plan_20020415

April 15, 2002

The metal under the the surviving floor mats is a green color that I suspect is the original color. Its pretty close to the color in the block that has the picture and intro text.

I traded email with my brother John today regarding this project and what I'm thinking. I thought I'd excerpt some of what I said here, because I think it explains what I'm thinking:

I don't see any drag racing in the sub's future, but I do intend to be able to use it for serious towing, so its going to need some strong parts in the rear.

Current thinking, and you'll know I've lost it when I tell you this, is to do a frame swap. The body on my '72 is so bad its not worth fixing (the sub is worse, but worth the trouble in my humble opinion).

The width, side wall to side wall, is the same. The pickup's wheel base is about 10 inches more than the sub. You've shortened frames before, and I lived with one of them for several years. That part is work, and it needs to be done right, but it doesn't scare me.

The body mounting looks like it will be fairly straight forward. I'll have to drill some holes, and maybe even make some brackets, but nothing impossible. The fenders and grill bolt to the body, and a single mount in the front. That part seems doable.

I still have to deal with adapting the steering column and brake stuff, and some wiring, but none of that scares me at all. And the important point, is that I'd be adapting the body to those things even if I just updated the suspension. By using the pickup frame I avoid a ton of work, while really not increasing the difficulty of the task.

My biggest problem with this process is getting rid of the orange body...

Last updated: December 31, 2006