looking for suggestions

[davecarney2]

so I got this 1959 GMC. I have found a few things been looking a lot longer than I have owned the truck. Looking for suggestions. I would like the end result to be low (possibly bagged) looking at putting an LS engine in it or 350 who knows for sure.. Should I do a frame swap with a caprice? The truck is in such good shape I hate to cut it up too much but in the same aspect I want the truck that I want so Id rather cut if I had to.

Also its a long bed. If I do a frame swap I would have to make it a short bed I would think or extend the frame.

I'll have to pay someone to do the fab work so looking for best cost effective route. I can do a lot of the work but when it comes to fab/frame I would feel more comfortable with someone who knows what they are doing.

Thanks in advance,

Dave

[mr48chev]

Unless the frame is junk I wouldn't want to plan on changing the fame. That is especially true if you plan to keep the long bed.
The car frames just flat don't work right under these trucks 99.9% of the time and usually end up being a cobbled up mess in the end. I've seen a few exceptions over the years but the builders were pretty creative fabricators.

I'd suggest buying a front suspension kit for the front that was set up for bags and having the rear of the frame C notched and set up with one of the link kits available with bags.
Scott on here can probably offer up the whole setup front and rear that your guy can install in a reasonable period of time. It won't be cheap but you will have a world class setup when you are done. Or you aren't all that far from Fatmans http://www.fatmanfab.com/ They do do complete suspension installations in their shop along with selling kits. It might be bit of a ways to haul the truck but the turn around time should be pretty good as that is what they are set up to do. you would probably want to do the prep work before taking it up there.

Engine choice is what you want and not what any of the rest of us would want.

[Maximus]

you want suggestions...
DONT put a caprice frame in, almost all car frames mean you have to hack out your steps because the center cab section is just too narrow to match up to any car frame.
Also, as for the motor, unless your going ultra-modern like an LS engine, i would keep the vintage poncho just the way you have it.. very unique - EVERYONE has a 350... (for this reason i put a pontiac in my 55' chevy ) the original air bath and valve covers are awesome, and can probably be cheaply touched up.
lastly, if you plan on driving alot, just change the front suspension first and go from there. Mustang II kits as well as camaro swaps are common and not too difficult, and WAY less guesswork than trying to make a car frame work.

just suggestions...

[buggy5872]

Like others have said...Keep the original frame and upgrade it with modern suspension. Pying someone for the fab work won't be cheat but quicker and better than swaping the frame. I have about $950 in my chassis not including wheels and tires. Did all the fab my self. It has a 75 camaro subframe and a custome made 4 link. There are a couple pictures of the chassis here http://rides.webshots.com/album/578128249XNyAVS

[OrrieG]

Be bold, keep it stock. Having said that if you want to upgrade keep the stock frame, research aftermarket setups for the front and have at it. Some bolt in (not a bad thing all stock crossmembers are riveted or bolted), some require welding (if your skills are not good enough you can set it up and tack it and have a certified guy finish it up). You will need to decide how high you want it, adjustable or set, etc. Nice thing about using the stock frame is if you change your mind or do not like the set up you can change it. Also less variables to mess with (radiator core support, bumper mounts, etc.) If you clip it or do a frame swap you are stuck with it. Most newer car and truck frames are wider which means you have to do a body lift or or significantly modify the cab corners and footwells which add a lot of the lower structure and stability to the cab. Get a second good frame to do the mods on and you can drive the truck while doing the frame. finish it up and swap the body over on a weekend.

[davecarney2]

thanks for all the advice guys. Sounds good.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by davecarney2

I'll have to pay someone to do the fab work so looking for best cost effective route.

paying someone to do a frame swap would cost you many thousands of dollars.
my suggestion would be, get it running and enjoy it.
paying someone else to build a dream can get costly.

these trucks came with sbc v8 motors, you can throw a sbc in it using factory parts.
bagging it requires a lot of fab work, do a static drop with bolt on stuff
that or learn to fabricate stuff

[_Ogre]

this guy had a sweet long bed on the power tour
everyone loved it, keep the long bed, that would make it unique