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October 28, 2006 While not much is actually happening on my projects, my mind remains engaged in the projects, and the plans become further developed as time goes by. As I write this construction on my new shop is set to begin in about ten days and should be complete within 30 days. Living in a wet region and having no secure place to leave tools and other stuff has been part of my slowness. Maybe having a shop, a place that stays dry, can be locked, and can be lit at night, will facilitate my projects. Or at least that is the hope... Since my projects really are intertwined somewhat, relying on the same parts cars or trucks, and requiring some things to move before others can be accessed, I've sorted through an order of precedence for the projects. I wanted to think through my resources and make sure I don't have things being used before they are available... Based on my initial thinking the projects proceed in the following order:
2005 and 2006 haven't been good for my projects. 2007 should be a lot better. The only issues I see slowing me down are time and money, and though both remain real limitations neither should be any more of an issue than they have ever been. When I last updated the plans I had decide to push the Suburban back, but do some derivability work on it. I've updated some of that a little. Updating the ideas.... My next steps with the Suburban are to fix the heater and align the front end, and see if I can make it a bit nicer to drive. Describing the projects in order this is what they look like. Little Suede Truck The Little Suede Truck is going to be a g-machine/pro-touring car. It remains at the top of my project list. It will have the '78 Monte Carlo underpinnings. I'll lengthen the frame to support a standard short box. While at one time I though I'd build a custom box I've since rejected that idea, mostly because this is my wife's truck, and she wants a standard bed. I expect to run a 350/350 combo in this one. Other options have been on my list, but that is the quickest and most practical. I may change it at some later date. Dually The Dually will be Cadillac powered. Its based on a '50 1-ton recently added to my collection. Its missing a lot of pieces, but none I can't replace from my collection. I had originally thought this one would be an extended cab, but probably won't bother. Its a lot of work, and not really necessary at this time. Too many others have done it and I'm not as interested now that I've seen lots of others. Behind the cab will be the big utility box to carry tools. I'll create bedsides under the box with standard fenders over the rear duals. This is a working truck and will need a big powerplant. Since I've found a Cadillac 500 and Turbo 400 that should be a strong approach. Gas prices had me considering Diesel for a while, but prices have fallen, I've started driving a car instead of a truck as my daily, and I'm not as worried about fuel economy, so there you have it. COE Sub I recently bought cheap a very rusty COE with much of the cab missing. It has the cowl, doors, fenders, hood and grill, all the COE specific stuff, and should get perfect for an ambitious custom project. My plan is to create a 4-door cab with Suburban type windows and the 1-ton panel cargo compartment behind the 2nd set of doors. This makes a long truck, but since the wheelbase of the motor home donor frame is 164 inches that's okay. The proposed running gear donor is still the '79 (I thought it was '78, but was wrong) Chevrolet P30 chassis and associated stuff, including the 454/Turbo 475 all pulled out from the motor home. Suburban I'm liking Cadillac Northstar as the power plant. I've considered something crazy like mounting the Suburban on the front drive Cadillac platform but more likely I'll adapt the Northstar to an S-10 four wheel drive frame with Astro all-wheel-drive to create an all-weather Suburban. I'm planning to repair the rust while mostly preserving the original look. The interior will be updated, perhaps in serious modern SUV fashion, but since that will cost a lot of money, we'll wait and see where it really ends up. Parade Truck I have two big Chevrolet trucks, a '51 4100 that is really rusty, a '52 6400 that was nice until my neighbor dropped a tree on it. I've also got a deal cooking on a '53 GMC 450. It has no motor or transmission but being a GMC I like it as the starting place for my parade truck. The idea is to build a drivable truck that looks original enough to call a classic, but can be safely driven in parades and in other public displays. This is an updated table of specifics on the trucks. |
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Copyright 2002, 2007 Steven C. Hanberg -- All RIghts Reserved