1951 PROJECT... to swap or not to swap!

[masshole]

well for anyone how may be following this build, I think I should QUIT my day job and work on my 51 till it is finished!( I just need to figure out how to tell the wife at 38 years old I am going to retire and just work on my truck) O.K. not going to happen so I guess I will just wait for " GOODMARK IND." to ship me all the replacement sheet metal I ordered yesterday. I got my mig welder tank filled today so when my new parts show up I am ready to go...so for now I will continue to remove my motor from my donor s10, and mabey list whats left on craigslist so I can continue to fund this project.
Greg

[87-Wrang-a-tang]

That donor truck looks pretty decent.
I know what you mean about the time issue. The weekend comes, then it's gone and not much gets accomplished, lol.
I look forward to seeing the progress on this.

[masshole]

well after "honey do! " list was complete and birthday party attended..that left me enough time to fit and install one of my new panels...was able to get it almost all welded on, so home for late lunch and back to the shop to finish welding. then do the same to the drivers side..

[masshole]

finished welding on pass side cowl, now onto the cab corner...got it cut off where i wanted to replace it,but not sure about the fit of the new (made in CHINA) one! looks like i will need to rework it a little.

[masshole]

[masshole]

well i got the cab corner on and checked the door gaps and (fingers crossed) it all looks to be pretty well in line. so onto the driver side cowl panel and a little floor work..then off to be blasted! oh wait.....need to make a few dash repairs also. the steerng column must have beeen loose and kinda ripped the dash a little. nothing a "BFH" AND A LITTLE WELDING CAN'T FIX!!!! i just wish this whole thing was going a little faster...I would like to be driving by next spring.sometimes i think ....why did i not just buy one alll DONE!

[T Hilde]

A lot of them are boogered at the column mount, mine is really bad.
The reason you don't buy already done is, you end up tearing into it to fix the crap you don't like.

[masshole]

so after 2 long weeks of waiting for my cab and doors to come back from sandblasting, i got the call yesterday saying they were all done....I went right over and picked them up so that I could get them in primer. I was really pleased to see the cab all nice and clean...rust and paint free. the sandblasting did expose a few minor areas that will need to be fixed but all in all I am SUPER excited..

[masshole]

[masshole]

[xpickup]

Masshole, your cab looks great.

[masshole]

well now that my cab is nice and clean,I need to decide if I am going to use my s-10 frame or shorten my 3600 frame to a 3100. I do like the thought of keeping the og frame and i do like the mII set up.Can some of you guys give me some measurements on a stock 3100 frame? over all length...what else might i need to change on my 3600 frame to a 3100? thanks again
Masshole

[99 to Life]

I think this link might help with some specs, unfortunately the most important one (lengths) are not on here. I do have another diagram I need to find, that gave all the measurements from the actual truck.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1954truck/54ctsm0202.html

let me know if it works or not

I was so convinced that the s-10 route was the best. But the more I see OG
frames the more I like them. BUT, you can literally buy one of these trucks for the cost of an MII setup. If I were you, had the money I would try the MII set up first, since you already have a frame. Definitely need to box it in, in some areas for sure. All this IF your frame seems structurally strong enough.