Thread: My First Project: 52 Chevy Pickup

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OK, sit down and figure out what you want the truck to be when finished. How do you want it to drive? Automatic or stick? All street or some drag race? What percentage? Power brakes or reasonable manual brakes? Armstrong steering or power steering? Stock suspension or different? If different, do you want to buy something ready to install and bolt in or weld in or do you want to do a clip swap yourself or a frame swap or whatever? How much of this work can you do yourself? Do you have a place to work on the truck? Do you have tools? Do you have time? Do you have money?

If you have time, place, money, knowledge and tools, start at the rear of the truck. Either buy a pre-engineered 4-link rear suspension or design and build your own using coilovers or coils and shocks. If you know nothing about designing a suspension, don't let that stop you. I, along with others on this site, can point you in the right direction. It ain't rocket surgery. It's just plain old hot rodding and a little geometry. Oftentimes it's just as simple as swapping in another rear clip, like maybe one from a '78-'86 GM G body (Malibu, Monte Carlo, El Camino, Olds Cutlass, Pontiac Grand Prix, Buick Regal). The track on these cars is very close to the track of the old truck, so it wouldn't look goofy like some swaps do. If this idea appeals to you, begin searching around your area for a derelict donor car. You may decide you'd like to use the front clip out of it also for the power steering and power disc brakes. Motor mounts would already be in place to accept the small block Chevy.

The rear that's in the truck now will not hold up very long with a modern V8 up front, so you'll have to change out the rear anyway. May as well get it over with first. If you lose interest in the old truck, it will be more saleable with the rear done and no motor than it would be with a hot rod motor and stock rear. Anyway, that's how I see it.

Here's an article I wrote for the Crankshaft Coalition Wiki. It was for the benefit of one of the members on this forum who was frame swapping an International pickup....Read through it and see if it sounds like something you would like to tackle...with help of course.
http://www.crankshaftcoalition.com/wiki/Frame_Swap