Brothajack93
I'm Awesome
So here’s the situation…. I made a naive and impulsive buy cause I wanted a work truck and specifically seeked out an obs Chevy due to my love for them and the sentimental value they have for me. This particular one is a ‘97 c1500 ext cab 6.5 bed. Due to not having knowledge of extensive corrosion damage and what to look for to know if it’s safe and possible to repair I made a bad buy and can not trust anything in my chassis to be structurally sound or safe. Rather than to do the usual scrap it and start over method that most people would and everyone tells me to do I would rather go in much deeper and learn more than just how not to be dumb as restoration has always been a passion of mine but have not had the opportunity to learn in my life. Auto body is a difficult field to get your foot in the door of here and that’s just bolting on plastic bumpers for the most part these days anyway. Restoration is more of a self taught hobby than a profession because to work in those specific shops you must already have skills to display. As much as I tried you can’t just walk into a shop with a passion, willing to sweep floors and organize inventory for a chance to learn how it’s done and eventually be promoted if you show promise like people could back in the day. That’s why I’m using this opportunity to become self taught via YouTube and trial and error by throwing myself into it. Most I have to lose is a body that almost anyone else would scrap anyway. I plan to remove the cab and bed and put them on blocks somewhere they can stay for a little while and do the cutting and welding necessary to them to fix the typical lower half stuff that rots out. I will start with pre fab panel replacements but also intend to try my hand at making some panels myself as well. But that’s not what I need expert help with so I’ll get to the point. I will state that I understand how much work is involved here and that it’s more investment than it will ever be worth on a monetary level and I don’t need constant reminder of that…. I’m naive not stupid lol. This is about using this as an opportunity to build skills and do more extensive body repairs that most would shy away from instead of just learning the lesson of “don’t buy that”
I would like some knowledge on frame compatibility of various degrees. Both bolt in replacements as well as the fabrication/alterations that would be required for upgrades or just simply working with what I can get my hands on up here as the best options aren’t always reasonably priced in Canada. For instance if I wanted to upgrade to a beefier chassis like a c2500 that is a bolt in swap correct? But if I were considering a drivetrain upgrade as well what would it take to make it compatible to convert it to k1500 or k2500? I hear the frames themselves are the same up to the front cab mounts forward. Cross members would have to be relocated to account for a transfer case and front differential but these are just topics I come across on Facebook groups and more people have knowledge and experience in these particular topics here on this forum site dedicated to these trucks so I ask for your knowledge and expertise to better understand what can be done and the work involved to make it happen. Opinions are welcome but I’m not a guy to be told what to do without at least an explanation as to why it’s not a good idea at all. Some things aren’t practical and I get that. Some things are truly painful or difficult to accomplish but it’s up to me whether or not I’m willing to take on the headache and I believe I have the skills to do so but lack the knowledge required to apply them. Also I do understand that no matter what I do to the chassis or suspension that it will still be a c1500 no matter what and that towing/hauling more than what the truck on paper is rated for can put me in hot water should d.o.t decide to give me grief. I will take advantage of a beefier chassis and suspension that can handle heavier work at my own risk because it’s not often those guys look at pickups anyway. I’m looking to know what can be done and what it takes. Whether I can upgrade for heavier applications or simply work with what I can find because it’s what I can find that’s not beyond repair up here. I could find better shape out west. I lived out there for years and they use sand therefore greatly reducing the pace of corrosion. All my previous trucks were from out there and only suffer body rot while the chassis gets slight rust that can be cleaned up and coated without the issue of corrosion to structural parts that hold your truck together. A future project may be bought out there and stored at my brothers till it can be worked on there or brought back here but right now my options are pretty local to the lower half of the province I live in which is where the work with what I can get mindset comes in cause not many people took care of these things and are getting rid of them for the same “salty” reasons lol. I really appreciate any advice I can get on this topic and I’m sure there’s a few guys who have the knowledge and experience to know what works in both the regard of bolt in as well as alteration and would just like to have the knowledge to make my best decision based on what I can find for a roller chassis in the salvage market. Thanks for any help you can give me to hopefully keep one of these trucks alive. Frankenstein or not!
I would like some knowledge on frame compatibility of various degrees. Both bolt in replacements as well as the fabrication/alterations that would be required for upgrades or just simply working with what I can get my hands on up here as the best options aren’t always reasonably priced in Canada. For instance if I wanted to upgrade to a beefier chassis like a c2500 that is a bolt in swap correct? But if I were considering a drivetrain upgrade as well what would it take to make it compatible to convert it to k1500 or k2500? I hear the frames themselves are the same up to the front cab mounts forward. Cross members would have to be relocated to account for a transfer case and front differential but these are just topics I come across on Facebook groups and more people have knowledge and experience in these particular topics here on this forum site dedicated to these trucks so I ask for your knowledge and expertise to better understand what can be done and the work involved to make it happen. Opinions are welcome but I’m not a guy to be told what to do without at least an explanation as to why it’s not a good idea at all. Some things aren’t practical and I get that. Some things are truly painful or difficult to accomplish but it’s up to me whether or not I’m willing to take on the headache and I believe I have the skills to do so but lack the knowledge required to apply them. Also I do understand that no matter what I do to the chassis or suspension that it will still be a c1500 no matter what and that towing/hauling more than what the truck on paper is rated for can put me in hot water should d.o.t decide to give me grief. I will take advantage of a beefier chassis and suspension that can handle heavier work at my own risk because it’s not often those guys look at pickups anyway. I’m looking to know what can be done and what it takes. Whether I can upgrade for heavier applications or simply work with what I can find because it’s what I can find that’s not beyond repair up here. I could find better shape out west. I lived out there for years and they use sand therefore greatly reducing the pace of corrosion. All my previous trucks were from out there and only suffer body rot while the chassis gets slight rust that can be cleaned up and coated without the issue of corrosion to structural parts that hold your truck together. A future project may be bought out there and stored at my brothers till it can be worked on there or brought back here but right now my options are pretty local to the lower half of the province I live in which is where the work with what I can get mindset comes in cause not many people took care of these things and are getting rid of them for the same “salty” reasons lol. I really appreciate any advice I can get on this topic and I’m sure there’s a few guys who have the knowledge and experience to know what works in both the regard of bolt in as well as alteration and would just like to have the knowledge to make my best decision based on what I can find for a roller chassis in the salvage market. Thanks for any help you can give me to hopefully keep one of these trucks alive. Frankenstein or not!