[05snopro440]

Originally Posted by shaunatk

I hear ya. If it was a stock body, in good condition, being mounted on a stock frame with a mustang II front suspension, I'd feel pretty comfortable doing most of the work myself.

Mounting the truck on a different frame was an absolutely tedious thing to do for the two of us working on it with a lift. I couldn't begin to imagine doing it myself without a lift.

Most of the body is mounted, but we ran into an issue with the back, as I was making decisions about how much to shorten the frame based on measurements I found online, but when we put the bed on we realized we were still about 6" too long. So, I either need to do a 4 link setup so I can move the rear end forward (more $$$), or shorten the frame some more.

Plus we need to figure out how we're going to mount the S10 column, and how to handle the steering shaft. And since it's an LS engine with custom motor mounts, getting the steering shaft to fit around the manifolds could be a nightmare.

And the cab of the truck is in terrific condition, only a couple of small patches needed where the fenders go over the cab. However, the rear fenders are a mess, and the front fenders have a ton of bondo in them, and I don't think I could ever get it right working on them myself.

Using measurements you found online isn't a good idea. First of all every truck is different, and when it comes to an S-10 swap, your cab is in a different location than everyone else's. Measure, measure, measure, then cut where it needs to be. I assume you say it was tedious because this might have been your first frame swap? My dad and I did mine with a skid steer loader for mounting the cab, and it really wasn't that hard, but this wasn't our first.

You're worrying too much about mounting things, you just need to dig in and it becomes easier. I have a 455 Buick in mine (wider than the LS by 2-3") and used the stock S-10 column, and it was rather easy. My engine is set back a lot as well. I had to cut the welds holding the bottom mount (bolts to floor) for the column, and move it way up (I had to make a notch in it for my neutral safety switch). I used the brace beetween the dash and firewall for the S-10 that the brake booster and steering column bolted to, modified it slightly to mate to the dash, and used it to mount the booster to on the '46 and welded some 2x2 square tubing to it, which the column is bolted to. The shaft between the column and steering box is the S-10 piece that was lengthened slightly. The solutions to these issues are pretty simple, you just need to think outside the box.

Originally Posted by shaunatk

That looks awesome. And I hear you on the front wheels, that's my biggest fear, whether or not we made the right choice. There's really no turning back after you place the front wheels! I think once the sheetmetal is all lined up, they will appear to be more towards the front. If I remember right, we don't have all of the bracing in the fenders yet.

I even would have liked to take my cab back another inch or so, just because the shape of the wheelwells makes the wheels look further back than they are. I'm happy with where mine are though.

Originally Posted by shaunatk

And as you can tell by my "inspirational" truck, shoddy body work isn't something I could live with. I have decided to scale it back some whenever we do get back to work on it. Mostly stock body with a roll pan on the rear, keeping the door handles, wood bed floor, and will probably end up painting it a color that doesn't have metallic in it.

I really wish I could desire to own a Rat Rod (and I do respect them and understand why they are liked), but ever since I was a little kid, the look that I am hoping to obtain for my truck is what I've wanted.

My truck gets called a Rat, but I don't consider it one. I built it to look like it could have been sitting as is in a barn for years. The only thing "Ratty" is the body, and only because it hasn't been painted. It was as well built as if it would have had paint, and is much better built than a lot of painted cars around these parts. It even has a fully finished interior, and is better insulated and weatherstripped than most new cars! In fact I probably have more time into it because I wanted to preserve the patina and make it look like certain things had been done for years. Regardless, you'll have so much fun with your truck. I love that I can take mine bombing down a gravel road, and not have to worry about chips in the paint. I have vehicles with shiny paint, and this is a refreshing change.

Originally Posted by 99 to Life

your truck is far from a ratrod, nothing wrong with a nice patina, or contrasting old with new, but hey if paint is your goal than do you. Thats whats great about building, its your vision coming to life. Your bringing back a piece of the past and thats whats important. You don't see these everyday so its about having something unique, whether its traditional, stocker, drag, gasser, custom, hot rod, ratrod, streetrod,bomb and whatever other term or style you wanna throw out there, its a piece of art.

Personally, here would be my approach. Cutting frame is not a big deal, and shortening/lengthening bed and running boards are options too, lot of people do it. Its just metal and to get the wheelbase right, front is most important, back has more room to play with. Steering, my opinion s10 columns stick out like a sore thumb, just don't go with the interior, but thats me. It is easy as pie to use and shorten the original tubed column or make your own. Just shorten it, get yourself a roller bearing to fit in the bottom, have your shaft coming out of the bearing, square off the end, get a used or new ujoint to mate to it. There are lots of heim joints and ujoint rigs out there that look like a puzzle to work.

fenders, and body work def eat up time. Less filler the better, but if you got the patience which alot don't. Learn some hammer and dolly work and smooth em out, plenty examples online and heck you can do that on your back porch at home. if you gotta replace some patches thats another thing, but doing and learning that is like anything else.

there are always hurdles to jump through man, if you want it bad enough it will happen. Some guys go years and years before completing something, others can do it in months. End result is getting the thing on the road, heck run the patina for a bit, get it on the road and then paint it later, options are endless. What I'v learned in life so far, depend on as little people as possible!

There are always differing opinions on the steering column. I much prefer the modern tilt, and they look just fine in there in my opinion, but I'm also not a fan of the original style columns. I don't know why, just the way it is. To each their own.