New Here

[BadBlu]

whats going on guys? well i'm new here and i just bought my first chevy truck about three weeks ago. already have a ton of plans for it lol. its a 74 longbed HD. its got a fresh 350 with a street dominater intake and an edelbrock carb. it has a good lookin chrome dress-up kit. its all fitted for A/C but the compressor and hoses aren't there so thats something i'll look into as well. the exhaust consist of long tubes, 24" glasspacks and then 3.5" tips out the back. the interior is in good shape as well as the body. its has chrome modular wheels and the tires are old lol. new tires coming soon. i put a diamond plate tool box in the bed. no radio unfortinitly but thats an easy fix also. it has a th350 tranny, refreshed also. its going to need some paint in time and a new front bumper. the one on it is chrome but its twisted, not sure if i can get the twist out or not. gonna try in a few days lol.


one of the questions i have is : how hard will it be for me to swap it from a long bed to a short? i know i will need the 16 gallon fuel tank and the bed and shortening the frame. but will i need a custom driveshaft? i would think the stock one for a short bed would work right?

also wanting to go with a black rubber floor covering, its got blue carpet now and i'm not a friend of carpet lol. the door panels will need to be replaced in time and the dash cas two small cracks up in the center like they always do lol. some of the front panels need realigned which wont be hard either. the seat is in excellent shape but its brown in color. so i bought a clothe black one today and installed it. i'll get some pics today during the day of it and post them up on here. i'm also going to be installing a challenger style grant steering wheel this weekend. getting rid of the stock one. the color of the truck is a dark blue. i like the color so i'll stick with it. its just that its got alot of scratches on it. not any digs but alot of scratches.

and i bought the truck for $2000. i think i got a good deal on it. i'll post up some pics tomorrow on it though and again when i get the steering wheel in it.

i look forward to learning alot about the truck and chevy world. i'm a drag racer as well but my drag car is a ford so dont hate on me to much for that. lol. i can post some pics of it if anyone would like to see. its a mustang that is no where near stock except for the appearance. anyways, let me know if ya'll have any good ideas for things to do to the truck or anything.

thanks guys
Don

[Beyond]

Welcome Don. I've never done one of those bed swaps so can't help you with that one, but good to see another Drag Racer on here.

[80BIG10]

Welcome to the board. Sounds like you have some good projects ahead of you.

[Blue Beard]

Welcome from SW Washington State.....

The driveshaft would have to be changed, but you may be able to use the shortbed driveshaft if everything in shortened to the specs of the shortbed trucks.

Have you thought about looking for a shortbed frame and transferring everything.

Might do a search on the parts board, or ask the guys of the whereabouts of one.

Would save time and frustration.

Just my 2 cents ....

[Slonaker]

I would just buy a shortbed to begin with. Shortbeds aren't hard to find in Texas, so the extra trouble and expense aren't really justified unless you have a special attachment to a particular truck, or you already have a lot of money in it that you can't get back. Since neither of those apply to you, apparently, I think it would be cheaper and easier in the end.

Do it before you get any money invested in this truck, or you'll never get it back out of it.

Slonaker

[LOHRTBT]

Welcome!!! Enjoy!

[AirMale]

Welcome.....If you really want to convert to a shortbed check Fullsizechevy.com and go to the classic forum. I read a post about a guy that just did it sucessfully and would probably help you with measurments and things. Good luck and hack away

[bluex]

Originally Posted by AirMale

Welcome.....If you really want to convert to a shortbed check Fullsizechevy.com and go to the classic forum. I read a post about a guy that just did it sucessfully and would probably help you with measurments and things. Good luck and hack away

That was me! The swap is really no trouble at all. Get your new shortbed first though it will help you make sure all the measurements are right. 14" must come out between the axle and cab to get the correct 117.5" wheelbase. Then I think it was 5" that has to be taken off the rear of the frame to make the bed sit flat on the frame. The second set of holes for the bed bolts are in the same location on both trucks so they help line everything up. You will need a 16 gal. tank, and you can try the stock shortbed driveshaft. I had mine shortened, balanced and new u-joints installed for $75. (I also went from a th350 to a 700r4 too) You will also need new park brake cables ($10 from LMC) and a new rear brake line, or you can cut and reflare yours if you dont mess it up. Dont plan on running a rear bumper though. I'm not sure if its the heavy half package my truck came with or just the difference between long/short bed. My leaf springs are 5" longer than the shortbed I found at the salvage yard to measure. So I only have about 3-4" between the shackle mounts and the end of the frame. It would be a simple fix to get some short leaf springs and move the shackle mounts. Brake out the sawzall, its not hard!!

[Kurt L]

welcome to the board from the bikini state,good luck on your truck.
as far as racing use to do that yrs ago.

[BadBlu]

thanks for the welcome guys, finding the shortbed is what will determine if i try and do this swap or not. if i can't then i'll just look for a shortbed chassis or a roller and just do the swap. i apreciate all the info bluex, that was a big help man. what installing a roll pan? would that work instead of a rear bumper? now i at least have an idea on what all will need to be done. that and i want to get the custom thing done to it ya know. put some time, money, blood, and sweat into it lol. i'm done with my drag car for now so i recon i'll start in on my truck lol. i'll probably start on the interior and then go to exterior, there is going to be more work involved on the outside then inside so i recon i'll get the inside done first.

also thinkin of going with a black paint for the truck, in and out. i've always wanted a black truck so here is my chance.

[chevychic]

You didn't say whether it was a K10 or C10. Regardless, instead of the rubber flooring, have you thought of rhino-lining? I'm probably going to do this to my K10 since mud isn't too kind to carpet.

Welcome to the board and post those pics soon!!

[BadBlu]

yeah sorry about the long wait on the pics, i'll have them by monday for sure, we have a car show this weekend that i'm taking my drag car too so i'll get pics of both.

its a C10. and yeah i'm gonna look around and see about the rino lining, i could do that when i get the bench seat out to put the buckets in. when i find a good set that is. lol.