Started the chop today!!!!!!!!

[chopper tom]

hb,the cab looks great !,dont you just love the sell of bondo in the morning!!!
what kind og gill will you be running ,i've been wanting a mercury typ of treatment on my 50 from the start but havent got around to trying yet!
and what type of suspention will you be useing.

 

[punganisse]

This ride loks absolutely cool.keep up the god work

 

[darkhorse]

Looking good!

 

[harleyboy]

Hey Darkhorse.

Hey Chopper Tom, I'm putting it on a S10 frame and using my fenders and original grill on it. I have a frame that is 118" wheel base and that's just right for a 50 Chevy truck. I just bought a S10 that has air bags on it and a 4 link suspension in the rear. I really bought it for the motor (350), 5 speed transmission and the gauges ( new stewart warner). I don't really know much about bagging a truck but this S10 that I bought lays frame on the ground. The chassis is to short for my truck, but I may try to take the 4 link out and put on my frame. I think the bags would be cool but I don't know how much trouble they give. It has a clear plastic box in it with about 12 toggle switches on it. I guess it was suppose to be a "hopper". I think all the bags are good. The front passenger bag was unhooked but all the other 3 would pump up. The compressor works but the storage tank leaks down real quick with the front pass bag disconected. I guess that's why. I got a real deal on the low rider and will post pics this week. I bought it from a Marine who's wife bought it for him while he was in Iraq last July. When he got home he decided it wasn't what he wanted so he never even tried to crank it. I advertised for a set of S10 V8 headers and he called me and wanted to sell me the ones off this truck. I asked him why he wanted to part it out and he said that he didn't like it. I bought it and had the motor running the same day. It's got a Holley 750 on it and I know that's to much carb for a 350 unless it's built to the hilt. I'm going to clean it up and check it out before it goes in the truck. I'll post pics on all this because I got a killer deal on it. HB

 

[chopper tom]

man that sounds great ! i would love to have my 50 on air ! they can be aggrevating but are fun and look awsome laying frame!
I built an 89 s-10 summer before last and chopped it 11'' in fount and 9''in the rear [looked real wild],i put air in the front and man it rode great!
it still had the 4 init and i mis the gas milage now .me and the truck didnt fit with the local minni crawd so i grew tired of it real fast and let it go and driving some thing that radical every day can get aggrevating.
Sounds like you got some awsome planes for yours !keep up the good work.

 

[4Fifty6 Gears!]

That is coming out good man, you rule!

 

[ratty 46]

WOW.......great progress....looking good.

ratty46

 

[harleyboy]

I had a cool idea for the dash. I took the original gauges out and will replace them with the gauges that came out of the S10 that I bought for parts. The speedo and tach are 4" gauges so I will have to fill in my original holes down from 6" to 4". I had a friend of mine with a cnc plasma cutter to make me some fillers with a 4" hole and then make some Iron Cross overlays. I'm going to weld the fillers in first and then bolt the Iron Crosses over them. I removed the speaker grill and will put 4 2" gauges in there. My bud made a plate with 4 2" holes and I'm going to weld it in the speaker's place. This is cool. I want to paint the dash one color and paint the Iron Crosses another contrasting color. Any ideas on colors?

 

[bob w]

That is cool and unusual treatment. Very clever.

 

[harleyboy]

I got a little bit done this afternoon. I welded the filler pieces in and drilled holes thru the Iron Crosse and the filler. I welded bolts in the Iron Cross hole so I can mount them to the fillers with a nut. I know my welding is kinda shoddy but when it's finished and filled it will look good (I hope).

It should turn out like this. Harleyboy

 

[chopper tom]

stuff like that is why i love rat rods,u can really be creative with out restraints!!!

 

[harleyboy]

Here's how it is suppose to turn out.

 

[harleyboy]

And here's my friends CNC plasma machine. It rocks.

This last pic is a sign that he just cut out of 1/4" steel. He has a full metal shop in a 2 car garage behind his house. Harleyboy

 

[harleyboy]

I did a little on the truck today. A friend of mine gave me two 285/70/15 tires and I had them mounted on my red slots. I already had some good 205/60/15 that I had mounted for the front. They really exemplify bigs and littles. I bought some 2.5" wheel spacers off ebay and put them on the front to get the right width. My problem is that spacing the rear out with 2.5" spacers will not give me enough width to clear the bed. I'm going to get a Camaro rear end next week because it's 55" from drum to drum and then these tires will clear the bed by 1/4" on each side. Is that enough? If I have to space the tires out from there I'll be scrapping the outside of the fenders. I guess I can get smaller tires but these are almost brand new and I really want to use them.

Its gonna have a cool stance with the rear lowered 4" and 2" lower spindles on front

My pile of parts waiting to come together

 

[Gastrick]

It looks nice HB. 1/4 inch of tire clearance will probably cause your tire sidewalls to rub when you are cornering, especially with those somewhat tall tires. I would put everything together first and then see where you stand.

 

[hotrod preacher]

man that chop looks great! and all that talk of your lack of welding skills.....
just remember the bondo covers ALL anyway looks good so far, makes me want to get started on my next project--gonna chop it for sure now!! keep us posted

 

[dawg]

what you need is a rear out of a 73 - 87 truck...

 

[harleyboy]

Hi Dawg, do you know the width from drum to drum on a 78 truck? I think 56 or 57" would be perfect. Thanks. HB

 

[dawg]

will measure in the morning...

 

[chopper tom]

Hay harlyboy,i always just go ahead and mini tubb the bed so that you dont have to worry about tire clearance and you can run a widder tire too .
It's real hard to find a rear that will fit them beds perfectly but i ben told a 67 chevell rear is just right with 7'' or 8'' rims.i run a buick reagal rear in my two trucks and i minni tubed them so i can run 10'' rims with 275 60's .its alot easyer to find gears and possi units for the 7 1/2 rears.
Glade to see that your working on it again!