58 frames

[jsmithbm]

Hey guys, first post on this sub-forum. My father passed away last week and he was in the process of havin "some" people build his 58. Just to give you a little background. He got interested in the old chevy trucks when he and i bought a 70 and i started building mine. He wanted one in the 50's so i located a 58 for him. We traveled across the state and took it back to his house were we started tearing it down. At about that time he became terminal ill and started farming out the work. He had the frame swapped to a 78 (i think) and the truck was sand blasted and primed. A nicely built motor was put it and that about it.....
I have a load of quetions but i will do my best to search for the answer before asking. SO i had just a few questions. if anyone is willing to lend me some of their knowledge.
*problem one i see- the back of the cab has been cut about 3 inch up to allow the cab to sit on the frame. *additional info, it was a 1500 not an s10 frame.
*problem two i see- the fleet side bed was altered but the wood floor will not lay in the bed due to the arch of the frame. *i know i know, this post is worthless without photos. i promise i will have plenty on here tomorrow.
*what should i do? they look he was going for was a slightly lowered look with mag wheels, *as he called them* Should i keep the frame its currently on or swap it again. How should i get the bed adjusted. i am sure once i post the pics it will generate more responses.
thanks
-joel

[OrrieG]

In addition to the problem with the cab and bed you have already identified you are going to find that the tires will stick up beyond the fenders because the track wide is much wider. Some like the look, some think it looks like hot wheels. If you do a search on "78 frame swap" or "c10 frame swap" you should turn up some of the threads where the pros and cons have been discussed. My truck in the avatar has 74 axles on the 59 frame. The relatively skinny (7" wide) tires are right at the edge of the fenders, but still under them using stock wheel. Any after market wheels or wider tires will push them 2-4 or more inches outside the bodywork. I like the skinny tire logger truck look so its ok with me. Wider tire means you will get more stuff kicked up on you new paint job.

[chev4life NZ]

Sorry jsmithbm to hear about your dad, sorry I cant give you any advice about what you ask but I will say I would build the truck to how he wanted it if was me in your shoes,like you Im new here but have lernt quick there is a lot of really talented guys here willing to give very helpfull advice and they know what they are talking about so you couldnt get a better site than this. Good luck with the build mate.

[jsmithbm]

here are the pictures as promised.


















okay let the feed back come

[57ToyBox]

Crazy !!! I wish my truck was that far along. Looks great.

[Kim57]

Sorry for your loss.
It looks like a real nice truck you have there.
As far as the bed goes I would just raise the floor up enough to clear the frame.
Kim

[OrrieG]

It looks like they did a good job lining up the body and bed lines, I would just raise the inner bed too. When the tailgate is shut most people will not notice and those that do will probably know why.

[jsmithbm]

thanks for you responses, i think i will accept it the way it is and adjust the bed and put the copper color paint that he was wanting. Thanks again. i will add more pics later as progress continues.

[Alan's Classic]

Again sorry for your loss Joel, I agree at this point just raise the floor. It sounds like the easiest way to go. Not saying it will be easy just easier.

[51 okie]

Yes, I believe you should follow through with what you got there. Looks nice. Keep moving forward.

[fabguy]

Give porterbuilt a call he has A-arms and drop spindles that will cure your front track width problem. I have a 58 fleetside on a 71-72 C-10 front frame that was grafted onto the original 1958 frame. Having a 58 body is not as bad as a 55 body in the respects of track width. I am using stock wheels from an 87 Pickup with hubcaps and whitewalls and have enough clearance to bag it and get it to lay the body on the floor easier than using a camaro or custom IFS and you'll keep your oilpan at least 2" front the asphalt in case of bag or line failure which guys that have bagged camaro front clips can't do easily. The advantage of the stock rear frame is that the bed will bolt right up. The C-10 front section frame width and height of rail are almost the same as a 58 frame. I have thread in the project section that shows some pictures if you wanna look at mine. Give me a call or PM if you have some questions.
Posted via Mobile Device

[jsmithbm]

well i did a c/l search for 58 parts to see what i could come up with. I located a guy up the road that was parting out one. he had two good fenders that i thought i need because the headlight bucket mounting area had been cut out on the current ones. I rode over today and looked at what he had. The were in great condition minor surface rust. I hit the outside with some aircraft stripper and will sand blast them tomorrow. i got a lot of info from the guys on here about what to do with what i have and i feel alot better now with what was done with dads truck. I may continue to post pics on this thread to show the progress. i need to post some of my other truck to my other build thread. Man life can get busy huh.

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by fabguy

Having a 58 body is not as bad as a 55 body in the respects of track width.
Posted via Mobile Device

I had never thought about the 58-59 front fenders being a little wider because of the flare back from the grill and the 4 lights.

[jsmithbm]