My Stepside build...5 months to build a driver. can it be done?

[andrewt2]

Howdy all, ive been watching everyone elses builds for a while and soaking up knowledge and now it's time to get going on mine. i just recently picked up a 69 stepside chevy truck on (12-22-07) from a board member down in the Tulsa Oklahoma area. paid 500 for the truck and about 150 in fuel to go get it so 650 dollars later i have my project. it's a VERY straight truck compared to most ive seen saved on this sight. will not need cab corners. does need rockers on both sides though, the outer sheet metal is all very solid needing only minor attention before paint. the paint on the vehicle isnt all to bad either just showing signs of age. My plan is to build a safe reliable truck i can drive anywhere, im looking to do so on a small budget and im hoping to have it done by the 3rd weekend in may to attend the 2008 Midwest Members meet in Indian Creek State Park in Nebraska, Im pretty sure i wont touch paint and body by then just buff out the current paint job. i picked up a Good SBC motor today for 75 dollars and i have a turbo 350 coming to me. And i already have a set of late model Silverado seats, but enough is enough time for pics..... can i build a driver out of this?!

[toomanytoyz]

Look's like a Solid start, Just one word of advise, Whatever you Budget for the Build, Plan on it Being about Double that & You will be Good...............

Rick

[Richard8971]

Originally Posted by toomanytoyz

Plan on it Being about Double that & You will be Good...............

Rick

Rick, shame on you! Don't mislead the poor guy even before he gets started. "Figure double and you will be good..." Sheezee...

I would say figure triple the funds should do it...

Kidding, good luck on your build and keep us posted with pics.

D

[Rokcrln]

Sure you can depending on how much free time you have to work on it. On my truck (Low Buck) I am just now at 234hrs int it and shot paint on the cab today. That is just under 6weeks at 40hrs a week and this is rebuilt from teh ground up with alot of time in doing mods. So if you have 5 months you should be good with about 3 months to spare! Keep us posted and check out "LFD's Low Buck truck build" see what it takes step by step with hrs and prices as you go.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[Walts_restoration]

Of course you can make a driver out of it, especially with that motor and tranny i found for you, did you get the holley too? was it a 4175? and i assume the intake was an edl. preformer 2101.

Good luck bro, ever need help finding something just ask.

[Weezer67]

I think a lot of us have started with less! Juat visit ROKCRIN'S Low buck build everyday and you will have all the inspiration you will need. It's good to have another Kansas truck!
Weezer67
Dodge City, Kansas
Cowboy Capitol of the World

[andrewt2]

Originally Posted by Walts_restoration

Of course you can make a driver out of it, especially with that motor and tranny i found for you, did you get the holley too? was it a 4175? and i assume the intake was an edl. preformer 2101. .

yes i believe the holley was a 4175 not to sure on the intake tho. but all and all everything looks super clean and he says it should just be ready to bolt in and go. it may only be a 305 but for 75 bucks i aint complaining it will be plenty for how i want to drive this truck. the guy i contacted on the tranny is suppose to be getting with me 2nite on it so i can get it home and assemble the motor and tranny. and get them set in.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Congrats on the new ride.

[samwise68]

Looks good!

and 5 months? sheesh. plenty of time.

alot of us, well, my atleast, started with alot less. so, i'd say you're good to go.

if you want, take a look at my build thread in my sig., and you can kind of track my on-again-off-again progress in trying to build (re-build now...) a driver.

good luck! and take pics! we all like pics...

-Sam.

[SactoJim]

It's all about time and money and if you're anything thing like me, they NEVER coincide!

Shouldn't be too tough to have a "driver" in 5 months.

[basketcase]

Oh Yes. Another '69 stepside going together. Looks like you made a good deal on the truck and the engine.

Tom

[1966gmc]

Cool truck man.You will be able to finish that in the time you have alloted yourself,no doubt.Good solid looking start

[IvelDesigns]

great start man. Look forward to seeing it at the meet next may!

[72freak]

If you have free time during the week or in the evenings......you should have NO problems.

I have done 3 very nice daily driver projects WITH paint and body that have not gone past 4 or 5 months!!!

It is helpfull to order everything you need at one time so you have it. If you hit a wall...move on to something else.

[andrewt2]

Got a lot done today guys, was able to do the intake gaskets on my motor, painted all the accesory brackets and put motor mounts and tranny mounts on. got the motor and transmission all mated together and and ready to drop in this focused on the engine compartment... nothing over the top here just a good pressure washing a light sanding and some duplicolor spray paint on fire walls and core support. like i said this truck is just going to be a good 20 foot driver so im going to cut some corners a little bit *ie rattle canned fire wall* but majority of it will be nice and right. no skimping on mechanical interior or exterior of the vehicle... just a few corners cut on the things that wont be seen every day so i can get it on the road and enjoy it a bit before i get the bug to do a frame off resto! no pictures yet... will post pics during engine install tomorrow thanks guys
-andrew

[72freak]

Dont have any hesitations about building a 20 footer......my motto is never spend more than you can sell them for....and dont be delusional about what you can sell them for!!!!

Now.....with that said.........there are a lot of areas you can "cut corners" as you mentioned.....BUT....dont cut corners on the body work and get the best paint job you can afford. Things like engine compartment details, specialty engine parts, interior parts, fancy suspension, new pretty moulding side front and rear can all be done, re-done, or bought later.

Get it running, driving, and enjoy it while you are working on it.

This is my recomendation only because he said he wants a quick budget build.....For those of you building $15K - $75K trucks,,,,,Dont listen to me!!!

[andrewt2]

well made some progress this weekend, got the motor all bolted in and ready to be wired. got all the old wiring out and ready to have the new wiring installed. got the silverado seats in and mocked up reinforced the floor with some scrap angle iron. seems to be sturdy enough. i have a new wiring harness on order from "ez wiring" anyone used these on our trucks? it seems pretty straight forward. but ill let my progress pics speak for themselves.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Im getting ready to order the ez wire harness also so let me know how it goes..

[andrewt2]

im hoping to have it by the weekend to start on it. member kulturekat put one in his rig said it was a fairly simple install so thats why i bought it. ill diffantely take some install pics.

[johnboyrox]

Way to go man, stay on it.

[andrewt2]

No new pics as of yet, its been a rough winter and progress has been slow but its starting to warm up. i have the wiring harness for it now. i just recent purchased all the components to do a 5 lug power steering and power disc brake conversion and right now im taking the time to sand blast and prep all the suspension pieces. i will post pics of that when im further along.

[andrewt2]

Well a quick update my body man got started on my rear fenders getting everything all cleaned up just thought id shoot a few pictures.

[C10-Driver]

Looks like you should have her done by the end of the month at the pace you're going. LOL. All kidding aside, 5 months is enough time if you are willing to spend evenings AND weekends on it. I built mine in ten and a half months but spent pretty much every weekday from supper until midnight and both Saturday and Sunday to get it done... And, amazingly, I'm still married.

[Spray-Bomb]

You can do it !!!!

I'm building my secret project in 4 months & I think it's plenty do able with lots of hard work

[andrewt2]

Thanks for the encouragement guys... it really helps i have a friend in school learning body work, he's eager to apply what he's learned at school on my project and he really wants money to work on his personal projects so he's gonna really help me out on this project. after all 4 hands are better than two... right? i was dreading the body work portion. i can do body work i just dont like to... to time consuming to get it done right and i get impatient lol