Golden Jubilee
Posts: 2028
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 4:52 pm
Frame Swap
Some high points:
Mine have taken close to five months (after work, weekends) to get streetable. 400 hours is a conservative number.
If your fabrication skills outstrip mine (extremely possible) then your automotive thinking skills probably don't? There's a LOT of imaginative thought in these conversions. Different from resto or hot-rodding. Old mechanics rule!
Nothing says any particular "modern" donor will work with any particular antique truck. You have to discover that for yourself, unless the swap has been done over and over. For example, "thin fender" old, old trucks (1920s, early 1930s) do NOT jive with an S-10. "Fat fender" trucks (1930s on) can hide a "multitude of sins".
Done smartly, there are very few out of pocket expenses other than consumables. You use up what's been presented to you.
You DO however have to have TWO donor vehicles. ONE for sheetmetal, one for electrics and drivetrain.
There are a few "bottlenecks" in this conversion, in my opinion:
Getting front wheels to center in front fenders (don't forget that the grille hangs lower than the front crossmember and is limited in position).
Trying to squeeze brake booster/steering wheel/steering column/ pedal hanger in a firewall area much narrower than the donor firewall.
Locating new radiator support bracket and sectioning radiator support appropriately.
An "easy" aspect is that donor wiring harness just plugs in.
My experience has been that these conversions drive like new trucks. I've driven to Southern California in them on "those" freeways and have had a blast. People try to buy your truck at 70mph!