Woo Hoo It's Started!
 

Yesterday was a good day, we finally got the 68 Chevy pick-up project off the ground. After months of talking and design work we finally made some sparks. The complete new rectangular tube chassis is started. I attached pics. I have a friend of mine doing the welding, he is awesome. Not only is he doing the welding, we are building the chassis in his shop until we get ours cleaned up. We have a complete new Morrison front IFS and Morrison Triangulated 4 Bar for the rear ready to weld in. I have to say Craig, Matt and Don at Morrison are great guys to deal with. I am also working with Tim at Paradise Road for alot of the components for the truck. Great guy as well. The other exciting part is that we are going to be working with Ben Hermance on some renderings for the truck. Things are starting to come together. I hope this thread is long and updated often. We will see.

When your done I have a '69 Chevy Truck for you to do!!!!:lol:

Looks like a great start to a great project!!

John

wow, looks awesome, like the fact that you have started out with some sufficiently stiff square tubing... to many people build flimsy round tube frames just because of looks..

are you sure the kick-up is high enough or is that the front end?? if you want to negotiate corners, you want your C of G as close to your roll center as possible, that means lowering the craf out of a tall legged pickup like yours.. 6 inches of ground clearance should be more tnat enough to go anywhere, will the body and bed eb channeled over the frame also??

big congrats on starting the project by the way, and the welds look awesome btw

We can talk! How is the cage for your car progressing? Thanks for the good words!

That is the front kick-up. The ride height will be 6.25 at the front cab mount and 7.125 at the rear. I live in south western Pennsylvania, the roads are terrible! The rocker panels end up just about to the bottom of the frame rails, so the cab will not be channeled. The rear kick up is much more aggressive, so we will be moving the bed floor up about 3.5". Thanks for the encouragement.

Cool, keep us posted. :thumbsup:

Ahhh, I love the smell of progress in the morning! Looks like you're off to a strong start Chad.

This is going to be a really fun project from my perspective because these trucks are such a clean sheet of paper to work with. They visually lend themselves well to mods and I jumped at the chance to be involved with it's transformation. :thumbsup:

That gives me goose bumps to hear you talk like that!

GREAT!!! I think we've figured out most of the design so, hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to post some pics of it! BTW thanks for the advice!:hail:

John

Moooooore Progress!
 

Well, we now have a complete frame. The 4 bar is tacked in with the rearend housing and the cross member is tacked in. I am really pleased with the outcome so far. Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will be as far as we can until more parts show up. What do you guys think so far? :P

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00081.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00086.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00088.jpg

Now those pictures look better!

WOW!!! That thing is going to be FRICKIN' AWESOME!!!! I definitely need to talk to you about the '69 I got!!!:thumbsup:

Thanks John. It is really taking shape. I almost can't stand it. We are going to place the rear upper coil over mounts tonight and the front upper control arm mounts. Then we will start on the motor and tranny mounts as well as the x-member. When more parts arrive we may have a roller in a couple weeks. :willy:

More Progress!
 

Moving along! The x-member is tacked in, the motor mounts are in progress, the rear suspension brackets are finish welded, and the trans mount is tacked together. Lots of welding to do. The completed chassis should be heading home soon. Coooooool!!!!!!!:woot:

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00105.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00101.jpg
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http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00095.jpg

wow that is fast and well thought thru progress.. like the way you kept the rollcenter at axle-height in the rear! the crossmember also look almost un-americanly stiff and well engineered (no offence intended to other chassis builders, but many a chassis is built for looks, not function) the welds are beautifull

what is the IFS? M-2 based? custom??

Wow good job, nice jig and nice welds!! :):thumbsup:

Thanks Deuce, (sorry I forgot your real name).
I've been working for months designing the chassis. Progress can be made when you make a plan and stick to it. We'll see how long that lasts! LOL I can't take credit for the 4-bar or IFS. Those are Morrison pieces, their workmanship and engineering are very good. I spent alot of time deciding first whether to design and build everything myself or to purchase certain key components. In the end we chose to purchase the weld-in IFS and tri-angulated 4 bar. I designed the rest to package these items for our project. So far it has been a good compromise between form, function, cost, and time. I really appreciate the kind words, I've been working very hard at this. My buddy that is doing the welding will also appreciate the kind words. the front end is based on M-2 stuff. Morrison has done a good job improving on this time tested set-up. I know it is not ideal for a track vehicle, but for the cost and ease of obtaining parts it fit for us on this project. It certainly will be leaps and bounds better than anything we could have done with a stock 68 Chevy Pick-Up chassis. The plan for the rest of the truck is underway, I'll be working with Ben Hermance shortly to refine the vision for the rest of the project. Again, thank alot for the kind words.

Thanks Max. The jig is left over from circletrack racing days. We built it to repair and setup the racecars. It is working great for this project. What's happening with the TOP SECRET project? Any hits on ebay?

Stay tuned!

Got More Parts!!!
 

The chassis is in the car trailer waiting for a space to be made in the garage. We did however get a nice package from Tim at PRRC. Wilwood Big Brake kit for the front and 12" kit for the rear. It's like Christmas all over again. Thanks Tim, you guys are great to work with. :thumbsup: The axles and third member should be done in a week or so. We are getting ready to start the rust repair on the cab (Yuck)! I guess you take the good with the bad.

Stay Tuned!

By the way Scott, if you want to move this thread to the truck section feel free. Or leave it here, thanks.

talk about a stiff frame. That thing looks "beefy". Shoot a couple of pics over to the OEM truck guys and tell them "this is how it's done.

This is looking GREAT!

Thanks for the good words guys!

Small Update
 

I just wanted to post a quick update. I don't have anything to show yet, but we have been working on concepts with Ben at Hermance design. All I can say is WOW, his talent and ideas are unbelievable. The project ratcheted up a couple notches just from his first couple suggestions. Stay tuned!:D

More Progress
 

We are still working with Ben, and he continues to impress. We are also continuing progress. The cab is off to the sand blaster! The truck came from Washington state to PA and then lived here for years. All in all no too bad. We will see!
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00212.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00211.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00213.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...n/DSC00214.jpg

I love this project! What welder are you guys using? What drive train is planned?

Chad, I'm thinkin we should stick with this beautiful aqua color. Teals are making a comeback......Whaddya think?

Nooo Don't do it.....

Ben, it's amazing how you are able to read my mind like that!!!!!! Although you missed just a bit. I was thinking of a 2-tone with the aqua and neon yellow!!!!!:thumbsup:

Anthony,

Thanks for the good words. The drive train is as follows: 502BBC, EFI, 4l80E, 9" Ford w/ Strange Center, Tru-Trac, 3.89 gears and Moser axles. That makes it go, Wilwood 13's and 12's from Tim at PRRC will get it stopped.

As for the welder, I'm not sure wether you meant who or what!!LOL A friend of mine is doing the welding for us. He has used a combination of MIG and TIG depending on the part. He is one of the best I've seen. If anyone near by needs some welding done I can get you in touch. Anyway stay tuned we are going to try to keep moving.

Staying right on the leading edge of all the most current trends I see. Freakin Schweeet!

Killer. We need more bad a$$ trucks.

Photo chopped by buddy at Pro-touring forum, But its close to looking like the pic below, Just need to chop and paint and assemble. LOVE your truck so far, that Chev will be awesome!

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...vaSS/Cales.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...S/100_0186.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...S/100_0185.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w...S/100_0183.jpg

1951 Ford F150, fully custom. Shortened wheelbase by about 12 inches. Complete custom floor pans, Channeled, bout to start Choping the top. 428, with late model nascar 4 speed. Hurst shifter, Custom rear housing(housing in the picture has been replaced with a different 9 inch... Anyone need 9 inch... haha, jk, im sure ill put it in something), Mustang II front suspension, 4 link rear suspension, Shockwaves all four corners. Flip up front hood, custom made. Grill recessed 6 inches. Custom sheetmetal work on front Grill, Willwood discs all four corners. Custom firewall.

Everything custom, Looks like our frames should be married.... Almost identical, But these are old pics, frame was modified more after these were taken.

And wheels will be 22's in rear and 20's in front, i believe.

Those year Fords are hot. Your chassis looks great, but I guess I'm biased!lol Keep me updated on your progress. Oh, and thanks for the good words!:thumbsup:

Thanks for the comment chad. Oh and by the way... I am From WA, where your truck came from. Must be some good stuff in this state:_paranoid ? lol :D

No Surprises!
 

The cab is back from blasting. No suprises! Time to get on with the rust repair.
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...a_41107132.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...a_41107123.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...a_41107130.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...a_41107126.jpg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r...a_41107131.jpg

If you want to check out all the pictures, here is the link!

http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r35/ccracin/

I'm shocked it only has that much rust. Except for a couple spots, it's just a ton of pin holes. Pretty good start.:)

Im subscribed! :)

Keep up the good work!

Introduction
 

Hey guys this is Chad. I just got my dad (the owner) on the net and over here. This is his username. Everyone calls him Chops. So please welcome him. A quick update, the chassis is back in our shop. The cab should be coming home this week. (Finally!) I'll be posting some new pics soon.

Chad c/o my dad's new account.

Welcome aboard! This place gets addictive!:D

:yes:

Glad that you helped your dad become a member, I had to do the same! lol