I picked up this 52 3100 almost 3 years ago and I have been driving it ever since, probably putting it through a little more abuse than it should have been with out a good going over. It has served me well and the past 3 months it was a daily ride as my OT ride was down. Well last week I lost the headlights, brok two bed mounts, the radiator would not hold water, it needed some TLC. So the work begins. I am going to be using the truck as a truck, I build custom bikes so it sees a lot of bikes in the bed, motors, parts etc. It will not be a show vehicle but it will be nice. The truck is sitting on a Malibu chasis that has been converted back to leaf spring, its got a 350/350 combo, power steering and power disk brakes. I am going ot go to a 700R4, freshin up the motor, I have a Rebel wiring kit for it also. I am ordering a set of Porter Mufflers and I am gonna dump the pipes right after the trans as the way they run now they smash against the rear with weight back there. I am thinking about putting air bags back there as helpers, not sure yet. All the springs are going out for a look over and new bushings also. I started at the back and tore the bed off yesterday, it will be put back together with moving around bikes in mind. I will have eye hooks coming right off the frame up through the bed floor so the bikes will be strapped down directly to the frame. It iwll also have a removable whel chock and so on. Here is what you are all waiting for, the pictures! Stay tuned, this is not going to be an over the night success. Here are some shots of the truck and it doing some various jobs from moving around bikes to photo shoots:
When I put the bed back on I am going to ask for a little help, taking it off by myself was a bit much even for me hahaha
damn she's solid to live in New York!!! looks like a good fit on that malibu chassis too. and bro I cant mess with a chick that could fold me up and put me in her pocket.
Go man go!!! There was a truck for sale here on the HAMB a couple years ago call "ODDROD" or something. White with copper scallops. Anyways, it had a rad bike hauling bed all finished in there and se the bikes on an angle. Meanwhile the truck was really rad and gave off that late 50's kustom truck vibe. I like where you're going with all this. Excited to see the progress!
I really like the hood ornament, your pit crew/helpers are awesome, I would be able to take that box off by myself if rthey were around
What is it? when I bought the truck the owner told me it had a Nova clip, then I had it at a buddy's shop on a lift and someone there said Malibu. I have no idea but would like to know if you have any ideas! And thanks guys, those "helpers" dont come around when your hands get dirty, hahaha Those were take out shots from a photo shoot done by my friend, Chris Zimmerman. Jeff, I never saw that truck but there is another dude on here with a chevy with a sick tubular bed he made to carry his bike, he goes by The Shop I think. Im going to put in a ply wood bed floor so I can get multiple use out of it. My neighbor is a great wood worker, he is going ot use some marine ply and oak stain and some poly shit to portect it. I am gonna pick up a trailer fender and cut it in half to make the inner fender wells also. I should have some updates next week! I need to order a new bed back panel also, that one is pretty rotted.
Yeah I guess not for everyone, I use to be a competitive bodybuilder, I still train, stay up around 260lbs, just dont compete anymore. My girl, not pictured, still competes as a bodybuilder, way more muscular then the girls above, its just my thing my man. I dig strong chicks, as long as I can stay bigger and stronger hahahaha
see now that was the missing part there! if youre a ripped dude then dating ripped chicks is fine, I am not ripped and if I dated a ripped chick I would be a little nervous the truck that jj was talking about was a early 50's dodge truck in cali. looked like in could have been in the Kustomland book.
Most of the frame is original for the truck, the front of it is probably off a nova or Malibu...hard to say until you get some pics of that end so we can see! The Nova/Camaro clip have main rails that run straight back and down, while the Malibu clips have rails that spread out as they go back and down. Also the early nova/camaro clips are rear stear (steering box behind the crossmember), while the malibu and 70-up camaro and 75-up nova clips are front steer (steering box is up front).
Thanks, once I pull the front clip I'll take some shots, I will look tonight to see where the steering box is. We could not find where they clipped it. I gotta look closer!
Ok, now that I have been schooled and realize this is a front clipped frame, I am open to opinions of what the front is off of. I was told originally it was a Nova clip by the previous owner but he was not sure. I'll get better pictures once the front clip is off. I snapped these during lunch. The power steering is in front of the cross member And I am guessing this is where the surgery took place
It's great seeing a body builder building his own vehicle... most of the Gymset guys around here buy a Hot car but mostly Hummer's and have others modify them... I know cause I'm the guy they call to fix them up! I certainly wouldn't mind having helpers like the ones in this post... you know... for the heavy lifting! Hahaha...!
I get most of my bike work from the gym, bunch of guys with Harleys that want tons of chrome shit on them, call me when they dont start, call me when they leak, thats cool with me, they all pay! I use to compete, I stopped back in 02, too much political bullshit in the sport, my girl is still at it, in fact she has a show on the 8th! I always worked on my own shit, just after I stopped and got some of my life back, I had a lot more time to spend on it. The combination of the two keeps me balanced, hahaha.
Hard to say for sure what it's off of, but it looks like it has the larger style upper control arm bushings used starting in 74. The parts for all of them are mostly the same, betwen the 74-77 Chevelle and the 74-79 Camaro and 75-79 Nova. The brakes on the 78 and later ones were smaller, but the suspension stayed the same. It doesn't really matter what it's off of if you can find parts, right?
Ok so I have the entire rear of the frame stirpped. I brought my springs out to get new bushings and a good look over to make sure everything is cool. Someone drilled a hole and welded in a piece of tubing in the rear that had rubber bushings in it to hold the top of the shackle on the leaf spring, the spring mounts up front, I am suprised they have held on this long. I pulled the spring out and the bracket bent, the weld is cold and not even fully welded. I will be working on that this weekend. its scary what some people do and think its ok!
The Jalopy Journal
