Thread: My First Project: 52 Chevy Pickup

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Its great being 21, and having older wiser heads to keep you on track. And what the guys have written above is wisdom that I wish I had at 21.

From my many hot rodding failures I have learned the following:

Buying shine stuff makes your bedroom look cool, but doesnt get the hot rod finished any quicker
Borrowing money at 21 to build your hot rod isnt so wise
Having a 'mechanical mate" is a godsend
Start with the end in mind (and dont change the plan)
Making the hot rod nice and driveable is a good idea
Making a hot rod that looks way cool but is a dog to drive is not a good idea
Drag racing is great fun and very addictive
And addictive costs plenty

If I was 21 and building that truck, I would look doing a frame swap. And dont rule out the Jappa utes from the early 90s either.

Down here they are common, and often rusty and usually cheap. A few of them even have the 5 on 4 1/2 Ford stud pattern, disc brakes and a diff that okay for a mild sbc. If your truck needs floors anyhow, then its not a major to fabricate one to fit a new frame.

All the best with your project.

Todd

Originally Posted by Hot Rod Todd

Its great being 21, and having older wiser heads to keep you on track. And what the guys have written above is wisdom that I wish I had at 21.

From my many hot rodding failures I have learned the following:

Buying shine stuff makes your bedroom look cool, but doesnt get the hot rod finished any quicker
Borrowing money at 21 to build your hot rod isnt so wise
Having a 'mechanical mate" is a godsend
Start with the end in mind (and dont change the plan)
Making the hot rod nice and driveable is a good idea
Making a hot rod that looks way cool but is a dog to drive is not a good idea
Drag racing is great fun and very addictive
And addictive costs plenty

If I was 21 and building that truck, I would look doing a frame swap. And dont rule out the Jappa utes from the early 90s either.

Down here they are common, and often rusty and usually cheap. A few of them even have the 5 on 4 1/2 Ford stud pattern, disc brakes and a diff that okay for a mild sbc. If your truck needs floors anyhow, then its not a major to fabricate one to fit a new frame.

All the best with your project.

Todd

What is a Jappa utes?

Jappa Utes are vehicles from those little islands to the west of Hawaii that lost the second world war but got the last laugh when they started flooding the world with there little recircled tin can cars...
Utes are what you fellas call trucks,we and our Aussie mates refer to our light commercial vehicles as utilities and you folk call them either trucks or pickups.

Thanks Whiplash.

They are the Japanese 4 cylinder "minitrucks" that have taken over the world. well the do down here anyway. I think the Toyota Hilux has been the best selling commercial vehicle in New Zealand for over 15 years.

So a Jappa Ute is a Toyota Hilux, a Nissan Navara, a Mitsubishi L200, a Madza Bounty/Ford Ranger or an Isuzu/holden Rodeo.

Im guessing you would best recognise the old Chevvy Luv.

Their chassis fit well under old pickups. keeps the front wheels well under the guards and allows heaps of room at the back for big rubber.

I owned when I was a kid a 1953 chevy car.If the trucks are the same,there are two firewall supports that needs to be trimmed of removed if any V8 engine is put in there.The rear end was a torque tube style if memory serves me correctly.

Yeah that car was a learning curve first hot rod with training wheels still in place.I put in a Hemi 354 in it and the wt of 750 lbs engine made the stock front end drop like a rock.It was a chewing gum,baling wire mod that I did get running and drove it only acouple of times.The front wheels bowed out so bad from the wt of the engine it was hard to control.

Sold the old rust bucket to a guy who pulled the engine back out and put it into his Dodge station wagon the right way as a sleeper.

WhipLash & Hot Rod Todd, your from New Zealand? Im thinking about doing a study abroad program there this upcoming spring. May have to get together and do a little hot roddin'. haha

One of the first things you need to do is to "design" your ride by picking a style: low-rider, retro, custom, stock, etc. Find a photo of a truck you really like and emulate it with your build. That way you will have a visual goal in mind because building anything is a matter of making a lot of choices, and you should only make each choice one time. Otherwise, it gets expensive doing it a second time. Once you have your plan firmly in mind, you can start. These trucks are very cool when they are nicely done. A lot of people on this forum are more than willing to assist you. Ask away!

Originally Posted by TylerZ07

WhipLash & Hot Rod Todd, your from New Zealand? Im thinking about doing a study abroad program there this upcoming spring. May have to get together and do a little hot roddin'. haha

If you come down here, you can be sure that you will be looked after and that you will have a great time.