IDEAS On A 49

[Slewis2304]

Recently aquired a 49 3100 from my grandfather..who purchased the truck new in 49. It spent most of its life as a ditch truck. Time to give it a new "life" !! Just looking for ideas that any of you may have. Definately do not want to chop it or bag it. Lowered a bit however would be good. Thinking about a heidts mustang II front end with 2" drop spindels. And for the rear im not sure..maybe just pullen something out of an old vehicle and rebuilding it. with either a 2 or 4link. Only gonna run a nice stock 350. The end result i'd like to acheive is just a nice good looking old truck that can be a summer driver. Everything dosn't have to be new and shiny as it will not be a show truck. Wanna make it look "fairly" new and drive it right back into the ground!! Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated and i will post as the restoration progesses. Thanks!! New to the forum BTW.

[pinecrest]

Sorry, but what is a "ditch truck"?

....and that thing looks pretty dang solid from here. How's the cab and such?

[Slewis2304]

A ditch truck is a truck that was used on a farm to ride ditch(Irrigate).

And as far as everything..It is solid!! There is one little spot up on the front drivers side of the cab that is rusted through..about the size of an apple. Floor pan, firewall and cab besides the one spot is in good shape.

[Slewis2304]

Hope this works! The truck!!

[IMG][/IMG]

[RootBeer 6117]

Welcome to the forum you are in the right place for ideas, you can spend days reading on here and coming up with ideas. Guess it depend on what you like,I am building a 49 also, my dad bought it 25-30 yrs ago I got a hold of 10 or so yrs ago, it sat for 30 yrs just moved from one spot to the next a couple times. I thought the body was rough till I joined here. You can check my build out when you get time, Its a work in progress.
I agree with pinecrest it looks like a good solid truck.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=413926

[whid]

nice truck......whid

[62ChevyII]

That thing has great patina. Since it's a keeper, I'd do the Heidts thing, put a newer rear axle in it, put your sbc in it backed by an overdrive transmission, throw on some nice wheels/tires and drive it! Very cool truck!

[sgtusmc]

I agree on the patina. If it were me, I'd keep the patina and spend my money on engine, interior and wheels. I'd move the plate down to the bumper. Unless that was my grandfathers idea to put the plate there, then hell...I'd leave it!

[solidaxel]

[QUOTE=RootBeer 6117;4441424]Welcome to the forum you are in the right place for ideas, you can spend days reading on here and coming up with ideas. Guess it depend on what you like,I am building a 49 also, my dad bought it 25-30 yrs ago I got a hold of 10 or so yrs ago, it sat for 30 yrs just moved from one spot to the next a couple times. I thought the body was rough till I joined here. You can check my build out when you get time, Its a work in progress.
I agree with pinecrest it looks like a good solid truck.

............ X 3

Have you looked in Project section, there are MANY GREAT builds going on over there, you will have all of your questions answered with a "few" days of research!!

[oldschool53_BBC]

Since you plan to keep it, follow your heart remember, in the end you need to be happy, if you dont like an idea or are not sure...

sleep on it first

its not a race

[Slewis2304]

Definitely glad I found this forum..So far all positive feedback and I have started browsing through the project section.. Pretty overwhelming at first with different ideas, but also very cool! I’m pretty dead set on the heidts front end. Still having trouble with what to do as far as the rear go's. but as oldschool53 BBC says it’s not a race! Ill figure something out.

Maybe somebody might know....what would be an easy transition for the rear in swapping out the old that wouldn't require a whole lot of fabrication, and a gear ratio that would handle a 350 with an overdrive tranny fairly well. For the most part truck will be highway driven with a little showing off of course!! I have an idea but some opinions would be appreciated...as I will look into it in the project section as well. Thanks everybody!!

[MrDude_1]

if you plan to drive it everyday, id dump a cheap genIII drivetrain in it... that will give you more then enough power, fuel economy, and reliability... perfect for a daily driver to "run back into the ground" ...

[PurdueSD]

For this truck i'd keep it simple and traditional. Skip the ifs and go dropped axle and take out a couple leafs. Dropped axle will run you about 3 bills. If you are just looking for a cruiser/workhorse, you keep the ruggedness of the truck parts. I dont have anything against ifs but the older i get the more i like "older" stuff. For the rear find you a suitable width open drive (camaro, etc.)

-that is the plan for my truck...

Goodluck!

[ryans69chevy]

We have one in the same story. My great grandpa bought the truck new in 49 he bought a 3100 and used it on the farm. He used it to haul grain. My dad and I wanna restore as if it came from the dealer (almost). We have been checking for rear ends also and it seems like a 63-69 chevy pickup rear end would fit right under the chassis of ours without hardly any fabrication which is what we are going for! Good luck with the build. I'll keep an eye on yours, maybe steal a few ideas lol

Have fun!

[cap n crunch]

Originally Posted by Slewis2304

Hope this works! The truck!!

[IMG][/IMG]

This thing is sweet I love the patina

[weldvair@embarqmail.]

Must II works well with the AD truck. I started with dropped spindles,
however it was too low so I went with stock spindles. There are
many good units out there. I got the best price from TCI.

There are a few shops that make bolt-in leaf springs (CE/posies)for
less than $500. They drop the rear down & are easy to install.

I'd start by doing the frame/chassis work 1st & drive it to shows to get ideas
on what you like. Your view of what you wnt your truck to look like might
very well change.

Have fun with your truck.....Don

[Roddude]

If it where mine I'd do all Chasis Engineering bolt in suspension, drop in a small block with a turbo 350 to keep it simple and drive it!

[mr48chev]

Welcome to the board. That's a pretty decent truck to start with and sure didn't get beat up like the irrigating trucks around this neighborhood do.

The Heidts front end is a good way to go but If you are going to drive it on a daily basis I think the dropped spindles might get it a bit too low.

Engine, trans and rear end pretty much has to be what you want an what you feel you can deal with both on installation and start up and on down the road. The newer style engines are great along with the Od transmissions but unless you have the skills needed to work on them you will end up taking the truck to a shop every time it needs work on those systems.

As far as rear axles and suspensions look though the build threads on here and the guys have about every variety of rear suspension to pick from.

Slick it out an paint it. I'm so tired of guys calling worn out paint and surface rust "patina" and thinking it actually looks good that I could scream. Worn out paint and rust is worn out paint and rust no matter what name you stick on it.

[Slewis2304]

Originally Posted by weldvair@embarqmail.

Must II works well with the AD truck. I started with dropped spindles,
however it was too low so I went with stock spindles. There are
many good units out there. I got the best price from TCI.

There are a few shops that make bolt-in leaf springs (CE/posies)for
less than $500. They drop the rear down & are easy to install.

I'd start by doing the frame/chassis work 1st & drive it to shows to get ideas
on what you like. Your view of what you wnt your truck to look like might
very well change.

Have fun with your truck.....Don

Im assuming thats your ride in the picture. Im liking the height on it all around what size wheels..and how much did you bring it down all the way around?

[Slewis2304]

Found this on a Yahoo image search. Pretty much the all around height and look id like to go for. With a few changes and touches of my own of course.

[RootBeer 6117]

Slew, looks like were pretty close on what we want the end result to be. Not sure if this was the yahoo site you found it on but just in case there are a bunch here.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/advanceddesign

[weldvair@embarqmail.]

The wheels are 15". The ride ht is 7".......Don

[pgf545]

Originally Posted by Slewis2304

Definitely glad I found this forum..So far all positive feedback and I have started browsing through the project section.. Pretty overwhelming at first with different ideas, but also very cool! I’m pretty dead set on the heidts front end. Still having trouble with what to do as far as the rear go's. but as oldschool53 BBC says it’s not a race! Ill figure something out.

Maybe somebody might know....what would be an easy transition for the rear in swapping out the old that wouldn't require a whole lot of fabrication, and a gear ratio that would handle a 350 with an overdrive tranny fairly well. For the most part truck will be highway driven with a little showing off of course!! I have an idea but some opinions would be appreciated...as I will look into it in the project section as well. Thanks everybody!!

Welcome to this great forum!! I did a Heidts on my dads truck, really a nice piece and was easy to install. I have some pictures on my build thread and if there is something you need that is not there let me know and I will see what else I have. Also do with it what ever make you happy. The one I am building with my dad, he wanted something more custom so we went with the big block all the nice bolt on's etc. I am still doing body so I haven't been posting many pictures. I was hoping to have it going last year but life keeps getting in the way. Maybe sometime this year.... I will just keep plugging along. Anyway if you need anything post it and someone will answer.

Bernie

[Slewis2304]

Originally Posted by RootBeer 6117

Slew, looks like were pretty close on what we want the end result to be. Not sure if this was the yahoo site you found it on but just in case there are a bunch here.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/advanceddesign

Lot of good looking trucks. Thanks!! I’m liking the green on some of them.

weldvair very custom and very cool!!

pg thanks for the encouragement I will definitely check out your build thread and more than likely have some questions.

Again I’m glad I found this!! I think I’ve built up enough enthusiasm..I’m gonna start with some "research" on top of the "research" I’ve already done..followed up by a little more "research"..then possibly some more "research"! And say goodbye for a little while and really dig into it and start rippen apart! I guarantee I’ll be back with a little more specific questions, and as I make progress will post pics. So not good bye but see you later!!! And be prepared Thanks for everything EVERYBODY!!!!

[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by Slewis2304

Lot of good looking trucks. Thanks!! I’m liking the green on some of them.

weldvair very custom and very cool!!

pg thanks for the encouragement I will definitely check out your build thread and more than likely have some questions.

Again I’m glad I found this!! I think I’ve built up enough enthusiasm..I’m gonna start with some "research" on top of the "research" I’ve already done..followed up by a little more "research"..then possibly some more "research"! And say goodbye for a little while and really dig into it and start rippen apart! I guarantee I’ll be back with a little more specific questions, and as I make progress will post pics. So not good bye but see you later!!! And be prepared Thanks for everything EVERYBODY!!!!

Just make sure you save your lunch money for awhile, as you are going to need all of it to finish your truck !!!!