Guest mike the mailman Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 I am the proud owner of a 54 chevy panel wagon.....the previous owner tried to mount it on a 1990 s pontiac (GTO OR TEMPEST ) frame.....I am trying to fab some L shaped brackets to mount the body bushings on ( new ) I wonder if there is some pre-fab thing everyone uses ??? I have not done any thing like this before.....WHO is interested in helping me get on the right track thxs mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted December 10, 2009 Share Posted December 10, 2009 I am the proud owner of a 54 chevy panel wagon.....the previous owner tried to mount it on a 1990 s pontiac (GTO OR TEMPEST ) frame.....I am trying to fab some L shaped brackets to mount the body bushings on ( new ) I wonder if there is some pre-fab thing everyone uses ??? I have not done any thing like this before.....WHO is interested in helping me get on the right track thxs mikeThere's no such thing as a 1990s GTO or Tempest, so you probably need to figure out what you really have. The passenger car frames are perimeter style and do not fit well under these trucks since the rails end up under the rockers. A more common swap is the frame from an S10 pickup. Rail spacing is closer to that original frame and there is a lot of support. Of course, since this is a modification, you won't find much help here - this site is dedicated to stock preservation. I suggest you try Hotrodders.com -- the net's largest hot rod site for more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike the mailman Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 sorry....I meant 1960 s mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyardjeff Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 It would be easier to find a original chassis and modify the suspension to your liking then to make what you have work and you wont find much help here,I do like them modified but I am a minority here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Is a "Panel Wagon" a sedan delivery on a car chassis or the Suburban on the pickup chassis? Either way I'd go with the stock chassis and maybe a Fatman independant front end to slam the front. Stock chassis will save you the time of modifing the floor pans. Post some photos of the project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Braverman Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Panel Trucks are neat and scarce. There are many really rotten and worn out pickups out there. Why not buy a pickup parts truck and restore the panel to original? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandy Dave Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 Panel Trucks are neat and scarce. There are many really rotten and worn out pickups out there. Why not buy a pickup parts truck and restore the panel to original?Yeah....I have that "keep it original" hangup also... Put it back the way it was, or leave it for someone else to do. Modifiing the frame of something that that the body does not belong on requires a lot of tools, tech, and skill. Dandy Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyardjeff Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 It amazes me why people want to do frame swaps and make more work for them selves,you really have to cut the floors to get late model frames under those older trucks. When I was building my 37 Chevy p/u all I heard was put it on a S10 chassis and I am glad I did not do it due to all the cutting that need to be done plus I wanted to keep the stovebolt six,a local junkyard has a few 47 to 53 suburbans and a couple panels if you would like to start over and do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
55chevy Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 (edited) Here is a link to The Jalopy Journal/Hokey A$$ Message Board of a 47-54 Cehvy truck-S-10 swap. The JJ/HAMB is full of customizers, the best place to ask about your car/truck, search the posts as well.FRAME, S-10 frame swap....Tech - THE H.A.M.B.I haven't heard of any universal frame mounts, you will probably have to fab them. Edited December 11, 2009 by 55chevy (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 sorry....I meant 1960 s mikeIf you really have a 1960s A-body frame, I strongly suggest that you not use that one for your project. Not only is it a perimeter frame that will require much work to fit, but bare rust free A-body frames are going for over $1000 to restorers. A-body rear axles alone are worth over $500 for the least desirable ones. Again, consider selling the A-body parts and getting a much less expensive S-10 frame. The narrower S-10 frame is much closer to the body mount points and will greatly simply your work. The H.A.M.B. link noted above is an excellent start on the S-10 frame swap, and you get modern brakes and suspension. Note that the S-10 uses the same brakes and spindles as the 78-88 G-body cars, so parts are readily available and are not outrageously expensive like the A-body parts.It would be easier to find a original chassis and modify the suspension to your liking then to make what you have work and you wont find much help here,I do like them modified but I am a minority here.I don't necessarily disagree with this. It depends on what one wants to do. Adding and IFS to the stock frame requires using either a clip or an aftermarket crossmember. Either one requires much more work and much more careful measurement to install properly. The beauty of using the complete S-10 frame is that the suspension and brakes are untouched from GM factory. Body mounts, while important, are much less critical than suspension mounts. ... Put it back the way it was, As I was saying...Modifiing the frame of something that that the body does not belong on requires a lot of tools, tech, and skill.If the proper later model frame is selected, the amount of work to fab body mounts is really not that much. Again, a perimeter frame is absolutely the wrong choice and will result in massive amounts of work to fab body mounts. The beauty of using a pickup frame under a pickup is that the S-10 body sits on top of narrow frame rails, just like the 47-55 AD trucks. The frame rail spacing is close, so fabrication is mainly the work of removing the body mounts from the old frame and welding them to the new one. The biggest challenge is mounting the core support, though I have seen folks simply splice the front frame horns from the original AD frame onto the S-10 frame in front of the front suspension. This provides the needed mounting points for the core support and front end.It amazes me why people want to do frame swaps and make more work for them selves,you really have to cut the floors to get late model frames under those older trucks. When I was building my 37 Chevy p/u all I heard was put it on a S10 chassis and I am glad I did not do it due to all the cutting that need to be done plus I wanted to keep the stovebolt six,a local junkyard has a few 47 to 53 suburbans and a couple panels if you would like to start over and do it right.All I can say is that a 37 must be very different from the 47-55 AD trucks, since many have been swapped onto the S-10 frame without cutting the floor the way you describe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyardjeff Posted December 11, 2009 Share Posted December 11, 2009 I do know when a older p/u is mounted on a latemodel chassis bed space is lost due to the big kick up in the late model frame under the seat area so some of the rear of the cab would have to be cut out to make it fit,I would think that a S10 chassis on a panel would cause some rear floor area loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike the mailman Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 still learning about this forum....have cool pics but a bit challenged mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 Under "Manage attachments" you can add photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike the mailman Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 The floor pans are disintegrating useing flux core arc welding....an old timer suggested I try to braze it ( cooler ) or use that resin you mix that is for floor pans ????? IDEAS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junkyardjeff Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Thats a sedan delivery and is more car based then truck and when you called it a panel wagon I was thinking panel truck,if you want to put it back on a original frame I know where a few are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Thanks for the photos, Yes, that's a Sedan Delivery..........a car I wouldn't mind finding is good solid condition. Put it back on a stock chassis and you are miles ahead of playing around with a late model chassis swap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_padavano Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Thanks for the photos, Yes, that's a Sedan Delivery..........a car I wouldn't mind finding is good solid condition. Put it back on a stock chassis and you are miles ahead of playing around with a late model chassis swap.Given that this is the car-based sedan delivery and not the truck-based panel, even I agree with this. There are lots of suspension and brake upgrades available for the early fifties Chevy cars based on the stock chassis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mike the mailman Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 I am listening.....aithough swaping power steering .....disk brackes ,and loosing KING PINS seems my choices are just a matter of taste.....(by the way I own a restored car that has passed inspection @ bloomington ) This is more of lowered street rod ,,,,rat rod I always thank everyone for their input....Mike in Omaha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1937hd45 Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Mike, if you haven't checked out the HAMB Forum, maybe you should. LOTS of '54 chevy info over there. Just read the rules and post an intro before making a post. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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