I'm taking the easy way out and using an S-10 frame. I figure GM probably knows more about making frames than I do. I'm an IT guy by trade, and my fabrication skills are minimal =)
heres a couple of pics of the 47 KB i had a few years ago. when i got picked it up it had a junk nova clip kind of bolted up to the stock frame. i slid a clip with on from a 70 nova and just clamped and bolts it in till i got the rear in the proper position. when i went to work on the rear i noticed the rear part of the frame was twisted real bad. so my buddy was parting out an s-10 4x4. i got part of the frame from just in front of the factory splice cuz he wanted the front suspension. so after i got it all in place with cab and front clip on the frame i wound up having a shot 109' wheelbase. also i had to recess the firewall, i cut the old one and had a new bent up to my specs. another thing i had to do was raise the cab an extra 2.5 on the account that i could barely get my foot under the front of the grill. i got to move it around the driveway with a stock 350/350 combo and was snappy as hell, i sold if off when some guy offered me a price i couldnt refuse and wasnt much futher along when thses pics were taken
hit the yard again yesterday and snagged a few things. found another jag for the shifter indicator panel, gauges out of a chevy van and worked them into the original IH housings, a bracket for hooking up the detent cable, and a few other little trinkets.
my shifter handle hit the seat and could not pull it back in to low gear. so i made up a new handle and used an old screwdriver handle for a shift knob. i mage it up out of a 3/8th support rod i had laying around. it does need alittle more tweakin yet but it moves fine in and out of gear.
well got something done to the truck today. with the help of a jack, cherry picker and my gf , we got the bed off today. going to clean and paint the frame, swap out the rear, and remove some of the leaves as there are way to many of them. im debating on shortening the frame also. now i just need to clean up the garage so i can get inside to work on it more.
well i finally got it in the garage and decided to go with the jag clip instead. now i have to move the battery and will most likely put a box down thu the passenger side floor as i need to do some repairs to it anyway. will be heading to the yard this weekend to snag a rear, brake pedal setup and i steering column. i came up with a front bracket design that will bolt to the frame. once i get the metal to the brackets i will post pics. View attachment 1402833 View attachment 1402834 View attachment 1402835
i got a cab corner made up from a fellow hamber, pool, for my ih. i only needed one side but it looks awesome. haven't put it on yet but no way i could of made it.
well hit around a couple of yards today and got a few more pieces for the truck. got a very decent stock seat, another dash panel, another 6volt wiper motor and a pedal/mc assembly to put on the firewall which i did get mounted today.
well do some thinking and hee haw'n around, i just wasnt feeling the jag clip. so im going back to the str8 axle. just ordered the bushings for it tonite. im still gonna go with the firewall mounted m/c setup at this point.
got home from work today and my spring bushings were here. so after running a couple of errends and stopping to pick up a few new bolts and nuts, i went right to work and got the str8 axle back in position. i do need to find another steering box/column or adapt a different/newer box.
did a junk yard adventure today again. only thing i managed to snag was a nicer hood. after allitle yard yard work i pulled the windsheild out and i knew it was rusted some but worst then i thought. driverside patch tacked in on passenger side pic with an old rubber in place, will hide it well once totally done
pics of the hood i got the other day and today snagged a tailgate but it does need work on the bottom as usual but its fixable
also the past few days i been working on the steering. i managed to pull a manual box off of a 70's IH 2wd dump truck. the intermediate shaft/joint is from a jag extending up to a van tilt wheel. i di dhave to come up with a pitman arm which is the combo of a chevy one and the stock IH. but i thing i messed up and made it about 1" to short. now problem tho i have enough piece here yet to make another arm up. i tied it all together with an adjustable drag link from an early 50's chevy car. i do need to tweek the box abit to make sure its totally straight and aligned correctly. now some of ya mite be saying, why all the hassel, but it does turn easier then it did with the stock box on it. View attachment 1413938 View attachment 1413939
well i basically have it all mocked up, so it was time to remove the cab to finish up a getting the trans mount bolted in by drilling a couple holes to bolt it down which i will do tomorrow. then i need to remove the m/t and finish welding up the motor mounts. i also need to tweek the steering box just a tad more, remove the cut off sections of the the original trans member, drop the fuel tank again and start cleaning the frame for a coat of paint. as you can see in the pics i use my engine hoist to remove the cab from the frame. i have a 2x12x6' that i put up at the top of the door jam and use either straps or bungies to help keep the cab somewaht level when lifting it up. with having the seat in the cab yet it helped balance the cab when i picked it up. tomorrow i will push the frame out and set the cab on a dollie i have so its easy to push it around the garage.
Got a truck and a scout with 345's in them and a kb3 with a six in it, never had any problems finding parts for ANY of them. Seems like the only way to tear one up is to run it out of oil!
That winshield channel is roached. That's going to require some clever metal working. I have the same challenge on my '54 but not nearly as bad. Check out my build if you have not already seen it. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=614359
not to much going on with the truck in the past week or so. but i did get a couple of goodies from a buddy of mine. he was up to the local scrapper yesterday and just ahead of him, some young kid brought in a late 70's chevy truck with these parts on the truck. now my buddy knows the owner real well and works on his equipment, so he gets to pull parts now and then. so he went up this morning and snagged these just for me. the cost for him free, and i swapped a nice running self propelled push mower that i got for free. RatPin, i already have one side of the window channel area tacked up, just need to do allitle grinding and a more tacks to be finished off and then onto the other side. and i did see you build very nice work.
managed to get a couple of hours of work on the truck tonite. worked on the lower windsheild channel and got it patched in for the most part. will need to go over it and rework some areas again.
thanx RatPin. i need to do work around the back 2 windows also but thinking about puting in a one piece window from something else, have an idea but will have to wait and see.
managed to get allitle work done the truck since work was rained out today. cleaned and primered the firewall, welded a few holes up and drilled a few new ones to hang the heater box.
got alittle more done over the weekend. welded in lower cowl patch panels in. did have do alittle pulling out of the cowl area from the door being open to far. also did a few other repairs too ill get pics of later.
Nice old truck. Wish I'd kept mine. Didn't have a single speck of rust on the body, but the motor was locked solid. I acutally debated a straight six Chevy drivetrain swap for it too. Traded it and a flathead v8 for my '66 C10.
well i know most wont like this, but i im sitting the body on a 70 chevy lwb chassis. i did have to rework the six cyl. towers to get the m/t down to where i wont actually have to change the floor at all. repaired the pass. side cab corner. also set u the running kind of in place to get a feel of the look. will be lowering the front down 2"
well its been awhile and im slowly jumping back on the 51. i had welded up the front portion of the stock IH frame to the chevy chassis (will get pics up soon). and tonite i bought a real nice cab and front clip from a 53 L-170. going to be pulling the sheetmetal off, and the spreader box and then sell off the rolling chassis with we believe is a bd269 motor and 5 spd trans. gonna start tearing down the truck this week. after we try to fire up the motor
wow pugs you definately got a good project goin' on..hopefully we'll get mine finished and i can give you a little help also..thankx for stoppin' by today....the trucks gonna be bitchin' when its done..it'll be a good cruiser,and good on gas...
thanx man, just got in about 2 hours ago from making the deal on the 53. cany wait till i can get back to tearing it down and get the sheetmetal home. it was good meeting you today also. hope we can knock you delivery out in a few hours one day here soon and be able to take it down the road for a test drive
The Jalopy Journal
