Building the '48 Chevy Pickup

alchevy · April 20, 2011, 12:46:13 PM

My wife told me that she was tired of seeing the truck in our garage where we could not drive it, so she says "Build it!". Yes, ma'm. She had been looking for a motor for the truck to give me for my birthday to be a surprise, but she could not keep it from me and we went and looked at one the other day. The seller could crank it so we heard it run and were sold. Brought it home the same day.
Going to go with a Mustang II frontend from Chassis Engineering and an Explorer rearend.
I got the turbo 350 tranny checked out the other day so it is ready to go in the truck. Going with a floor shifter from Lokar (23" tall).
I have some leather Lexus power seats to go in the truck. So I have been taking apart all of the items I am not going to use. Any help on getting the old seat base out of one of these trucks will be usefull. I unbolted what I could. I was trying to figure out if that base was a structural member to keep the floorboard true.
Pictures coming soon......
AL

kb426 · April 20, 2011, 06:21:17 PM

Forgive my memory but I think I used a 4" grinder and a cutoff wheel to remove mine. It's been 10 years so it isn't clear.

enjenjo · April 20, 2011, 06:36:46 PM

Yes, it does add some structure to the floor. You can drill out the spot welds to remove it. I replace it with 1" by 3" tubing laid on it's side, so the seats bolt through it, and install padding up to the top.

alchevy · April 22, 2011, 11:56:14 PM

The person that welded this seat base in did a good job of hiding where it is spot-welded.
AL

enjenjo · April 23, 2011, 10:42:47 AM

You can cut out the seat base so just the flange is left, then by prying a bit on the flange, you can locate the spot welds to drill them out.

Ohio Blue Tip · April 23, 2011, 02:05:47 PM

You might want to look at Scott's front end from California. That's the one I put in my 52 Chevy truck.
It's much heavier than the other fronts available and was only about $100 more than Chassis Engineering at the NSRA Nationals.

alchevy · April 23, 2011, 06:50:36 PM

Since the Chassis Engineering frontend is a bolt-in, I think I better stay with it. Thanks for the info, though. That is a clean looking frontend from Scotts.
AL

alchevy · May 15, 2011, 11:51:20 PM

http://www.astreetrodder.com/1948_chevy_pickup_street_rod_pro.htm
is where you can see pictures of the project.
AL

GPster · May 16, 2011, 08:57:24 AM

That appears to be a very nice original truck. With the junk I allow myself to buy to fix up I'd have been tempted to leave that one alone. Frog Follies has always interested me and not only do I have a friend in Indiana only 35 miles away from it but our son and his family are in Cincinnati. Maybe I should add something to the list of things we need to do this summer but I wouldn't want it to conflict with a Crosley build day. GPster

chris spokes · May 16, 2011, 06:33:11 PM

nice little truck

wish mine was that good when i started,i had to replace the bottom 6 inches of the cab

alchevy · May 16, 2011, 10:34:08 PM

The truck is in very good shape. That's why the body will stay like it is, just new paint. I found this truck one mile from my house after looking all over the US for a truck. Even took money with me to Louisville, KY in 2008 to try and buy something. Came back with no truck. My wife didn't want me to sell the '40 Chevy Sedan street rod, then when we went and saw the truck, she said "Sell the car!". And it sold right after that.

The truck needs a new paint job because where it was kept there were dogs all around it so there are scratches in the paint. And since my step-son backed his truck into the door, the new door needs painting. The color we are looking at is a black cherry color like what we have seen on some of the new Mazdas. It will look like it is black but when the Sun hits it just right, you will see the dark wine color.
AL

alchevy · July 29, 2011, 10:34:34 PM

I am hoping soon I will be able to get back to work on the truck project soon when I go back to work. I have an interview next Friday with a company that I have been trying hard to get a job there. The truck is waiting for me to spend some $$ on it. The next big purchase will be the Chassis Engineering Mustang II front suspension and the Explorer rear end. So I have not pulled the old front & rear out yet until I am ready to put their replacements in.
I went out to a swap meet in Fort Worth, TX and sold the steel gas tank I had from the '40 Chevy project. Since I sold that street rod, I was going to use that tank in the truck under the bed. But now I have sold the tank. So I am in the market for a gas tank for the truck project. Any ideas are sure welcome. Keep in mind that it has to be mounted under the bed. I am going to route my exhaust pipes to come out just in front of the rear tires under the running boards so they won't get in the way of the gas tank. Looking for a tank the size of anywhere between 15-24 gallons because I like to drive my street rods.
AL

ragdol · July 31, 2011, 11:39:27 PM

I used an early Mustang, '65 or '66, tank. They have a flat top, as that is the trunk floor in the Mustang, has a top fill so have to have filler in bed floor. Larry

Danimal · August 01, 2011, 08:02:52 AM

I just read a post on 67-72ChevyTrucks.com about using a 70 Chevelle tank under the bed and having a flip down license plate to hide the filler. Had to extend the neck. 18-20 gallon depending on the year.