possible 55 chevy p/u project...need opinions

[68c10owner]

i went and looked at a 55 project tonight. It`s a small window short bed truck thats mostly all there but completely taken apart. The cab is off, the front clip is in one piece but is off, the bed is off, ect. The body is in very good shape. I did`nt see any rot in the cab corners or rockers. There is some rust on the floors but did`nt see anything rotted through. Someone started adding swing pedals and butcherd the firwall a little bit but I`m pretty confident that I can repair it. The rest of the body is in similar condition. Aside from some broken off bolts in some of the mounting holes, it looks like the body would be pretty easy to finish nice. My main concern is the chassis. Someone clipped it as some point with what the kid thinks is from a caddy. It`s a IFS with 5 lug and disc brakes thats the same width as the original frame. what they did was cut the frame just ahead of the rear mount of the front leafs and welded in this clip that has curved front rails. I was planning to do a camaro or MII frontend but I don`t know if that would be possible from how the frame is modified now. I`ve got a couple pics of the chassis but they are too big to load and I can`t resize them. they don`t show the frontend too well either. If I get this, should I try to fix the original frame or look for another frame, possible from a later year? what do you guys think?

[entourageguy]

welcome to the board lots of people to help or give opinion here ...

we would love to see the pictures try the following

right click picture ...open with ... microsoft picture manager... right column resize picture.... resave as ... try posting smaller pic

[dwcsr]

If your going to do an MII then its a relitively easy fix. With a MII you would have to box the rails anyway so just run rectangle tube from the cut point to the bumper. Or get the clip that is from RBsobsolete.com they have a clip that uses monte carlo or impala parts. It welds in right where you say its cut off.

[68c10owner]

Originally Posted by entourageguy

welcome to the board lots of people to help or give opinion here ...

we would love to see the pictures try the following

right click picture ...open with ... microsoft picture manager... right column resize picture.... resave as ... try posting smaller pic

Thanks. I use to come here when I had my old 68 but this site has changed alot since then, still a great one though.

anyway, I don`t have microsoft picture manager so when I right clicked it I did`nt have that option. I use to be able to resize them before but my computer crashed and my father in law changed windows programs and now I lost the ability to resize. I can`t do a scan disc anymore but thats another problem.

I thought about adding some 2x4 square tubing but I could`nt remember if the original frame went straight out or if it tappered down. I had a 57 bigwondow years ago that I installed the MII on but I can`t remeber how the frame went. If it goes straight out then it should be relatively easy to fix. I did find a guy with a 58 3100 series frame. Are those the same specs as the 55? Thanks guys.

[Apache]

The frame is straight except for a small section where the steering box goes. The inside is bent up to let the box bolt to the frame.

[dwcsr]

the rails are parallel but it does nose down after the front axle to the bumper/rad support area and thats easily done with the tubing.

[5Mike7]

58/59 frames extend just a bit more, maybe an inch or so, than '55-7 frames, just something to keep in mind so you don't measure "front to back".

[68c10owner]

Originally Posted by Apache

The frame is straight except for a small section where the steering box goes. The inside is bent up to let the box bolt to the frame.

i remeber that section. I had to flatten it on my old 57. Then to take up the difference for the reces, i just ran a few beads over it and ground them flush. You could`nt tell it was ever raised up after I boxed it.

I`ve never built a front frame section so how would I take care of the taper? How much does it tapper? would it throw everything out of whack if it did`nt?

I found a guy who has a 58 frame and he said they were the same but I thought they were different. I could just trim off the extra length right? Thanks guys.

[dwcsr]

58 and 59 are longer in the front like 5mike7 says. You can use it and cut the ends off. The extra length is for the front bumper mounting. Its between 2 and 3 inches I dont remember the exact dimension. But everything else is the same. If you can get a complete frame go for it, it would make your life easier.

[68c10owner]

Hi guys. I just wanted to say thanks for the input. I deceded not to get the truck. I just don`t have the time right now for such a big project. There were a few things that I did`nt like how things were done on it and would take alot of work to make it right. Anyway, I`ll keep looking for the right truck. Thanks again.

[68c10owner]

Well I tried to forget about the truck but I kept thinking about how straight the body was. I called the guy today and told him as soon as I can find a way to get it out of his yard I`ll come get it. He doesn`t seem to be in much of a hurry to get it out of there. I have to wait for my buddy to have free time to help me with a trailer. It`s going to be more work then I wanted but it has the cleanest body of all the trucks I`ve looked at so far, plus he has the title in hand. I`ll either fix the original frame or find another one. Probable won`t do to much work on it right away but once I get it home and clean it up a bit and strip it down to where I want it then I`ll know what direction to go first. anyway, thanks again for all of the input. I`ll start a "build up" thread when I get started on it. Thanks guys.

[Igotachevyor2]

good luck cant wait to see some pics