1953 chevy 1100 gigis truck

[70chev383]

Hello, this has been a long time coming, this was my great grandfathers 1 3/4 ton grain truck and then my grandfathers (gigi's) when he took over the farm. Gig eventually stopped farming and gave the truck to his brother in law the lived and farmed 1 mile away, he used it for a year and parked it beside a building. 20-30 years later Gig wanted to make a dumping trailer out of the frame and hoist, 4 or 5 year old Me would not let him do it, so he pushed it to the back of the yard and we aggred when i was older we would get it running and he would teach me how to drive. Another 20ish years pass by, Gig has been having a rough couple of years so this truck is going to be on the road so i can get the long overdue drive in the truck with him.
There is the quick backstory of the truck, my quick backstory, i am a redseal jounrney man tech for our local Ford dealer, the last couple years have been very busy for me, started a family fully renovated my house and built a decent sized shop which now alows me to build this truck.

[70chev383]

Update after a week, cleaned out the mouse nest inside the truck, attempted to start the truck, motor seems to be seized solid of course
Pulled the screwed in patches off the floor, ive got the front clip off, found all the rust holes.
So current direction i am going for with this truck is bagged and hopefully on a set of 22in GM transport rims i bought for this truck. Ls/auto trans drivetrain.
Looking to make a cruiser that i can jump in a drive where ever i want.

So on that note i am Trying to determine the direction what to do for the chassis
Im thinking of 4 diffrent options
-S10 but im not very sold on it i dont like the idea of wheel spacers and seem to be hard to find in my area
- orginal idea was to used a Tahoe and i would end up with a good frame 4 link rear suspension and ls drivetrain, but unsure of fitmet under fenders
- 2003 explorer, 4 wheel independent suspension 4 wheel disc, but still need to buy an Ls and may be costly or difficult to bag
- trail blazer cannot seem to find how it would fit under the body

I am also very hopefull to use the transport rims in which 3 out of the 4 options may be dificult to use
Anyone have an suggestions or experiance with any of these options

Thanks

[Rickysnickers]

If your original frame is in decent shape, why not use and modify it? As another member stated here, nothing fits like your stock frame.

[70chev383]

i had orginaly thought of that do that as i had some extra front end from 67-72 c10. But just thinking of the possible time savings and value from upgrading to a newer frames

[mongocanfly]

Thing is your truck has the large front hood/fender setup,,(longer/wider)
a small truck frame will be really narrow under there..and I know it's been done..(lower50s)
if your really wanting a frame swap, then look towards a more fullsize truck donor option
Or just keep your orig frame and fab off that..
Trailblazer ss have been used under several trucks on here
If you want LS power, I would look for a frame/engine/trans from a LS powered truck,

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by 70chev383

i had orginaly thought of that do that as i had some extra front end from 67-72 c10. But just thinking of the possible time savings and value from upgrading to a newer frames

Just so we are on the same page, I wasn't being critical of your choice(s). Just simply asking a question. As for time saving, I would think there would be a lot more work modifying a newer chassis as compared to just boxing your original, and/or adding different suspension options to the original.

[70chev383]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

Just so we are on the same page, I wasn't being critical of your choice(s). Just simply asking a question. As for time saving, I would think there would be a lot more work modifying a newer chassis as compared to just boxing your original, and/or adding different suspension options to the original.

No problem! I had thought alot about it

[joedoh]

are you planning to keep the big truck front end? or switch to a 1/2 3/4 1 ton front clip? if you are going to keep the big front:

most of the trailblazer swaps i have seen on here widen the front with big truck fenders, so that might be a good fit.

and his name escapes me but he built a coe (same size front end) on an ext cab silverado frame and his wheels fit (barely), so a tahoe probably would too.

explorer is definitely going to be a pickle to bag.

for using the stock frame it may be possible but I think its at least 10 inches tall on the loadmaster/big trucks. you mentioned bags, that would sure hold you off the ground a bit.

no matter what flavor you pick, you have guys here who will throw in their two cents (as you already have seen haha) so give us something to look at once in a while!

[mongocanfly]

Russ...47fasttoys
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ghlight=47+coe

[Rickysnickers]

Originally Posted by 70chev383

No problem! I had thought alot about it

[70chev383]

The cab over truck, light blue made a big flat deck and moved the motor back? If so i know what truck your refering to. I measured a 2003 denali that showed up at work it did have some ofset rims best i could measure by myself it was 77 inch and my fenders are 72 to the widest point and yes i am planing to keep the fenders. Im planing on not painting it this year just get it going and blow part apart next winter bepending on life.

[70chev383]

Quick update, I have the doors and hood pulled off, cab is unbolted and ready to come off. While pulling the ****er and the park brake lever off as this being a 1100 the park brake is on the back,of the trans, i got an idea that seems pretty simple and cool to reuse the park brake lever into the shifter for an auto trans. It has a pretty good latch set up that i can manipulate for the detents for the auto trans, also got some pictures of all the rust

[70chev383]

Pics

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 70chev383

The cab over truck, light blue made a big flat deck and moved the motor back? If so i know what truck your refering to. I measured a 2003 denali that showed up at work it did have some ofset rims best i could measure by myself it was 77 inch and my fenders are 72 to the widest point and yes i am planing to keep the fenders. Im planing on not painting it this year just get it going and blow part apart next winter bepending on life.

just googling the track width (center of tire) of the denali should be ~66, and the width of your big truck front end should be ~75". so with the right wheels it should fit. I think thats what 47fasttoys found too, he got some more positive offset wheels and it fit.

not pushing you one way or another! you have some rust repair ahead of you, i got a full body shiver looking at it (I hate rust repair)

[6DoF]

dude! that's an awesome story!

i love the big-bolt trucks, and they have a MUCH bigger frame in them. unless you are planning to run some crazy HP and build a pro-touring truck, that stock frame should be great to build from. the cab n body fit, they have bolt-in kits for an LS, etc. hell, i'd use the stock manual trans and keep the parking brake.

any chassis you get will need a full rear suspension build, so its the same with this frame or another. for the front i'm a personal fan of the C10 IFS, and with your bigger clip it should fit and tuck nice too. i had to play games to get mine to tuck in the narrower front clip.

[70chev383]

Originally Posted by joedoh

just googling the track width (center of tire) of the denali should be ~66, and the width of your big truck front end should be ~75". so with the right wheels it should fit. I think thats what 47fasttoys found too, he got some more positive offset wheels and it fit.

not pushing you one way or another! you have some rust repair ahead of you, i got a full body shiver looking at it (I hate rust repair)

Yeah i had measured a truck i had previously owned, i was leaning towards the fullsize truck but i have a lead on a 2005 trailblazer just hoping to get it for a resonable price since most of it will end up scrapped

Yeah rust is just a part of life, its not nearly as bad as every other truck ive owned

[70chev383]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

dude! that's an awesome story!

i love the big-bolt trucks, and they have a MUCH bigger frame in them. unless you are planning to run some crazy HP and build a pro-touring truck, that stock frame should be great to build from. the cab n body fit, they have bolt-in kits for an LS, etc. hell, i'd use the stock manual trans and keep the parking brake.

any chassis you get will need a full rear suspension build, so its the same with this frame or another. for the front i'm a personal fan of the C10 IFS, and with your bigger clip it should fit and tuck nice too. i had to play games to get mine to tuck in the narrower front clip.

Would be really convenient for the park break but the trans is screwed, could most likly be fixed

[70chev383]

Got the hood and doors to work and washed, the yellow looks sweet cleaned up, hoping to get the front fender and grill washed this week to

[70chev383]

Pics

[mongocanfly]

Wow...that's cleaning up nice..I think Russ (joedoh) did a truck that had a lot of yellow in it

[dsraven]

As requested, This is the envoy front suspension with a 28.1" tall tire on a stock wheel.

[6DoF]

sux about the trans ...

but that paint came out amazing!

[joedoh]

i love that shade of yellow, the closest I found for mine was at tractor supply, the new holland touch up paint.


one thing about that stock frame, I bet you can find a front suspension to fit it, either the later model chevy independent or even a MII but the frame is HEAVY. I hauled one off and just this section with the motor was way way over 2k lbs.

[70chev383]

Little update havent done to much, cabs pulled off the frame ready to go to work and get cleaned
I also stuck a wheel under the fender just to see how its going to look

[dsraven]

have you checked out welders series stuff? lots of kits and misc brackets, tubes, gussets etc. Canadian as well so it is what it is for pricing. great guys to deal with.
figure out your fender to fender inside dimension, then see what has the right track width. like 6dof says (check his build for details) the chevy square body frot end may become your winner. lots of aftermarket stuff available too, off the shelf.
dunno about there but it's -20C here with a nice cutting wind and snow. great time to be figuring out truck stuff.