48 Chevy Fleetline

My new project, a 48 Chevy Fleetline which is in the beginning stages of becoming my first rat. The plan is to build a new frame using the front suspension, rear end and any other useful parts from the Chevy truck pictured. It was the the first donor for the 48. Then use the International turbo 7.3 motor out of the box truck which is the 48's second donor. I want to end up with a diesel powered 8 lug rat that has power and fuel economy. I plan on driving it a lot once completed. It is going to be a slow build since I lack time and money, but fun nonetheless.

I got the truck tore down and I'm in the process of modifying the front suspension to fit air bags and sit as low as possible.

There they are

Looks cool. Is it the pre powerstroke 7.3? Gotta love the 7.3 powerstroke but the earlier 7.3 turbo was more reliable.

Nice project!
A 7.3 in that bad boy will make it scoot!!!

I used the same era Chevy 1/2 ton front suspension for my '53 Chevy Pick-up(avatar). It was about 3/8" per side wider than the frame - almost bolted in. Bushings, ball joints and rod ends are easy to get. I bet it works out pretty well for your ride.

It is a little wide for my fenders - I radiused the wheel wells and pulled them out a little. I almost have enough clearance with 205/75 R 15 on 6" wide wheels (forgot what the backspace is).

The steering box mount needs to be reinforced - they often cracked the frame on the original trucks. The air bags should make it ride nice and compensate for the extra motor wieght.

Good luck.

YES! Another humpback project! Have you looked at the difference in track widths? Are you keeping the fenders on?

Cool Fleetline! Sounds like a fun unique project too.
What's the story on the Willys PU ? I tend to spot those [S

The front in is going to need narrowed and I am keeping the fenders for sure. I am planing on running 205/55/r16s. I think that is about all the fenders will allow me to fit in the front. It is internationals version of the power stroke because the box truck is a 97. The Willys PU is my dads next project. He Plans on leaving the body as is and putting scout axles under it with a Chevy 350 and use it as his work truck. He already has a 40 Chevy PU rat ,but it is not much of a truck anymore. My biggest problem with the 48 Chevy right now is the title. It was so old I didn't catch the it had been sighed somewhere along the way, so now I have to get a bonded title and IL makes people jump through hoops when it comes to titles. I am going to get that dealt with before I dig to deep into the car.

this sounds like its going to be a fun one to watch

Looks like it's going to be a cool project
Keep the pictures coming.

nice start keep us posted

I received the front air bags and got the lower A-arms / cross-member set up and welded. I also found some used 215/60/r16s for front and got them mounted. I need to get some drop spindles ordered, but have a dilemma with brands. Chassis tec or belltec. Chassis tec are cheaper but have some bad reviews from some forms. Belltec's spindles are suppose to be the best but do not actually say they fit my application. I called belltec and they told me the model that fits, but if it does not fit I dont want to deal with returning them. Other than that I am about at a stopping point till I get a title. I found an insurance company that does the bonds and the person I need to appraise the car, so I should have a title or a pile of parts soon

I'm interested in your titleing process.What state are you in?

The great state of IL. It is not an easy state to get a title in. If all goes well I will post in titles so anyone else in IL will know how to go about it.

good luck on getting the tittle.. i will be interested in how the process goes for you

finally, updates!

Well the title bs is going slow but I will do a write up once it is complete. I have decided not to wait on the title and go ahead and build the frame. If I do not get a title I will just find another 48 to put on the frame. So I had to gut the interior to get the mouse homes ( and smell) out of the car. Kinda sucks because I wasn't really interested in recovering the seats but oh well. I may try to get the seats redone to look original. Turquoise interior with flat black paint would look killer in my opinion. If that plan is to expensive I may just cover them with indian blankets. The s10 front end may be getting used on the car also. Making the chevy truck front end narrow enough is just to time consuming. So let the fun begin. This car is going to lay flat on the ground when I am done.

That 7.3 is a HEAVY engine.....too heavy for that car. I'd suggest the bellybutton sbc 350/350 combo. Much better fit and better weight. Just my two cents........

Well I got the car tore down. I also got a parts truck with the five speed trans I needed. Its a 4x4 so I guess the the car will have 4 low. It works out though because the rear rend gear is going to be 2.73 so I can get some mileage going down the highway. Then Ill just put it in low to make some noise around town [ddd . I may use the diesel out of the parts truck also. It is a non turbo but the simplicity would be nice and then I would just replace it with the 7.3 turbo later. I hope to start setting up the front suspension and maybe laying out the plans for the new frame next weekend.

Is a S10 front suspension going to handle a 7.3?!

the 7.3 is only around 200-250 lbs more than a big block chevy. It will be modified s10 suspension. The only parts that will be s10 are the steering and upper/lower a-arms. I also have a camaro front sub available but i plan on trying the s10 first.