Ron Pircey Enterprises

Ty Zumach’s Ultra Rare 1957 Cameo Pickup Gets an Art Morrison Chassis

July 11th, 2012

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To the typical “hot rod enthusiast” there is probably no such thing as a perfect marriage. Ty Zumach may beg to differ. You don’t see 57 Chevy Cameo Trucks every day that’s for sure! And when you marry the rare Cameo to “a state of the art” custom designed Art Morrison Truck Chassis it has all the makings of a hot rodders perfect marriage.

Ron had lengthy conversations with Ty about his “final vision” of what he wanted the truck to look like when completed. Important decisions included:

What wheels and tires do you want to use?
Choices for Brakes and Suspension Type?
What drive train do you want to accommodate?
What is the final stance of the truck going to be? (In other words, what is the final ride height of the truck going to be with everything mounted?)

Sure there are probably a million other things to decide appon like fuel tank or cell and location, type of steering column, etc. but the above list outlines the basic choices to be made chassis-wise.

The first two pictures show the stock chassis and straight six cylinder engine as delivered to our shop.

The next three photos show the cab of the Cameo being lowered onto the new Morrison Truck Chassis along with a photo of one of the custom fabricated body mounts.

The third photo sequence shows the final stance of the truck with the front sheet metal and truck bed mounted

More Side Views of Body Mounted –

The final two photos show the beautiful fit of the Morrison Chassis and its relationship to the bed floor.

Overall this was a fun project and I cant wait to see the finished product with paint and interior completed.

We’ll keep ya posted!

John Woods 1991 Eagle Talon 8 Point Roll Cage Fabrication

July 5th, 2012

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John Woods realized in short order that his 91 Eagle Talon was too fast! In order to be in accordance with NHRA rules John commissioned us to custom bend and fabricate an 8 Point Roll Cage to not only meet the rules but to add more rigidity to the uni-body structure of the Talon.

The first thing to do was to decide on the material to be used. According to NHRA rules you can choose 4130 Chrome Moly tubing in 1 5/8”X .083 wall or Mild Steel in 1 5/8” diameter with a .120 minimum wall thickness.

Once the material was chosen, the next step was to lay out the design of the cage and take the required dimensions; so that the tubing could be bent correctly. We chose the 1 5/8” Mild Steel material. When laying out the design of the cage we take into consideration where the tubing will line up compared to important items like door handles, window cranks or switches, etc. The drivers seating position is also a crucial item to take into consideration. It is also important to decide if you wish to retain the stock dash.

Once the cage was bent, the next step is the most time consuming. Notching of the tubing is critical for a good fit; so that the welds will be narrow and tight. That way the car will pass “tech inspection” at the racetrack more easily.

Once the cage is fit and tack welded we test to insure the drivers seating position and access to the controls is proper before final welding is completed. We also installed some additional bracing to further stiffen the chassis.

Although each step in the process is not outlined in photographic sequence, by checking out the small group of photos in the photo gallery it will give you a good idea of the steps and work involved.

Click here to visit the project photo album.