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1948 Chevy pickup "Motorama" concept car.

53K views 269 replies 19 participants last post by  MARTINSR 
#1 ·
Well, I thought being I actually put a wrench to my truck I would start a build thread on it. I have no idea how steady I will be working on it but we will see.

A little history, I bought this truck in Dec 73 a few weeks before my 16th birthday with $200 paper route money. It was owned by a family friend and had been used on a farm since new until he got it as his first car. His brother made the flat bed (it was like a piece of furniture, very well done) and he drove it to the same highschool my mom graduated from in 1936. He made the intake and headers with my brother in metal shop class and was quite ingenious if you ask me. The first photo is from the day I came home with it. Now mind you, I didn't have a license yet, only a learners permit so my mom was riding shotgun that day. :D







There was a two other trucks like this at school and I wasn't going to have one like everyone elses......so I chopped the top about two months after my 16th birthday. :D



And drove it to highschool looking like this as this photo was taken in the school parking lot.



I painted it orange, "Competition orange" or so I thought. I picked the color out of the 76 Corvette color chips, one problem it ended up being the only year the Corvettes were painted "Omaha Orange" a Chevy fleet color since 1936 and the color of the Cal Trans dept trucks! But after spending $33 dollars on that gallon of paint and with it masked up and ready to shoot in my garage, I went ahead and shot my second paint job ever Aug 1st 1977.



And off to my first rod run, Andy's Picnic Aug 7th 1977 with my brother and his Model A, the my first paint job ever. :D



And no, I was not taking this picture of the guy in the short shorts, did we really wear those in the seventies? YEOW
Nope, this was inside Andy's picnic and I was digging the attention MY little truck was getting. :D



Ok, that was the first "incarnation" of my truck, it looked like this up until 1979 at some time. This was the last photo of it before the big metamorphosis.



It was a 3/4 ton originally (with a foot or so cut off the rear of the frame behind the rear axle) when I got it. A replacement 1/2 ton frame was found and it would change forever.

 
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#40 ·
I got to thinking about this and how different it would be with the larger rear window and the thinner center moulding on the windshield and it would have a very open feeling while driving it, unlike the enclosed feeling of your typical chopped pickup. I am thinking it will be pretty neat. I am leaning in that direction.

Brian
 
#43 ·
It hit me today that if I want to build a GM Motorama car I needed to get the correct attire. In all the photos of them building those cars the men had a "lab coat" on. So I stopped at the thrift store today and picked me up a couple. The photo shows me hard at work with a slide rule for figuring out these complex calculations (I have no idea how to use this tool) and of course calipers for those precise cuts I dream I do. The XP-300 Buick is the beautiful car shown Pebble Beach Concours D'Elegance a few years ago. It's the same car the men are building in the black and white photo from 1951 I am crazy about these concept cars from the fifties and this particular show was full of them from all over the world and I didn't know it was happening being I am just a mere car washer to the multi millionaires that show their cars and attend that event. I would have gladly paid (normally too rich for my blood) as it costs about $300 a ticket to have gone, DAMN it kills me that I missed that! Anyway, on to making my own "Motorama" car of the future. I removed the drip rails today so I could finish the top chop, I will be re-installing them as I didn't dig at all not having them as I did on my old cab. They DO serve a purpose. I am going to un-chop the top a half inch. So I will be cutting out the section where the tape is, which is one inch. I will then be cutting 1.5 inch from the post I am holding in my hand and welding it that piece in there when I put the top back on, raising it a half an inch. I am doing this instead of welding a half inch piece in there because it's much easier to work with the larger piece. Plus I will be removing the weld I did 20 years ago so there will be two fresh welds now. The piece I am holding in my hand by the way is the 4" piece I cut out of the roof when I chopped it, just as I did my original cab when I was 16.









 
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#45 ·
I was thinking about the seats I am going to use. When I was 16 with the 4" chop, I removed the seat riser and used a pair of 65 GTO seats (yes pulled them out of a convertible at the wrecking yard!) bolting them straight to the floor, which lowered them enough, shortened the steering column as well. I can't do this again because, well 1965 seats didn't exist in 1954! :D The cab is now 6 inches thinner so the stock seat is out, I may use it but removing the seat riser and then some modification to it so it's lower or thinner. That is what I was thinking, but I had the idea of using 53 Vette seats, hmmmmm. Every single one of them had them, it isn't like anyone swapped them out in the sixties for a bean bag chair or something, they can't cost that much in 2013, right?

I did a quick look on ebay, there were two one with a pair of junk cushions for $2000!


This is JUST the cushions!

How about a decent right seat cushion set? How about $2500!



And ONE seat frame......$1500!



Think I'll go back to plan A, modify the stock seat (which I need to get, I don't have one) and keep it a three seater. I am thinking to uppolster it to look like the Corvette seats with a smooth area between the "seats" in the middle. :D

Brian
 
#46 ·
John, though I was thinking about your brace project when I saw the construction of this seat! With all the photos in the ebay ad and my strinker stretcher I would make these suckers! I mean easily! There is nothing complex at all about them. I could make a set pretty easy, it's a thought.





 
#47 ·
Quote from MartinSR


Think I'll go back to plan A, modify the stock seat (which I need to get, I don't have one) and keep it a three seater. I am thinking to uppolster it to look like the Corvette seats with a smooth area between the "seats" in the middle. "

Brian, Sid Chavers has put out some instructional auto upholstery videos that I have found to be very well done. One of the things he does is show how to modify an old style spring seat by installing a plywood bottom with upholstery webbing and then using heavy duty foam to shape the seat as desired. It is something you could easily do and then just have your trimmer of choice cover it. I think the video is about 40 dollars and I think you would find it very interesting.

John
 
#49 ·
I got the passenger door tacked together and after pulling it off and on and making adjustments about 52 times it fits! :mwink: WHOOO HOOO!



Remember, the cab and door are sectioned horizontally 2.5 inches. It doesn't look like it in this photo because there is no seam across the door. The shell was sectioned and then the skin was re-rolled to match the bottom of the door with the inner raised up that 2.5 inches, welded on then the extra trimmed off.

 
#51 ·
Braced the cab tonight so it doesn't move around when I am doing the top. It was cross measured of course to perfection before I welded in the braces.

Brian

After seeing some photos of your Merc John, it was the straw that broke the camels back, I have chopped a number of cars and trucks and never braced the body. But after seeing your Merc I figured what the heck, it's like making a template, it's good time spent even though you could get away without it. But I feel a lot better, it would move around a little and this way I can do anything I want tugging or pushing or what ever and never have to think about it. But that's what I got done tonight. The other thing was very good too, my son has been coming out to the garage when I am working and punching the speed bag. He has never wanted to learn to box and you know how it is, when you aren't asking, now they want to. So it sounds like he wants to start to learn something and I am going to play "Oh, ok, if you want to" and get the stuff out tomorrow and have it waiting there for him and we can work on it. It's an awful good thing to know as it has changed my life I am sure though I have never had to use it. I thank my father so much for teaching me.

Brian

 
#52 ·
I hope you still have a bed to sleep on Brian.

I braced the Merc really well before I cut it apart so it would not move. The only reason I did not brace the Chevy is when I cut the cowl loose from the floor boards it becomes a separate unit no longer attached in any way to the rear body section. It is till intact and has no reason to flex. I will shim it back until the doors lign back where I had them. I very well may cross brace the body shell before I separate it from the frame.

I think you are doing the right thing. Keep the pictures coming.:thumbup:

John
 
#53 ·
LOL, three of those pieces DID come from my bed! Not the bed I sleep on, the bed from the truck. I had instead of the factory piece of runner along the side of the bed a piece of angle iron bolted to the side of the bed and over the wood. Those pieces were out in my wrecking yard last night when I went looking for a piece of tubing or something to make these braces out of. :D

Brian
 
#58 ·
I am having so much fun mostly because of the memories. I will be working on this truck using the same tools I worked on it 40 years ago listening to the same music! I am not kidding you, I will literally laugh out loud out in the garage while working on it. :thumbup:

Brian
 
#60 ·
It's so sad when someone doesn't see this at some point. That his life is precious and it really doesn't take that much to make you happy. I don't need some new expensive car, or a big dollar old one, just my old truck , my Craftsmen torch and my Three Dog Night album spinning on the turn table out in the garage. :D

With my darling wife coming out to tell me dinners on, how much better does it get!

Brian
 
#64 ·
Thanks John! Those photos are a big help. It looks like one of those seats can be lowered quite a bit, I am in baby! I wanted to use one so it has the folding forward back because I won't have the tank there and I can use it for storage.

Thanks so much!

Brian
 
#65 ·
If you remember, I mentioned the Sid Chavers upholstery videos a while back. One of the things he showed on the video was taking a seat with springs and replacing the springs with high density foam. That allows taking an old seat that is pretty will used up and making it new again. It also allows for changing its shape and getting away from the living room couch look.

I made my rumble seat from scratch. I am curious if I can take this frame only and make something that is stylish and usable.

I stumbled on this interior yesterday Sid did that I really like.

John



Here is one of his rears seats. something like this could be done on a bench seat for a more traditional look.

 
#67 ·
If you remember, I mentioned the Sid Chavers upholstery videos a while back. One of the things he showed on the video was taking a seat with springs and replacing the springs with high density foam. That allows taking an old seat that is pretty will used up and making it new again. It also allows for changing its shape and getting away from the living room couch look.

I made my rumble seat from scratch. I am curious if I can take this frame only and make something that is stylish and usable.

I stumbled on this interior yesterday Sid did that I really like.

John

Here is one of his rears seats. something like this could be done on a bench seat for a more traditional look.

That rear seat is exactly what I am after. Something like looks sort of like two buckets, two Corvette buckets.:thumbup:

Brian
 
#66 ·
might as well do a modified version of this while your at it martinsr
it finishes the back of the cab well and holds my stereo components and battery out of view
the whole unit slides out in one piece when the seats and center console are removed
it can be modified to fit any truck or configuration you need

 
#68 ·
That is friggin cool. I do have to keep it looking like it was done in the early fifties so I am limited there, but I don't really look at it as limited, it's a challenge. But damn that looks good.

Brian
 
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