Projects Correctly Proportioned Extended Cab?

Like the title says, has anybody here got any experience building a later model extended cab pickup? I'm talking about specifically 48-52 Ford F-1, 53-56 Ford F-100, or 60-66 Chevy 10 series. How did you go about it? Maybe some decent images a search hasn't provided? Would you start with a clapped out panel truck and graft the back of a pickup cab on along with pickup window opening or just use a stretched pickup cab with cut down extra doors?

Let me say upfront I know some attempts look like ass and I'm not asking for a thread full of why you don't like them. I'm 6"2" and have no desire to sit in a fetal position in a standard cab truck if you know what I mean.

Here's a couple where I think the body was done well if you can look past the paint, stance, and wheel tire combo. I'm thinking more of a build that looks like something period correct that could've rolled out the factory doors. Like a better proportioned Armbruster truck.

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Mine. Extended 12" Used 2 extra cabs and a couple doors...

 

Although rare and hard to find, there were some 4 door double cabs made for big outfits like the Railroads. I don't know if they were done by coach builders or if they were factory. I know you asked about extended cabs, but thought I'd throw that out there in case you didn't know they existed.

 

RMR&C, yours definitely looks right and BamaMav yes I've seen some of the old railroad trucks. I know there were several companies back then putting together 3 & 4 door crew cabs but since they were strictly for industry the styling was for the most part kind of rough. It seems like they just started with a long bed pickup and force-fed an extension into the area between the cab and the bed with not very good aesthetic results.

 

This looks awesome!!

 

I'll say RMR&C's example above is one of the best I've ever seen, proportionally. I generally dislike the ones that were extended enough to have a back seat in them, although I can understand the desire to do that.

I think the hugeness of the half-cabover body style helps too. Proportions on a regular pickup get wonky real quick but a big truck can carry that extra size more easily.

 

This one came out ok, I think. Not the year/make you're looking for, though. It was built using 24" of Suburban quarter panel, stuck in between the cab and cab back. Didn't take long to build it, either.

 

That 58/59 Chevy is sharp! I agree about the crew cabs. I don't think you can get away with stretching these old trucks long enough to build a crew cab without ruining the proportions.

 

The build thread on that 59 Chevy is a perfect example of why I was thinking of maybe a panel truck donor. I think any early Suburban today is going to be to much $$$ to cut up unless you could find something that was hit hard in the rear. Thanks for posting the link.

 

In a word no I have never seen one that looks right proportionally. The Fords you are considering I don't think there is a way to do it if the thought process is just sticking a chunk on the back. IMO the whole cab would need to be resized and subtly. The '58/'59 above works better because there is a continous body line from front to back so the added length of the cab is not as pronounced as with a step side truck.

 

Sometimes the rear tire size and width makes the difference for me. A longer cab needs either extra wheel size in the back or duals.

 

It doesn't matter what year of pickup it is an extended cab just doesn't look right with a step side bed IMHO.

PHIL

 

If the problem you're solving is making one of these trucks comfortable for a 6'2" person, couldn't that be done with a smart seat design and maybe some floor/firewall mods? Seems like 6'2" ain't unreasonable in these cabs... not like custom building a Benz for Shaq which has him sitting where the backseat used to be.

 

Sorry no pics but a friend of mine added 5” to the doors and roof after splitting the cab of his 50 Chevy. Comfortable seating and great proportions were the result.

 

I think adding thru the doors is the way to go also. Adding to the back of the cab just doesn't look right.

 

I get where you are coming from. I'm 6'4" and have a '54 F-100. I fit "ok", but it gets uncomfortable after a couple hours behind the wheel. It might depend on how much room you want to add. If you only want an inch or two, you might be able to add it just behind the door without looking awful. Here's an idea; build a model. AMT makes a '53 F-100. Revell/Monogram make a '50 F-1 and a '56 F-100. Cut one up, put it back together.

 

RMR&C your truck looks factory, which for me is a huge compliment, as I'm typically not a fan of extended cabs.
At 6' 6" tall and a owner of multiple '40/'41 Fords I can relate to the practical side of extended cabs though.

 

This is a friend of mines 48 Chevy extended cab pickup. I don’t have any construction pictures, but he used 4 doors to make the extension, cut them to the size he wanted and welded them together, then welded then onto the body.

 

Getting the proportions well balanced is the key and dang tough to do for sure. I've been a 53-55 F-100 guy most of my life. The two photos you opened with are good examples of good and not so good. The 55 has it so right you don't even hardly notice it's also chopped. My guess is that was done to get balance and done with a very Good eye. The Big Window 56 has so much glass it looks like a Fish Bowl. Some people like that effect but it don't work for me. In 1976 I took a 53 F-100 and extended the doors 2.5" for a Customer and a lot of people thought it was Chopped just a little. The door extension went pretty much unnoticed. Wish I had photos of that one to share. I learned two things over the years. When doing Body mods get the vehicle sitting on the exact tire/wheel size that will live on it as well as final ride height and ground profile. Then start your lay out for mods. Also you must be able to stand back 20 to 30 Feet during the work process to get a good look at what your doing. I never Chop by a given number. I only use a tape measure to make sure I'm level and square. Your eye will tell you when you took just enough or to much.

 

I know it's a way too early truck, but this guy added 8 inches to the cab, hand formed the panel, no window.

 

Thanks! I am 6'4" tall and the extra legroom is really nice. But I extended the cab just because I always wanted to try it. I have seen some really bad attempts, was hoping to make it look more like a factory deal. Amazing how many people think it is!

 

The extended cab came out on Dodge trucks in 1975 if you are HAMB fussy. In any case, my objection has to do with the styling - specifically the curve at the back of the door tops on pickups. Here is a picture of a Fargo panel truck I picked up ages ago. Notice the square corner at the top of the door. In my opinion, you should do this along with extending the drip rail straight back over your new quarter window for it to look right. The factories back then went to the trouble to do this on limited production panel trucks. They didn't have to but it sure makes a difference, not like what Volvo did on their station wagons.

 

Dunno? That doesn't look any worse to me than all the newer OT 4 door, short bed wannabe a real truck that never haul anything and are being sold for ridiculous prices these days. At least, that's a picture of a work truck.

 

Really like the look of this one. But, I think what makes it look right is the wide bed.

 

Thanks. I'd first sketched out the design about ten years before I actually built it. The wide bed does make it look so much better...I had a step side bed on it when I first extended the cab, it didn't look nearly as good.

I should dig through old pictures and see if I have any good ones when the "paint" was still decent.

 

In the 80's I had a desire to build an Extended Cab Pickup. My choice was a beat up 34 Dodge Humpback body that I shortened. A good friend helping me on this project knew I was really a Chevy guy at heart and made me an offer to buy the cab which he turned into a beautiful and functional Car Hauler.
In the 90's I decided to build a 37 Chevy Kingcab Pickup. Like some of my other one of a kind builds, I started with drawings, cut and pasting photos and building a toy model of my design. There is a great Photoshop thread here on the HAMB you might try where guys have transformed other members ideas to show what they could look like.
I extended my 37 cab about the same length as a later model extended cab truck. I even incorporated the folding jump seats into the rear of the cab. The bed length was built in proportion to the cab. The overall wheel base turned out to be only 9" longer than the original 37 stock length.
This truck was enjoyed for several years before I sold it. A few years later the owner was moving and decided to sell the truck. My Son struck a deal and the truck is now enjoyed by his Family in Michigan.

 

Pretty hard to get right, as proved is so many that get it wrong. The cabover that RMR&C built looks just right, but it is a cabover. What Pist & broke said, about getting stance and rolling stock figured out first is right on. The right seats and floor pan mods will accomplish what you're after. Good luck on getting it right. Pretty hard to do.

 

One of the projects I have on hold for right now is a 49 Chevy pickup. I'm not a fan of the 5 window trucks but prefer the standard 3 window. I plan to extend the cab slightly, appx 3" but that will depend on how things work out when I actually get around to cutting things and measuring what works best. I bought a clapped out cab with no floor. That gave me some extra doors to work with. Originally I was going to widen it at the door opening and widen the doors to match. Decided that was probably not the best way. I think what I'm going to do is cut the junk cab as close to the door opening as possible. Then cut the good cab as far behind the doors as possible and see where they fit together best. Maybe have to bridge a gap, but hopin I can do a little cutting and spreading.
I always felt that the area just behind the door on old trucks was a little too narrow and would benefit from adding a little more metal. Trick is not to put too much in and ruin the proportions. Later trucks often had somewhat wider metal in this area and looked good to me. I guess time will tell if I guessed right or not.
Here is a very amatuerish example.
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Sorry, but my printer decided to run short on ink. This makes the door window look a little short front to back, but I also want to do a moderate chop (2"?).
Kinda like this.......


Real cut and paste