To many options! Help deciding how to bag my 56 3100!!

[Djditty]

I am having trouble choosing how to go about bagging my 56 Chevy. There are so many options out there. My three basic choices are find a weld in/bolt in kit that will lay rockers, a front clip swap or a full chassis swap. This is my first project of this kind and is my "learning" project. My goal is to get some fab knowledge and skills and have a bad a truck and some skill at the end, so I don't want to just drop it off somewhere and have it done for me. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on my situation. I know there are tons of threads about this but I'd really wanted to have all my options discussed on my own thread. Thanks a bunch everyone!

[63chevyll]

Tough call, but your asking the right questions before jumping right into it

1st...whats your dollar ammount you have to spend on steering/suspension
2nd... how soon are you trying to accomplish the Suspension part of your build
3rd....how much real time are you going to spend per week on it.
4th... what do you want to do with the truck in the end. Car shows, cruise, track...ect
5th...do you have the space, tools necessary to the work

[63chevyll]

I ask because i see too many people bite off more than they can chew and you need to think about your project as a whole. Eveything has to function properly to have a good truck.

I think Factory clips, aftermarket front ends, or Different chassis are all good options just depends on your budget, expectations, time, skills

[Djditty]

Originally Posted by 63chevyll

Tough call, but your asking the right questions before jumping right into it

1st...whats your dollar ammount you have to spend on steering/suspension

Hard for me to me put a dollar amount on this. I'm sure it will make up the majority of my cost.

2nd... how soon are you trying to accomplish the Suspension part of your build

I would like to get the suspension done this summer if possible.

3rd....how much real time are you going to spend per week on it.

Probably 2-4 days a week.

4th... what do you want to do with the truck in the end. Car shows, cruise, track...ect

Just my own personal pleasure, drive back and forth to work and just enjoy. I have no interest in showing it or tracking it. Probably slow and low cruising for now. For now I am planning on keeping the 265 V8 that is in the truck and just make it a driver.


5th...do you have the space, tools necessary to the work

This is my biggest issue. I am limited on space and tools. I have friends that have all tools I need but I'm just getting started in fabrication and welding.

Thank you!

[Djditty]

That didn't really work out the way I was planning but I answered your questions in the quote. Haha!

[63chevyll]

Sounds like you would be better off with a bolt in or weld in kit.
They seem to go together the quickest compared to a clip or different frame. The time for these are always more than people plan for.

With a kit you have some sort of directions and a layout. Which is better than building from scratch.
Thats my opinion. Its worth spending a bit for for stuff you dont have to recreate.

[Djditty]

Originally Posted by 63chevyll

Sounds like you would be better off with a bolt in or weld in kit.
They seem to go together the quickest compared to a clip or different frame. The time for these are always more than people plan for.

With a kit you have some sort of directions and a layout. Which is better than building from scratch.
Thats my opinion. Its worth spending a bit for for stuff you dont have to recreate.

I am going to have the help of a friend that has done MANY airbag setups on a ton of different vehicles so I won't be flying solo. Do you know what kit out of all of the ones available will drop the lowest?

[63chevyll]

I say any mustang 2 kit with drop spindles or the porter built stuff the lowest

[dubds10]

First I was gonna ask if you're a welder & have done professional structural work but then saw you'll have a friend help so if he's a professional welder then I'd go with a weld in IFS kit up front. Clips take a bit more work & don't look as clean as a kit. They go by fairly quick and get you were you want if done right the first time of course. Chassis swap is cheapest usually but most time consuming and can be problematic for some. Lots more to figure out of course.