First of all, thanks for coming in and viewing my project page. If you get the chance, please sign my guestbook and give me your opinions and suggestions! Afterall, the more ideas I have, the more I can do! So, read on, and enjoy what you see!!!

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The spring of 2001 proved to be the start of a restoration project of epic proportions. I finally kept my word and removed the 4x4 running gear of a 1962 Chevy 1/2 ton pick-up from my dads backyard. He was pleased to have it gone. Once I got it home, I promptly stuck it in the garage - it's new permanent home.

Her is a picture of what I started with.

Not real pretty, was it? Just wait, it gets worse. LOTS worse.

Armed with a power drill and steel brush, I took to grinding the 40 years worth of rust, dirt, bugs, and grease off of the frame until there was shiny metal radiating through. When I had that, it was immediately primered to protect it from further abuse. Months of my limited free time was spent working on this familiar scene.

Even as my kids played around me, I was focused on ridding my beautiful rust bomb of it's outer shell of cancer. Well, not really "cancer" in the true automotive sense of the word, but it sure wasn't good for it! And here is a picture of my daughter standing by the front/right tire shortly after it was stuck in the garage early on in the project.

I took another picture of what I started with to show a different angle. It was a little overwhelming in the beginning. I would start grinding away and by the time I was down to metal, I was out of wire brush! Yikes! But it didn't discourage me. I had support from my wife and encouragement from friends and family. Here is that picture....

And, some miscellaneous others of that nasty frame in the beginning...

After grinding away for a few months, and primering the bare metal as I went along... it starts to look pretty nice. But one day I climbed down on the floor and was horrified. Looking up from the lowest possible point revealed a whole new perspective. I had only done that side of which you could see from above. Now, look at it from below...

Scary, isn't it? It just feels like a never ending process.....

After a while, I got bored with grinding, and decided to rip the wheels off to see what I would be dealing with later. Oh boy, here we go again. NASTY! Just like before, 40 years of grease, rust, dirt, and grime was caked into the brake drums. I wasn't aware that spiders could live in such conditions! After a brief cleaning of the area, I took these pictures...

Overall, not too bad.
Now go to the next page and see some further progress...

Well, it's been a few months since the last series of photos. Now for the next phase. These pictures are a little more current. Lot's of black primer and paint covers the naked metal of my 1/2 ton beauty. The wife still hates it, and the kids still throw things on it, but it's still my faithful project.

Shortly after I took the wheels off, I decided to see what they looked like as nice shiny wheels. They're original 60's aluminum wheels, and they had years of tarnish to prove it. Just look back at the previous page at the picture with my daughter. She's standing next to one of them and it's a good representation of what all 4 looked like. Well, after a few hours of elbow grease and hard work, I now have 4 of these!!!

Nice, isn't it? They really came out good. It was a nightmare trying to get the tight areas ground down, but in the end, it gave me a whole new level of enthusiasm towards my monster-in-the-making.

Months after dropping this truck in the garage, I have ended up with this...

And this....

This next picture shows that nice shiny wheel on the (nearly) finished product. Not bad for a low-budget project, eh? You can also see the transmission (4 speed manual with granny gear) and the bell housing that is waiting for its V8 mate.

Here is another perspective of the progress. Notice how frick'n dirty my garage has become? The wife has stopped going out there.

Summer 2002, and the garage door gets opened and the frame sees sunlight again. This next picture shows how much progress has been made since the original rust bomb.

Another shot of the wheel, just waiting to hit the trails and mud!!! I can't wait, and neither can the truck.... trust me!

Now, on to the next page to see the new truck!

In the Spring of 2002, I landed a hell of a deal on a truck that would eventually become the eye-catcher of my project. A 1960 Chevrolet 1/2 ton short bed, step-side pick-up. What a beauty. Just an incredible piece of history that was for sale in my price range. Remember that I said this was "low budget", well, so was my new ride. 800 bones and I was driving this beast home.

Nice, huh? I'm sure the neighbors hated me for the month or so that it sat outside. What an eye-sore to the neighborhood to those who don't appreciate the classic Chevy's! (as if there are any out there)

Not much to it, as it was a work in progress before I got it, but it has butt-loads of potential! Oh, the things I have planned..... Here is another angle.

One of the most impressive things about my beautiful truck, is the dash. A solid chrome dash piece was installed with brand new, white-faced gauges to really add a classy touch to a classic truck. Just beautiful. And get this, the dash isn't cut up. I'm looking to put an original radio in the dash for looks, and hooking up a custom stereo (Alpine maybe?) in the glove box, set back behind the glove box door so it stay's hidden from prying eyes. No solid plans yet, but her is a nice view of the dash again...

And how about this one?

The rest of the interior is almost as nice as the dash, but it needs some softer touches to really class it up. I don't think I'll keep it all stock, as it's all about customizing the beast without destroying it. Ya know?
So, here is a shot of the interior....

As it sat in the driveway one day, I got an urge to shoot a nice picture of it. This one was taken after I put a new bumper on the front. Nice, huh? It really came out good and makes it look pretty stocky in the front. Let's hope some of the future add-ons look this good.

Here are some additional photos of the truck before anything is really done to it...

In this next picture, you can see the 4x4 frame sitting next to the new body. The plan is to disconnect some minor things and simply lift the body from one frame to another.

I almost forgot! The engine in my yellow beast is an original straight 6. The previous owner installed a set of headers on it, but never got around to finishing the exhaust, so the only thing it has is HEADERS! Believe me, when it's fired up, it's LOUD! My daughter was afraid of "daddy's truck" for about 3 solid months. Now she's used to it, and squeals every time I go out and start it.

You can see that there is even a bit of chrome under the hood.... too bad it's not going to stay there. The plan is to install the mighty V8 (a strong 327) in place of the straight 6 for that extra power. I'll post again when I have more.

OK, it's been a while since I've posted, but now I have a whole bunch to share, so I'll just dive right in and start showing you what I've done.

Not the best day outside, but good enough to drop an engine, so that's what we did! This is the picture of what we started with that day.

After hoisting up the engine, it was time to bolt on a few accessories.

Here is the engine after putting on the flywheel and clutch plate. Not easy to line up, but I had some real good help.

Finished up for the day, and here is the engine, proudly perched on the 4x4 frame. The idea is to have the yellow body contrast with the purple engine. Hopefully it'll look real sharp.

Here is the long pipe headers. Picture is kind of dark, but you get the idea.

And another picture that is better than the last one....

And this one is another crappy picture, but it shows the engine and headers.

Now here is the problem... the headers that are on it don't fit properly. They are tight to put on, and I end up having to stress the metal to get the bolts in. I decided to do away with the long pipe headers and invest in some block huggers. Here is the picture before removing the old headers.

A few weeks go by and my Sanderson Headers arrive in the mail. Talk about pumped up! I couldn't wait to get out in the garage and see how they fit!

Much to my delight, they fit like a glove. Absolutely perfect.

And after that went on so nicely, I decided to get some new shocks. Rancho was the appropriate choice, and if I do say so myself... THEY LOOK GREAT!

They definitely stand out!

I just got my PURPLE HORNIE GLASS PACKS in the mail. When the exhaust gets put on, these will definitely make a statement!!!

WOOAAAAHHH!

After picking up my shocks, I had an all new enthusiasm to work on the beast again. Hours of blood, sweat, and gears in the garage have paid off with these beauties! Here is a good picture of the engine with Sanderson Headers and the Rancho Shocks.

Another picture of the engine and shocks. I think they're really an eye catcher.

This picture is kind of dark, but another shot nonetheless.

Here is a picture looking through the frame at the new Rancho's. I can't wait to hit the trails with these babies.

And a final shot of the engine and that fresh new shock. I think they make a nice couple.

That's right, I've decided NOT to go with the original wheels and invested in a set of Mickey Thompson Classic II wheels. Thanks to the amazing find on Ebay, I managed to pick up a full set of 15" wheels (no tires yet) for a hundred bucks.

I doubt I'll be able to find tires for that cheap, but I'll keep looking. In the mean time, here is my M/T in all it's shiny glory.

Though I only have these two pictures, you get the idea of what I have now, and how they'll look under my yellow monster.

The plan is to get some big mud slinging tires to slap on the mighty Mickey Thompson wheels. Maybe these will do the trick....

Maybe???

MAY 31, 2003

Yes, Saturday is the perfect day. I've managed to do a lot of work on the truck lately, and I've isolated the cab. It's now ready to make it's final move to the 4x4. Sound's easy, right? WRONG! I enlisted the help of 5 other guys, and I needed all 5 of them to help me. It's unbelievable how heavy a cab can be, even with nothing in it!

So, to start the process off, I must wheel the 4x4 frame out onto the driveway and get ready to remove the bed. It's the only reasonable way to move the cab.

Another angle...

Another?

And, one more with a good shot of the engine. Looking good, huh?

The next step is to bring out the 2wd frame with the cab, and get it ready.

I took all the body parts and set them aside. See?

Now, we're almost ready to remove the bed. Just simply set it aside for a little while. Then we'll put it back on. Here I am trying to remove a bolt.

And 4 guys pick it up to set it aside.

Now, it becomes a question of where we put our hands to lift 700 pounds of metal in the air!

I guess the best thing is just to DIVE IN! The water doesn't get any better, right?

Look at us go!

All the way around the back side!

Now, set it down without dropping it...

DAMN! That was seriously heavy!

Now, the bed is put back on, and my kids resume playing on it.

See? No keeping them off, as they don't listen anymore. Too much playing to care!

Now, we put the hood on the bed and the fenders in the bed, and get it ready to go back in the garage.

Another few weeks and I should be able to bring it out again.

It's all about the free time and pocket money. When I have the two, magic can happen!

Here she is.

What do you think now???

More work done on the front end this last weekend. I finished putting the passenger door back together, and I got the alternator mounted in a completely custom style.

I took pictures, take a look!

I put the passenger door back together with brand new handles from http://www.brotherstrucks.com and they look SWEET! Even a reproduction door handle so people don't pull on the door latch to close the damn door!

Unfortunately, the cab is still torn apart.

Here is the engine bay.

Another picture and my alternator with custom mounting.

One more...

Pretty cool, huh?

As you can see, it's starting to come together...

A decent shot of the front end. I should have taken pictures when I had it on the driveway, but I forgot. I'll update in a week or so.

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Well, another update of my engine progress.

Not too bad, right?

Here is a picture of a little more progress...

Well, these next pictures are CURRENTLY where I stand, and I only have one more thing to do to make the engine bay complete. I plan to replace the plug wires with new, yellow wires to really accent the project. Should look shit hot when I finish.

So, what do you think? Post in the guestbook to let me know.

Remember to check back often! And sign the guestbook!!!!

These are the latest pictures that I have of my project. As of 7/25/03, this is what it looks like.

What a monster!

This is a little bright, but ALL AMERICAN nonetheless.

We are very close to being road worthy!

I finished the lettering on the tailgate. Awesome chrome letters look really sharp!

Overall, not too bad for a low budget project. Of course, I still need decent tires and an exhaust system. Those will be big money items pretty soon!

So, what do you think???

Ok, I mentioned a while back that I was planning on putting a stereo in the glove box, so that I wouldn't have to cut up the dash, yet, still have some premium sound in my beast!

Well, this is what I started with...

Just a big hole in the dash, right?

After finding a glove box door on Ebay, I cleaned it up and slapped it on. No problem. Here is how it looked...

Now for the stereo. An Alpine CDA-7863 CD player with bass machine built in. Very powerful, totally awesome.

and a close-up of the face....

The next task was to design a backing plate to hold the Alpine CD stereo behind the door. I spent a lot of time designing the piece, and I should have taken pictures. But I took pictures of the finished product. Here they are...

More pictures of speakers, amp, cap, and subs as they are installed. I'll post again when I get more done.

Here is the blueprint of the temporary kick panels...

Here is my stereo, already installed in the glove box. It turned out better than I expected.

In this one, you can see the speaker kick panel buried down by my feet. It's ugly as fuck, but it works.

October 28, 2003

Well, I've been busy today, and I decided to post again.

Last night, I picked up my new tires. I decided on the 35" BFGoodrich All Terrains. I was a little surprised at how big they were when we picked them up. Pictures don't do them justice, but awesome nevertheless.

Here is the picture from the tire store...

And here are the pictures of the tires actually on the truck. Remember, 35" BFGoodrich All Terrains on Mickey Thompson aluminum Classic II rims. I'm in hog heaven!

And now, back in the garage with 2 inches to spare. DAMN! I should have gone with bigger tires!

Until later....