1974 Stepside Project

[chevytrucksforme]

I'm fairly new to this site but just recently started a new project. It's a 1974 Chevy stepside that I pretty much picked up as someone else's basket-case. It appeared to me that someone started the project many years ago then put it in storage. I guess they bailed on the storage bill and that's where I came in to possession.

My plan is to bring it back to it's glory with some more modern upgrades. I have a 1997 Vortec 5.7 that I'm building to put in it for now. I'll probably go with a carb'd version of the vortec but eventually plan to put a LM7 5.3 in it.

Pics coming soon!

[flashed]

Im in for some pics .

[chevytrucksforme]

Here is what it looked like when I picked it up. Parts everywhere! LOL






Not sure why these wheels were with it but I took them and sold them. Made my purchase price even better!


Same with the engine. It was an old SB 283. Sold it too!!

[chevytrucksforme]

These are pics of me tearing it down and getting parts put away. That's my other project in the background, 1970 Camaro. I'm crazy to have two going at the same time but the truck was too good a deal to pass up.










This is the body cart I made for the cab to sit on. I'm not sure why I didn't take any pics once it was mounted.



Additionally, I took the bed apart and everything is put away. Next step is starting the rust repair. Looks like I've got both rockers to do and part of one floor pan.

[midnight rambler]

im in

[flashed]

I like both of your projects and look forward to more updates .I have a 74 stepper too that I rescued from sitting in a barn for over 20 years ,its now my daily driver and a good old truck .Its not very much to look at but I have no plans to restore it as it only has 60,000 miles on it and I need one to use for a truck. Good luck with your builds and please start a build thread on your 70 Camaro in the alternate tinkering section as I would like to follow along with it too.

[chevytrucksforme]

Originally Posted by midnight rambler

im in

Thanks MR!

Originally Posted by flashed

I like both of your projects and look forward to more updates .I have a 74 stepper too that I rescued from sitting in a barn for over 20 years ,its now my daily driver and a good old truck .Its not very much to look at but I have no plans to restore it as it only has 60,000 miles on it and I need one to use for a truck. Good luck with your builds and please start a build thread on your 70 Camaro in the alternate tinkering section as I would like to follow along with it too.

Thanks Flashed! Sounds like an awesome find you have there.

[rip2174]

nice start

[chevytrucksforme]

Originally Posted by rip2174

nice start

Thanks RIP!

[chevytrucksforme]

Finally got to get back at my project. At least I got some parts ordered and Santa (FEDEX guy) showed up with some stocking stuffers.

[Sodak]

Sweet love my steppers as well.

[hobbz]

Looks like you are off to a good start

[flashed]

Them's gonna be some mighty big stockings .

[85supersierra]

man you gotta have some great neighbors. neighborhoods around here would be calling the cops on somebody having a stripped truck and mustang in their driveway

[rusty76]

I'm in for the ride.

[stepside83]

looks like a good project im in

[chevytrucksforme]

Hi All,

Well been away for a while. Back in December I injured my back and was out of commission for several months while trying to get healed up. Been doing a little work on the truck even though it's not going as fast as I want.

The original cab ended up having a ton of rot around where the heater core had been leaking for a long time. I decided to pick up another cab that was in better shape on the firewall. It had more rust in the floor and rockers than my original cab but I had planned to replace those anyway. The original cab also had the roof cut for a sunroof so I'm happy to have a cab without the hole.

I'm nearly done with replacing the right side floor pan, inner rocker and outer rocker but I took the holiday weekend to get the frame back in the garage to start wire-wheeling and painting.

[chevytrucksforme]

A couple pics of the new cab as I was tearing it apart. I did cut the dash off so that I have more room to work while doing the sheet metal repairs.

[chevytrucksforme]

This was what I started with on the right side.





You can see here that I cut away the outer cowl to make it easier to replace the floor and kick panel. Also have a brace welded across the door opening to help keep things straight.

[chevytrucksforme]

More cutting away the bad.





You can see here the upright brace I put in place between the body cart and the other door brace. This will keep the A pillar from dropping hopefully while I replace the cab support.

[chevytrucksforme]

Starting to get some good metal in place. This is after installing the cab support and inner rocker. Test fitting the floor pan.



I cut this piece out of the original cab and tacked in the new cab rather than trying to build something new.

[tinydb84]

Damn that's a lot of work. Are rust free cabs that hard to find over there?

[chevytrucksforme]

Originally Posted by tinydb84

Damn that's a lot of work. Are rust free cabs that hard to find over there?

Hey David, they're not too hard to find. This one cost me almost nothing and I already had most of the replacement pieces. Not to mention, I really need the practice!

[stampy]

Nice Work! Keep the pics coming, I will be doing the same thing shortly, just picked up my donor cab this past weekend!

[chevytrucksforme]

Originally Posted by stampy

Nice Work! Keep the pics coming, I will be doing the same thing shortly, just picked up my donor cab this past weekend!

Thanks stampy!! Good luck with your build!!

Rick