68 Camaro RS in the background.

The donor, a Caddy front clip with massive bumper and stuff. This is a 1976 Caddy Seville front clip.

A closer look at our cut lines

Model T rear axle is in the picture

Now the S10 rear axle starts with lots of measuring. We had to move the spring mounts inside the 50 frame and create "boxes" for the             rear mount.

Access was needed for the outside of the shackle so a curved access was made.

The front shackle fit under the frame and required some trimming. The 50 frame is wider at the rear than front.

Another shot from the front of the rear axle. Note the new bar for shock mounts

We had figured out where the radiator mount was on the original frame and cut the bumper horns off and got the radiator back in the same place. The front fenders mount off of this piece.

It’s a year later and we now have the cab in the shop set on a wood frame to keep it level and square. We will be replacing floors, cab corners, chopping the top, changing the dash, adding latches and installing speakers and AC.

Another shot before it is fully stripped.

This is the floor kit from Bitchen products. It will provide a completely flat floor.

First is to cut out the old floor. Here the toe board and floor on the passenger side is removed.

This is the pile of stuff removed from the cab including the passenger floors.

This shows the toe board mocked in place and the cab mount tacked on. The inner kick panel has already been replaced.

The toe board, inner kick panel and cab support are in place.

A new cross brace comes with the kit and is in place along with the floor board, toe board, kick panel and cab support.

A filler piece is included to help strengthen the toe board to kick panel and cab support.

Now the outside cowl panel can be removed at the factory seam. Lots of lead filler in these old units from the factory.

We also filled the vent openings in the kick panels as well.

No more gas tank behind the seat so the filler hole has a plug welded in.

Progress, we now have the drivers’ floor, toe board and kick panel installed.

Both passenger and drivers floors are in. We have also filled all the holes in the firewall other than those we will be reusing.

The transmission tunnel is in place and the front floor is complete.

Now for the drivers’ side cowl panel. We ordered the new panel with out the vent. You can see the inside vent is closed up and welded.

31 Chevrolet Coupe body is in the background.

The rear floors are welded in place. The back wall braces will be rewelded once the cab corners are finished.

A great deal of heat was applied to get the old pins out.

Here is a finished hinge with new brass bushings added and new pins. There is an oil access hole in the hinge but it is rarely used on any of these old pickups.

On the chop we plan on taking 2” out of the windows and hope to get a full 1” out of the dome of the roof. Here you can see the 5” dome height.

Ken wanted a smoothed dash with very little on it, so everything will get filled.

This shows the glove box, ash tray, radio and speaker holes fully filled with new metal.

The green tape shows our intended cut lines for the chop.

This is one haircut! The skin will need to be stretched so off it came.

Here is the skin after its cut off. That’s a 54 Merc Sunvalley skylight top it’s leaning against.

Any time you’re cutting a roof you need to brace the cab. If it moves any at all you will have more than your share of problems getting doors to fit!!

This shows the roof structure cut off. We use the section we take out as a “sleeve” on the inside to help with alignment, welding and strength.

It’s a convertible!

We welded the roof structure back on with out the skin and refitted the door tops first. It’s much easier to get at the structure from the back to work metal with the skin off.

This is the back corner fitted and welded. Some pie cuts are needed to help with alignment.

Here the skin has been pulled over the roof structure and slightly flattened. We only came down about 1/2” instead of the full 1” we wanted.

The back seam needed a backer to take up the gap and keep some curvature.

This is the lower dash extension piece prior to cutting holes and final fitting. It will be fully welded to the bottom of the dash.

Here is the lower dash installed. We did modify our initial plan for rectangular AC vents and went to round ones. The stereo and AC controls will go in the middle holes.

We wanted to hide the speakers as much as possible yet get the best sound. The rears are 9 x 11 units and will sit at an angle facing the center of the roof.

This shows the two rear speaker mounts from the front.

This is the can for the front speakers, 5” and will be hid under the dash on the kick panels and above the toe board.

The tape lines are possible cuts we might make to reshape the front end look. Our objective is a cross between the 50 Chevy and the new Chevy SR-10.

To get rid of the “frog eye” look we will flatten the fenders. The top is cut out to provide a flat look and bands are taped on to get the initial shape of the new fender top. We will have some metal rolled for the top and may have to hand fabricate the front part.

A buck is made from plywood to provide the shape of the new fender top. When we roll the sheet it will have to fit this buck just so.

On to the doors, we threw the old latches which have always given us problems with remote door openers. The new bear claw is installed and the original inside door handle will be utilized.

The new bear claw pin is installed. All of this will be ground to look factory.

The inside rear panels are finished welding and ground down. A skim coat of fiberglass will help to seal the welds and finish it off. We will be using the rear dome light.

The power antenna is installed in the passenger side rear cab corner. We use a unit that only has the tip of the antenna showing so when done it will hardly be noticed.

Ken decided to make a power train change and go with an LT1 350 unit. So out comes the V6 and some changes have to be made.

Here the new freshly rebuilt LT1 is in place with a 700R trans behind. We had to modify the inner structure; move the transmission mounts and came out ok on the brake and other controls. The Corvette Yellow is one of the exterior colors.

Because of the cross member under the engine we could not use the Camaro AC and alternator mounts. Some aftermarket steel brackets and a small power steering pump create the serpentine belt drive system. We also had to go with a Sandan AC unit and older style alternator to fit the brackets.

The fenders are mounted, intake installed, radiator in and hoses for water and AC are run. The wire is the engine harness and will be connected to the main harness upon final assembly.

To the back end. The brake and fuel system is tested and holding pressure, rear wire harness is run and we are ready to mount the new box.

A quick look at the steering column mounting and the engine computer is mounted inside just above it.

Remember the big holes in the fenders. We had 16 gauge sheet rolled to fit the buck and here the driver’s side is tacked in place. This will give a flat top fender with some durability.

Here is a look at the passenger side before it is cut and welded in place.

The front part is from 20 gauge and is one piece. It was pie cut and spotted in place to make the curvature.

This is a mock up with tape and headlight rings taped on. We will retain the lower 3 bars and cut them at an angle. The top bar will be fabricated and go just above the head lights. Headlights will be lowered about 6” from the original location. The front lower fill pan is a fiberglass aftermarket unit.

Here the front custom bar is starting to take shape. This is 16 gauge materials that will be shaped and welded into a single removable unit.

One more look at the initial part. Does it start to take on some SR characteristics?

On to the back end and the box. New box sides, front and tailgate are used. Here we are getting things lined up and set in place.

We are using a LED strip light for the tail and turn signals. This will be mounted in the top roll of the tail gate.

If you look at the top of the tailgate you will see the slot we made to insert the LED strip light into.

Here the light strip is being slide in. We have a top strip and lower locating strip welded to the grove to hold the strip just so. That way the LED is level with the metal.

The tailgate installed with the LED light in the top roll. Note the electrical wire on the left side that will follow down the gate and connect under the box.

We use hidden gate latches that open from the inside of the box. These really clean up the back and eliminate the chains.

We are fitting the wood and will have a flip up floor board to access the gas tank fill and the battery terminals.

These trucks are round and so should the corners on the stake pockets. The rear beam and stakes are welded solid.

This is another shot of the lower stake pockets and the curved ends. A gap is left on the bottom for drainage.

These are the hinges we engineered to flip the floor board for gas and battery access. We will be using one pair. These are laser cut from 3/8 steel.

The aluminum top cover is out of Canada and is a very neat set up. All the water is channeled to the front and drains out the front steak pockets. It is also a dust tight unit.

A better idea of what it looks like with the cover, fender, roll pan and curved bottom stake pockets.

This shows the inside channels and front channel that will take all water to the front and keep the bed dry. We could not have built this for the same price as the kit.

Ken keeps looking at magazines and saw a few trucks with rear wings. Guess what!

We found  fiberglass wing with the right width but had to add some height to the mounts to clear the box wings.

With everything fitted the box is pulled and layed upside down. Now we can finish welding the front pocket bottoms.

On each of the pockets we had to add about an inch to finish it out. A small gap is left for drainage.

Back to the front. The top bar is in place, Hagen headlight buckets are in place and the grill has been cut to an angle. The grill bars were cut to shorten and ends were welded back on. These will be re-chromed. 

Filler plates were made and welded to the fender to mount the grill bars. The lower filler pan will have to be cut and shortened to fit the newly shortened lower grill bar.

With most of the front fitted and mounted and the box ready to go, we load the cab for the media blaster. It needs blasting to get all the welding slag out of the welds or we could have bubbles and paint problems.

Here is what is left, fenders, bar and grill. That’s a Hagen light can on the floor and the grill bars are at the chrome shop.

With everything fitted and welded we can finish of the ends of the front bar. Note the rounded edges on the bar.

A close up of the bar end. Lots of metal finish work to done before glass and filler are put on.

The cab and all sheet metal is taken to Intense Auto for Andre’ and his crew to do the body and paint. Here the cab is just about ready for final primer and blocking.

The front end is getting close. Some additional checks on fit to make sure we don’t have reassembly issues.

The dash is in primer and ready for final blocking.