what am i getting into? 51 project.

[Swifty]

So i've been wanting to build a 47 - 53 chevy truck for a while and since i'm selling my current daily driver, 350z, i'll have the means to do it now. I plan to use this truck as my new daily driver. I've dropped in engines before, changed suspension, etc. Only things i'm worried about is i don't know how to weld and i've never messed with any pedal assembly before. Am i digging myself too deep of a hole or do you think i'll be alright with this project? The truck has some rust holes that'll need to be filled and i'm going to want a new firewall put in. I'm planning on putting the truck on a S10 frame, baggs, 350/350 turbo, & S10 rear. Whats everyone's thoughts on this? What kinda of trouble am i getting myself into with this project? This will be my first complete frame up build.

[sgtusmc]

I think you'll be okay. If you have the money to spend you won't need a welder. If you are planning on an S10 swap you can buy the kit (bolts together to the s10 frame). For the bags, you can find thousands of bolt on suspension parts for the S10. They sell some cool after market pedal assembly combos that will fit your app. As for the filling of rust holes. I guess you could use body adheasive and bondo, which might get you by for a few years. I did the swap but I can weld (not great thou) but I can. If your not confident in your welds stay away from suspension parts and body mounts (buy the kits) but for body panels and rust holes you'd be better off buying a small welder and learn to weld on scraps of metal. Once you have the welder you'll find yourself using it on a weekly basis on other things to. They are pretty cheap thru home depot and other home/auto stores. If your just going to use it on panals and small stuff you won't need a high speed low drag set-up. I forgot to mention, if your doing an s10 swap use the pedal ass. from the s10. Its easy. If you ever need help with pics and stuff PM me and I'll get you the pics.

[50adrod]

you can do it, think about getting a mig welder and learning to weld. it will be cheaper and it is not that hard to learn. plus when finished you will have a new skill and a new tool

[Houston54]

If you are selling your daily driver to fund this project what will you be using in the mean time? These projects, especially as you have defined, are not completed quickly. Your ambitions to do the truck are admirable but what experience do you have with old vehicles? If the answer is none I would hold onto that 350Z.

The S10 swap is not simple. If you are looking for simple you took a wrong turn. An IFS kit would be the simple solution but that in itself presents other challenges. If you were planning to use one of the S10 Kits out there then the cost difference will be small between that and an IFS. The IFS wins from resale and value added aspect.

Do you have a garage to work in? Do you have storage area for all the sheetmetal and boxes of parts you will have upon disassembly? Do you have the tools needed other than the welder?

You have not provided us with a whole lot of background info so it is hard to judge whether this truck will be on ebay or craigslist in short order after you toss in the towel. These things are easy to start but difficult to finish. My project took me 5.5 YEARS after an original estimate of 2 years.

If you are serious you will find a lot of support here but one thing you need to do first is sit down and write out a build plan for the truck. Everything from chassis work and costs, to body work and costs, paint and material costs, electrical costs, interior costs, glass costs, tool cost, wheel/tire cost, etc. Without such a plan you run a higher risk of failure.

Sorry to come off hard but I would hate to see you sell your car and be walking instead of riding.

[jkaylor68gmc]

I will sell you mine with a finished frame and a body that is ready for the bodywork and paint.

You can build this whole truck without ever touching a welder.


http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=242103 Here is the thread, I am asking $10,000 flat

The front and rear suspensions were 7,000

[weldvair@embarqmail.]

One other point....if this will be a daily driver I would upgrade the trans to one w/overdrive.
Also w/o welding skills I would look for an unfinished project where the major welding is done,

Don Meyer-Mech Engr

[Swifty]

sgtusmc, thanks for the encouragement. I'm not worried about installing the bags because like you mentioned, people sell a bunch of bolt on kits. For pedal assemblies, i've never really looked into the kits that are for sale. I've never seen them installed. I talked to my dad today and he made it sound like its easy. As far as body work, i'd rather not use bondo/body filler. If i'm going to do something i'd like to do it right and made to last.

Houston54, thanks for your blunt honesty. I do appreciate it. Yes, i'm selling my daily driver, 350z to help fund this project but i won't be without a vehicle. I'll be using my 68 Dodge as a daily driver. As far as the S10 swap, i've been researching on it and it doesn't seem that hard but i could be wrong. I plan on buying the kit off line to do the swap. I thought about IFS, but i like the thought of being able to get parts easy for the frame/suspension, having a solid newer frame, etc. Yes, i have a garage to work in and a place to store the parts. I have several tools but i'm sure this project will cause me to buy more like most of the projects i take on. I have little expierence with older cars but i think i know enough to do it. This is something that does make me nervous though. As far as time line, my goal is 1 year and thats because of budget only. If all the money was there i think i could do it in 6 - 8 months.

jkaylor68gmc, I would love to buy a prebuilt truck but to be honest, i don't have $10k hard cash to just drop and a loan for an older vehicle ain't easy. I also want the satisfaction of "i built this." Most of my previous vehicles i've worked on were already running and i just upgraded. This time i want something i can be trully proud of.

50adrod, i would love to know how to weld. it'd save me so much cash in the long run but i'm kind of a perfectionist and i would hate to see sh!tty welds on my project truck.

[Swifty]

weldvair@embarqmail, i would love to find a project like that but i still want to do the frame up myself. I've been wanting to do this for quite some time but i've always been to nervous to jump in and do it. Plus, its not that easy finding a truck 1/2 built with all the welding fixed.

[jeffs51chevy]

My .02 cents worth starts with "why are you using the s10 frame?" If the reason to use the s10 frame is Hot Roding on the cheap - go for it. For me, it started as a cool idea; updated running gear, all in an inexpensive package. BUT, if you have the budget, and the stock frame is in good shape, look to use it. It takes a lot of time aligning and fitting parts even when they are going in factory places. With the swap you will be fabricating much of the trucks integrity. Getting a quality finished product takes skill and technique - both can be learned with determination and perseverance. The job is doable, just be ready to put in the work.

BTW – by Hot Roding on the cheap I mean inexpensively, not poor quality

[Swifty]

Originally Posted by jeffs51chevy

by Hot Roding on the cheap I mean inexpensively, not poor quality

Thats kinda what i'm going for. I've read a couple of build threads on various forums from people who are using the S10 Frame and they came out nicely. I wouldn't image the headachs being that bad if i use the converison kit. Like mentioned before i like the idea of have a new frame w/newer suspension pieces and being able to pick up parts cheap since its for a S10.

[49studebaker]

Wow, though some of the responses you received were a bit "hard", they were right on and better yet, you have a good attitude and we can tell you have done your homework and have it thought out. I just came in from the shop where I've been prepping/sealing drip rails on my 71. My project is going on it's third year! I'm afraid the Ramjet won't turn over by the time I'm ready to fire it. It's close though. Good Luck to you.

[jeffs51chevy]

It's great to see you are up for the challenge. I don't regret my decision, nor will you from the sounds of it. Please use me and this board as the invaluable resource that it is. If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know.

[54 jimmy]

save your self a lot of thinking and searching. don't buy the advanced kit go with the e-z chassis swap kit it is a complete kit and you can use the s10 pedals in your truck the kit comes with the adapter plate for the s10 pedals. plus if you find an s10 with a good drive train you can use it. oh yeah the ez kit guy can hook you up with adapting the wiring and various other s10 parts so you can save yourself some green and sanity too. the web site is www.e-zchassisswaps.com the kit does require some welding but he says that almost anyone can do it. you sound like your a novice so i don't think it will be a problem for you.

[pgf545]

Hey good luck with your truck. I am building on with my dad and we are deep into the 2nd year and still have a long way to go. My biggest problem has been time. You can look at my build thread and I replaced the firewall and have a few pictures. I went with the original frame and a Heidts a-arm setup. There are several pictures on there of things that I have been doing. Take a look and maybe you can use some of what I did and steal some ideas that will spark something to help you in your project. I know I stole a few from others on this board....lol. Good luck and if you are determined it will get done. But be realistic and get help when you need it.

Bernie

P.S. You probably should double your expected budget cause as you go along you always find something that either needs replacing or is broken.

[Swifty]

54Jimmy, Thanks for the link. It seems a little bit better.

pgf545, awesome build thread! your build seems a little more than what i'm trying to get into but it is admirable.

My plan of attack,

- take the S10 frame and clean it up. then find a friend of a friend that can weld and have him hook up the S10 conversion kit.

- complete the suspension & brakes. all but lines.

- Get the rear end in

- Start working on the body problems with the cab. whatever needs to be welded, fixed, patched, new firewall, etc.

- Order the crate fuel injected 350 crate engine w/350 turbo tranny.

- line engine up, engine mounts,

- install cab/engine/drive shaft/fuel tank

- Since i've never been good at wireing and i knew this from the start i'd take the truck to a pro shop to get fully wired.

- Since i want to keep that rusted look/rat rod feel i don't plan on doing a ton of body work/paint so i can do it myself. I'm not worried about perfection.

- Then at the last bit i'll mess with the interior.


I'm sure i missed something but thats about the basic plan. Does anyone have any advice on what they wish they would've done but didn't when they were building thier truck?

[sgtusmc]

your going to need wheel spacers or deep rims to fill in the wells. The only thing I wish I'd of done was buy an S10 with A/C. I found a local school that was selling of there trucks and buyin new ones. You will need a reg cab long bed. The one I bought was a 90 with 56,000 miles on the V6. I got it for $500. I've been working on it for about 8 months. I don't really get to work on it as much as I'd like (I was hurt in Iraq and retired) so I have more bad days than good. So if you hit it non stop you could have it done in a year. My buddy has a 52 GMC with a 2004 or 05 vette engine on an S10 frame. He's running all the s10 wireing (lights, ect) He's using the vette wiring to run just the engine and ecu. I know he bought the engine, tranny, ecu and wiring for around 3 grand out of a wrecked car on Ebay. Very simple set-up. It's almost plug and play. That would save you big bucks on having a shop wire it for you. He did have to change out the rear end and D/S.

[50adrod]

Originally Posted by Swifty

- Since i want to keep that rusted look/rat rod feel i don't plan on doing a ton of body work/paint so i can do it myself. I'm not worried about perfection.

how do you plan on keeping the rust/patina where you have new sheet metal welded in?

[floridasteve]

I felt the same way as you when I started. I did have some limited time working on vehicles. I stick welded years before but never with a mig. If your determination to stay with it and take your time does not drop off you will be fine. There are always some guys around with a club or friend of a friend that can guide you if you get in a jam. As previously stated don't mess around with welding a suspension piece if your not 100% sure of the quality of the weld. The hard part with the sheetmetal is not burning through the sheet metal. You can get a ton of assistance for free on this site. Good luck and don't worry it sounds like you thought this out and will be fine. Its not rocket science but your quality will suffer if you don't take your time.

[weldvair@embarqmail.]

If you want to make the trip down I will teach you how to weld. I also have a frame with a GM sub frame welded in that I will not use.

Don Meyer-St Cloud, Fl(near Orlando)

[Daniel U]

I hope that this doesn't come across negative, but I have doubled my budget and estimated time on my '54. It's on pause as I have niether time or $ to finish it. I'm in no way saying that this will happen to you. Keep us posted and let's see some pics!