Projects my '53 Chevy truck project

a little more progress. getting the Ford bumper fitted up.






i am scrapping the uses of the '53 and '54 chevy grilles. i am going full custom that includes major surgery on the front of the hood. going to take a lot of time...

 

Nice truck!

 

That is going to look killer. At first glance one might not notice all the little changes you have made. I prefer those types mods that just clean things up a bit as opposed to crazy chops, etc.

 

I love this thread, its like directions for me for my truck plus just a bunch of cool shit going on!

 

working on the upper grill surround. i am coming up with the shape i want and then making it fit the truck. i am lowering the grill opening 1 1/4". the stock grill opening is too tall for the grill style i want.

also, fitting up my new doors. i got these from a California Fire Truck. they are absolutely perfect. major issue with fitment. i had to cut out 3/16" out of the doors window frame to get everything lined up perfect. shaving the door handles and running modern door latches and solenoids.

 

are you going to pie or pinch (or both) the hood any? lookin good all around.

 

Wow! Your skills are astounding.

I bet your dog is stupid!

 

since i channeled the cab down 1 1/4" and kept the bed and front fenders at stock height, i need to section the hood 1 1/4". and since i have to cut the hood all the way around, i was thinking of moving it back a little. that way i can have a smoother transition into the grill opening. the new grill comes to a slight point instead of the big bulg out like stock.

reshaping the hood latch panel (radiator cover) to work with my Ford style grill.

 

started work on the hood. i have to section it 1 1/4" and reshape the front to work with my '49 ford style grill. because the front is a lot shorter now, i think i have to move the top section of the hood rearward a little. this will help keep more slope in the hoods front edge. it is hard to explain, so you'll have to see it as i rework it.

here is the upper section of the hood bolted on. i also raked the hood 1 1/4" toward the front. still playing with the rake amount...

 

Going to look good. Ever thought about making the front of the running boards blend in to the fender better? Just a thought, with everything else your doing that area doesn't seem to flow well...

 

Yes, I thought about it. Once I get the new front fenders installed and completed, I will see about blending the running boards into the front fenders.

 

lots of metal work with the hood. i sectioned it 1 1/4", raked it 3/4", and moved it rearward 1/2". i am still reshaping the nose to fit the Ford style grill.









here i am shaving the drip rail for a smoother look. i still need to add some metal to fix the large gap.

 

Great build, Mad skills, Love it!

 

Tony, the hood looks great! The work is incredible!

 

That Ford bumper looks right at home on your truck, nice.

 

got the hood half way formed.

 

Slowly getting the hood shaped and back together.

 

making the grill center bar.






i still need to finish the ends where they fade away into the fenders. also, i havent decided on where to put the turn signals, either in the headlamps or french something into the center bar???

 

If you mount the turn signals centered under the headlights and use them to cap the ends of the grill bar. Just thinking out loud...

 

Thought for turn signals: 1952 Chevy sedan on the ends of your horizontal grill bar.

 

i ended up putting the turn signals in the headlamps. clean and simple. it looks like i am going backwards, but i'm now doing all the custom work to the new fenders. the original fenders were used for testing and mock up as i finalized the design.



here you can really see the sectioned hood.

 

I havent checked in for awhile, wow is all I can say, beautiful fab work!!

 

WOW. Very nice work!

 

Damn! Thats what you can call a BUILD...really like the new front.
Only dislike is the headlights and blue dots on the back...

 

Great job on the truck. You have mad fabrication skills. If I had kept my truck I wanted to raise the running boards, front and rear fenders and then section the hood 3". Very similar to what you have done. When I mounted the truck onto the S10 frame, I mounted the bed 3" higher in anticipation of doing this mod later on. Adds a sectioned look to the truck without losing any cab space.

 

With all that fab work you have done you may as well round off that sharp edge on the glove box door. This is one of the best builds I have seen in a long time. You have very good hands my friend.

 

very cool truck love the little bit of mopar

 

Unreal build......glad I stumbled upon it!!

 

What is it about the headlights you dislike? I would like to sink them in maybe 1/2", but I don't want to French them and lose the chrome trim rings.

I plan on rounding the other corner of the glove box door to make it look symmetric.

Thanks for all the kind words, much appreciated.