Hey Guys,
My name is Mykk, I don't frequently post but I do check out other's work in appreciation.
This is my 04 Silverado:
In my truck is this 11:1, .040" over roller cam 350:
Recently, while removing the 4L60E transmission my truck has a mishap. The parking brake didn't hold and the truck rolled backwards off my driveway and into my pipe corral horse arena.
The custom shaved tailgate, aftermarket LED tail lights and the driveside bed were hurt pretty bad (tough to see in the photo below, but 1/2 way up the bed was stress creased from the impact, as well as the wheel well bulged outward). It could be repaired by a paint and body guy, which I am not.
The pipe on the right is what caught my run away truck.
The bed of my truck was becoming an eye sore as it was, the inside was serious dented up from the years. The DIY spray in bed liner started chipping away within a week. The tailgate was beginning to crack where the handle was shaved.
When I get the new transmission in place I decided to take the bed off the truck and explore my options. I would rather drive a 'Work in progress" than a wrecked truck.
One idea I had, and keep an open mind while reading this, was to build a very simple & short flatbed that would fit between the rear wheels. Simplicity is key, no stake posts, headache racks, nothing. A flat surface with a few tie down locations so I could still move some things when needed.
I wasn't 100% sold on the idea, but the more I began to think about it the more it was growing on me. I even hatched a plan of using a single large sheet if polished diamond tread aluminum cut into a similar template as below to make a 'Evil' coffin shape in a Hot Rod & Kustom flavor:
I'm hoping I'll be able to successfully pull off this idea in real life as I see it in my head. But really it makes a interesting & custom solution to a problem. I also like the idea loosing the weight of the bed, except for that it's over the rear wheels. I might mount the 20gal fuel cell, nitrous bottle and battery behind the axle to help with weight distribution.
What do you guys think, a 'Hot Rod' flatbed 2004 Silverado? It would be unique, as if my motor swap isn't unique enough.
Cheers ~Mykk