49 chevy restoration with a twist

[swanny11]

Here is my project. So far its been extremely fun, and difficult at times. Please give us support and ideas! Thanks!

Whats up guys, pretty sure im far enough into my project to make a thread about. since i was about 14 ive wanted a 47-53 chevy pickup and just last year my dad found one while he was working.



We got her with most of the parts, some in good condition, others not. My brother had a 96 (i believe) caprice cop car that he didnt want anymore, my dad and i did some measuring and figured it will fit on the pickup!



The 350 fuel injected motor has a spun rod bearing so that needs to be fixed eventually. We got whatever we thought we could use off the cop car, pitched the rest and started our project. Found out the frame came out to wide on the cop car so we had to cut it out and weld a new piece of metal in so it will fit.




after both sides were done we moved on.
Next we gathered all our chevy parts and checked out what we really have.
After that we started from bottom up. Mounts! made cab mounts, radiator mount, and bed mounts. We are trying to get this thing to be deadly silent with no wiggles and bangs. We are using the caprice rubber bushings for cushion.



*This project is a winter project so we didnt have any work done over this years summer*

So we are just now getting back on the truck with the bed.
Due to the suspension on the cop car frame the bed can not be flat unless its raised up a foot! We are working our way around that right now (January 1st)
We decided the only way we will make this work is by having a hump in the middle of the bed. We got some cardboard and got the radius of the half circle around the suspension for the bed. We got what we liked and had some metal bent for the frame to support the wood in the bed.




We have some old redwood that were wine cask's in the early 1900's at one point (very very pretty wood) and got it cut up with our table saw, not complete, still needs lots of sanding but we got it laid in place and we are liking it!




I will keep all of you updated whoever is interested, Please give us suggestions on anything!

[renegade8720]

Lookin good!

[NEWFISHER]

Any side shots? Ill bet it sits loooooooow
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[PurdueSD]

nice! I'm looking forward to this one! The bed wood is going to be cool!
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[swanny11]

hahaha should of put this in. When we got everything on it we put sandbags where we thought the most weight will be, looking for more of a racy look with all of the weight on it it looked really good, sadly i dont have a picture with the weight on it... but doing this(changing how it sits) we will have to modify the running boards when we get there. here is no weight.

[swanny11]

And if anyone is asking, yes the wood will be going sideways, not like original 47-53's.

ALSO i want to ask a question. What do you guys suggest for hingles and latches for the tailgate? I dont really want the chain look. something kind of hidden.

[torchlight]

MAR-K makes the hidden hinge/latch kit that I like best.
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[NEWFISHER]

I have seen old metal seat belt buckles mounted to the bedsides with the buttons facing in towards the middle of the bed and the tailgate has the male end welded to it. They latch when the gate is up and you press the buckle to open each side. Mindanao low budget but different.

[rollenhard]

Nice truck i'm liking the bed wood idea cant wait to see it when its done keep up the good work

[swanny11]

aww you cant edit posts. oh well.
Came home from school today and my dad got this done. Im planning on learning how to weld from him soon.
http://s753.beta.photobucket.com/use...tml?sort=3&o=0

[swanny11]

Do you guys suggest buying new chrome bumpers from brotherstruckparts or just getting the old ones chromed? are the new ones made from good steel?

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by swanny11

Do you guys suggest buying new chrome bumpers from brotherstruckparts or just getting the old ones chromed? are the new ones made from good steel?

Run out and see Wes at Classic Heartbeat and see what he has in stock. WWW.Classicheartbeat.com He is right there on the South side of Oly. He stocks nice pieces and while his price may be a bit more than Brothers or LMC you don't have to pay the freight and can see and feel what you are buying.

I'd love to have my bumpers rechromed but the cost of doing that in this state seems to be as high and usually higher than the cost of the good aftermarket bumpers. Queen City can probably give you a ball park price to go by though.
http://www.queencityplating.com/

Or
Show Quality Metal Finishing
1115 S. Elizabeth St.
Seattle, WA 98108 map
Phone: 206-762-6717
Fax: 206-762-3125

I don't know anything about them though.

[swanny11]

Been working hard on the running boards, My dad is bending the pieces by himself. Meanwhile i have been learning how to weld.

[mr48chev]

Hey I like that filler panel. That gap between the cab and boards has always been something that bugged me on these trucks and that panel makes it look really finished off.

[swanny11]

Cool thanks dude!! yeah we are trying to get rid of all the large gaps that can be filled. We are currently deciding on making our own front bed panel that has a parallel radius to the cap so there is a .5 inch gap in the middle, left corner and right corner. Ill keep ya updated!

[_Ogre]

interesting use of the complete caprice frame, i like it
good idea on narrowing the frame to sit the truck body on there
sideways bed wood? it's a custom, looks good

though i am a little envious of your cherry picker

[swanny11]

Thanks Ogre! yeah its a little custom but i like how its looking. At the end it will be fast and a smoooothhee ride!

[Highsider]

Originally Posted by swanny11

Thanks Ogre! yeah its a little custom but i like how its looking. At the end it will be fast and a smoooothhee ride!

Join the board for $25 and you can edit your posts.

[bigguy69]

Great work so far!
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[Trekster]

Looks good. Keep up the good work.

[speesh]

Way to keep it Chevy! After seeing people say that a second gen. camaro is too wide for an A.D. truck, I would never have thought this would work. This is probably as strong or stronger than the stock frame.As a person who would never put a F*RD Pinto (Rustang II)front end under a truck, I applaud you!!!
I wonder if a Roadmaster Wagon frame would work under my 57 Suburban?

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Nice work.
By any chance was that Caprice a 9c1 police package? I had a 94 9c1 years ago and that thing had unbelievable handling. Rode like a Cadillac but cornered like a Corvette.
When they were police cars, the cops around here called them "The 4-door Corvette"

[booger1949]

doin a good job on your build, wish i had someone to do that kinda stuff with me at your age, can u put any pics of the finishd frame on so we can c how it lookd thanks an good luck

[swanny11]

Thanks speesh, it only took a couple minutes of measuring hahaha!
Not positive bowties. It was my brothers car. I was in it before and its a super smooth ride and pretty fast. Now that i look at some pictures of that i think it is...

Runningboards mounted on both sides and got front bumper in place but we just need to buy a passenger side bracket.

[swanny11]