project '49 green machine Im young and dumb

[touchmister]

well im 19 and just found this site through one of my buddies. Since i was about 8 or 9 i was eyeing up this '49 chevy pickup that sat behind a barn by my house. As time went by and i got older i gave up on trying to find the owner of the truck until one day when i was working at penndot. Luck had it that I found the owner. It was an older guy that i worked with. I said id been eyeing this old truck behind a barn by my house and he said well i bought that truck 3 years ago and decided not to fix it up cause i couldnt get it out. So $50 later and lots of blood, sweat, and fuel tugging the truck out this is what i have. I dont know where to go with it. Im thinking a 350 or 400 engine, saginaw 4 speed and a ford 9 inch but i dont know what to get the 9 inch out of. Im gonna find a early 80's malibu and use the subframe out of it. Im still young and dumb and id appreciate it if you older guys could give me alittle help on it. Ill upload pictures once i get them off the camera.

[joeys66pickup]

Welcome to the board from a fellow 19'r being our age kinda sucks
(nothing to do but cars i guess) but working on cars definitely makes it up

im pretty sure you can get the 9'' out of a lincoln versailles...pretty good stock ratio's i think also

[1sik52]

[50adrod]

get a 9 inch out of an early 70's F-100 they are 60 inches wide and do not require narrowing. if you find a 6 cyl they usually have lower gears. mine had 370,s

[thirdstreettito]

Welcome from a 16 y/o!

[Kid]

welcome aboard touchmister, you just found the most valuable forum that exists to help with your project. We'll all be happy to provide any insight we can. Just ask. I did the "G" body front clip on my truck & it makes a great driving truck but does involve some fab work. A mustang 2 conversion kit is easier & quicker but more expensive.

[Lextech]

Have you thought about using an 8.8 Ford instead of the 9 inch. The 8.8 is very easy to find--very strong--cheap--comes in lots of ratios--many are positrac--many have disc brakes. There is an info tag on the cover that is easy to decode. Something like this (this is from memory) 8.8_3_L_73. The first number after the 8.8 is the first number of the gear ratio--If the next digit is an "L" that means posi, if it is just an empty space-that means No Posi.The next digits are the rest of the gear ratio. Sooo---This example would be an 8.8 posi with a 3:73 gear.

Jeff

[pugs]

welcome to the board. Pa here also. yea post some pics, as we dont all like to read. I'll have to let ya know but I mite heading your way in a couple of weeks, I could stop by and ckeck it out and maybe give ya some pointers

[OrrieG]

Welcome to the forum. Use the search function to look at other conversions to decide how much you want to bite off! Most is not hard just takes attention to detail and patience. Like said, don't get hung up on a 9", stock they are ok but need additional work for higher hp applications. Advantage is the replaceable pumpkin, you can set up different ratios and easily swap them out (one for around town, one for cruising across the country). I found this site about 3 years ago and have looked at all the build threads to help with my build, lots of good guys willing to share information. Post some pics..

[pgf545]

Welcome to a great place for information. It is cool to see the younger guys building old cars and trucks. My 19 year old looked for an older car but couldn't find an appropriate one so he went with a supercharged Saturn instead. He is hoping that once he gets out of school that he can find an old Camaro or Nova or something to play with. Anyway look at several of the builds on here and you will find lots of idea. I am building one with my dad and we went the Mustang II route. Ours is getting out of control right now but hopefully this year will bring the paint that I have been waiting on...lol. If you need any help post your questions and you will gets lots of information. Good luck and have fun.

Bernie

[touchmister]

Yea this site is great...i tried uploading some pics tonight but it kept saying upload failed so i dont know whats up with it. Ill try again tomorrow. Anyways today i got home after being out all night and decided it was time to dust off the cherry picker and pull the 216 and 3 speed out of the truck. It took about an hour but now its out. Im working a deal with a guy to trade him that engine and tranny for a 350 hooked up to a 4 speed. Ive been working on the truck alot over my college christmas break and have it torn down to the frame. The frame has a crack on each side where the last running board mount is but my college has the laser frame straightener so im gonna take it there to get it fixed when college starts.

[touchmister]

To pgf545: Have your son keep looking. I have a 1977 chevy malibu two door all painted up like a '70 chevelle SS the red with black racing stripes. If you lived in pennsylvania i could show you where some old 69, 70, and 71 camaros are at for your son. I found my malibu at a yard sale and picked it up for $3200 with 38,000 original miles but it had the granny vynil top and old paint. It was a barn car but i had to spice that up. Tell him to go to junkyards in the middle of nowhere. Ive found belairs, nomads, firebirds, elcominos, and camaros all in this one junkyard. The guy is old and doesnt know what he has so im gonna try to cut some deals with him to pick some cars up before they are gone to scrap.

[touchmister]

ahhhhhhhhhh ha finally figured it out my pictures were too big...

[touchmister]

some more pics

[thirdstreettito]

I'd redo everything but the body and then drive the h3ll out of it! Nice truck!

[touchmister]

heres the most recent pictures of the truck and ill upload some tomorrow with the engine out. I also added some pictures of the malibu i restored. The malibu is for sale if anyone is interested.

[touchmister]

the last picture was small so i posted this one. The truck was a farm truck until the late 70's and early 80's when it was parked in the barn. After a year of being parked in the barn they decided they didnt have anymore room in the barn for it and put it out behind a storage shed and thats where its been sitting till now. This is the way i found it. a tree growing up the side of it and the front end sunk 3 inches into the mud.

[touchmister]

what do you guys think about the truck??????

[joeys66pickup]

Its Damn Sweet is what it is what are you planning 1/4 brawler or Daily transpo?

[Daniel U]

For $50 bucks you can never go wrong. There's plenty to work with for $50. If the chassis is solid, start there. What are your plans for it? DD or weekend cruiser? Are you going patina or full resto. Custom or stock?

[touchmister]

My plan is to have it as a weekend cruiser just like the car...I have a crack on both frame rails right where the last mount is for the running board...i go to an auto tech school so im gonna have them fish plate it and laser straighten the frame...

[55dude]

score for $50 bucks. sounds like your ready to make it happen. keep the pic's coming.

[joeys66pickup]

i think it needs a blown big block....but then again what doesnt?

[touchmister]

i have some more pics of the truck without the engine and transmission now. The mounting bolts for the cab are out and i was gonna take off the cab but i need the steering wheel to steer it when i pull it with the tractor...Ill put up some pictures of the frame where the crack is and ill see what you guys think of it.

[Swifty]

Thats an awesome find for $50!