Thread: My hand built Rat.. or whatever it is

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The shape is starting to look like the truck from the Waltons; one of my favorite old shows and a very cool ride.

your right... I had to look it up as, I had only seen The Waltons as a kid... but it does resemble a 1929 Ford Model AA express pickup

pulled the Cab and set it on the saw horses to cut out for the 6" channel.. ran out of cutting wheels on the back wall..

6" channel is finished

Matt how wide is that S-10 rear? I have a Ford 9" 28 spline rear that's out of a 66 Fairlane. It's either a open or Equa loc center section and me thinks 3.00 gears with the stock 28 spline axles. Your welcome to have it if you ever get out this way. No backing plates or brake parts. Housing measures 56" flange to flange. Let me know if your interested and I'll take some pics to send you.

thanks for the generous offer, but I'll have to pass.. the rear end is 63" flange to flange, which with the 48" wide body, will fit nearly perfect.. and being a ZR2 rear end it is an 8.5" 10 bolt 30 spline with 3.73 gears... I'm sure there is someone else that could really use it

No problem Matt that ZR2 rear sounds like a better one for your hot rod. Which is very cool so far BTW!

small update... being I'm trying to make this as cheap ( also as safe ) as possible. I figured I could make my own gas tank from an air tank.. had this air tank for a few years, and I rarely used it/ they cannot be drained so it rusted inside.. I cut the top out of it, treated the rust to several gallons of vinegar, which cleaned it up pretty good.. I welded in the Speedway filler neck, and it's pretty much a spun aluminum tank for the cost of the filler neck.. I do have to cut a hole to weld in a bung for the pickup tube, and another hole for the float assembly... it will sit above the rails, but in the location it is in..

Awsom build, I havn't seen a hand build cab thred, AWSOM!

gonna start working on this again soon.. check for updates around friday

got some ambition, and burnt some amps for a couple hours a day or so ago, and today.. I had ended up figuring that the door openings were too large, and it needed a cab corner.. So I shortened the doors by 6" creating a 8" rocker and, a 6" cab corner.. they have been framed for a long time, but I never took pics.. I skinned them out a couple days ago, but again, didn't have a camera.. and today I built a door, but didn't have a camera with me

This is going to be a pretty cool truck. I have the same problem with the camera issue. Wife and I were at a pastor conference and forgot the camera so were going to get a disposable at Walgreens. Instead, they had a decent digital for $20 which took nice pics. So when I find it again, it will be my garage/stockcar camera. May be something to think about that you can keep in the garage and take pics as needed. Look forward to more updates.

lol. yea. my cell phone has a nice camera in it also. but I left that home also, not thinking.. I'v got tomorrow off so I'm going to work on it some more then ( hang and latch door ). I will take pics, of how the door got built when I do the other door

Matt, i cannot believe people here are encouraging you - i question thier motivation. Look, you've got a lot of good metal that you shouldn't turn into scrap. You need to respect the complexity of building something out of metal. I admire and repect people that try things above thier skill level but you have gone too far. Back up a long ways, if you enjoy doing heavy gage work concentrate on the frame. If you want to learn sheet metal back all the way up to your cowl and make one of them. Develop a plan of what the finished product should be and then break it down into smaller manageable steps, concentrate on the componanent pieces, make and finish them. Read, practice, learn all the various metal skills from material design to cutting to welding to shaping to finishing. There are a lot of exoerienced, smart people on this site that will help you get a predicted finished product. Back up to your basic frame rails, describe what you realistically expect and the materials/suspension you can afford; show us your welds; some measurements etc and within a couple days you'll have some designs to build to for - in example - the rear suspension. I don't want to curb your enthieusasm, i think you need some direction and theres folks here that can do that. Just ask.
Keep strokin, oj

I applaud you for jumping in and taking on such a big challenge. You are certain to learn and improve from your mistakes and your successes. If you don't like what you have when you finish, then cut it up and try again. Keep up the good work.