Another New guy with ?

[Sevo]

I have been reading and reading some more and I think its time for me to take the plunge and start building.

I have been looking for a something I could build a rat with and I think I have found something locally.

It is a 39 Chevy truck with title.
It has the frame, bed, and cab
the stock Frame has already been Z'd
It has a front and rear axles, ....the front axel is a drop front axel

No rust or cancer. He wants a 1000.00 bucks for it.

He was going to build a rat rod with it himself but has other projects.

My questions are:

Does this sound like a good deal?
Would you keep the stock frame or get an after market frame?

Thanks for the help and insight. This is a great resource.

I have attached some pics of the work he did on the frame and the drop axel

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

Looks like a pretty good deal other than the frame that would have to be redone the right way to be safe but otherwise I'd say grab it kwik!!!

 

[cornfield customs]

sounds like a good deal to me. a lot of your chassis decisions will come from what you want to do. for a higher powered hammered out truck would be a better idea to get one made, or make on yourself. for just a basic cruiser the one in the pics looks like you can plate it at the "Z" to make it strong. depending on where you are located i could help you out in the chassis department

 

[Sevo]

Looks like a pretty good deal other than the frame that would have to be redone the right way to be safe but otherwise I'd say grab it kwik!!!

sounds like a good deal to me. a lot of your chassis decisions will come from what you want to do. for a higher powered hammered out truck would be a better idea to get one made, or make on yourself. for just a basic cruiser the one in the pics looks like you can plate it at the "Z" to make it strong. depending on where you are located i could help you out in the chassis department

Thanks guys!

yeah the frame work did not look to impressive to me. I am wanting a higher powered rod for sure. I am new to the rat rod scene so I defiantly want it safe. I would rather spend more and have it road worthy and me not think about it when I hit the gas.

I was thinking 350 with a 350 trans.

Corn field I am in New Mexico, can you ship? IF you do not want to talk in public, please PM what your are thinking. I would defiantly need a frame as I do not have the skill nor the tools to make a frame.

Thanks for the help guys

 

[Sevo]

I forgot to ask, if I were to junk the frame is it still worth 1000.00?

also, does it look like he has channeled the cab? Can I still use it for an aftermarket frame?

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

Hard to tell from the pics if he channeled it but it doesn't really look like he did and yes you can still do an aftermarket frame with the cab and box easy. Is he firm at the $1000? Make him a cash offer on it and see where it goes from there. You can still use the frame it's on just needs to be fixed and plated in the Z area like cornfield said

 

[Old Iron]

I would of already paid him !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jim

 

[rainman]

I'm with OLD IRON, doesn't take much to be worth a grand around here!!

 

[Sevo]

Thanks guys for the reply's. I am emailing him now to tell him I will take it. Lets see how it goes. i will keep this thread open for my build I plan on working on this very slowly.

One thing I liked the most is thats its titled already and no rust.

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

Thanks guys for the reply's. I am emailing him now to tell him I will take it. Lets see how it goes. i will keep this thread open for my build I plan on working on this very slowly.

One thing I liked the most is thats its titled already and no rust.

Right on!! Can't wait to see what you do with it!!! [cl [P

 

[Sevo]

Right on!! Can't wait to see what you do with it!!! [cl [P

Thanks man. I am so green behind the ears with this kind of stuff I am a little nervous. I am good with sheet metal and welding. Its all the other stuff that worries me. IT can get overwhelming for sure.

I am using this as my motivation

Can a stock frame be modified enough to have this profile and stance or would it be better to go after market?

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

Thanks man. I am so green behind the ears with this kind of stuff I am a little nervous. I am good with sheet metal and welding. Its all the other stuff that worries me. IT can get overwhelming for sure.

I am using this as my motivation

Can a stock frame be modified enough to have this profile and stance or would it be better to go after market?

Hey the truck I built was my 1st one too!! you can do it just gotta have faith in yourself and remember that if you get frustrated just walk away for a little while and let it be I had to do that a few times

Yeah a stock frame can be modified to get the stance you want just take your time and if you have questions the guys here are awesome and someone will be able to help you out with anything you can think of this is a great place!!! Good luck and again can't wait to see what you do with it



Here is a pic of the one I built

 

[shakey56]

Come on!

Jump in, Brother. It's metal.....you can't do anything that can't be fixed. Experience is the best teacher....everyone had a first time. The guys and gals on here can help with ANYTHING except a broken heart or the crack of dawn......and they can make one of those feel better! LOL. [cl

And rust ain't a bad thang! Good Luck.

 

[Sevo]

Thanks so much for the encouragement guys. I really appreciate the positive attitude on this forum. Its great to have such a great resource.

Lucky, very nice build! If my first one turns out as nice I will be really happy. Did you use a stock frame? I really like the stance of yours as well. Air bags or coil overs? If you have a link to your build thread can you post it?

It looks like the truck is mine. I called him and arranged for me to go pick it up. I am hoping to go tomorrow, if not then saturday for sure.

I may be leaning toward trying to use the original frame. I have not decided. When I spoke to him today here are some of the things he told me

Rear end is from a 51 step side, its an 8" rear, he wanted this one as it didnt stick out as far as the 9" and he thought it would look better. thoughts about this?

He said I need to box in the front Z and finish welding the back Z

The Back Z is 16" He was going to do coil overs. I cant decide between coils or air bags.

what 4 link do you guys recommend and also what radius bar kits do yu recommend


Thank you for letting me bounce my thoughts off of you guys, i really appreciate it

here are some more pics he sent me..

 

[LUCKY DEVIL 13]

No I built my own frame, my cab came off of a 1.5 ton frame

It's coil overs with a 3 link in the rear

Here is the link to my thread
http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18990

Just take your time and walk away if you get frustrated with it or go to another part and work on that and usually the part that you were having problems with will get figured out

 

[skull]

safe

just remember, safe build = fun times

make sure and box the frame and if ya don't feel that your'e welds are strong enough, don't be afraid to ask for help.

l have some one else do my welding now, due to a on the job injury, and it sucks but, in my life, that's how it is now.

links that may help you

Designing and tuning 4-Link Rear Suspensions; http://www.thedirtforum.com/4link.htm

Center of Gravity!; http://www.thedirtforum.com/centergravity.htm



Later

 

[Sevo]

I am heading out tomorrow to go pick the 39 Chevy up... I am pretty pumped! I will post some picks when I get her home.

Wish me luck!!

 

[Sam_Fear]

Take some pics! [P

 

[Sevo]

I went and picked her up today. All went well. I was pleased with the condition of the truck. He said there wasn't any cancer, I knew it was too good to be true. There was some but not a lot. I have some sheet metal work to do.

The floor boards are intact and look great. I will try to use it if I can. I was really impressed with all of the parts he had with it and included with the vehicle.

I guess its time to start my build thread. I will just use this one as to not clutter up the boards ( if any mods are reading this can you please change the title to Sevo's First build -39 Chevy )

I am going to have a lot of questions and there will be a lot of brainstorming and thinking out loud on this thread. I hope you all don't mind???

I will start with the cab first and move from there.

Please don't hesitate to give me ideas or your thoughts on my build. You will probably see something I do not.

Thanks in advance for the help


here she is

 

[Sevo]

more photos