Morphing a 1956 Chevy 3200 onto a 2001 Tahoe Chassis

[Advanced Design]

Cool project! I will be tagging along.

[Keith Seymore]

Very cool. I'll be watching.

As an aside - I had design/release responsibility for the GM full size trucks/Van/SUV underbody structure, so I'm getting a kick out of this.

K

[AllenF]

Yes, that's "Dustless" blasting. Seemed faster than regular, and a lot less dust. They spray it with an anti rusting treatment but I doused it with phosphoric acid (metal prep) immediately following the blasting. Locally it was $225/hour all in.

[mongocanfly]

That's why I went with traditional blasting...cost...my blast guy charges 40/hr...I checked into dustless, but when they quoted total cost it didn't take long to make my mind up...
This will be an interesting build...

[dsraven]

has anybody heard of the home pressure washer wet blasting attachment they sell? it looks like an easy to use system but not sure how good it works or how much sand it goes through comparably.

[mongocanfly]

Guy I work with has one raven...he said it works great...

[AllenF]

I have one of those pressure washer blasters from Northern Tool. Uses a lot of sand and is only marginal with a 2500psi machine, but it works in a pinch or for small jobs.

[dsraven]

I was wondering about that. I would likely have to rent a pressure washer, mine is a little small probably.
I have a small pot blaster but have never even tried it. too busy getting things to fit before worrying about the finish.

[dsraven]

any news on the morph?

[dagnabbitt]

Had to cut the dash into several pieces in order to align the instruments with the wheel. Designed it such that it is now a "bolt-in" dash as opposed to welded in. Hand fabricated all the brackets and such. I will try to get photos of that.

Subscribed.

I have virtually the same project on my hands, a 59 on a 97 Tahoe. Getting ready to section the dash and I would love some more pics on how you did/are doing it.

[AllenF]

I will take a couple more over the coming days. I used the Tahoe driver's geometry, so the 56 had the driver more in the center of the vehicle (bench seat, narrower vehicle) so i had to cut the dash into a few pieces and relocate the center of the instrument cluster to the left. I am also engineering it such that the dash will now bolt in. I will grab some shots as to how I did that, but the short answer is I cut it along the front, extended it, and welded bolts to it. I am in the midst of roughing out some of the heavy metal changes and dents after the sand blasting so I can get it in rough primer. I will be back on the dash and interior in a week or so. I had to delay until I sorted out the stereo. I am hoping to have a fold down panel that replicates the original radio and conceal a modern Sony double din media player behind it. I am also cutting and reusing the Tahoe instrument panel behind the 56 cluster. Any gauges that don't make it, I can display on the media player via a blue tooth OBDII connection.

Allen

[AllenF]

Oh, one other thing. I cut the ends of the dash and actually brought it out about an inch and tipped it up just a bit to clear the Tahoe steering mounts. More photos later.

[AllenF]

Made some progress on straightening and priming the panels. This thing is pretty much one big dent. I guess I need to remember it lived its life as a truck, but I have seen hail damaged vehicles with fewer dents. 3 gallons of plastic so far.

[AllenF]

Here's a couple of shots of how I set the dash up to be a bolt-in solution. Just welded an extension onto the front edge and welded studs on.

[dsraven]

3 gallons of plastic, but how much is now sanding dust on the floor? lol.
keep those pics coming. great to see progress somewhere. (none at my shop lately).

[joedoh]

you got a good tooth in it! anyone who does bodywork gets my respect because I do not have the patience for it.

[AllenF]

Update,

I have the fenders (F&R) in finish primer, and the doors and other giblets as well. 4+ gallons of plastic in, but it should be pretty straight. I guess these never fit together that well from the factory, but the gaps on this thing were terrible.

All that remains is the hood which is a mess. I had to add some reinforcements.

[AllenF]

Oops. Files didn't load.

The rear bed steps had to be modified pretty heavily. I had to shorten them and extend the top to accommodate the emergency brake apparatus on the driver's side. So I used 2" exhaust tube to extend them at the top and essentially had the steps cut into 4 pieces...

Coming down home straight on the body work. But I had to get the doors finished, adjusted and tight (gaps all adjusted etc.) before I go at finishing the gaps at the front. Getting tired of slinging mud.

[AllenF]

Few more shots.

This Evercoat Fiber Fill is awesome stuff. I shaped most of the big body parts with 40 Grit on a 36" block, then knocked that down to 80 and then finally 120. Then I hit it with this stuff and let it sit for a few days, then guide coat it and block it again with 150 on the 36" block, then to 180 and then hit it again.



https://www.amazon.com/Evercoat-FIB-...evercoat+4%3A1

[Yah's2thmaker]

I have been following your build, You are moving on it fast and doing a great job. this is exactly what I was thinking about doing. I have a 58 long step side. I was thinking about using an extended version donor and cutting it down to the wheelbase of the 58 long box. looks like you had to notch out the fender also? Looks like I would have to do the same even if I shorten the frame instead of shortening the box?

[AllenF]

I will try to grab a couple shots of the e brake perch I had to work around, but a truck donor might be better than a Tahoe since (I assume) the leaf springs allow for a flatter frame rail. If I had it to do again I would definitely not use a Tahoe. It was always my plan to have a "short-ish" bed and I knew that I could sacrifice a couple inches of the 3200 to get that done so the fender/wheel openings would be perfect.

I still need to sort out the painted wheel/ hubcap situation but I will get around to that.

[dsraven]

holy cow, don't you sleep?
great progress and sheet metal skills.

[joedoh]

looking good!

[AllenF]

Got the bed sheet metal roughed in. These are the 1/2 bed floor replacements from classic industries. They are for a full size bed but I just used the center section. These are definitely not exact fit parts that's for sure, but they work OK in this application. Just need to stitch this up and then it's back to the nose to get the final fitting done. Then, I need to rip it apart again and tidy up the core support and inner fender structures. I am going to use the Tahoe fender liners. Also, I need to sort out the air cleaner. I can't make the factory one fit, so it looks like I will have to get one of those cold air intake kits. Looks like the battery will have to go behind the passenger seat. No way to fit that under the hood.

[dsraven]

looks like you have had some time to work with no interuptions, wish I could say the same.
make sure to vent the battery to the outside