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December 2 , 2007 Sometimes plans change for reasons you did not project or want. That has just happened to me. The short story is my more modern 1-ton truck was totaled last week, and that may accelerate my 1-ton project and change my priorities a little bit. Since my truck projects are intertwined somewhat, often 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... With the loss of my primary tow vehicle I will be revising the order of construction. Having something that tows a big load is important to me and I want to address this right away.
Project 7 may not wait to be last... Like the Utility Trailer it is a minor project that has project utility and therefore may happen when it would be useful. Otherwise I think things are in the order in which I'll start them. 2005 and 2006 haven't been good for my projects. 2007 has been a lot better but still slow and isn't turning out much 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 drivability work on it. With things coming together on the Dually I'm now considering advancing the Suburban project. The risk is I think it will be years before I finish it. In any case 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. Then maybe I'll take it down for some serious body work. Maybe. Describing the projects in order this is what they look like. Utility Trailer This project is sort of finished. I've modified a frame to create the tongue, mounted an axle and the bed. The trailer is now parked out back with some panel body parts in it, that had been in the way in the shop. The structure is done, it roles and is now usable. The bed floor is in need of repair, the ride height is not the low rider look I wanted, and I did no electrical. And its complicated by the lack of registration and license. But otherwise it is done. Dually The Dually changed dramatically when I recently bought a '54 GMC 5-window 1-ton Dually and it is now the basis of this project. 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. It took a second change when my '89 K3500 failed to survive an encounter with a Honda Civic. Seems the Honda driver took a fancy for my grill and when I dodged her she hit me in the rear tire. I spun into oncoming traffic and took out a police car. This all happened at 55 mph and left all three totaled. So the dually will have a TBI 454 and a Turbo 400 trans. It may collect a few more pieces from the K3500 too, but that remains to be seen. The dually will have a big utility box to carry tools. I'll create bedsides under the box either using standard fenders over the rear duals or maybe using side rails from a flat bed to dress it as a flatbed with tool boxes instead of a modified slide in tool box. My original plas was to adapt the IFS from a '72 C20 with disk brakes and use the GM 14-bolt from another 1-ton. I'm going to measure a lot of things before continuing down that path because the options now include dropping the cab and box on the K3500 frame. That would give me a four-wheel-drive tow rig, like I've had. Measuring needs to confirm the frame is not bent too badly for use and that I can see a way to cover the front tires. The K3500 track width is quite wide compared to the '54 1-ton stock. Another possible alternative is to use the P30 motorhome chassis, but the IFS is wide compared to the '54, and the wheel base is fully two feet longer than the '54. Its still possible I'll back off the frame swap plans and put disk brakes on an original type straight axle. Stay tuned I'll make a decision someday. 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. My current plan is to use the '54 Chevy cab but modify it to make it a 5-window. It will have the '78 Monte Carlo underpinnings. 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. COE Suburban Cargo 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 be 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. I'll install Suburban rear windows in the side panels back of the doors to make it look like a Suburban. This truck may have changed a bit with the availability of parts from the wrecked K3500. I am contemplating building this truck on the 155 inch wheelbase four-wheel-drive frame from the wrecked truck. That gives me four-wheel-drive and independent front suspension at the same time. I had planned originally to use my 164 inch P30 frame, but always felt it was too long. This slightly shorter truck will make a some difference in the body design, and I like that difference. But with changing the frame to the K3500 stuff at the same time I'm thinking I'll run the Cadillac 500 and 400 turbo. Somehow that just feels like the right plan. Since I'm doing the dually first, its possible this truck will change based on parts I commit to the dually. I could still end up using the Chevrolet P30 chassis with its 454 and Turbo 475. But I'm not committed and don't have to keep any decision I make today. Suburban I've been thinking Cadillac Northstar as the power plant but also thought I had a line on one real cheap. I've considered something crazy like mounting the Suburban on the front drive Cadillac platform but another idea was to adapt the Northstar to an S-10 four wheel drive frame with Astro all-wheel-drive to create an all-weather Suburban. But the Northstar turned out to be just a 4.9 so that's out. Further planning can wait. I've considered big and small block Chevy, looking for another Northstar, and staying with the GMC motor. I'll come up with something. I'm planning to repair the rust while mostly preserving the original look. I now have almost all the metal parts to start repairs and once the Dually is a licensed and insured driver the repair process will begin. 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 '53 GMC 450 cab, hood, fenders and grill. 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. I'm not sure which of these will become a driver, but one will... I recently saw a similar truck at a show with a small block and an automatic. I'm wondering if that approach might work for a lightly used truck like this. Interesting side bar note. The tree dropping neighbor was jailed this past week for fraud. Apparently he tried to rip off one of his clients. I knew I didn't like him, and that I needed to be cautious in dealing with this guy. Don't know if he made bail or not... This is an updated table of specifics on the trucks. |
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Last updated: December 8, 2007
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Copyright 2002, 2007 Steven C. Hanberg -- All RIghts Reserved