A little hello, and....
 

So I recently bought a 1963 Chevrolet stepside long bed pickup. I am really excited about this, but this is my first truck that I will be restoring. The other side to that is it will need to be my semi-daily driver. I will start off with my questions for now then my end goals for the truck. I am going to pull the bed and try to clean up and seal half the frame (without making it undriveable for now). My question is should I hand sand it with a highspeed sander or should I just wait and have someone sandblast the whole thing? I was hoping to do half and half the truck bed half first then when I go to do an engine swap (I am thinking an old rebuild LS1 engine) doing the other half. I was planning on doing all this while working on the pickup bed dents rust issues etc off and on. All I have done so far is re-run new brake lines (sorry do not trust 50 year old brake lines), I was thinking of doing air ride but have not decided. I also am unsure about disc brakes I do not wish to spend 1k+ for upgrade kits. I think also power steering will be in my near future, and think any input ideas links etc would be greatly appreciated people. I am attaching (hopefully correctly) a picture of her, and I am sure there are many in the near future.

Re: A little hello, and....
 

Nice start. If the frame has surface oxidation, hand sanding or grinding with a cup grinder will work.if its scaling and heavily pitted then sand , media etc blasting is the way to go. The tail light harness runs along the drivers frame and could easily be wired onto a couple temporary lights to drive the truck with the bed off. Just remember some mud flaps.

Re: A little hello, and....
 

Welcome to the forum :D

I'm a fan of abrasive blasting, it is much easier that trying to clean something like a frame, and the resulting cleanliness doesn't compare. Of course it is also about just how 'nice' you want the frame.

You can upgrade to front disc brakes for much less than $1K. Unless you need dropped spindles, and springs, drilled and slotted rotors, etc. Take a look here:

http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=367260

Re: A little hello, and....
 

Welcome and very nice start! I like your truck, ill be watching your progress!

Re: A little hello, and....
 

Welcome!
Don't be shy with the pic's on this site, we love seeing what others have!

Re: A little hello, and....
 

Welcome to the board, you will have fun redoing your 63. If you need any advise just pm us here on the board. I live in Tulsa and currently have a 65 chevy and a 66 gmc. more than happy to help you save money on how to do upgrades on your truck. I do know of some inexpensive sand blasters around Tulsa and learned that doing it yourself is not always the least expensive way. We bought a Harbor Freight Sandblast pot for $99.00 that you could borrow. The only trick is having a large enough compressor to do the job. If your frame was stripped bare you could get it blasted and epoxy painted for around $350.00 at a place in Sand Springs.....but since you are driving it....it might be better to do it your self......Lots of Luck and Welcome to the Forum ....... Kieth :gmc2:


Here is a link to a 91 burban in okc------could solve all your parts upgrade problems etc.....

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/cto/4202419839.html


Here is a link to my build:

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-GMC

Re: A little hello, and....
 

nice find, i have a 65 swb bbw stepper thats almost done, all i have to say is save everything, dont throw anything out cuz the piece you throw away thinking you'd just replace it, you'll be paying big bucks to buy it back. good luck and enjoy it.

Re: A little hello, and....
 

Welcome

Re: A little hello, and....
 

Welcome! I'm in Sapulpa and work in Tulsa, so if you need something, PM me. Good looking truck, BTW!

Re: A little hello, and....
 

Sweet looking truck! Even has a side spare!:metal: Looks like your off to a great start! And yeah! No need to be shy on the pictures!:chevy: