57 3100 daily driver build

Really neat job Gary! You did a bit of rearranging and flipping things around, and it all looks like it came together pretty good. I have the same rear end, but the shocks are behind the axle. It made room for the gas tank on your modification for sure! Congrats! - Bill

 

it ain't "perfect" but it turned out/is turning out pretty well. THANKS.

 

I thought about doin' it that way, this turned out easier for me.

 

I used KYB schocks made for a 66 Ford Econoline van and cut original shock bracket and welded the brackets on to the spring clamp sorry for the crappy pic's

 

Hi guys, looks like you are making steady progress on your truck well done.

 

Few pics of my truck...

 

.....this is why I think these trucks are cool...

 

any progress? it's been awhile........

 

Fall has fallen mother truckers! Its been forever since I worked on the truck, the FXR needed a new tank and rear fender but thats all done. I cut the dash out of the 58 cab and trimmed up the 57 dash to fit. Not too bad for the first mock up!

The new cab needs work on the firewall and pass side lower door hinge pocket. Good thing is this metal should all come from the 57 cab. I am just not sure how involved its going to get. Stay tuned, and wish me luck, its good to be back you HAMB fisted jackwagons!!!

 

Yea I bet you're glad its fall...Be better to work on your truck when its not 100+!!

 

hey man i love your build. im buildin an apache myself. i got a fresh 56 gmc cab and need to swap the chev dash in as well. everyone else said to drill the spot welds which seems like a major pain in the ass. i think im gonna do like you did and just cut on that front edge. cool build man

 

Grenade, thanks man! i will keep you posted on how the dash comes out. i think its gonna work fine.?

what about mismatched numbers? now I have a 58 cab with a plate which does not match the numbers on my 57 frame? should I remove the plate from the 58 cab and get a bill of sale?

 

Glad to see you are getting a chance to do some more work on your truck. Many of your cab issues are similar / same as mine. My cab is bad enough that I considered getting a better one, but I was concerned about the VIN Tag issue as well. I thought about cutting a "coupon" out around the tag and welding it into the donor cab. Since the donor cab I had in mind became unavailable, I opted out of that plan and decided to live with what I have. I still think that cutting out the coupon from each cab and making a swap is a possibility, but without actually doing it??? Who knows? Maybe somebody has an opinion on that. Keep it up, it is looking batter all the time.

 

That is not a plan you ever want to advertize. The legal way to do that usually involves a "branded" or "rebuild" title in the states I'm familiar with.

 

I don't doubt that cutting out the "coupon" and swapping it may be seen as shady by some folks, but I thought it would not be much of an issue if the tag matched the VIN stamped into the frame. Either way, I opted out of the whole idea based primarily on the unavailability of my target donor cab. Maybe I could always claim ignorance of the law and they would cut me some slack? ?

 

my tie rod end is swollen! hahaha thats a 15/16" wrench. my buddy who works at Cat dropped that off today. BTW harbor freight spot cutter works awesome for $5.

 

97 firewall spot welds, 12 beers and a couple tokes later. whew glad thats done. now just need to finish cutting the front floor pans out of these cabs and start the surgery.



the cancer thats coming out

 

Nice to see some more progress bud. Looks like you're finding the cure for cancer as you go along.

 

That's a lot of spot welds to cut for sure! Having the cab off like that looks like the way to go.

 

Thanks Dubie, This would all probably go much smoother if I knew what the hell I was doing!

It really is, you can roll them around to get the best angle of attack. Plus I needed the two cabs together for reference.

 

I hear ya. I'm learning most of this as I go. As long as you're good with your hands and a few good brain cells left, you can do this. That's the direction I'm following.

 

the good firewall/half floor pan is out. i dont have the metal to brace up the new cab so have to wait till this week to cut out the bad for pan out of the 58 a cab

 

Man, you are going all out on this build. Can't wait to see your progress.

 

Hey Buzz, problem was my new cab exterior was perfect, it just had a bashed up firewall and some rust. I could have run it the way it was but it would have drove me crazy.

 

Some more cab butchering! I have made some datum points on the new cab for the lower door hinge and the cab mount hole. Hopefully it helps to align the new cab corner once this turd is out.





Started to make some cuts to remove the good 57 cab corner. I find it funny that only the RH front cab corner is rusted to hell. Maybe this thing spent its whole life driving around Mississippi with the right front in the muddy ditch!!!



Also removed a "small" hood valence piece from the donor 57 cab as the "good" 58's cab is damaged. hmmmmm good is so relevant isn't it......

 

Actually it's the right hand side on mine that was rusted too...along with the right hand lower hinge pocket. Left side is still solid....go figure.

 

Man, this is interesting to follow! I am eventually needing to do some major work on the lower front corners and cab mounts of my cab. I have a donor cab that's going to provide the parts so I am watching this closely to see how you do things. Keep it up and I hope it turns out well!

 

Thanks tailgater, I am probably giving the real body guys a good laugh! In my world there is not much that can't be tackled with a sawzall, cutoff wheel, a MIG Welder, and some frosty Coors lights! Happy Turkey day to all.

 

Initial mock up.

 

You are doing some serious surgery there. A lot of body guys would have already given up by now or would have tried to find another cab. My hats off to you.