Rebuilding The Beast

[ProjectBeast]

Well I guess its about time that I start my build thread. I have been using this forum for years as a great place to research and learn about working on my truck. I traded an old CJ-7 plus $500 to the kid down the street for the truck about 5 years ago when I lived in New Mexico. Since then I have moved a couple times and the truck has come with me.

The Beast:
The truck came with the name, "The Beast" and I decided that I couldn't change her name since she older than me. She is a solid 1972 C20 with a small block 350. The kid I got the truck from said they had recently rebuilt the engine and bored .060 over. Behind the engine it has the T400 and a Dana 60 rear which I think has 4:10 or 4:56 gears (way too tall). Over the last few years I been working on the truck to improve things and keep it running good: gas tank under the bed, headers and 2 1/2" exhaust, new oil pan, fuel pump (changed on the side of the road in the dark), battery, spark plugs and wires, etc.... you get the idea.

The build plan so far:
I've come to the realization that I can continue to upgrade the truck a little at a time but it will never get to what I really want using that method. Sooooo, my plan was to buy a C10 frame and build it up the way I want so that I can keep driving my truck without having to tear it down right away. Then when the frame/drive train/etc is good to go I will swap over the body and finish truck on the new frame. The end goal is to build modernized version of the truck so that it is reliable, comfortable and safe. I want it to handle good and stop safely. Basically, I want to be able to drive it anywhere without worrying about it. And air conditioning will be nice too.

So far all I have done is A LOT of research and reading. I also bought a good rolling frame from a '68 long bed C10 (see pic below). Anyway, I really enjoy watching everybody else's builds so I am going to try to do the same with this thread as I build my truck.

Next up:
- Rebuild the 12 bolt rear end
- Disc brake conversions front and rear
- Air bag suspension (just to get it low but I don't want to lay frame)
- 2 1/2" drop spindles up front
- C-notch the rear frame
- Make a decision to shorten the new frame for a short bed or leave it a long bed (I flip flop on this a lot)
- New wheels (something classic looking like a corvette style rally or a five spoke torque thrust)
- LS small block (maybe build an LQ4 or LQ9)
- 4L60E transmission (I want overdrive)
- And on and on and on.....

This is how the truck looks now:


This is my new frame: