48 chevy 3600

[flatt ratt]

well this is the first truck that i bought after i got back from Iraq for the second time. there was quite a bit of rust going on and trying to get to the engine i took all the from sheetmetal off of it already. except for the hood. brought it done to my inlaws farm and tried to work on it as much as possible but between harvesting, planting, harvesting again and baling, i didnt get very far. now its at my house sitting on trailer in my neighbors driveway. we are best friends to its okay. both our wives are supportive of the project so its making it easier to do. going to get it off the trailer today, run around scrounging for parts and hopefully have the rear end swap mocked up today. i have a 70 chevelle rearend that i paid $300 bucks for almost a year ago. its still in the basement. free rims that should match the bolt pattern, just have to hunt on the farm for those. i moved them and i cant remember where i moved them to.

 

[42chevy]

Fist I want to sincerely thank you for serving in Iraq. Guys like you are what keeps our country great and safe. Second , looks like a great start you have there. What all are your plans for it? Those are nice looking trucks. Thanks again for your service, everyone of you that served deserves a hero's welcome IMO.

 

[flatt ratt]

parts

Went to the local tractor supply and got axle seats, u bolts and plates. Will get my axle cleaned up this week as much as possible. Weather stopped the rearend swap last weekend so its on the plate for this weekend. Measured out my donor seat and the cab and its about 6 inches too wide so the search for a new seat begins. Going to start cleaning up the joints on the front end to get it all tacked together so we can figure out the tilt front end. Lots of work ahead of me and very little time to do it. Might be getting a free or dirt cheap 1/2 ton axle so I can put disc brakes up front. Putting them in the back too. We are mocking that up when we do the axle swap. Will post pics once we do it. I will have one of our wives take them.

 

[TiredIronGRB]

I also thank you for your service to our country, nice looking project!

 

[Sam_Fear]

How about some pics of that tilt front too? Sounds cool.

 

[flatt ratt]

tilt front

Its going to take a while for the tilt front. I found what I am going to use to make it tilt from an old buick car. Hopefully it will work.

 

[whytesmoke]

Nice project hope you find more time to work on it .

 

[flatt ratt]

finally a project name

well one of the neighbors on our block decided to call the cops because of the truck so now me and my buddy have a new mission with the truck and therefore now dubbed project revenge of the turd. she is going to hate us when we get turd running and driving per code and park the thing in front of her house so she can call the cops. when she does we will get in the truck and start it and park it in the driveway. it will make her look like an a** and we will get a good laugh at it. btw we are thinking of pushing it on the street so she thinks that too. well my rant is done. going outside to try and get some work done on the truck.[cl

 

[Thunder1]

Pictures can say a thousand words Flatt Ratt. How about some more???

Thunder

 

[falconvan]

Solid looking truck; lets see some more! BTW, thanks for your service. It's because of guys like you that we can all build cars.

 

[flatt ratt]

swap

well by the time we made the truck compliant with the city ordinance and i had lunch with my in laws, i started tearing into the truck. i go almost all the old wiring pulled out. the dash looks really bare now. then i had to make supper and by about 8:30pm i was ready to pull the rear end. after cutting and jacking and cutting some more the rear end is finally out. got my donor rear measured and figured out to get the axle seats welded. have to grind off some old stuff from the donor and then it will be ready to go. i did take pics of the progress but cant find the cord for the camera. my wife is going to look for it tomorrow and see if she can find it. i will post the pics once i am off of work.[cl now i want to work on it more. will try to pull the donor engine next weekend and get it mocked up too. when i see things happening, it just makes me want to get out there even more.[dr

 

[flatt ratt]

pics finally

well as promised, pics from pulling the rear end on the truck. getting ready to go out right now to work on it a little more......will try to update with more pics after tomorrow.

 

[flatt ratt]

engine removed

well it took me a while by myself to get the engine pulled but it is finally out. so if anyone wants a free engine pm me. all i know is that is an inline six from a 60s or early 70s car. now i have to go to the farm and i am going to see what i can do about pulling my donor engine and engine crossmember so i can get that all mocked up to put the engine in. rear end just needs the axle seats welded on and then i can put that back in.[cl

 

[flatt ratt]

rims

well i just went junkyard hunting and scored a set of rims for $40. plan is to get them blasted and paint them either green or black. still wondering if wide whites would look good with them. also thinking of finding a center cap for them too.

 

[flatt ratt]

rear end finally in

well after i got off work today i went into the garage for a little bit to play around since i got the rims. i got the rear end completely in and now it is rolling again. we will just put it on jack stands and take the wheels off when we weld the axle seats. my friend is on vacation so i did what i could. i start my vacation on tuesday so i will be in the garage a lot more so i will post pics as it comes along.

 

[flatt ratt]

progress

ok so i dont have any pics to update with yet but the cab and hood got the old rustoleum treatment and is now green. decided i wanted something a little different than flat black. now i am undecided do i go with black or yellow(would be a JD theme) on the fenders and running boards. had my wife and my two girls out helping yesterday. we rolled the truck out of the garage to clean up and i am starting to not like the stance of the truck. i think for now it will have to stay as i dont have a lot of money to do a dropped straight axle up front. hopefully i will have the front axle swapped out soon. well when i get pics i will post. this is my plain jane build. i just want something old to drive. i am already scheming on my actually rat as i type.[cl

 

[flatt ratt]

went with yellow

well the girls decided for me and i went with yellow. i still have to do the rear fenders which are not here. paint the doors green and find a used bed and i will paint that green also. its a slow progress but it will get done eventually.[cl

 

[flatt ratt]

its all wrong

well i spent most of this last week tinkering around with the truck and started to find problem after problem and realized i dont have the tools or time to fix the stuff. sadly i have to say the cab of my truck will be going to a shop to be fixed. but i found a good shop to do the work. the rest of the truck with be somewhat ratty but i have to stay dry and warm in the cab and still have it safe for my girls to ride in it with me. this will be my daily driver when i get home....even in the winter if there wont be a snow storm. well i guess i just start to save and buy tools while i am gone and have everything ready for when i get back and work on Rig Rat since this one will be done.

 

[flatt ratt]

truck progress stopped

Well this is the last post on this truck for a while. Cab is at the body shop. Frame is in my friend's garage and I am going away for a year. Engine mounts from Brother's haven't showed up yet. My friend is going to swap the front axle for me and get the rearend finished and get brakes done all the way around. He is going to continue to work on it while I am gone. The body work should be done while I am gone along with paint. I will have two weeks home in a few months to try to get it finished. I will still be reading post and throwing my 2 cents in when I can.

 

[joker65]

Good job! You must be a packer fan lol!!!