The stock chassis received a TCI Mustang II, IFS (independent front suspension) kit, including the front crossmember, chrome-plated upper and lower A-arms, drop spindles, Alden coilover shocks, TCI front disc brakes, caliper and rotors, rack-and-pinion steering, steel plates for boxing front framerails, and a transmission crossmember. The installations were performed at Wheeler's Speed Shop and featured in Truckin' (Sept. '02). Also, the Flaming River steering column install was in Truckin' (May '03). The rear suspension was also dropped by tossing the rear leaves and replacing them with a TCI four-link rear suspension with Panhard bar. A narrowed Currie rearend housing with a Currie third member stuffed with 3.73 gears, axles, drum brakes, and Alden coilover shocks were also installed at Wheeler's Speed Shop. The clean installation can be seen in the Nov. '02 issue of Truckin'. To achieve ample rearend axlehousing travel clearance, the rear framerails were neatly notched. Up front, the P215/60R15 BFGoodrich rubber wraps the 15x7-inch Budnik Famoso polished billet-aluminum wheels. The power is planted to the ground by a pair of chunky 29x12.5-inch Mickey Thompson Sportsman meats, which consume the mega-wide 15x12-inch Budnik Famoso spools.
The impressive power comes from a frisky purpose-built Chevy 355ci cast-iron four-bolt main block that was decked, bored, honed, align-bored, and balanced. A set of Ross slugs were loaded into all-eight chambers, and a set of reconditioned stock rods link the slugs to the steel crank. A 282 Comp Cam provides the rumpity sound. A pair of 441 Wes King camelback heads with stainless 0.202 valves flanks the Edelbrock Performer RPM intake manifold capped with a single Holley 750-cfm DP carburetor. An MSD coil sparks the ACCEL distributor, and MSD 8.8mm wires route the electrical impulses to the Champion spark plugs, which in turn ignite the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber. The spent exhaust gases are escorted out by a pair of ceramic-coated Sanderson Corvette-style 2-1/2-inch ram horn exhaust manifolds that flow into Flowmaster two-stage mufflers. The power mass was originally backed up to a Muncie close-ratio four-speed manual transmission and McCloud 11-inch clutch. The manual transmission was replaced with a 700-R4 automatic transmission with a 3,000-stall lock-up converter. Drivelines Unlimited shortened the driveshaft.
The cab, doors, fenders, hood, and bed were all disassembled and reworked individually. These parts were then filled, block-sanded, primed, and prepped by the Carranza Brothers. Everything was then painted DuPont Turquoise and clearcoated by Jerrodo. The bed was recently modified at Wheeler's Speed Shop to accommodate the narrowed rearend and meaty Mickey Thompsons. A pair of '88 factory Chevy bed inner fenders were installed at Wheeler's, and again well-documented in Truckin's Nov. '02 issue.
The entire cab was dyno-mated to eliminate the road noise and absorb the tunes. A Mercedes-grade dark-gray carpet was laid atop the dyno-mat. A simple Panasonic radio/cassette unit is mounted in the dash factory location.
Since the '57's many travels during its life, it has been a personal escapade for many - just ask Wally.