Amateur Build In Progress
 

I picked up a 1951 Chevy 5-window for a decent price just to learn "how to build a truck," about a year ago. I've never welded or done any body work. All I've done is read a lot of posts. Decided to go the S-10 route. It's been a lot more expensive and time consuming than I thought.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_3281.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0011.jpg

Went with the EZ-Chassis Swap Since I could never fabricate something like this. As simple as it is, it still took us a couple of weekends to get it all on the frame. Like I said, I've never welded so my dad is teaching me as we go.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/DSC01239.jpg

Previous owner literally poured concrete in the drivers cab corner to fill the rusted holes. I had to chisel it out. Went ahead and had the cab media blasted.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/DSC01252.jpg

Sprayed some etching primer.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/DSC01264.jpg

Now we're in way over our heads cutting out the cab corners. We're trying to lip weld them because it is supposedly easier. I got the corners tac welded in place and we couldn't get the door to fit and had to take it off. Any helpful suggestions are appreciated. Keep in mind that I'm a novice with minimal tools/experience.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0120.jpg

I'll be slow with updates, because we are slow with our work

Thanks.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Sweet man! Every one has a first build myself included keep at it and you will be a pro before you know it.. As for cab corners i tack tabs (from the inside) in and make it flush then you would have less filler

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Exactly what C Low said, we all had to start somewhere and you are lucky, you got your Dad around to show you a thing or two. Keep up the great work and good luck!

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

goin the club. both the corner on my 54 were filled with concrete too. must have been common thing on theses trucks.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

On my previous cab, one corner had, bondo, fiberglass and brass lol. Just keep at it and you will get there. Once I get back started on mine, I will be dealing with the same learning curve.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Welcome! You can always come here and ask questions when you find challenges. Even experienced guys with lots of builds behind them do that.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Groyd,
If you do some searching, you'll find my first attempt at building a truck. I too went the s10 route, thinking less money and a fews weekends of time would yield a drivible piece of Americana. Fast forward two + years and I still have an steel dream my wife doesn't understand. Through all of the head scratching and cus words, I have learned that if I give it enough time and effort, I will get something I'm truly proud of; not something from a shelf. That should be your focus. Ask as many questions as you can, and learn from your mistakes because there will be a few. This board is as nice as they come. Good luck and keep moving forward. We have all been, or are standing now, in your shoes.

Jeff

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

First, Welcome to the board. Second, Slow? Wow you are moving at the rate of a gazelle. If you can't get to sleep see my build thread (link below) it started three years ago and it's way far away! Good job.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

My cab was loaded with rat $h!t.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

I forgot to mention. I bought a 5.3 out of an '04 GMC from my cousin. Engine, trans, and computer. He said he could wire it up. I guess we'll see once were done with this cab. I'll try to get a pic of it up tomorrow sitting on the frame.

Amateur Build in Progress.
 

Sat it in the frame just to get an idea if my motor mounts would work with the LS type engine. Still won't be certain until we get the cab in place. Kind of hard to do since the body is at my parents house.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0089.jpg

I'm going to have quite a bit of slide room if it needs adjustment forward or backward.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0090.jpg

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Looking good keep up the good work.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Dude! Very nice! Keep plugging away and it will be a driver.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Since the doors wouldn't shut with the cab corner tac welded in place. We had to remove the corners. . .again. . . and try to fit the doors. Needless to say, the hinges and latches were shot. I had already ordered some replacement latches.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...d/IMG_0124.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...d/IMG_0133.jpg

We got the latches and new hinges installed but we're still having trouble lining up the door to shut. Any suggestions on how to line up the doors? Has anyone used washers to shim up the mounts?

Top of driver's side door:
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...d/IMG_0131.jpg

Looking down on passenger's side:
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...d/IMG_0129.jpg

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

if you havent rebuilt the hindges start there. Then hang the doors.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

We installed new ones. Still having trouble though.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Yes you can use washers or go to a body parts supply house and get some shims. You can cut slots out of washers as well but the shims are easier to use since they have a tab to hold on to them or grab them. Atleast you hung the door before you welded the cab corner on. A lot of people don't do that and have to cut the complete patch out and start over. Nice job, and keep up the great work!

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

your making some nice progress keep up the good work.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Welcome, I think most of are amateurs here. I know I have a lot of mechanical knowledge but the body stuff is driving me nuts. I did the cab corners, front floor, firewall and outer cowl on my dads 52. The thing I am learning about all these replacement parts is that you don't have to use the whole panel. I am hard headed so I tend to think that I have to use everything the ship me. If I had to do it over again I would only use what was needed to replace the rust. I think I have some pictures of the door hinges that I rebuilt on my build thread. If not let me know and I will see what I got here on the computer. Another thing with the hinges is that you may have to loosen the bolts that hold the door to the hinges and jockey the door around. I think I messes with the drivers door for a full day before I got it where I wanted it. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions there are lots of knowledgeable people on this board.

Bernie

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

This guy showed how he got his doors aligned. It looks like you will have to tweak your hinges too. Hope this helps http://www.chuckthetruck.com/page20.html

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Thanks for the link. It looks very helpful. We'll give it a try later this week.

I think we've come to the agreement that it would be better to pay a body shop to fix our body work and door problems if we can't figure it out pretty soon. I'm pretty cheap though, so we'll see.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Have you checked out the Oklahoma section? We have been talking about trying to go to some of the Coit's cruise nights around the metro. I am happy to see another AD truck up here, especially one making more progress than I do lol.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Sounds like a good idea, bjcaldwe.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

looks like you are doing pretty much the same thing im going to start in a few months (maybe sooner) with the s10 swap and a 5.3/4l60e. i'll keep an eye on this thread to see what issues you run into so hopefully my build will go fairly smoothly

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

As slow as I'm going I'll probably still be doing bodywork, but I'll gladly show you all of my mechanical errors along the way. Hopefully it will save you a couple headaches.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

LOL, i doubt it. i still have to replace the transmission in my DD, sell the blazer in my garage, buy an s10 frame, go to PA to pick up the truck....then i can get started.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Glad to see someone putting a 5.3 in a s-10 because I am doing the same on my 54 Chevy with the same frame. This will help alot! And keep the pic's coming.
Thanks Robert

First Weld?
 

Here are the new cab corners, they still need some little touches. My uncle owns a body shop and would probably get sick if he saw my handy work.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...d/IMG_0138.jpg

I'm still having some issues with the passenger side door.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...d/IMG_0137.jpg

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Not too much progress lately. It's too hot/humid around here to do anything. Heat index at 115 the past couple of days. I did get the passenger floorboard done and the gas filler welded in with some etching primer sprayed on.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0141.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0140.jpg

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0139.jpg

I cut out the section that came with the EZ kit for the firewall on the drivers side and shaped down the cut out piece and just screwed it into the passenger side of the firewall to cover the holes. I'm not sure if I want to go ahead and weld it in or just patch the holes from the inside and then bondo the firewall side.

http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0143.jpg

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Looks Good! keep it up!

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

looks pro to me...

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Thanks, you'd probably change your tune if you saw it in person.

I finally got a good looking bead going when I was welding in the firewall pieces this morning before church. He must've heard my prayers. Welding is definitely an art form.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Nice progress! The best way to learn is how you're doing it. Keep it up!

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Keep up the good work man. I wouldn't mind coming and taking a look at it sometime. Mine is still setting and has not made it to my house yet. Like you said it has been so hot and humid, plus having my dads 52 sedan to help on when his health allows.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Got a little spray can primer on the firewall. I still haven't cut any of the toe-board or floorboard out for the transmission. I'm going to try and fit it later this week to see where/what needs to be cut or if I've even got the right motor mounts. We will see. Here's a pic of the fresh primer.

[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0148.jpg[/IMG]

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Nice job so far!!! Keep up the good work.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

looking good...I am in the same boat as you. I have done a lot of smaller jobs, but to take on a whole truck (my 51 project) is a real wake up call for me.SLOW AND STEADY seems to be working for me. A couple quick questions for ya if you don't mind...how is the E-Z KIT? and where did you buy your replacement sheetmetal from? keep up the good work and remember....when it is finished, you did it! rather than someone else.
Greg

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Thanks for all the encouragement so far everybody.

1. The E-Z Kit has saved me a ton of time and headaches. It is quite a bit more expensive than I thought it would be though. It also uses every last drop of the s-10, so be careful. I had already gotten rid of a lot of stuff on craigslist before I realized I could reuse it. I regret not getting the kit that lowered the body 2" but I had already put 2" drop spindles and 3" drop leaf springs. The body is sitting a little higher than I would like, but I don't have any real weight on the frame yet. I may have to cut them down a little.

2. I got my cab corners from classicparts.com, they didn't fit all that great in my opinion. The rest of the sheetmetal I've been cutting out of the left over s-10 bed. I used the bed front for my passenger toeboard and floorboard. The curve of the bed fit the gas filler hole pretty well. The plate in the firewall on the drivers side came with the E-Z kit.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

I finally got around to mounting up the Sanderson Headers that my cousin had originally bought for the engine. Funny thing, they don't need gaskets. I had already bought some and had to take them back and get some Permatex silcone gasket sealant.

[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0149.jpg[/IMG]

It took me forever to hillbilly the transmission bellhousing up to the engine. I ended up having to call a friend over.

[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0151.jpg[/IMG]

It also took about two hours to mount the engine. It seems like nothing I do is very fast.

[IMG]http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...k/IMG_0154.jpg[/IMG]

I'm not real wild about using a big washer/spacer between my motor mounts. I think my dad is going to come over and try to help me think of a better option.

Re: Be Gentle. . . I'm an Amateur.
 

Pulled the engine today and remounted it with 3/8" threaded piping approx 1/2" long as the washers between the motor mounts. It's about 10X more sturdy than it was. It moved the engine forward about 1/2", which was perfect, because the transmission was missing the crossmember just barely. I think the steering shaft/column is the next task.