Need some advice

[tim8o]

Hi,

I have been looking for some time for a pickup to restore, anyway the other day while I was at work I stumbled across this old truck. The body is in really tidy condition all things considered and the guy is keen to part with it for little money, however I am a little confused as to what it actually is.

I am hoping someone could please tell me what the differences are between this truck version and the beautiful hotrod pickups I've seen photos of. As far as I can tell the body looks the same it is just the running gear that is a lot bigger. Anyway I am far from an expert and would appreciate any information you could give me to help me better understand.

If it is a little hard to see, the badge on the side of the bonnet says 'Chevrolet 1100'

Thanks again,

Tim

[tmoble]

jeez, that thing looks pretty clean. For a hot rod you'd be changing out the axles anyway. I'm not an expert on the the earlier models but it looks like a standard cab to me. Looks like there's very little rust, even on the lower cab corners. Go for it before the guy changes his mind.

[Lextech]

It looks like it's about a 1951 model. It also has the larger wheel openings than the half ton models. If you were to hotrod it, you would probably be changing the frame and front fenders and adding a bed and rear fenders. It looks to be in pretty good shape but there would be a LOT of parts to purchase to make it a hotrod pickup. I am not trying to scare you off of the purchase---I just want you to understand that it will take a LOT of cash to finish it. You could leave it as it is. It would make a nice 1 1/2 ton stake bed truck.

Jeff

[kgmunro]

Lextech is right ...I was going to do the same thing as you but without replacing the fenders with the smaller opening style it would probably look funny. But if it's cheap and you have a place to put it maybe it would be worth the money to buy it for the cab or even just for some parts.

[solidaxel]

Welcome from So, Arizona

Home to lots of heat and LARGE fires!!


I really dig that turn indicator...............................and the steering wheel is on the wrong side !!
1 1 /2 T truck really don't make for a good hot rod. but from the looks of it I think it is worth restoring if the budget allows

[tim8o]

Thanks for all the comments so far. It has been very helpful. I'm not sure if this truck is exactly what I am after, I might have to leave this one alone and continue the hunt....

The turn indicator was also the first thing I noticed lol!!

[55metalmonkey]

I see potental as a Heavy Hot Rod, but I like fabricating

Just as a thought
modern dually frame, eng, trans axles ect, drop on cab and sheet metal forward, keep dually box and modify it to better suit the roundness of the cab.... it would be different and need some fab work but it would look very cool if done right.

would look like a dually version of this, (8th frame down)

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=451960

Then again if it's not what you truely had in mind, keep looking. there is no point in settleing on something if it's not what you want, these trucks take a lot of work and if it's not what you really want then the enthusiasm drops off pretty quick...... kinda like the lego set you REALLY Really really wanted as a kid then you open the box and find out you got mega blocks instead... still sort of the same but it's not what you wanted.

[mr48chev]

Welcome to the board. That truck is a close cousin to this one

That I have. That cab is the same as the pickup cabs and the hood and grill should be the same. The fenders are different in that the wheel openings are much larger.

That cab would be a good candidate to swap to a different frame. Or you could cut that frame down to pickup size but the frame it's self is massive and extremely heavy. If you didn't care about rear fenders and a standard bed on the back you could make a nice but short flatbed for the back. Jag XJ6 suspension front and rear and you would have a nice little hot rod cruiser. You could even weld the flair off another set of fenders to those to make the wheel well smaller to fit smaller tires.

I'll have to see if I can scan this full size

[2ndGenRR]

The fenders and hood are both different on the 1.5 ton trucks. The fenders roll up a bit higher/taller so the hood is correspondingly a little narrower/shorter than those on the smaller trucks. I didn't realize that until I parted out a 1.5 ton grain truck...

So, to get the 1/2 ton truck look, you would have to come up with basically an entire front clip, plus you haven't addressed what you are going to do for the chassis. It's a great truck and looks like it's a restoration candidate, but maybe not what you are looking for from a hot rod perspective.

[OrrieG]

Good candidate for a slammed retro wrecker or dually flat bed. get some adapter and put on some alcoa wheels. Here is a friends using a TF platform. He shortened the frame and dropped in a 4wd drive train w/ BBC from a later model dually.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by 2ndGenRR

The fenders and hood are both different on the 1.5 ton trucks. The fenders roll up a bit higher/taller so the hood is correspondingly a little narrower/shorter than those on the smaller trucks. I didn't realize that until I parted out a 1.5 ton grain truck...

So, to get the 1/2 ton truck look, you would have to come up with basically an entire front clip, plus you haven't addressed what you are going to do for the chassis. It's a great truck and looks like it's a restoration candidate, but maybe not what you are looking for from a hot rod perspective.

I looked at mine when I got home and the hood latch is different than the half or 3/4 ton ones. After doing the doodle that I posted above today I have been thinking along similar lines for the one I have. Maybe even putting later model C-10 suspension under it with a shortened frame.

[Dan Bowles]

The 1.5/2 ton trucks have larger front sheet metal. The hoods are about 4" longer and the fenders are about 4" wider than a 1/2 ton. Cabs are the same with some mounting differences in the rear of the cabs. You can use that cab with 1/2-1 ton sheet metal (all are the same for the small trucks).

If you were to go with a later model drive train, you could drop it on and not have a fight with width that you would have with a 1/2 ton front clip.

I don't know about rot in your neck of the world but around here if I found a cab that nice, I'd buy it because floors, doors, and cab corners rot out pretty well.

We just got our 4400 running today (1949 model). Not sure if that corresponds to your 1100 or not but looks pretty much like it will!

[BlueJeep]

I also noticed it has the "crotch cooler" vent on both sides, and no louvers for a fresh-air heater....interesting...

[OKGMC4]

Could always do something like this, even cooler if it were duramax powered!

[tim8o]

Thanks again for all the feed back.

Just let me see if I got this right. Assuming money isn't an issue, I could use this cab with front end clip off a half ton model on a custom chasis and I would be well on my way to creating a hotrod version?

[Dan Bowles]

That is correct, sir.

[tim8o]

Cool. I might see if the bloke is willing to part with it really cheap. I'll let you know!!

[tim8o]

Well after a few weeks of organising and a wild drive up a mountain late last night in the rain and snow (this is Australia remember ) I now have the truck sitting in my driveway. Let the fun begin!!
Photos to follow as the build begins.

[55metalmonkey]

So just out of curiosity did you get it for a good deal? and do you have a general idea of what you want to do with it?

[tim8o]

I think so. I paid $800 for it. Very early stages of planning. I have found a place here in Australia that can supply a front end clip and I have been talking generally with a hot rod builder about a chassis. I guess I will have a better idea after I have spoken with him about specifics.

[Daze57]

thats a great heffer truck mate ! treat that bad boy well

[55metalmonkey]

$800 sounds like a good deal to me, I like that it's right hand drive being down under and all
hope you ditch the manual "hand" signal hanging off the drivers door though

[tim8o]

I think the hand will take pride of place over my bar in the shed!!

[Leroy-B1]

Want to part with the turn signal would work great on my hot rod??????? Just thought I would ask
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[55metalmonkey]

here's an idea,looks very cool
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=475772