Anybody,

I stumbled upon a '51 Chevy P/U three
years ago from a departiing Special Forces
soldier and purchased it and drove it off
for $500.

I am considering the possibliity of installing a 235 in-line six with an
Offenhauser triple-carb setup.  However,
I am wondering if anyone could offer any
advice on the addtion of power steering and air-conditioning to this proposed set-up.

In addition, can anyone offer any links where I can find a crate performance 235 engine and all the necessary brackets for a/c and power steering as well as the alternator.

Much Obliged,
Ed  

You must have lots of money and not care about performance or gas mileage, not to mention a lot of patience.

Don't get me wrong I like stovebolts as much as the next person, but you would be much better off going with a small-block if you actually plan on driving the '51.

I'm guessing the truck still has torque-tube with a 216?
Sell all that stuff to someone that wants a stocker and get a drivtrain you can get parts for.  

John,

Thanks for your candid advice.  I am rather new at this game.

Ed  

Ed, you are welcome. If you want power-steering, and air-conditioning with great performance and way better gas-mileage and want to get the most bang for your buck here's the way to do it. Look for a 305 or 350 cubic inch Chevy motor and a auto overdrive tranny like a 700-R4. If your chassis is still stock you will have to upgrade to accept an open driveline.

You can upgrade your stock chassis or buy a new roller (there's several differnet places that sell rolling chassis advertised in Custom Classic Trucks) It's a lot of fun to upgrade a stocker but it will a lot of time and some money.

I've said it before and I'll say it again the fastest way to go and the best way to avoid the learning curve is a roller.

Hope this helps,

John G.