'59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

Hello chevy truck gurus!
This is my first foray into the world of trucks after meddling with german cars.
I wanted to share my progress more so you folks can tell me what I'm doing wrong or missing!
I have my masters thesis defense in a couple months so I'm trying my best to get this truck roadworthy before then with (a ton of) help from my dad.
Hopefully this video will help to introduce the project, I'm going to try my best to upload weekly until it's done!





Thanks for watching and any input!

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

Ambitious plan, but I’ll enjoy watching the effort.

Based on my experience I’d say that the, “...while-we’re-in-there-we-may-as-well...” will get you.

This of course depends on how thorough a job your’re going to do? Are you REALLY going to repair all the rust? That can easily take all 8 weeks by itself. If the bed has that bad of cancer then the door bottoms, rockers, cab corners, lower hinge pockets and interior steps probably do too. Clearly it has rust in the roof gutters and you will find that cutting it out only reveals more rust in the interior perimeter roof panels. Also dont forget to check the headlight “brow” areas.

If you had a lot of experience with Task Force trucks, had a full time helper, a full shop of tools and 8 full time weeks to do it you MIGHT “complete” it - however you define that - on a less rusty truck. Not trying to discourage you but you are biting off a huge chink with that timetable. Best of luck!

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

I agree with Dan. This is a huge project that most of us will spend years doing. I love your optimism though. I can't wait to see how it goes. Good luck and I'll be tuned in.

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

Thanks for the input Dan! You're 100% correct, I even cheated a bit and gave myself a head start before posting but the "while-we’re-in-here" effect is already altering my goals.

As of today (writing 3 week in future) most of the bodywork on the bed has been done and it looks good (in my opinion) so I don't want to rush and half-ass the rest of the truck, which like you predicted has some nasty areas.

Unfortunately I do have a pretty hard deadline so I might end up leaving some of the front to focus on things likes brakes and what's required to pass safety. The goal is to drive and enjoy the truck this summer (small window here in Canada so we have to make the most of it!) and then if I choose to stay here for work/my PhD I'll pick it up next winter and invest a bit more time and money into it.

It definitely won't be in the same ballpark as your '55 but I'll try my best to make some progress in the right direction! The videos also help force me to work on it in addition to my own research/writing.

Thanks again! It's a great community/resource here, I'm sure I'll have some questions move forward

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

You’re very welcome of course. All the guys here are very helpful and courteous. Even though we’re all over the map politically, economically, financially, in experience and tools everyone seems to like helping out each other when we can. And everyone appreciates everyone else’s truck no matter how rough or custom.

Yeah, don’t let it get you down. It gets all of us. Too bad all the early photos in my thread are in “Photobucket Hell” or you could see more clearly that it REALLY got me, even before I did the full tear down it’s in now.

Try very hard not to get discouraged - it’s easy to happen over long winters (SoCal guy, like I’d even know, lol!). But watching the guys here helps.

Good plan. Save the harder stuff for later when you’ve developed more skill or seen how other guys have done the same areas on their projects. Curious (nosy!) if you DON’T stay up there will you keep the truck? You’re likely to have a lot of sweat equity in it!

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

Here's week 2! Nothing super exciting, just wanted to make sure everything works before I commit too much time/money into a lemon. Looking good though! Just removed the box and cleaned up the frame below, some (very) basic carb tuning, and a "how-to"-esque choke install.

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

I think we'll hold onto the truck no matter what. My family has a farm so space really isn't an issue, also just with having land in the area I think it's very likely I end up living in the area after I finish my schooling, we'll see though!

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

Week 3! I'm busy finishing my classes for the next couple weeks so progress might slow down a bit now. Next is the brake booster and disc brakes!

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

This video is more of a mini DIY but I figured it might be helpful for people doing this job. Final week of class so I've been busier than expected, 1 more week then hopefully I'll have more time!

Re: '59 Chevy - 8 Week Build (Video!)
 

Well that 8-week thing didn't really pan out! Bodywork and busy schedules have slowed us down, but I think it's for the best as I'm really excited about the work we've done and the end result! I even managed to find some goodies in the break... more on that soon (hopefully)

Today's update is the disc brake conversion. Lots of great info regarding how to do it on here but it seems the kits change and there are a few common problems. Hopefully this video helps someone with their own build.

Feel free to roast me if I've done anything/everything wrong, or if you have any ideas moving forward. Cheers!