57 build

[pugs]

thanx memo im going to use a stock hood instead of the gmc one. as for a bed im thinking of using a lwb step but i will have to shorten it up about 8".
i had a 56 a few yrs back that i had put on 81 chassis

[pugs]

its been a few days, been working out which way to do the rad support and rad and front frame horns will have updates hopefully tomorrow sometime

[pugs]

did alittle cleanup in the garage today and tok a couple of pics of the 57 sitting outside





i modified the front rad support by cutting out the lower section (mount pocket), then bet out a piece of 3x3 flat stock and bolted in place for now use the lower radiator bolt hole (will be welded) (will get other pics later)





i sat the short box i have to get an idea of it looks like, now i can go 2 ways on this. either take a long bed and shorten it up or find about 12-16" of another bed abd weld it to front of the bed to stretch it forward about 8" i have which will have to see what i can come up with

[pugs]

i got the rat support done done last will get later today, what i had done was welded a piece of angle across the the bottom of the support, drilled some holes like i had done on the short pieces, bolted it all up and marked and drilled holes in the frame horns and then welded in a hat nut on each side. i was at the local u-pull it again in the morning and while walking around i noticed an international stepside bed and measured it and its like the perfect length bed i need is real decent shape, rear fender kind of have the shape os the chevy does these bed also have a wheel tub on the inside, thinjing maybe i just cut wheelwell sections out a pr of junk fenders and welding then onto the IH fenders, anyway heres a pic of what the bed looks like

[pugs]

madesoem progress today, got the steering hooked up and filer pieces for the floor under the column(section right below comumn is removeable). i do need to make a slight notch on the frame about 3-4" above the ragjoint for extra cleanence





made up some top radiator holders



was also at the junkyard on monday morning and had a center section of a floor/hump area of a real junk 71 chevy truck cut out. i did get the right side of it tacked in tonite, will get left side done tomorrow

[bensimmons_05]

You ceartainly have a nac for making things work. Great work, Can't wait to see what you will do next.

[pugs]

thanx ben, to me building an old truck is lots of fun when most of my parts are found at the local u-pull it.(old school/very low budget) only thing really holding me up is locating rear fenders, once i have them , i can get the bed properly positioned, then i will know how much i need to extend the front of the bed. the way im looking at it id say no more then 6" is all i have to go

[pugs]

i got the hump area all tacked yesterday. once i get the cab back off the frame i will need to do alittle trimming off the original opening, then roll it up to meet the the new hump perimeter and finish welding all up

[pugs]

well as luck would have it, i was looking for rear to atleast bolt onthe truck so i could get me bed lined upand everything centered with the wheel. this guy i talked to a few weeks ago stopped by and gave a rough but fixable pr of rear fenders. i bolted the up moved the box to were i need it to sit, and now i need to add about 7" to the front of my box for it all to work out. gonna push it outside tomorrow and do some cleanup again and get more pics







pic of about where bed floor will be

[pugs]

here a few pics of the truck outside today, im debating on extending the box 8" forward or if i want to shorten the frame, with doing the frame i will need to relocate a fuel tank of the rear of the bed.









pic of rad support, i will running a 14" piece of 2x3 rectangular tubing for front frame horns

[bensimmons_05]

Its just my opinion but I think the short wheel base trucks look so much better. I say shorten the frame.

And I can't really tell from the pictures, but if you move the tank it looks like you could lower the bed floor a good couple of inches.

[pugs]

yea im seriuosly thinking on shortening the frame the more i look at the pics the more im not happy with the looks. fuel tank isnt the problem as far as bed floor height, its the frame. s-10 frames steps up and i have bed lowered down over the frame to match the cab

[71'tahoe]

Hey pugs! Looking good. You any good with a welder? I have seen a lot of s-10 guys do a stock floor body drop by welding 2x3 from the front frame horns,behind the rear control arm mounts,to the end of the bed.You could just run it flat from the control arm mount straight back to get the flat frame rails like the factory truck were,then you could keep the floor of the bed almost factory.Just a thought?!

[pugs]

thanx 71'tahoe, i can do fairly well with the welder, but i do have a friend thats a certified welder, he welded the nova clip on my old stock frame.
well i decided to shorten the s-10 frame down so today i tore it all down, removed the rear s-10 cab mounts made some measurements , drew some lines remeasured and did the step cuts. i need to get to my brothers and grab a few more clamps. will get pics tomorrow

[pugs]

today i remeasured everything got it all clamped together and started welding things back together, its welded enough till iget up to my brothers to have our buddy finish welding the back plates in. sorry pics suk was alittle smokey in the garage
d/s





p/s

[pugs]

well i work out the location of the rear cab mounts and almost have the drivers side done but my angle grinder took a s**t. hope to be able to find a good one tomorrow for the right price and will get pics then

[pugs]

heres a couple pics of the frame, started doing alittle painting on it



hard to see it but at the end of the lite colored paint(just there to keep from rusting) where it statrs again to black paint is where my rear cab mount is. being the the bolt holes land right onthe edge of the frame.what i did was cut into the side of the frame and added a 2x2 square tubing cut on a 45*, this will give me acess to get to the bolt and nut





here you can the front cab mount(on the right) the original one need to be cut off yet. going to try to sit the cab back on tomorrow and get ther rear mounts drilled out then will set bed back on and see how it looks

[bensimmons_05]

Lookin good!

[pugs]

thanx Ben, its coming along slowly, as of now the weather kind of holding alittle. as son as i get some cash together im going to be buying new, what they call keyways, for the front torsion bars which will lower it about 3-4"

[royo]

nice ride you got there

[pugs]

thanx royo, id have the cab back onthe frame by now but its to freaking cold out now, to hard to get ther garage warmed up oh it sux i hate sitting around doing nothing but play on the computer and being bored

[pugs]

well going stir crazy in the house the past couple of days, idid get out to the garage for alittle over an hour tosit the cab and bed onthe frame then i hung a fender. i did manage to snap a few shots , camera not working properly

[71'tahoe]

Just like MCdonalds...Im lovin it!!!! we need some more picks....I know all about the cold..I havent been out in the shop for a few weeks....

[pugs]

its going to be raining tomorrow but alot warmer. so ill get out ther and try to get the rear cab bolts in and take a few more pics

[pugs]

hope everyone had a good Xmas. didnt get alot done the past few day and hoping to get up to my brothers to finish welding the frame tomorrow. what do ya all think about the z28 wheels, keep them? im undecided, would like to go to some 17" torque thrusts or saltflats, but thats way over my budget. so im thinking maybe just going steels with a whitewall. i need some ideas here