The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Where to begin

Hello all,
I just picked up my "new" old truck and am looking for advice on where to start. It is basically a rolling chasis. Also I am not quite sure what year it is, late 40's I think. I got it from an Old Navy retail store. I am also looking for some advice on boxing the frame. Any help would be appreciated.
thanks

If your truck is an Old Navy store display truck you may want to ensure it is restorable as the story on the trucks is they are pretty thrown together so verify you have good bones to build on. Secondly I would ensure you have a title to the truck as it would be sad to put a bunch of money and time into something you cannot get titled in your state.

As to where to start I would suggest determining what you want when you are done. Do you want a hot rod truck with modern brakes, AC, better suspension or do you want a stocker.

Once you have that determined my approach is to make it GO (get the engine and trans working), followed by make it WHOA (get the brakes working), then make it SHOW (do any body work you want to make the truck look better). Get those out of order and you may have to redo some work already in place.

Give us more information on what you want to do with your new truck and we can help further.

Edit - Welcome to the Bolt.

Pictures are always a good place for people here to get some idea of condition etc. On the drivers side door frame there should be an I. D. plate with a number on it. This number can then be deciphered for year, model, where produced etc. Another key number in some states is the engine number if it has one? This number is located behind the distibutor on the R.S. of the engine. Good luck and welcome to the forums.

The frame looks good. not a whole lot of rust. the rear end is intact and driveshaft turns smoothly. the frame will need to be boxed. i am looking at going custom on the inside, interior, engine etc. i would like to keep the body mostly stock, a few little frivolities later, door handles etc. i have a few pics of the body. only one on the cpu right now if you would like to take a look at it give me an e-mail and I can send.

Why do you think the frame needs to be boxed?

I am thinking about a chevy 350. not firm on that thought. I am looking everywhere at everything for engines. i really am not sure what to put in it. any suggestions? I may even go with an inline six. I want to do most of the work myself so I am just looking for something not too complicated as I don't have much knowledge.

If you do not have much knowledge then I would recommend you develop a very good plan before you turn one bolt and put hard dollars against it. Do a search here on project plans and see what comes up.

Doing some of the work yourself is great but if you do not have the tools, the space or the time to perform the project then you may be biting off more than you can chew. You can peruse through the pictures in the link in my signature to see what is entailed in a ground up restore which is what you are looking at. Mine has taken 5 years plus and the cost is upwards of $8,000. You can buy a decent running late model truck for that change.

Welcome to the Bolt. Cruise around here before you start your project. You will gain valuable information that will serve you well as you start your "adventure".
If you plan on nothing stronger than a small block eg. a Chevy 350, you won't need to box your frame.
Anyway, good luck, send us pictures...

Most Restorations begin with emptying the ashtray, then the Wallet

Very True, 1958 GMCnut.
Cleon

I hope your Wife is Understanding ...lol