor? looks really good- I agree that body isn't used much!


looking good so far-

L.R.

Thanks.

No, I don't have any router bits that small. My table saw blade cuts 3/32", so I made one pass then moved the fence 1/32" more and did a second pass. My saw has a micro adjuster, so it was pretty simple to be precise.

One groove is a hair too narrow after staining the ply and painting the strips, but nothing a few love taps won't fix. At least I won't have to glue that one in.

[TrailDawg362]

Gotta love those 57 Chevy builds . After seeing Toka100's here on RCC, I caught the bug and built my own. Yours is really taking shape, enjoy the build!

If you're careful removing the molded-in headlights, the large round Axial buckets fit nicely.

[Tio Loco]

Originally Posted by TrailDawg362

Gotta love those 57 Chevy builds . After seeing Toka100's here on RCC, I caught the bug and built my own. Yours is really taking shape, enjoy the build!

If you're careful removing the molded-in headlights, the large round Axial buckets fit nicely.

Thanks, that was what I was thinking about the headlights. Was just looking at those last nite, using the ones that were on the Honcho bumper.

[Tio Loco]

Originally Posted by TrailDawg362

Gotta love those 57 Chevy builds . ...If you're careful removing the molded-in headlights, the large round Axial buckets fit nicely.

I just looked thru your album about your 57. Did you glue the perimeter of the buckets directly to the hole for the headlights?

[TrailDawg362]

Shoe-goo'ed from the inside, but they purposely fit tightly in the holes also. I used a small sanding drum to get a nice snug fit. I usually paint the light bucket insides with chrome paint for better effect, and a dab or two of adhesive to keep the lenses from popping off. I tossed in a pair of very bright 18,000mcd leds for good measure.

[Tio Loco]

Finally done with the bed.... maybe.

I've been obsessing over this thing trying to get it just right and I'm thinking I'm happy with it. Redid the mounts several times trying to find the right position and height. It still seems a bit high, but the wheels will not rub at full flex.



I wanted the roll bar to pay tribute to the great styling of the 50's, and I think I nailed that.



I may still add a light bar and a protective hoop over it to the top, not sure yet. The bar will be here tomorrow, so I'll see how it looks.



Still need to work out a bumper. Started working on battery mounts for the saddle packs, but ran out of steam.



I keep thinking about duallys for the back. what do you guys think?

[Tio Loco]

Direct from the center for the easily amused....

Mostly minor progress getting the bed mounts finalized and started working on the cab and figuring out the interior placement.

Had an epiphany that I could braze stainless... got me to thinking, so I picked up a sheet of stainless at the local Ace hardware and used it to form up battery boxes for the saddle packs. They are so pretty I hate to paint them.





I'm definitely headed toward making this a dually, and ordered some leaf springs, at least for the rear. I'll be venturing into the dark science of narrowing the rear axle shortly. We definitely have project scope creep on this one....

[Fumbles]

Love this build. The roll bar totally looks old school. Great work on figuring out the rear suspension allowing the bed to be lower !

[Famous112]

Love the Ideas in this thread, Deff Subbing- I wanna see where this goes

[Jfrisch01]

Man the more I read the better it got! Nice work can't wait to see more!!


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[TacoCrawler]

Originally Posted by Tio Loco

are these saddle pak battery mounts... or what ?

your work looks nice

[Tio Loco]

Sorry, I missed your question... yes for saddle packs which will fit right under the floor of the interior.

I've done what seems like a lot of work on this project, but much of it has been trial and error, about three errors for every success. I'll be adding more pics hopefully this week.

I've converted to a leaf sprung dually setup and narrowed the rear axle. Just last nite I got it back together. Still have to finish the shock mounts, but that's mostly just a quick brazing job (if there is such a thing).