59 Project help!

[daveccpa]

I have a 1959 GMC 3/4 ton PU that my father in law gave to my 15 yo son. I thought that this would be a good project for him to work on. My first car was a project that I built myself.

Anyways I'd like to replace the engine, tranny, add disk brakes and power steering as cheap and efficiently as possible. I've come across a 2003 corvette that I can use as a donor car. My question is how much work and cost would be involved in using the corvette parts on the truck?

Any help would be appreciated.

[OrrieG]

Corvette parts into a 59 does not equate to inexpensive or efficency. These trucks are a good first project because they are relatively easy to work on and simple. For a first project I would look at a basic engine, trans, rearend replacement. You can upgrade the front beam axle to discs. SBC/350th or 480 are easy to come by and there are lots of camaro, firebird or truck rearends that are virtually bolt in. Next level is to clip the front end but if your kid has not been exposed to welding and fabrication at that level it could be frustrating. A lot of the upgrades could be done incrementally as he is driving it, so it doesn't end up being a long term build he looses interest in.

Look at the build threads here, there are some using Corvette stuff but takes really good fabrication skills to pull it off, its not plug and play. You can also see how complicated the various front end mod scenarios are (s-10, mustand II variations, etc.) I am assuming that he wants to do some or most of the work himself. If you are going to farm out the work then that is another discussion.

Should be a fun project for him, I remember when I was starting out at that age too.

[nikwho]

You can take a look at my build thread, its the link in my signature area. Not even close to the level of work that a lot of guys do around here, but i'm getting it done. My truck is a '59 Apache 3/4 ton, too. I have been working on mine off and on for the past year and it is nearing completion. I am installing the fuel tank, radiator and new wire harness and a few other odds and ends that will wrap it up by summer. They are fun trucks to work on. I used many parts from a 2nd gen camaro(70-81). If you were able to find a pretty good, running 2nd gen camaro, its crazy how many parts you can swap over. I gues some guys even use all of the wiring out of them. poke around here, you will find all of the mods that work best in these trucks.

[tmoble]

read Orrie's post carefully. Much wisdom gained from experience in there. Unless you want to farm it out to a shop and spend mucho $$ that's not a way to go. If you can get the Vette cheap or free you can sell parts off it to finance part of your truck work.

[dicer]

First of all what kind of shape is it in? If its a good original truck, its not a smart thing to ruin it as a practice sesson. In not too many years from now some one will kick themselves when all thats left out there is everyones moded things, and the rare factory stockers are then worth $100,000 plus. If you have to cut it up for mods, shop around as there are many of those half or partially done projects forsale cheap.
I say keep the truck stock and rebuild the corvette, the kid will get more girl friends with the vette.
If its gona be a driver the master cylinder is the first thing to swap out, and there are ones that pretty much bolt into place. The drum brakes are fine, people used them for years, again if hes gona be racing or driving fast the corvette is the choice. Thats my opinion.

[entourageguy]

At the end of the day it's a truck so do what you want to make it drivable and safe for you.

[Kabwe]

Originally Posted by daveccpa

Anyways I'd like to replace the engine, tranny, add disk brakes and power steering as cheap and efficiently as possible. I've come across a 2003 corvette that I can use as a donor car. My question is how much work and cost would be involved in using the corvette parts on the truck?

Any help would be appreciated.

You will need to get the computer reprogrammed and you need to pull the complete engine wiring harness and you can have that reworked to suit your needs. Start checking out ls1tech.com and ls1trucks.com to read about these engines. There is also a place here to read about them going into our trucks. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/f...play.php?f=206

Sound like a nice project for you and your son.