[davepl]

I'm ambivalent about cutting down trucks (ambivalent in the literal sense). I had planned to cut down my Longhorn but decided I preferred to preserve history and the cool factor of the Longhorn over cloning something else. So speaking as someone who "almost did it", here's why:

I think its painfully obvious, but never see it mentioned: the highly optioned and big block trucks that you can find today are generally long beds. People want a "desirable" option set on a short bed, but you can't find them, so they take a long truck and cut it down.

The irony of it is that a big-block, AC truck cut down is -not- an original shortbed, big block, AC truck in any sense. So it would make just as much sense to take a stripper shortbed and add the options you want, it's no more or less authentic.

I'm sure I'd be guilty of it too... had I cut down mine, my sig would claim it as a shortbed, bucket seat, big block, tach, AC, etc. But it wouldn't be one.

Maybe its that short frames of any description are getting hard to find (you can buy the beds repop'd, so that's not it). But when I was searching for a "good" shortbed, I never found one in years, but I found plenty of shortbed plain janes I could have started with.

My sentiment is the same on value... maybe a cut down longbed will sell for more than a longbed will, but it still won't be worth what an original shortbed would. And I'm not even sure I'd want someone else's frame fabrication (not directed at the original poster, I have no idea how well it was or wasn't done).