'59 Chevy Advance Scout Truck - African Airstream Caravan

[W-409]

Don't hold your breath though, it'll take a while . I'll do the order as soon as possible, but I have to locate one Chevy Cameo kit for donor, too.

[gasser59]

Niko - it wouldn't need to be the Cameo kit since you're not using the bed so either the '55 or '57 stepside would work for you.

[John Teresi]

Brad……love to watch you work…….love your style…….coming along nicely.

[gasser59]

Thanks lil' brother. Appreciate your comments. It IS progressing....although a little slower than I'd like.

[gasser59]

Finally some extended bench time in and was able to get the exhaust made, painted and installed. I made it with aluminum tubing and the muffler was made from a larger diameter tube with aluminum flat sheet for the ends. Here's a few pics.

Before paint.

After paint and installed.

Next on the agenda is to do something about the spaces between the interior tub and the inside of the cab body. Looking from underneath these gaps need to be covered. Here's another picture.

I've started fiddling with the beginnings of the aluminum camper portion. I at least now have a game plan in mind. Still trying to work out the details of having the top lift off to show the interior similar to my Carney Wagon. This will be much more involved than the Carney Wagon since the sides of this camper curve. Think I need a few more cups of coffee to work this out.

Thanks for following along and comments welcome.

Edited January 12, 2014 by gasser59

[Danno]

Looking great, Brad. But I think you need another muffler clamp or an exhaust hanger up near that front crossmember, otherwise you're gonna get some serious pipe rattle when you're bouncing through the Congo!

[66belair]

That is one neat pickup.

[John Teresi]

Brad………your scratch building is sooooooo good……..WOW!!!!!

[gasser59]

Thanks brother. Greatly appreciate your comments.

The work on the camper portion begins. Still have alot of details to work out as far as the construction goes.

[Mooneyzs]

Brad... that exhaust and chassis is awesome. You have tallent buddy. LOve your scratch building skills. Looking forward to your next update.

[gasser59]

Thanks so much Chris. Your interest is appreciated.

I did some work on the under carriage to cover up the gaps on the inside of the body and forgot to take some pictures. I'll post some tonight. As with everything else, it was more involved than I first anticipated.

Edited February 20, 2015 by gasser59

[Tom Geiger]

Here's how I filled in the floor voids on a number of these '55 Chevy pickups. I did a few back when the kit was new and followed directions from a source at the time. Later I've been told that the side step would only be the length of the door. It was fairly easy to do, I just added the plastic to the outer edges of the existing interior bucket.

[Danno]

Good fix, Brad!

[gasser59]

That is exactly what I did Tom although I added a double layer of 0.03" styrene sheet between the frame and the interior tub and shaved off the small humps on top of the frame to account for adding the sheet styrene. If you've built this kit, you know the humps I'm talking about. I added the square channel to the bottom of this styrene sheet that goes out to the sides of the body and matched the same angle as the firewall. I'll post a picture in a bit.

Thanks Danno. Appreciate you following along.

Edited January 14, 2014 by gasser59

[gasser59]

Ok, so here's the picture. The reason these are boxy pieces are needed is because the door opening goes almost to the bottom of the body. There's a step inside the door once its opened. Looks just like yours Tom.

[Tom Geiger]

There's a step inside the door once its opened. Looks just like yours Tom.

Cool Brad! Yours and mine are the only ones I've ever seen converted. Most the 55-57 pickups I see just have the kit error present and you can see right up into the doors.

[Mooneyzs]

Brad.... I love your skills Brother. Its a pleasure to watch a talented builder like yourself and see your builds come together.

[gasser59]

Yesterday I received some new tires in the mail from RodneyBad that will work out just perfectly with a little finesse. These tires are from a Mercedes G kit and are just the right height, width and the thread pattern is generic enough to look the part. The builders on this forum are amazing with their generosity and that is why it feels like family. Thanks so much Rodney.

Here's a couple of pictures showing how I'll need to get them to work. The rim diameter is a bit too large so I cut some sheet styrene to fit the inside of the solid tire and also had to add a thin piece of Evergreen to the outside diameter of the inner hub. I'll let th pics help diagram what i've done.

Here's how they look on the front. I like the fit compared to the original photos.

Plus I got a bit more work done on the camper base.

Its coming together slowly. Comments welcome and thanks for following my progress.

[the goon]

Just saw this thread, truely great work.

Mark

[gasser59]

Thanks Mark. Really appreciate your comment and for following along.

[Mooneyzs]

Brad... You are an inspiration my friend. Love the fix you did for the rim and tires. Looks killer. That care base is off to a great start. Nice work!

[John Teresi]

Wow! Brad…….your getting some good bench time…….looking good Brother.

[gasser59]

Yes I am finally. Thanks brother.

[gasser59]

The shell is starting to take shape. I plan on building the frame just like a vintage Airstream is constructed with metal ribs and cross members. The aluminum square tubing has one long rod inside a 1/16th aluminum tube so this thing should be really rigid and structurally sound. There will eventually be eight cross members. The aluminum skin will be attached with Scale Hardware rivets. I have 300 on hand and think I'll need another 200 to complete the shell.

I'm still hoping to have the top lift off and the inside walls, cabinetry, bathroom and galley components visible. We'll see how that goes.

Stay tuned and comments welcome.

Edited January 18, 2014 by gasser59

[John Teresi]

Brad…….that`s nice!!!!!!