Technical best and easiest frame swap for 55 Cameo

Moriarity: "we aren't hot rodding here"......every picture on this page is a hot rod! Give me a break! I asked a simple IF question and you want to monitor your website so closely, fill your boots!

 

Word to the wise, don't fuck with Moriarity!

 

Word to the wise, continue with the attitude and it will be your loss, not the HAMB's loss! Respect the site's rules and you have more knowledge at your disposal than you will find on any other site as well as many people that are quite willing to help you sort out your problems!

 

Jagbor I'd suggest that you take Moriarity's commen in post 34 very seriously and to heart if you want to participate on the board.
It sounds like you are wanting a truck that is a lot closer to stock outside of a few mild updates than anything else. The frigging spit and whittle club down at the local guys screws more new guys up than anything else as they are always throwing frame swaps out as the way to go even though most of the have never built a car or truck in their life unless letting their "great patina car" rust is called building now.
If you have ever watched any of these collector car auction shows the one thing that is a constant is that you never upon never have seen one of those somewhat brainless talking heads rave about the Fantastic S-10 swap or C-10 frame under an earler truck. That is because for the most part they are considered to be cheap slapped together trucks both by the guys who build them and people looking at them. The good thing is that stock 55 Chevy 3100 short bed frames don't have vin numbers on them. That means finding a nice uncut rolling frame puts you in business to very easily put the truck back together right. If you plan to run the 265 and matching trans, I'd say stock chassis is the only way to go. If you want it lowered a bit you can go dropped axle and lowering springs an maybe moving the spring hangers.
As far as the guys's ex saying that the original frame was butchered that may be a matter of the plans she had for the truck as there is more than one custom car / hot rod guy who has a wife or ex wife who thinks cars and trucks should not be modified or at least not appear modified as in the case of one of my friends who's wife didn't care what was under the hood but she didn't want the body modified or any trim removed or changed.

 

Have we been trolled?

 

If you want to pick a fight with a moderator you must be; drunk, smoking something. or just plain ignorant.

 

Just an FYI, 55-59 frames DO have VIN on top of frame rail on drivers side roughly just below drivers seat.

 

Bingo bango dirty fandango !
But I’m guessing @Moriarity got this guys panties in a knot for not wanting to change the hambs rules
Tisk, tisk

 

try to get some pics of the frame,..then we can go from there...

 

It’s a fair question, buying a basket of truck parts where the seller says the frame is “butchered”. What seller talks down the parts they’re selling? How best to fix it and build it? He got his H.A.M.B. approved answer, get an original frame or fix the original. That’s enough, no need to keel haul the guy for asking.

I’ve looked at a couple of late model frame swapped trucks. They looked like ass. One had the wheelbase way off, so the wheels weren’t even close to being centered in the fenders. The other had the roller skate look that was briefly popular in mini trucks. As long as the OP isn’t going to build an abomination, he’ll be ok here.



Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Back when this trend was popular we would see one at a show and my friend would say "maybe nobody will notice"!

 

Thanks David! To s55mercury66......no you have not been "trolled!".......I am trying to get legit info for a legit truck I am trying to restore but thanks for your help. For those that can help, once I see the frame in April, I will post photos for review. Yes I am aware that truck frame should have VIN # on it.......a couple in my town has a fully restored 56 Cameo and they advised me of this (they have also been gracious enough to get together with me to talk about my restoration).

 

I'm not too sure I would worry a tremendous amount about having the original 3124 frame myself, although it would be nice, it is a Cameo after all. Looking forward to pics.

 

while the original frame is not essential, it may make my Cameo stand out from others that have got another 55 parts truck frame if I can confirm the VIN # on mine. Just another piece to the puzzle that makes the Cameo all the more unique and rare.

 

If your frame is too bad to fix, cut the section with the vin out of the original frame and put in in another 55 stock frame.

 

It's my understanding that there is nothing on the vin that denotes a Cameo from any other short-bed, task-force series, truck. The data plate trim codes would be Cameo specific but you can buy those new and stamp anything you want on them. I did see a completely original, unrestored, 56 that had the 3124 still written on the firewall from the factory so that may be something to look for. Lots of Cameos out there that weren't born as Cameos so I agree that if it is indeed a legit Cameo, having that original, numbers matching, frame would be nice.

 

We aren’t hot rodding here and The Jalopy Journal in the truest sense of the word. Instead, we are preserving and exploring the history and roots of the term.
There’s a big and tangible difference.

Jagbor, You do realize that Moriarity's quote above is part of his signature ( It appears on every post of his) and was not directed to you. Also, only quoting part of a quote is....misquoting. The meaning can be twisted and turned around. There's far far to much of that going on these days.

I type this in hope that this was just a simple misunderstanding.

 

This is not a restoration site, so is it going to have multiple carburetors or headers or? A hot rod would have performance enhancers like my '51 Shoe Box with a Ofenhauser dual two barrel intake and dual exhaust.

 

I don't know about a 55-57 but a 67-72 fits under a 48-54 truck better than a 74-87 the tread width is narrower.

 

I am hoping my truck will have a 383 stroker in it when I am done that produces around 500 rwhp........nothing too crazy but just enough!

 

If it were me , I would take the butchered frame and make necessary repairs to try to save it. I would not leave any part there . Take it all then deal with what you have back at home . You will not regret it. The frame does have the cab serial number stamped on it in at least 2 maybe 3 spots. That is for theft recovery identification reasons . Well worth saving. Here is what is the most important on the frame that has not been discussed. If some one ended up with the frame and was able to get a title with that serial number on it in their name , before you get the truck titled in your name , you have a major serious issue now. That person could lay claim to your truck . So be careful when discarding frames
Good luck
Vic

 

Then it is not a restoration as you previously stated!

 

one of the definitions of "restore" is to "bring back into existence" and since this Cameo is a basket case, that is what I plan to do. Will it be original.....no.....I already stated that would not be possible since I do not have the original 265 V8. If I was going to bring it back to original, I would have clearly said so since that is an altogether different ball game!

 

The general meaning of "restoring" a car is to restore it to it's original condition, hense the feeling that is what you meant, now you are alienating people again! This is your choice on how to handle this, what are you wanting to achieve here?

 

I've got a 100% original 265 out of a 5 series truck 36K on the odometer, running excellent when pulled, indoor stored... In case You wanna go legit... Actually also have a 3-speed overdrive With the Wiring harness!

 

You can also put a big block in there without any firewall mods. Use the V8 bellhousing, and fab some front mounts similar to the factory small block mounts. Everything unbolts so you could put it all back as original if desired. I will be hunting for a short bed this spring myself. If I find what I want it will get a 454 and a late T10.

 

not to rock the boat but ive read at least 2 build threads on here with s10 frame swaps... not naming names, not trying to get anyone banned or mad but i COUlD see someone not thinking its a big deal. in regards to s10 swaps, everything ive ever seen or heard is that they take every bit as much fab work to make work as fixing a stock frame up. i see 55 and 56 ford frames, panels, and trucks for sale all the time in oregon and washington. might be worth a drive to the states to grab a 500 dollar frame if absolutely necessary

 

Oliver... Where talking Chevy..fyi
Say'n

 

not me...ever. jk ya caught me slipping