Thread: My First Project: 52 Chevy Pickup

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We'll she is now officially mine. She's sittin in the back and after a nice scrub down, you can see that she is three different colors... (green, Blue, and of course.. RUST). Very excited, like a kid in a candy store. haha.

I was talkin to a friend of mine at work and he said his uncle has a lot of stuff laying around his garage. SO i took a ride up to staunton today to see it. He had a 366 big block, a tranny with a transfer case, and either 3 1/2 or 3 1/4 ton axles with 31" tires and 1 ton suspension and all the piping for the manifold. His uncle wasnt there when i left but my friend called me and told me he would take 1200 for everything.. What do you guys think? Everything looks to be in great working condition.

also there is a blazer frame/axles in the bulletin board for 600.


So lets here it guys.. sound good or should i pass on it??

366 is a turd.
Track is too wide on Blazer axles.
Slow down.
Just my opinion.

Can I ask? What is it that YOU WANT to build? What's the look that pushes your buttons?

why do you say the 366 is a turd? it still has a lot of room to be bored out another 180. any suggestions then?

Nice truck Partner! Just about a year ago I was in your same position, Listen to techinspector1, he has been the upmost helpful to me in my build. I wanted to put my truck on a new frame and do exactally what your talking about. Everyone told me to put a IFS on it and leave everything else alone. Looking back at all the issues I have had and all the added cost putting a whole new chassis under it, I would have come out leaps and bounds ahead with a IFS frontend and good 9" rear or whatever your choice of rear axle. These guys on here will steer you in the right direction becuase Im sure they have already done it:-) you can check out my build been over a year and just have it mechanically finished and have not even touched the cosmetics. Enjoy the build, thats a sweet truck!!!

Lance

Originally Posted by TylerZ07

any suggestions then?

Yeah, slow down. Examine all your options. Talk with some more people. Attend some car shows. Talk to other builders who have done what you intend to do. Find out why they did what they did and if they are happy with it.

There will come a day when the truck is all done and you want to sell it and move on. If it isn't done properly and with appeal to the masses, it's gonna be tough to get any money back out of it. Of course you have to please yourself, but you also have to please others when it's time to sell.

The 366 is the redheaded stepchild of Chevy motors. I don't think in the entire lineup of bowtie horsepower, has there ever been a motor that is more undesireable from a hotrodding standpoint. Pat McCarthy is the resident BBC expert on this forum. Ask his opinion. Send him a PM if you don't want to ask on the open forum. Chevrolet put them in dump trucks and buses for a reason, because that's where they will do the best job. If you're gonna go to a big block, start with a 4.250" or larger bore block. Anyway, you now have my opinion. I'm just trying to look out for your best interests.

I do appreciate the great advice. I will avoid the 366 now. ill be looking on craiglist and the local bulletin board to find me something im fond, of course running it by you guys first. haha. I have decided the look and color i want though.

I want this exact color, the prettiest color ive ever seen on a vehicle

and im pretty positive i want to chop the top a little.

I also want to convert it to 4WD..so there's a start

Okay so you have a vision of what your truck can look like. Thats great.

Im guessing that you want 4wd as in SUV/truck type and sitting high with big wheels all round. And not a canyon burner with a car based 4wd system (tho that would be pretty cool)

Then I would suggest you get the chassis specs of your truck - wheelbase, track width etc and figuring that a chassis swap will be easier than fitting all the 4wd stuff to your old chassis, start comparing it to whats out there.

Buying a complete wreck will be much cheaper than buying the bits one at a time.

If you want 4x4 check the specs of a s-10 frame. It will take some work and it is a narrow track but it will work.
We did a 41 ona 4x4 blazer frame becuase that is what the customer wanted and had.
I can tell you he spent a TON of money for us to fix it and make it work. IMO not worth it. We had to widen the fenders 4" to cover the tires. He had more money in the body work of the fenders then what the truck is worth but that is what he wanted.
I agree slowdown unless you have endless funds and mad skills. Go to shows see what else is out there and who and where to get the parts you want. The carlsile truck show is not far from you and coming up soon Go there you will see many of these type trucks in 2wd and 4wd see what they did talk with the owners. People always want to talk about their rides.

I have seen this conversion a couple of times, and they just don't look right. You would be better off using the original frame and graft specific parts to it. I have seen Mustang II and Volare front suspensions grafted to those frames with success, and they look really good. Take Iceburgh's advice and talk with guys at shows whose vehicles you wish to model yours after. They are great sources for what works and what doesn't in these conversions. My only advice is to take your time and think it through so you do not make mistakes that have to be redone.

welcome to CHR! I'm up the road from you a bit 2-3 hours maybe. These guys will be far more help than I will, but I'll throw a word or two in. I've been building my car to hopefully be very driveable and reliable with a new IFS and fuel injected 350 (good for about 17/24 mpg), but also very basic with a 10 bolt and parallel leaf springs and minimal body mods. chopping it and doing 4wd sounds very good and all, but just make sure you will have the funds, time, skill and tools to do it all or you will end up with a half done truck and no money to finish it. maybe build the truck, prime it and save the chop to reevaluate later after you get some miles on it. Even if you are very skilled you might find time to be an issue. I didn't start building the car with my dad until after i graduated college. Working a full time job eats up a whole lot of time and then if you have another hobby or girlfriend weeks may go by with no work on the truck done. Of course I don't know your situation, but my best advice is keep it simple, get the truck running and enjoy it.

Ha FordCoupe, I'm seem to be living the same life as you except a few years removed (1 year of college remaining, and the girlfriend taking time) haha. I do appreciate the sincere and enceouraging Advice guys, I can't say it enough. Right now the straight six needs a fuel tank and a battery and she SHOULD be running.. I hope. Will keep you all posted,

Anyone attending the carlisle car show? Wouldn't mind meeting up with some of you guys up there

I will be there.... I work for Meguairs so stop by our display and say hi

Tyler, i am building a '49 now, check my thread. I can give you some pointers as well. As for a 4wd, look at a Trailblazer, see if you can find one cheap and use the running gear. If you get an SS then you get the LS2 and all wheel drive. That stuff can get pricey and difficult, but figure out what you really want before you start buying and building stuff. buying stuff because it is the right price is not the best tactic if its not the correct parts. http://clubhotrod.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44828

If you havent already done so, have a good look at Flippers thread on his 48 Chev truck. Its a good read.

http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/sho...threadid=28959