One Step Closer to the Edge

[Total Gearhead]

Guess I should start a build page...

First and foremost I am building a year round custom daily driver.
Yes I will drive it all winter as long as the road are not snow covered. Salt does not bother me. After all the cars/trucks I have built this one is for keeps! So I'm building it my way and only for me.

My 61 is my buddy. I call him One Step Closer to the Edge. Many transformations over the years and I'm back at square one.

Running Gear: 5.8 FI, C6, 10 bolt 2:56 gears/posi, Hand built ladder bars, Rear (Lincoln) bags, Trans Am clip.

Mods, I'm sure I will forget some: Tilt wheel, CC, Power windows, Door poppers, AC, One piece tilt front end. Suicide doors, Custom LED signal and marker lights, Custom Gauges, Complete custom interior,

Paint scheme is still up in the air but the base will be black for sure. Body Mods I will make up as I go. I have a tig welder and I know how to use it lol. So you can expect some major body mods. It should be road ready by Thanksgiving. After a few hundred miles I will tear it back down for paint. Hope to have it all finished by Memorial day for the first cruise of the year up here. I will post pics along the way.

Good bye MII


Hello Trans Am


Setting ride height



Still not the ride height I'm looking for needs to be 2 1/2 inches lower. At the moment it is 9 1/2" from the ground to the bottom of the door. I'm all over it. Time to adjust the TA clip inside the 61 frame rails.

[rickairmedic]

HP theres always airbags to get it closer to the ground .


Rick

[azjake]

Love the slots!

Jake

[Total Gearhead]

I don't want to mess with the front suspension geometry at all. the crossmember is only 5 3/4" off the ground now. So cutting the springs/airbags/or drop spindles are out of the question. I might add air ride to the front later on but not to drop it while driving. Just to get it to match the rear.

Slots are my favorite wheels as well

[kstones63]

You should be able to get 2" drop spindles for that subframe. That way the engine won't be raised up closer to the hood. The dropped spindles will make the crossmember closer to the ground.

Kevin

[rickairmedic]

Kevin I think the main problem HP has with drop spindles is he lives in " the great white north " . The potholes can get HUGE . His crossmember is already less than 6" off the ground so driving with 2" spindles up there would be quite rough .



Rick

[Harper]

what is snow?

[Total Gearhead]

It's not so much the snow. It is more the driving daily everywhere. Our roads are about the best in the nation. Wisconsin loves their roads. But when I travel to places like Chicago or further south where road conditions are not as good I want something that can handle the abuse. With the rearend gear I should get somewhere around 25 mpg. If I can get away with it I will upgrade to an AOD to up my mileage even more. Add all that to an aftermarket E85 conversion and I wont bother to drive the minivan anymore. Yes my goal is 25mpg and I will not stop until I achieve it. I'm not looking to burn the tires off of my truck, I'm looking for a cool ride that I can afford to drive.

[Harper]

My 61 is my buddy. I call him One Step Closer to the Edge. Many transformations over the years and I'm back at square one.

Running Gear: 5.8 FI, C6, 10 bolt 2:56 gears/posi, Hand built ladder bars, Rear (Lincoln) bags, Trans Am clip.

Mods, I'm sure I will forget some: Tilt wheel, CC, Power windows, Door poppers, AC, One piece tilt front end. Suicide doors, Custom LED signal and marker lights, Custom Gauges, Complete custom interior,

Paint scheme is still up in the air but the base will be black for sure. Body Mods I will make up as I go. I have a tig welder and I know how to use it lol. So you can expect some major body mods. It should be road ready by Thanksgiving. After a few hundred miles I will tear it back down for paint.

It sounds like a great daily driver...the best part is "Your building it Just the way you want to"! Me and my awesome Denise came to wisconsin once back about June 2009 (Denise was killed in a car accident Dec 1st 2009) and road down the river on the east side just over the state line, while i was up in Minnesota. We stayed a week together and had a rental car, I was there for 2 weeks, ....we were going to rent a harley and ride all over, our choices were Canada or Wisconsin...I am very glad we chose Wisconsin....anyways, there are some beautiful roads up there... and we did very much enjoy the ride
here is a picture, maybe you know this place. Its where the river opens up as wide as a bay/or ship channel.

anyway, before i got so long winded....
I believe 25 mpg is definetly doable... There are people who want to show their trucks, people who want to make money out of their trucks, and people who want to enjoy their trucks...I being the one that wants to enjoy, and drive mine. Somewhere along the way I hope to teach my kids alittle about how to work on them, as well as a little of each of the skills I know...whats the old saying..."jack of all trades, master of none" lol Because I know at some point, the "car bug" will get in their blood, and it will be something that will last a lifetime, memories of my dad working on my old 65 mustang will always stick in my mind...

There are several of the items on your build that i also want to do to mine...keep us posted with lots of pictures along the way! and the next time i'm up around minnesota, I may look you up...

[Total Gearhead]

Update... Truck is back down to the frame. Before I go any further I have to finish the ceiling in my shop and get new racks built to free up some much needed space. Should be finished this week with a little luck. It will be nice to keep some heat in the shop for a change!

[Total Gearhead]

Ok another update. With lack of help, and hurting my shoulder yet again, I am almost at the point I can get back to work on the ol boy. Ceiling in the shop is finished as of this moment. 2 racks are built out of 3. Now I just have to finish organizing the shop and push the truck back into the shop. It sure took a lot longer than I figured it would. But yahoo it is almost finished! It is going to freeze tonight and it's raining now. So quick coffee break and right back to it.

[totten]

Great start with truck. That 2.56 gear will help with fuel mileage and highway driving. Like the 351 , c6 combo. Tony

[Harper]

Ceiling in the shop is finished as of this moment. 2 racks are built out of 3

good job! now post pics, even if its of the racks and ceilings