Oldsguy

What are your opinions on this?

Jamesbo

Why have a truck you can haul stuff in is MHO

But that's why they have horse races.............people like different horses.

doc

I like it, but useless as a truck......

Eddie Hansen

back in my foolish days I did buy a 1962 ford econoline pickup and mounted a chevy 327 in it mounted to a turbo 400 and a 12 bolt rear, it had a 9 inch drive shaft!! I used teleflex cables from a boat for the throttle and automatic tranny, the headers came down as normal and once the turbo mufflers got mounted quick turndowns right after ended right in front of the rear, had n-50 protracs mounted on 10 inch wheels it was pretty cool looking but I agree useless as a truck,

I traded that for my 67 nova supersport, the guy did finish it up, I wonder if anybody ever saw that thing running around centereach long island???it would have been maybe 77-79??

ahhhhhhhhhhhh those were the days....

MN71W30

A friend of mine had a toro 455 engine and tranny in a VW bug 25 years ago. The thing would do wheelies. The engine and tranny drove the rear tires.

joe_padavano

Best one I ever saw was in the Third Edition of the old Peterson Publishing Engine Swaps book. It was a Porsche 912 (think 911 with a VW engine). The owner replaced the stock drivetrain with a 425 and TH425 out of a 66 Toro. To hide the engine, he built an engine cover out of old suitcases bolted together and cut out on the underside. Apparently the 425 was quieter than the air cooled four cylinder and the improved weight distribution allowed him to remove 100 lbs of ballast normally installed in the front bumper.

J-(Chicago)

We're doing something equally dumb around here.
Cut the whole body of a 78 lincoln off except for the floor and supports, and putting a 50's mercury body onto it.

It's probably going to look terrible lol.

f-85

Man i love this truck! Its really a great job he is doing on the truck! i love rat rods, and it looks like he might make this crazy project work! I wonder if he is going to have any problems steering without the weight up front and all in the rear? Im going to keep m eye on this build. Thanks for the link.

88 coupe

Radiator should have been moved to the rear, and the battery put under the bed.

Final drive ratio problem could be helped by using a switch pitch and a 2.75:1 first gear.

Norm

joe_padavano

Back in the early 1980s there used to be a Datsun pickup with a similar mid engine Toro conversion running around SoCal. I used to see him at the old Car Craft Magazine Street Machine Nationals held at Devonshire Downs and later Pomona. That truck had the complete Toro front frame grafted to the back of the Datsun frame, including the torsion bar suspension.

There was also a 911 running around with a BBC and Toro trans.

citcapp

I agree with moving the radiator to the rear. Stock water pumps do not like circulating water that distance. I build a mid engineed 51 ****** pickup for off road racing and left the radiator in the front for a while. always overheated until I moved the radiator to the pickup bed.

68conv455

Some people have a lot of time. It takes enough time to upgrade the motor in the easy spot.

dan2286

You can tow a big trailer with lots of stuff on it.

Lady72nRob71

As long as the tongue weight is very low! He may be riding wheelies easily even without a trailer attached!

A cool and unusual project, no doubt. I do agree about putting the radiator in the bed, maybe where the tailgate is supposed to be....
I admire many of the rat rods, too. I like the rats more than the $100K "Easter egg" builds shown on TV, as they are more realistic...

Redog

Seen an El Camino at the track with the same set up, blower and all.

Didn't see it run though, really didn't care

egknz

in dallas tx looking for a olds 455 to put in my 72 cutlass

KeithA0000

I don't care for it. Don't get me wrong; I like trucks. But for me, a truck should ride high, and you should be able to haul stuff in it. Besides, that 455 should be in my car. Okay, maybe not; I like my 350 just fine...

Oldsguy

Thanks for all the comments. They are what I was looking for. And besides, since the engine was Oldsmobile I was thinking it would be a nice piece for conversation.

The comment about a "rat rod", don't go to HAMB and talk that way, they'll crucify you , that is a bad phrase there.

I agree that the radiator should be in the rear, I noticed that weird set-up right away and was thinking to myself "why did they do it that way?".

I have seen that porche you mentioned Joe. Pretty cool car.

About it being a truck that is useless, it is really just a car with a truck body and frame. I think they did it for the fun of it, you know, the "Just because" factor.

edit: I just re-read the entire thread and his replies to various comments, he moved the battery, good idea. He is playing with some ideas like going to non-power assisted rack to increase road feel in the steering and going to a dual quad intake instead of the toro iron one. He has had some good suggestions ranging from functional to visual. One recommendation concerning body work was a very good one, including moving turn signals behind a tubular grille and filling in the hood openings. If you haven't read the entire thread I think you all would enjoy it.

They have definitely finished it up nicely, it really looked rough at first.

Coltonis

That shifter is insane!
*coughcompensatingcough*- Ahem, Now where can I get one? LOL
Nah never mind, some one would end up with a black eye if that were in a vehicle I owned.

BTW, Many of you no doubt have seen this before, but that rear mounted engine instantly reminded of this project of similarly questionable necessity.

Toro68

I like the truck.
In the Toronado Times, in 1986 a member put a 1968 Toronado set-up in the rear of a ****** Pick-up, and I remeber in Dec 1984 issue of Hot Rod, somebody , again used a 1968 Toronado 455 and THM425 tranny , and put it in the back of 1948 Chevy truck.

Steve O

I think it needs another 455 in the front

OLD SKL 69

Definitely different. Other than to drive it to shows though, not sure what else it would be good for. Like others stated, it's pretty much useless as a truck.

wolfman98

It looks cool but I really don't know what other value it may have.I do like the innovative exhaust and I bet she is LOUD!! The shifter setup I am not to sure about but it looks like he may have problems unless he shifts slowly which is something I could never do in any standard I have had. I think he should have put it under the hood and moved the rad and battery to the rear. A buddy of mine has a big block rockcrawler he built starting with an S10 frame and put on an old chev 1/2 ton cab cutting the doors down and welding shut.He put a big rad in the rear with electric fan inside tunnel shroud. The battery sits in back of cab between the two buckets and the fuel tank is at the rear inside full cage. He is running 42's with new $400.00 beadlocks that are guarenteed not to break seal. The bottom of the frame is above my waist and he usually runs 4lbs. of air. You would not believe some of the rocks he can crawl over and he does hillclimbing at warp speed. This truck has a purpose...FUN...FUN...FUN!!!

88 coupe

The "shifter" has nothing to do with it. It is an automatic trans. It shifts by itself.

Norm

88 coupe

This is a better use for a 455.

Norm

wolfman98

Looking at the shifter itself I assumed ( incorrectly ) that it was going to be set up as a standard shift. The shifter looks like it came from a standard truck as does the ball on the top of the shifter. I just went through too quickly , my apologies for that. Does the h****s A** comment at the end really seem necessary! Even though made by someone else quoting it seems to imply your passing on namecalling to me. I am sure that we can be more civil to each other on this site . I can be big enough to admit my mistakes , and I have made and will continue to make many more , but we should not resort to insulting those who are not as well informed as others but instead pass on your knowledge . That is why I joined this site , to learn more about my Oldsmobile ( the first one I have owned ). It is very difficult for me to try to restore this car as I am not a mechanic nor did I spend a lot of time growing up building cars. I did work a lot on a 66 Impala SS when I was 18 ( I am 51 ) changing the motor from the 283 to a 327 , but never did much since then . now I find myself partly disabled and off work because of that but I cannot sit around and do nothing. Being able to trade my late fathers 29 Moadel A leatherback for this car gives me something to do , and although it is a struggle I do enjoy it. I find the information that i get on this site invaluable. I agreed with the administrators to keep the conversations away from politics as the thread "economy"got out of hand. On this particular truck my opinion is that I did not think that the truck was a good use for a 455 , but that was just my opinion. The person who built it may think totally different and since it is his truck and motor he can do with it what he wants. No one will like every car or truck that is out there but there are some that become "conversation". Maybe that was his intention.

Bluevista

This new proposed National Police force experimental test truck could use a 455.

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Oldsguy

That's insane, but believable. My father and Mother were missionaries in Nigeria until they retired so I notice when Nigeria is in the national news. A year or so ago some people were killed over there when they tried to steal some gasoline..........................from a delivery pipeline. They just started cutting away at the pipe, you know what happened next.

Bluevista

My brother in law works for an oil equipment company and was there for seven years. He lived in Lagos in a walled compound and had a pit bull that got the ones that did get over the wall, wild place. He probably knows all about that pipeline and sold them the parts to fix it or his company did the work, he's in Singapore now and handles all the overseas business like that.
A friend I grew up with is a flying missionary in southern Mexico and bordering areas. He could never fix a car right when we were teenagers, always ended up dragging them to the gas station. Now he wants me to fly around Central America in a plane he just just totally overhauled out in the open in the jungle with some locals, no thanks.

88 coupe

Not unusual that a poster makes an error. The damage occurs when a prompt correction is not made.

Also not unusual that the original author cannot get past an inflated "ego" to realize how many newcomers will read (corrected or uncorrected) that post.

As I have said many times: Name calling is a diversionary tactic, used by BS artists, when they cannot keep up with a discussion.

You need to stop looking for "implications" and read what the author actually wrote.

More civil?

It is a simple "sig line". Get over it.

If you wish to discuss it further, send me a PM.

Norm

rockethound

maybe that was the only part of a olds he could afford was the motor.

onetogofast

That thing is BAD!!!

OldsVentura

Awesome. Gotta love a true hot rod.

csstrux

Do you know what that thing is supposed to be when done?

88 coupe

http://www.droldmobile.com/id13.html

Norm

csstrux

They aren't messing around

wolfman98

Will be looking forward to when they finish it and get her out on the road.