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More from Jim

"Here are the latest pictures of the Indy body in primer. Been working on the frame all week with welding in all of the extra factory holes and grinding down the flow over. We now have rain coming our way for the next few days and will stop the sandblasting and painting for now. I'll continue in the garage with the rebuilding and painting of the rear end till the rain subsides. Haven't heard back from the fabrication shop on the 8 lug to 6 lug front hub conversion yet."

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Still more.

"here's the Indy frame stripped down so I can weld in all the extra factory holes, then sandblast and paint. With the rain coming, this will be put on hold and will work on the rear end and front suspension in the garage"

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Latest from Jim.

"...the latest pictures of the reconditioned, painted frame and the finished rear end with new rear brake shoes and spring kits, she was in rough shape. This rear end originally came out of 1966 (? ) Chevy truck, and has the same width dimensions as my 1952, 1 ton Indy chassis.

If anyone is interested in doing a build like this from scratch, I'd recommend using a ? ton mid 60's rolling chassis that use the 6 lug wheel bolt pattern instead of a 8 lug, one ton frame like I used. The cost factor would be much less. This would be a great build for a family project. I'd be glad to share what I learned with anyone if interested. It s a lot of fun and the end result would be rewarding by being able to drive it and passing it down to loved ones.

This week the rest of the rolling chassis will be going together, I still have to go through the engine before it goes into the frame"

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I'm not sure if the front axle could be adapted from a 1948-54 Chevy 1/2 ton truck to your heavier chassis or not. Seems I've heard of some on the Stovebolt site doing this before.
John

Hi John:
Thanks for responding. You are right, I'm not sure if the hubs on the 1/2 and one ton Chevy suspension parts are interchangeable. The one ton rolling chassis that I used was very cheap to purchase ( $200 ) and it was complete. I found it in Northern Minnesota last year. I believe a shorter wheelbase complete 1/2 ton rolling chassis that has the 6 lug drums would have been a cheaper move that way I could use the less expensive 1934 to 1936 17" 6 lug spoked rims to make it a close period correct Indy clone. I did buy wheel adaptors for the 8 lug original drums but the wheels stance made the front end look too wide, the same with the adaptors with the 8 lug floating '52 Chevy one ton rear end, it just didn't look right. I then tried a 8 3/4 Mopar rear end but that was too wide also. This 60's Chevy truck rear end fit right in. This week with all the suspension parts cleaned and painted, I can start putting her back together.
Thanks,
Jim

I believe the front spindles on your 1 ton would have larger bearings and even be physically larger than the 1/2 ton version. You would probably need to change the whole front axle assembly. I beam and all. If you do I would go 1951 and newer with the Bendix brakes, earlier ones use the Huck brakes.
John

Hi John:
Yes, I see what you're saying and thank you for sharing your knowledge of the Chevy chassis, but if I had to do it all over again, I would have purchased a whole 1/2 ton frame with front and rear suspension along with the rear end with the 6 lug bolt pattern. A short bed rolling frame would have been a lot simpler and cheaper to utilize. I would not have tried to interchange the 1/2 ton and one ton parts. I don't know what year the Chevy truck division went away with the solid front axle, but this is similar to what they used in the '30's, that is why I used it.
Thanks again for responding, I appreciate any advice or tips on this build,
Jim

1960 was the first year for 2wd Chevy to have independent front suspension. Actually used torsion bars...

John

Hello John:
Thanks, that is good to know. I appreciate your input,
Jim

More from Jim, but no photos.

"The progress of the Indy car has been slow but steady. Over the week, all the suspension parts have either been cleaned, sandblasted and painted, rebuilt or replaced. One original outer tie rod was loose but the new tie rods ordered should be in today. All the suspension components are ready to go back on the painted frame, that's the goal for this week. I'll start taking pictures again once we get the front suspension and rear end installed, I have a very knowledgeable helping hand coming today for assembly. Hopefully the machined front brake drums will be done by this Friday and will be able to put the wheels back on.

The Packard 327 straight 8 is the next project to get attention, I'm looking forward to tackling that"