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Hi all! I joined on here a little over 2yrs ago. When I joined I just had my second daughter so I haven't been back on here since my children have been my main priority. I have, however, started to disassemble my 1954 5 window. I got it for free from my father-in-law and it sat next to his barn out in the elements for 20+ yrs. Needless to say, it has A LOT of rust issues. Here are some pics of how the truck looks currently:

Here it is right when I got it:
When Truck Arrived

Here is sits now:
Current 1
Current 2
Current 3
Current 4

So my wife tells me this past weekend that she would REALLY like for me to try and get it running by spring. I know this is going to be next to impossible to do but I told her I would try my best. A friend has done 2 separate project cars with one being in almost as bad condition as the truck and he told me to get it running as it sits and start buying everything else on the side then start my big build. I attempted to go that route but apparently the transmission is trash, all the brakes are seized up, its so rusted on the floor board that its like driving Fred Flinstones car, windows are broken...basically its an absolute mess and after dropping hundreds trying to get it to even start it finally did but would die right away and started dumping fuel onto the group so I decided I might be better just tearing it down now and building it back up. But, here is where I am stuck. My wife wants it to be as fast as possible but still street-able and I am ok with that as well. I currently have a modded Trailblazer SS (cam, longtubes, intake, electric fans, lowered, and tuned) and we want it to be considerably faster than that. Thinking a turbo'd 5.3L, since those motors are cheap and can hold a decent amount of power. Now to some questions:

1.) Can the current frame support 500+ horsepower? I read an S10 frame can be used but I dont know if it is necessary.
2.) Am I better off with an S10 frame if I plan to go with more modern parts like the brakes, suspension, and an LS motor?
3.) Should I remove every single panel and then have it all sand blasted to see what truly needs to be replaced? I was told to have the sand blasting company use Walnut pieces or something to avoid warping panels....?
4.) I have been searching LMC truck for parts/panels/floor board. Is there a better place to look?
5.) Should I just replace the whole cab since the floor is done for and the cab corners are completely rusted out?

Sorry about the long post and questions. This is the first ground up build I have done and I am just lost on where to start. The only thing close to this that I have done was partially restoration of a 1967 Austin Healey Sprite, just enough to sell it.

Thanks for any input.

#1. Can the current frame support 500+ horsepower? Not safely.
#2. S10 frame will be easier to prep prior to setting the body on. Kits are made for the conversion.
#3. Have it dustless blasted as it sets now. Will help you evaluate whether or not to go further.
#4. Most if not all the replacement body panels come from the same Chinese suppliers. Shop price.
#5. You will know more after you complete step #3.

Good luck.

“So my wife tells me this past weekend that she would REALLY like for me to try and get it running by spring. I know this is going to be next to impossible to do but I told her I would try my best.”

The54Project,

About 20 years ago my wife made a similar request of me. The vehicle was a night and day difference from yours, a 1960 Mercedes 190 SL, but the issues were the same:

Sentimental value having been in her family since the 1960s.
Totally neglected for decades.
Major rust damage, although it was not left out in the weather for 20 years like yours.
And that is just what was visible from a casual glance. There was not a single thing on that Mercedes that didn’t need major repair or full replacement.

As I started trying to “get it running”, every non-functional and damaged item I attempted to repair disclosed several other non-functional and damaged items. Although very few things can’t be repaired if you throw enough time and money at them that Mercedes was well beyond a challenge, from a practical perspective it was a lost cause.

If you look at the article linked below you’ll see that I welcome a challenge but after a few years of that Mercedes project my wife reluctantly admitted that it simply wasn’t worth the effect it was having on our lives. By then I had freshened up the brakes, got the VDO instruments working, got the Weber carburetors working, found a VW fuel pump kit that fit it, eliminated most of the coolant leaks, etc, etc, etc, and sometimes the engine would start and sometimes not. But there is a fool born every minute. In our case it was a Mercedes collector from New York and when he pushed the start button the engine miraculously started instantly. So he bought my wife’s rust bucket for almost twice what we paid for our first house in the 1970s. And he was the first guy to look at it. We probably could have sold it for even more. The guy estimated it would cost him another $250,000 to have it restored and he had no idea how bad it really was.

https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/334876/1936-chevy-3-55-rear-gear-conversion.html

I’d be glad to go into more detail with you by private message if you’re interested.

That's a multi-year project. Even just dealing with the rust will take till spring, unless you spend the kid's college funds on it. I assume you're still working, so your personal time to work on it will likely be limited.

It does look good from 50 ft away, though.
It's a darn sight better than my project, though.

Good luck.

Time and money. The less time you have, the more money it will cost. If your financially able, I would recommend buying a driver to enjoy now while you work on the '54. From what see in your pictures it's a multi year project. I know as I have couple of my own.

Good luck and keep us informed.

John

Even full time at a professional restoration shop with 2-4 guys/gals working on it 4-5 months is a pretty tight schedule.
If it can be done that quick I'd question if they/you can get all the details right, the details that help the truck last another 50 years and not just 5.

The first thing to do is make a plan. Get some catalogs and look up some prices. A good way is to make up a spreadsheet, list all the obvious stuff first. IE: Engine, transmission, differential, wheels & tires, radiator, gas tank, brakes, interior, glass, body panels, paint, etc.
Then list the items you can reasonably do and what you need to send out. Don't be surprised when the estimated numbers climb above $30K and you haven't even started yet. There are unfinished projects all over the internet, Craigs List, Auto Trader, etc that are a result of people getting in over their heads, no time, or space. It looks like a great project but as mentioned previously, it's time and money.
Fred

Here's a bunch of builds to give you ideas of how others have done it (don't let the title fool you - it is '47-59 builds): http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/forumdisplay.php?f=205

Thanks for all the replies, I truly appreciate it. I did some calling around and found a place to do dustless sandblasting BUT the owner stated he would prefer the truck not have trim, glass, headlights, and so on. So I will work on removing all of that. He also said it is $165 an hour and he will try to do every inch that he can reach (he mentioned he could go under the truck, inside the cab, and so forth). Do you think I should have him go to that extent or just only do the outside? Any tricks or tips to getting the rotted trim out and the glass out? I also did some more searching and reading and I see alot of people say to use a regular cab long bed S10 frame. I can probably locate one but does the year matter? Is there a particular year that works best? I found this but I am not sure if it is the best bet or not: http://www.code504.com/conversion-kits-4/ . I haven't done any welding in about 20yrs so, unless I start learning again, I dont think welding parts on would be my best bet. I might be able to find a friend who could though. I see people selling 5.3L motors all the time for dirt cheap. So if I could get a frame, the brackets to mount everything, and a motor I could have a huge chunk done rather quickly. Clearly there is a TON of other things to do but it would be nice to get alot of the large items out of the way if possible.

Measure the WB of the S-10. I believe the correct S-10 frame will be a extended cab long bed but not having done it myself I could be easily wrong. The right one will be almost exactly the same WB as your truck. Lots of S-10 V8 kits out there. Coilover is one of our custom experts here. PM him if he doesn’t chime in soon.🛠

S10 standard cab long bed.

In order to get as much area exposed as possible for the sandblasting I decided to strip the truck down as far as I can and pull the motor as well, since I wont be using it anyway. As I am doing this I can't help but ask the question: "At what point is this considered a total loss?".

Every part I take off exposes more and more rusted through parts. The dash board is rusted through right above the steering column, the cab floor is gone, the sides of the cab are gone to where you can now see inside the wheel well, bottoms of both doors have massive holes, bed is gone, and bed sides are rusted through. The only parts not rusted through yet appear to be the hood and front quarters/fenders. At this point it appears I will be building a brand new truck. Now this is my first frame up build I have done so is this normal in terms of this much being rusted/destroyed when trying to do a build like this?

Side Note: I'm not throwing in the towel. I am still moving forward as planned but want to see if the above is normal for most.

Here are some updated photos:

Full Truck View
Cab Interior Driver
Cab Interior Passenger
Cab Floor
Engine

Not too bad like the origional blue could you find out the paint code on the door jamb for me thanks. How are the cab cornersand rocker panels. Mine are good but have to replace floor and outer and inner kick panel area.

Yes, I will go outside shortly and see if I can get the paint code.

The cab corners and rocker panels are also gone, for the most part.

I went out and looked but I only see one tag in the door jamb and that is for the serial number. Am I overlooking it? I did a google search and didn't find anything in regards to places to check. Only thing I found was suggestions to check paperwork for the truck.

KEVINSKI
"Not too bad like the origional blue could you find out the paint code on the door jamb for me thanks."

The54Project
"I went out and looked but I only see one tag in the door jamb and that is for the serial number."

The truck cab in the first photo is a 1954 truck.
If 1954Project's post is referring to that truck, there was no paint code anywhere on the original truck.

Mine is on the drivers door between the hinges but mine is a canadian truck. The reason i am interested is the paint code for the canadian trucks are different and your truck looks like the same color mine was origionally. I see yours looks like a delux cab with the stainless trimmings a nice option.

Wow thank you Tim have been looking for the colors that were on my truck when new.

Maybe I am a bit too late for this, but here are my thoughts:
Your truck has a beautiful patina on the outside, and patina happens only once... Why not embrace the way your truck looks, patina and rust? of course the floors need help, but why not keep its current finish as is visible from the outside? Re-do, de-rust anything hidden, to make it solid, but keep the outside the same: first, it looks very cool (maybe not to you and your wife, indeed...), and it saves work.You could chemically treat the rust from the inside, too, to stop it from spreading.
About the chassis, if you can afford it, have you looked into complete, "turn-key", aftermarket chassis? That is a nice, easy solution, even if expensive... You could modify your chassis for your need, with IFS, better rear suspension, better brakes... I am not sure an S10 chassis would be very happy if you go canyon-carving with 500 HP...
As for the engine, an LS engine is a great choice, there are also a lot of 6.0 litres around, bigger is better... One advice I have often seen is to mount the running gear stock, and only when everything fits and the truck runs well should you start modifying (turbo...).
As for running by spring... Well, maybe if you just deal with the mechanical part (stock engine, brakes, electrical...) and throw a bit of fiberglass on the floor, it is possible... And it would be cool, too!
OK, so I am not a purist like many members here, but we have to do what we can with what we have, don't we?

I have found this thread on another forum, maybe inspiration and motivation for you: the guy says he has done all this in 5 months of week ends in his driveway, so I guess you could get your truck running before spring... this guy sure works faster than me!!!
https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversions-hybrids/1910708-my-1954-chevy-truck-ls-swapped.html

The clue to that is the logo he painted on the door toward the end of the thread. The guy is a body man. Isn't that cheating?

Don't believe everything you read.

As an experienced car builder and forum denizen, I decided to call BS on those ridiculously fast builds that some claimed do, so I decided to one-up them. I had the complete EIGHT YEAR build photos from my '31 Model A pickup; I condensed them into a build thread titled "Street Rod In A Weekend." I made it appear as if I'd done all the work on just a Saturday and Sunday. Months of work were compressed into posts titled "What I did before lunch today," etc. Totally fake news, but the funny thing is that no one doubted it, everyone fell for it.

Let's not call the guy who posted his project photos in the ls1tech forum a liar. I'm pretty sure that he is a member of this forum too. Massive amount of work on that truck; respect is deserved.

I wasn't disrespecting him, just stating that he was a professional body man. I didn't find him on here, either with the username or location in the other forum. That doesn't mean he isn't a member.

Well, it has almost been a year since I have worked on the truck and with the cold months coming I need to get my plan laid out.

Right now I am back to trying to determine my next steps. Over the course of the past year I got laid off from my job, got a new job, got called back to my original job and have had my hands full with my 2 daughters and going out of town on the weekends. I have also used some of the time to start reading and researching some BUT it just seems to make me more confused on where to go next.

At this point it has been determined that we want to leave the truck in its patina form, as much as possible. I have sold off everything I can and the cab is gutted, besides the steering wheel/column, and the engine bay is gutted, besides the steering box. In order to keep the patina look I would need to replace the cab corners, kick panels inside the cab, the floor, and Im sure some other pieces. Since we want to keep it looking old and I am ok with the patched panels showing on the outside and so forth. Here is where I am at a loss on what to do. In my head, which I know this is not easy and it wont pan out this way, I would like to do everything as follows:

1.) remove cab and body panels from current frame
2.) repair/replace panels
3.) get necessary hardware for body to mount to s10 frame (reg cab long bed)
4.) get a motor (5.3L) and all wiring
5.) mount the motor and everything mechanical I can
6.) put body panels on frame
7.) finish assembly

Now again, I know that it wont work like that and this is where I am completely confused on where to go. I read that a rolling s10 frame isn't easy to mount the truck cab and panels onto. Then I read an s10 rear end will not work and I might have to source a custom rear. Basically, in order to not ramble on and on, I keep getting told and reading mixed info.

At this point, I just want everything on a more modern frame and I want it running. I don't care how it looks for now, on the exterior. My wife says to buy the frame and motor and then get a friend to help with the welding and then throw it together. I explained its not that simple.

So now, here is where you guys come into play. With my goal being to make a patina truck that has incredible power (thinking 5.3L and a turbo) and also we want incredible handling, what first?

Sorry if I asked this last year in the above thread. I just figured I might as well repost everything since this thread is old. Any help/guidance would be great. Even sources for parts and more research would help. Thanks

The only item you have listed which I disagree with is #1.
There is no better platform for which to perform the extensive cab repairs which you are facing than the original frame.
Start off by rebuilding the rear cab support shackles and replace the front cab mount pads. Make sure that your front cab mount support brackets are in good shape (they are spot welded to the underside of the cab).
Carl

Classic Parts has been a good source of parts for me. https://www.classicparts.com/

I have not personally used them but when I was at Mar-K we sold a lot of beds to folks who used the Art Morrison frames. Their frames come in 2 or 3 varieties, will safely hold as much horsepower as you want, and handle great from what I was told. All the engineering is done and body and bed basically bolt on. It is worth considering especially with your ambitious time schedule. If I build another vehicle I will seriously check into it.

This company www.iconthriftmaster.com uses Morrison frames in their Thriftmaster. Not a bad recommendation

Mark

I just bought an all original 36 low cab,great patina,the engine is stuck but gonna figure out why and drive her the way she is for awhile

A lot of money has been spent for the sake of sentimentality. You can always shop around and buy a finished one way cheaper than you can build one. As far as frame strength 500hp shouldn't be a problem. These trucks were built to haul loads over really sorry unpaved roads of their era so frames are darn tough and designed to flex. We have installed big blocks of every description in them with no problems. You can really speed up panel replacement by CORRECTLY using panel bond instead of the long, tedious, and slow welding process. Passenger planes, super sonic fighters, and many new cars are glued so why rivet or weld. An example is replacing a 30's era cars soft top with a steel insert used to take at least a week of welding and warpage removal where it now is done overnight with zero warping. Having it media blasted before making decisions is a wise move as it reveals much more damage than you imagined. Chassis swapping is NOT a weekend job and though we have done several S10 swaps I would now recommend at least checking out the Dodge Dakota swap. Dakota's were offered with a V8 and so designed and also have a much closer track width than the very narrow S10. Last, you need to have a sit down talk with your wife on schedules. The topic of the conversation needs to include "be realistic". Of course you can disregard all this and just buy a $20k Detroit speed chassis and another $20k all new Dynacorn cab/sheet metal and be done by Easter.

Panel bond. I've used it, very happy with the results. 3M, borrowed the appropriate pro application gun from my local automotive paint store. 8 years in and no complaints.