What HAVE I gotten myself into?

[xakk]

So here's the thing. The wife told me I have to stop taking the vette apart just because I'm bored and want to tinker with something. It's more or less done, it runs well, and short of a few interior touches, good to go. So I asked her what she thought about me buying an old truck to fix up. There's a 68 for sale down the road from us that I'd been eyeing off and on. She says sure, but only if she gets to help with this build. I'm ok with that.

But then she says she wants to do an older truck. The "cool" ones. I said well, mom has a couple sitting at her house that my dad did some trading for years ago and never did anything with. She wants them gone. I suppose we could do something with one of them. I tell her there's a '66 long bed and a '57 stepside. Her eyes lit up. I guess that answers that question. So now I've got a '57 3200 and an extra bed and a lot of work ahead.

We're not in any rush. It's just one of those things I want to work on when we've got time. We're not building a show truck, although I still want to make it nice. The original engine and transmission is still there, but I've got a 350 block and a TH350 to go in it and I'm sure we'll go IFS to make things more streetable.

As it stands right now, what you see is pretty much where it sits. I've got to either get some air in the tires or get some new tires on it to get it moved. Once I get it moved into the shop, we'll start tearing things down and see how bad it really is. It looks like it'll need fenders and a floor pan, but I really expected that. At least the grille is still there.

[xakk]

Sorry for spamming with all the pictures. Here's the rest.

[lotussutol]

looks like a nice project for sure. looks like it has rust in the usual places.

It will be interesting to see the underneath after it gets pulled out. Hopefully it is all ok under there. I have seen where they get pulled out from sitting/sinking in a field and the underneath really takes some abuse.

That extra bed is in great condition!

[lotussutol]

In the background of this picture

There appears to be an old truck on a trailer. Do you have any more pics of that truck? I love seeing pics of old steel that is still out there just waiting to be put back on the road.

[dwcsr]

Well the clutch pedal pad seemd to be in good shape. I'd start there and replace everything else.

[Igotachevyor2]

great project

[xakk]

Originally Posted by lotussutol

In the background of this picture

There appears to be an old truck on a trailer. Do you have any more pics of that truck? I love seeing pics of old steel that is still out there just waiting to be put back on the road.

It's a '49 Ford that I was taking to my father-in-law. He says he's going to fix it up. It's in pretty rough shape, but it does have two flat-head engines that should be able to be combined into one running one. Sorry, I don't have any other pictures of it.

[Stepside65]

What about the 66? It must be saved.

[Daniel U]

"The cool ones" I like that. Keep us posted!

[CAL 58 GMC]

Looks like a fun!!! And a BIG WELCOME!

[pgf545]

Welcome from Texas and I know how you feel....I ask myself that all the time. Wait until you get sheetmetal spread all over the shop and big chunks cut out then you really freak out. It's ok though before long you are putting it back together.

Bernie

[xakk]

Originally Posted by Stepside65

What about the 66? It must be saved.

It too will be saved. It's just further down the list. I keep telling myself if I had any brains we'd be working on that instead of this 57. It's in a lot better shape and would take less work. But the wife has her heart set on the 57, so there you have it. Plus, deep down inside, me too.

[entourageguy]

Sorry for spamming with all the pictures.

You will never be spamming with pictures because we love to look at other peoples projects!!!!!

Brian ...

[xakk]

Even a little progress is progress right?



We got the truck up into the shop and up on jack stands. The wife and I started cleaning the trash out of it to see just how bad things were. Right now, I can say things could be worse. Some years ago someone laid a sheet of steel on top of the old wooden bed, presumably because the wood was rotting out. So of course the rotting wood rusted out the steel, which rusted out sections of the bed, generally making a huge mess.





And that's not counting the years of old beer bottles, leaves and car parts that were piled up in there too.



We pulled the seat and the old rubber mat out, destroying a massive colony of ants in the process. The floor looks to be in better shape than I was worried about. There's some pin holes shining through in the drivers toe board and the corners around the foot well. The foot well itself is mostly a goner though and parts of the door pillar. Looks to be plenty of welding in the forseeable future.

[xakk]

Both the rear cab corners are a goner but the frame looks solid, which is a big load off my mind.





More importantly, the dash is completely unmolested. The glovebox lock even still works.





I got the hood off and started working on the fenders, but we ran out of time and PB Blaster.



Here's a big factor is slowing down progress:



There's no electricity in the shop yet. And the generator doesn't want to run the fan and the compressor at the same time, so there's lots of swapping right now.

Actually, we only really worked for 2 or 3 hours, so we actually got quite a bit done considering. The bad part is, it's a hour and a half away from our house, so working on it after work isn't gonna happen much.

[Jerry Jones]

Looks like a good project, keep us in the loop.

[Bishops Trucks]

Looks like a fun project. Keep us posted.

[lotussutol]

looks like a doable project. Luckily there are lots of patch panel options out there with these trucks.

I like that unmolested dash! You do not see that to often.

[pav]

wow well the seat doesnt look to bad mine was like that too its a pain in the ass just reinforce the top of the cab so the cab doesnt warp when u cut out floor i learnt the hard way. why cant all the trucks be in prestine condition no rust just dents.

[BigSix302]

I really love to see what others take on. It makes me feel better about some of the stuff I have tackled. Looks like an awesome project! You are really lucky to have someone on board and willing to help with a rebuild. It will help keep the motivation up in the process. Best of luck and enjoy your work together!!