SWB budget frame off- East Tx Squares style

[grayharville]

Hey yall, I thought I would start a build thread for my longtime SWB project.

Ill start with the very beginning.

Summer 2007 I spied an 81 swb stepside behind my cousins house, it was obvious it had been sitting for awhile, there was motor parts laying everywhere inside it and both door windows were busted out. It was originally a 6cyl/3OTT but now had a very nappy looking 350 and a th400 with one ear broke off the bellhousing. I got it right though, 500 bucks cash. It was named Steppy. I fell in love with the truck and had big plans for it; I couldnt wait to drive it to school.

Once I got it home I realized it was in bad shape. Me and my dad originally planned to build it together but unfortunately that never happened. It was put out to pasture and with me lacking knowledge, skills, and help it was never touched.

The Beginning






I HATE RUST








Now on to the rebirth...

[grayharville]

The truck sat in its little spot in the pasture for awhile. I still daydreamed about doing something with it but each time I tried to tinker with it I was discouraged by people telling me to stop "messing with junkers" and I was told countless times that I needed to haul it off. But I just couldnt, I couldnt let my first truck be crushed.

Then i started selling parts off of it, I sold the motor, wheels, hood, bumpers, and doors.

Then some guy offered to buy the stepside bed. I said 400$, he said 200$ and his SWB. deal. That started it all. I know had experience under my belt and said screw it. Im building my truck one way or another.

i pulled it into the shop mid september 2011 and started stripping it down, preparing for a cab swap. I just wanted some motivation; Im all about that. pics..

Its sad little resting place


In the shop for the first time in 4 years


Stripped to frame


my better cab- which wasnt much better


cab on


and finally, it emerged with a whole new look! of course its pieced together, 4 different colors and not running, but its a start! I saw potential!

[Gordonr1973]

That's one hell of a cab lift!

It looks good to me! --- Since it has no drivetrain, you are free to do whatever you want instead of being married to a motor that you hate but can't afford to sell because you sunk a bunch of money into it in the past!

Keep on going with it, it will turn out great!

[Skellington]

Cool build start. Its cool when you have history with your truck. One day you will probably be driving this thing and you will think back to the moment you thought "screw it. Im building my truck one way or another." Im sure you will be happy you did so. I also have a history with my truck and I know the feeling: you cant let your friend rot away in a pasture or go to scrap. lol

[grayharville]

Now at this time, I still lacked a nice cab(mine had rust and engine fire damage) and a complete drivetrain. It was time for me to do some dealing.

First off I traded the old 12 bolt for a running 305, that had a fairly new edelbrock 1406, and a weiand intake. that saved me some money.

I then purchased a 79 lwb truck, no title, wrecked, running for 50$ (No joke)

I pulled the 2.76 geared 12 bolt from the 79 and used it on my swb. I also pulled the good motor and scrapped the rest.

Then a good friend of mine hooked me up with a new rust free cab for a good price. He also volunteered his help and shop to help me get this project rolling.

So I brought it over and we started tearing stuff up.

On its trip to its new foster home


probably the first time this trucks ever been on a lift




We got straight to work, by pulling the old worn out front suspension/crossmember out of the swb and replacing with one in alot better shape. No, its not rebuilt, But its 15x better. The main focus right now is to get it driveable.

I also had to do some fab work. Luckily for me my best friend is a certified welder and we got it knocked out quick.

Rear shock mounts busted



30 minutes later. look at those welds! pretty!

[grayharville]

Now then, onto the last post to get everyone caught up.

I did some more horse trading and wound up with a good th350 trans, a 4 headlight front clip, and other miscellaneous items.

Now I had a drivetrain to use, cool.

Heres my motor, just mocked up


Its a 383 stroker with a huge cam and domed pistons making 500+ hp....

Oh wait... no... im kidding, Its a bone stock 305, haha.

I got this motor for free and it runs flawlessly, so im damn sure gonna use it until I can drop a couple grand into building one of my 350 blocks.
besides, if i blow it up, its just a 305. Its just being used to get the truck moving under its own power for the first time in about 10 years.


Now my gameplan for this truck from here out is to

1. remove cab again
2. mount my motor and trans/paint frame
3.mount good cab
4. mount good clip
5. GET IT RUNNING!
6. buy new tires, 275/60 rear on 8 inch rallys, 235/70 front on 6.5 inch rallys, with the white letters out! i like old school.
7. get it registered and drive the hell out of it and figure out what needs improvements.
8. blow it back apart, do bodywork, and 2 tone red and white. My favorite look.
9. Dark window tint, black interior, a bumpin stereo, and a crazy loud country boy exhaust.
10. Enjoy my truck.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this, progress may be slow, but there will always be progress! enjoy, and please comment.

[grayharville]

Heres a little update, we pulled the donor suburban into the shop to check out the front clip, its really clean with zero rust. Me like.



This old burb looks creepy... It has a questionable past. haha


Im not sure that I would want any candy out of this thing!

But atleast some of its body parts will be used for a good cause before it goes to square body heaven.

[Gordonr1973]

lol! >>> that candy sign would definitely get you pulled over by the cops!

Good progress!

[grayharville]

Yeah im pretty sure that burb would have to stay more than 50 yards from any school or public playground. Lol
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[Can't kech me]

while you have the front clip off you oughta spray some POR 15 or something of that sort just to keep it from rusting anymore. sweet build though. any plans to lower it? i'm super interested.

[stepside83]

looking good keep up the good work, to bad it still wasnt a stepside, just saying lol, im buliding a 83 stepside thats y i said that

[grayharville]

Thanks for the comments guys! The truck will recieve a 2/3 drop after I get it running. I got the motor put together tonight, I hope to get more done next weekend.
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[texassquarebodies]

MMMMMMMM Candy

[grayharville]

Originally Posted by texassquarebodies

MMMMMMMM Candy

You want some? I know where to get it! Hahaha

[kunzy420]

for the shock mounts did you guys just cut out the bad part and weld in new metal?

Both of my rear shock mounts are busted like that, my dads been welding 30+ years so hes helping me with it.

[grayharville]

Yessir, i cut out the bad s*** and welded in some good metal. It was kinda a goofy shape. I made a template out of paper first
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[grayharville]

So, a small update!

got my front clip off


and part of the free candy burb will always be in the shop!


tony doing whatever tony does.


and off to squarebody heaven!

[grayharville]

And that is the end of the burb, heres a quick shot of the new clip, just because.


then my truck went back on the lift and we removed the bed, clip, and cab



and my cab had a wreck. good thing it sucked! a friend i had helping me misunderstood me when i said "dont move that lift arm" "OH S***!!"




and I finally got some actual work done.
we wire brushed and DA sanded the frame and shot it with satin black paint, replaced the brake lines, motor mounts, and trans mount. Then dropped the motor and trans in.






Well thats all, until next time. thanks for lookin

[grayharville]

I AM THE JUNKYARD MASTER!!!!

My score this week!


A MINT condition 84 (My favorite style) grille with bezels, 88-98 style thin trim rings, 3 perfect center caps, a vacuum secondary holley carb, a hi-lift tractor jack I found chained in the back of the same 84 I got my grill from, and a woodgrain dash bezel.

How much would you give for all this stuff? Guess how much I did

[oldblue1968chevy]

50 bucks

updates? dang there wasnt anything else of use on teh burb

[grayharville]

50 bucks? nahh man, 15$!!

The new cab is going on this weekend, ill be sure to post pics. Right now im working on rebuilding a motor wiring harness, everyone I have is a mess.

I also picked up something else to go in this truck, Ill show a pic, maybe you can tell whats different about it....



tach dash!!! Now you really wont believe how much I paid for this thing...

[Kerlijah]

Great build man, looking forward to seein more progress! Might even have to have you pick me up some parts, at prices like that!

[grayharville]

Thanks! I am blessed to have alot of friends in the scrap business, that helps alot.
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[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Looking good.

[oldblue1968chevy]

Wow what a deal tach dash is cool too