Shortchevy’s longer short Chevy. Ccsb

[shortchevy]

Hey guys, just getting back on the forum thought I would put up a picture of my current long term project. I picked up this 87 r30 about a year ago, it was a crew cab long box dually, 454/th400. I cut it in half and welded I back together and this is what I have so far.... it’s going into winter so I don’t plan on getting a ton of work done on it but figured I would share a picture and if y’all want more let me know.

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[skylark]

What are your plans for it?

 

[Nathaniel2g]

I really like the look of that thing. She'd make a great hauler I'd say!

 

[shortchevy]

What are your plans for it?

Mechanically I am going to keep it as close to stock as I can. It has a tbi 454 which is not the most powerful or efficient but it runs really well. I did do some repairs under the hood, replaced the entire cooling system, rebuilt the tbi, replaced the cracked manifolds with long tubes, installed a new exhaust and did head gaskets on it. As much as I would like a 4l80 for the overdrive I’m just going to leave the th400 in it. My thought is if it’s not broke don’t fix it. The only thing under the hood I have to do yet is replace some ac components to get that working.

The interior is really nice, it has 97 suburban seats in it. I put a new headliner in it and a new stereo but really all the interior needs is a new carpet. It is a power window/locks truck and that all works so I’m happy with that.

The exterior I plan on painting in spring. I replaced both rocker panels and 1 cab corner. I also picked up 4 rust free GM doors for it. I am going to lower the back a little just by pulling leaf springs until it sits level. Other than that I have a set of P30 19.5s to throw on it.

I don’t really know what I’m gonna do with it when I’m done but Im looking forward to seeing it all finished.

I really like the look of that thing. She'd make a great hauler I'd say!

Thanks! Funny thing is I haven’t made a hitch for it yet, guess I’ll add that too the list too.

 

[swervin]

Where did you cut the frame to shorten it to a small box? Ive seen guys that cut it between the cab and box (where it curves down a bit befor level back out) but it seemed like extremely precise measurements! And did you have to move any mounts or subframe around for anything? Please post pics of that kind of stuff if possible!

 

[Nathaniel2g]

Where did you cut the frame to shorten it to a small box? Ive seen guys that cut it between the cab and box (where it curves down a bit befor level back out) but it seemed like extremely precise measurements! And did you have to move any mounts or subframe around for anything? Please post pics of that kind of stuff if possible!

We did one here at work. We cut it on the curve. Not sure why but my fabricator said it's easier to take more measurements and get it dead on the first time.

 

[shortchevy]

Where did you cut the frame to shorten it to a small box? Ive seen guys that cut it between the cab and box (where it curves down a bit befor level back out) but it seemed like extremely precise measurements! And did you have to move any mounts or subframe around for anything? Please post pics of that kind of stuff if possible!

I cut it just a couple inches behind the cab before the curve. This in my opinion is the only place to cut it. The frame also needs 4” cut off the back. The box has 8 mounting location, the center 4 locations are the same from a long box to a short box so I placed the box on after shortening the frame and mounted it with the 4 center locations, then once it is straight and square I drilled the other 4.

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[swervin]

We did one here at work. We cut it on the curve. Not sure why but my fabricator said it's easier to take more measurements and get it dead on the first time.

I can see why he said that! hahah It would suck trying to line it back up if its out by even a 1/16 of an inch. Im still unsure what would be better overall for a ballance between structure and simplicity/easiness... probably not going to attempt anything like that for a while but still kinda curious

 

[swervin]

I cut it just a couple inches behind the cab before the curve. This in my opinion is the only place to cut it. The frame also needs 4” cut off the back. The box has 8 mounting location, the center 4 locations are the same from a long box to a short box so I placed the box on after shortening the frame and mounted it with the 4 center locations, then once it is straight and square I drilled the other 4.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Deffinatly seems like the best way after hearing your opinion of it! How much of the frame did you cut out from the cab area? Thanks for the pics and info!

 

[swervin]

Deffinatly seems like the best way after hearing your opinion of it! How much of the frame did you cut out from the cab area? Thanks for the pics and info!

And did you just use a shortbox driveline?