47-55.1 Give me a heads up...

[ckhd]

My 16-year-old daughter loves this body style, and I'm looking at buying her one. With our budget, it will be one we have to do work on before we can drive it anywhere.

It seems much easier to find the 1 1/2 - 2 ton trucks, and I suspect she likes them more than the 1/2 - 1 ton pickups (she says, "ooh, let's get that one" more on the heavier trucks).

If I get a bigger one, I don't want to do anything like "put it on an s-10 frame". I'd like to keep the original frame and make it as functional as possible, even keep the truck rims. so...

What are the down-sides to getting a heavier truck instead of a pickup? Is it possible to find basic mechanical parts (wheel bearings, u-joints, suspension bushings, brakes, etc...)? I know fenders, hoods, and grills are different than pickups.

I supposed I could stand to put one on a newer dually frame, just to have accessibility to parts.

Let me know your thoughts before I bite the bullet on one and end up regretting it, or worse, not being able to have her drive it.

[CarolinaHD]

Parts searching will take weeks or months if you can even find a new part number to cross reference the old one. Split rims and widowmakers will be another issue, finding modern tubeless wheels will be $$$$. The brake system will have to be gone through and updated. Basically everything will be harder to find, more expensive, and a lot heavier.
I tell you all of this after dealing with my 67 c50, bought for $2200 and put somewhere in the neighborhood of $7000 in it and she still aint done.

Here is a thread that just popped up this week on stovebolt forum detailing the issues when dealing with the heavy haulers


https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads...ml#Post1389598

[CarolinaHD]

Knowing what I know now I wouldn't have bought the truck.

[mr48chev]

I picked this 51 1-1/2 ton up ten years ago (time flies) along with the cab that is going to be part of my 48 in a buy two truck deal.


My 41 year old daughter has laid claim to it and my plan is 77 Chevy dualie front suspension, rear suspension and axle and a small block with automatic. It will be a run and drives truck that needs finishing when I turn it over to her and her soon to be hubby. She wants a truck that still looks like a work truck. I'm not sure how long we will keep the wheelbase but it will get a flatbed.
A guy could stick 1/2 or 3/4 ton front and rear suspension out of a 73/88 fairly easily and then run larger diameter wheels on it to keep the big truck look but be a bit easier and possibly safer to drive. Shorten the back end of the frame to run an 8 ft flatbed and it would make a pretty decent truck that could be daily driven.

[dsraven]

if looking at a task force. check closely for the usual rusted spots. water comes in the cowl grille ahead of the windshield, drains down the inner cowls behind the fenders and out the bottom. problem is the drain at the bottom is pretty small and gets clogged. that causes a back up and standing water in the inner cowls and if enough water is trapped it drains out into the cab and out onto the floor through the side vents. a lot of these cabs have this problem which ends up rusting out the floor, hinge pillars, steps, rockers, front cab mounts and lower fender mounts. these would be good spots to check closely from underneath. the area above the windshield is also known to get pin holes as well as the rest of the area just above the rain drip rail. the perimeter of the rear cab window is also prone to the same pinholes depending on where the truck was stored etc. obviously the rear cab corners are prone to rust but sometimes the larger trucks, especially ones that are used mostly in the summer/fall for farm duties or come from desert areas, are good candidates. a lot of guys use the larger truck donors for their cabs on 1/2 tons, using their small truck sheet metal for the rest. the front sheet metal on the big trucks is actually wider/longer and the wheel openings are bigger. this could be an advantage if building a bigger truck with a donor frame or upgraded IFS/solid axle suspension on the original frame.
I would have to agree on the use of the old style split rims. they are not worth the hazard.
if a bigger truck, with duallies, is what you want then a larger truck donor may fit your plans with a frame swap to a newer chassis with better brakes, better steering, normal wheels and tire sizes, better gear ratios, easier to find parts etc. or, since these frames are basically flat, you could install the front suspension and steering from a newer truck under the old truck frame, swap out the rear axle for the newer style and gear ratio, brakes etc. shorten the frame to your desired length and, BOOM, done. well besides a steering column, power brake and master cylinder mount, wiring, etc. there are those on this site who build their own frames using the dimensions needed/gleaned from the assembly manual blueprints.


here is a link for the factory assembly manual and also the old car manuals project. maybe help you see the differences in frames, body dimensions etc.

http://www.trifive.com/55-59Assy.pdf

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...esto/56134.htm

[dsraven]

sorry, disregard the previous. I thought you were looking at the task force trucks.
some stuff still applies though. big trucks that sat during winter or come from dry climates are great donors whether for a big truck with big fenders or for the cab to use on a smaller 1/2 ton truck.
check joedoh's builds for inspiration on S10 swaps. don't be afraid to build your own stuff like a box, using the old truck fenders on the new box built from scratch, or a frame built from the assembly manual dimensions but with newer suspension parts attached.

[joedoh]

bigger trucks 1.5 ton and up that have been shedded for years (decades!) and only used for harvest are usually in amazing shape compared to 1/2 3/4 1 ton trucks that were used every day for back and forth duties, no doubt you will find one in useable shape.

but the split rims, most tire shops wont work on them, and there are horror stories of putting air in flat ones, my first 47 gmc came up for sale because the guy restoring it had his hand forced through a stake pocket in the flatbed from filling a flat.

gearing is a problem, big trucks are geared for torque, not top speed, so 45mph might be all you get and that is screaming rpm and hold on tight.

the ride is another, modern trucks can haul 2 tons and ride pretty well empty, but in the 40s it was made to ride well with 2 tons. with an empty bed the thing will bounce and jounce around on all the stacks of leafs it has. you can take some (most! haha) out if you dont plan to haul anything.

the bodies are different, well the front clips are. if you ever wanted to find a 1/2 ton original frame it would take some work to make the front clip work on it. I have started with a lot of 1.5 ton and up trucks to make a 1/2 ton finished truck, usually I cut the front clip into a wall hanger because no one wants it. not saying this is what you want to do or even should do, just relating my experience. 1.5 ton trucks are usually much much cheaper to start with, you can get one running and driving in the 1000-1500 range here.

for what its worth, no one here will see your truck and say "put it on an s10 frame", especially if its a worthwhile rolling and or driving truck.

[mr48chev]

Joedoe pretty well explained why I am planning the suspension swap on the 51. I had the 77 dualie frame but decided to not use it simply because it was too ugly to use with a flatbed. That and everything fits and lines up now and I don't want to get into another case of trimming and fitting to get front end sheet metal to fit.

[dsraven]

I know, not an AD, but same principles could apply. front and rear suspension from newer truck that simply bolts on to your frame ora custom built frame.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=814071

[ckhd]

Thank you, everyone. Lots to consider.

I'll have a discussion with my daughter about all the potential headaches of the bigger trucks vs. the pickups and we'll try to decide what her best course is.