Frame/chassis swap compatibility

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Canadian Rust Bucket

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The customers that want to put 10k into their beat up work truck are few and far between.
I'm not quite at that number, but I'm rapidly getting close. By the time it's finished I'm sure I'll have hit 10k. Having body panels shipped to my house is expensive!
So I guess that would be my second piece of wisdom: if you really want to do this, know that it will cost, and trying to cheap out will only bite you in the butt in the long run.
 

Canadian Rust Bucket

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Going inside engine blocks, transmissions, differentials and any kind of gear boxes is something I find best put in the hands of professionals but I intend to learn the skills and acquire the tools and equipment to restore, repair and upgrade the rest.
I feel the same way a lot of the time; getting into the nitty gritty of the internal combustion engine is daunting.
But suspension, brakes, exhaust, steering, body work, paint, welding... all relatively easy to do, with enough research and occasionally asking for help. I knew nothing when I started this project, and now I know just enough to get me into trouble and most of the time back out.

Keep yer stick on the ice!
 

GoToGuy

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Do the real research, download the free manuals here, in forum. Search for the link in here. Get the Service, Unit Repair, and fuel and emissions. Then do a search for the factory's Upfitters Guide, has center of balance, where not to drill or weld, etc. and the deminsional guidance.
The service manual has descriptions on frame deminsions also, dig around you'll find it.
It is amazing how much information is in the service manuals, and is written so my wife could understand it. You don't have to be a master technician. Good luck.
 

Brothajack93

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I feel the same way a lot of the time; getting into the nitty gritty of the internal combustion engine is daunting.
But suspension, brakes, exhaust, steering, body work, paint, welding... all relatively easy to do, with enough research and occasionally asking for help. I knew nothing when I started this project, and now I know just enough to get me into trouble and most of the time back out.

Keep yer stick on the ice!
Thanks man! I think I may have found my solution… won’t be sure until I go and give it a thorough look in a couple of weeks now that I know what to look for. Guy has a 1998 c1500 that has a tired powertrain and the body is in rough shape but honestly not to the extent that most others around here are. He’s a couple hours away but is willing to give me some time to come up with the money and arrange for a tow. I’m hoping I could get a decent deal through a family connection on that and I have a few months to line it up so it shouldn’t be a problem. He just doesn’t want to see his baby that has been good to him for 300,000km on it see the scrap yard and found a post I made in a local group with the offer. So if it works out and the chassis is indeed able to be restored with relative ease then my plan is to go with his truck instead as it’s a much easier job and the year I would prefer. Also I think it would be cool to show him updates and him get to see his baby come back to life and be loved and appreciated in good hands. Soon as it Gets to me I intend to get the cab off and blocked up in my works shop and get to work on the panels. My question to you since you have a little experience in this is the pre fab panels… what sites/brands should I avoid? Any that you’ve found to be the best quality material and fitment? I have a southern parts guy who is just awesome to work with and has a cab to cut some pieces off but he can’t do everything I need as some of it is damaged. I plan to get whatever I can from him and go with as much salvage and as much support a to hard working and honest southern man as I can but I’ll need to buy a few pieces new. What have you had good experiences with?
 

Brothajack93

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Do the real research, download the free manuals here, in forum. Search for the link in here. Get the Service, Unit Repair, and fuel and emissions. Then do a search for the factory's Upfitters Guide, has center of balance, where not to drill or weld, etc. and the deminsional guidance.
The service manual has descriptions on frame deminsions also, dig around you'll find it.
It is amazing how much information is in the service manuals, and is written so my wife could understand it. You don't have to be a master technician. Good luck.
Thanks man… I’m going to have to look into that for sure. I want to purchase a Hanes repair manual for this truck anyway for some reading material and reference points when doing repairs and builds so I will start there. Hopefully I found a painless donor that has a good chassis and body in need of work but not as bad as what I currently have. The powertrain is just tired and though the owner doesn’t want to see it go, his kids are getting too old to to stuff in that tiny back seat anymore (I’m short and I felt that pain as a teenager in grandpas 98 ecsb) plan is to do the body repair and find me a decent 350 to rebuild along with my recently rebuilt 4l60e (approx 20,000km since rebuild) as for my current body I still intend to pull it, repair it and store store it for either a project like a c2500 chassis/suspension or simply to help another guy out with his rotted Canadian salt road project. My intent is to salvage as much as possible with these trucks seeing grim fates around here often and everyone needs a good body. Just not sure what I’m going to do with 2 305’s that no one wants. They might have to get scrapped since no one wants them anyway but I’ll give them a fair shot at finding a home first before doing that. This has been a learning experience and will continue to be and I appreciate the references to places where I can do my own research and no the do’s and don’ts of frame repair and custom fabrication. I intend to buy and restore a few more of these trucks in my lifetime so the more knowledge I can obtain the better!
 

Brothajack93

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There's a difference when you're doing your own vehicle. If you're doing it for a customer or trying to flip one it absolutely has to add value. It's better to be tired and have a pocket full of money than to be tired and hungry. If you don't value your time no one else will either.

I'm not trying to discourage you, I worked in bodyshops since the age of 14......started sweeping floors and commonly encourage guys to get into it. There's still a ton of money to made in it. If your serious I would look at those tech schools. The ones around here do a night class a couple days a week While maybe not as in depth as a day class, it's enough to get your feet wet and give you some basics.

The customers that want to put 10k into their beat up work truck are few and far between. The money has always been on the collision side.

Some of what I do,
That I can understand for sure! And I do believe you’ve made a very good point. As for getting back into school and seeking out auto body as a career I think I’ve all but abandoned those dreams and intend to make money via side jobs/sub contracts that I will use my truck for and make smart financial investments in my future so I can have stupid truck money lol. I would like to do this as a hobby and a means of salvage so I’ll probably just buy them here and there and do strips, repairs and upgrades for my own amusement and sell parts/clean repaired bodies to mitigate costs. If I become skilled enough to make panels for these trucks by hand/brake/roller/press then it could simply be a profitable hobby for myself. Time spent won’t be valuable on a monetary level but i will keep my hands busy doing something I love and be a local source for clean obs chevy bodies without the southern parts premium. My reward would come from not seeing more of these trucks see the scrap yard due to neglected bodies and keeping them on the road as well as the market. Inflation is a huge problem with them right now and how cheap they used to be was one of their biggest appeals. The more that get scrapped the more the price goes up locally. There’s money to be made in it as a hobby with the cult following they’ve developed but like you said it’s not a living and I’m ok with that as I have jobs when I work hard and often find myself bored at home anyway trying to fill my time productively. If I can buy a $500-$2000 dollar truck destined for scrap and repair the bodies for the cost of my time and some sheet metal and ultimately make a few bucks I’m happy. Beats all the trucks that have lived their lives in good conditions coming up here to rot
 

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That I can understand for sure! And I do believe you’ve made a very good point. As for getting back into school and seeking out auto body as a career I think I’ve all but abandoned those dreams and intend to make money via side jobs/sub contracts that I will use my truck for and make smart financial investments in my future so I can have stupid truck money lol. I would like to do this as a hobby and a means of salvage so I’ll probably just buy them here and there and do strips, repairs and upgrades for my own amusement and sell parts/clean repaired bodies to mitigate costs. If I become skilled enough to make panels for these trucks by hand/brake/roller/press then it could simply be a profitable hobby for myself. Time spent won’t be valuable on a monetary level but i will keep my hands busy doing something I love and be a local source for clean obs chevy bodies without the southern parts premium. My reward would come from not seeing more of these trucks see the scrap yard due to neglected bodies and keeping them on the road as well as the market. Inflation is a huge problem with them right now and how cheap they used to be was one of their biggest appeals. The more that get scrapped the more the price goes up locally. There’s money to be made in it as a hobby with the cult following they’ve developed but like you said it’s not a living and I’m ok with that as I have jobs when I work hard and often find myself bored at home anyway trying to fill my time productively. If I can buy a $500-$2000 dollar truck destined for scrap and repair the bodies for the cost of my time and some sheet metal and ultimately make a few bucks I’m happy. Beats all the trucks that have lived their lives in good conditions coming up here to rot
I'm not saying schooling for the sole purpose of pursuing a career in autobody. It will benefit you in other ways as well.

One of the things you have said is that you got into this truck not knowing what to look for.

You'll at least come out of it with some basic understanding of what is the right and wrong ways of fixing stuff, be more familiar with what's available to you as far as materials go, have a basic understanding of painting, and of frame/structure diagnosing and measuring.
 

Canadian Rust Bucket

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What have you had good experiences with?
Honestly, the fitment on the different body pieces I've bought has been middling at best. Everything needed a little tweaking and massaging to get it all to fit, but that's expected with the Taiwanese molds.
The best luck I've had is with OEM donor pieces from the spare parts trucks, and making my own if needed.
I've got body parts from partshub.ca and from classictruck.ca. both roughly equal in quality, since I believe they're just two different distributors for KeyParts branded body panels. You can also get the panels from rockauto, and sell your firstborn son to pay the shipping.

Anything I can find on PartsAvatar, I get from them because any order over $75 they ship for free and they carry basically the same quality of aftermarket stuff as rockauto.
 
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