Project Whiskey Jack. 1989 Chevy Shortbox street fighter

[snopro]

Well I'm finally going to introduce my build.
It has been a long road of progression and change to this old pick-up. It started a few years ago when I got my hands on a cheap project truck. The body was clean and the frame was like new. The original plans were just a basic street truck set-up. 4/5" drop. Put a used crate engine that I had laying around and a built 700r4.
After stripping the whole truck down, replacing the worn out bushings with poly bushings and painting the frame with armour coat. I put everything back together had it running and just had to put a new box on it and go. I decided that it just wasn't enough and stripped it all apart again.

Second try I boxed the frame, built a Three link set-up, tubular control arms and a richmond T-10. And a body drop to get it to sit right. After getting it close to completion again I decided to go back to school so that put the build on hold for a couple more years. In that time my Dad bought a C5 corvette and we started doing a couple of track days here and there, and in turn left me wanting more out of my truck once more.

Third and hopefully final try, although no project is really finished right? I worked on a Canadian Nascar team for a summer and got to be good friends with the team owner, He built me a 530hp 383 and sold me a USAR hooters pro cup chassis he had laying around.

The wheel base was almost 12 inches shorter so I have had to shorten my short box. Details more photos and rendering to come to come.

Chris
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[aray327]

I certainly hope there is more to come! Photos and more detail. Sounds interesting

[craigs73]

I certainly hope there is more to come! Photos and more detail. Sounds interesting

have to agree.....lets see more.........

[tylers88]

Sweet another shortbox, looks good in the pic

[tylers88]

Sweet another shortbox, looks good in the pic

[AutoX_a_Truck?]

530hp 383 and sold me a USAR hooters pro cup chassis he had laying around.

The wheel base was almost 12 inches shorter so I have had to shorten my short box.73892

Looks like you have the makings for a really cool project. I look forward to seeing some more pictures.

[raustinss]

Hey Chris, who did you work with j.r Fitzpatrick ? Also where are you located

[snopro]

Hey Chris, who did you work with j.r Fitzpatrick ? Also where are you located

No I worked with the #60 mopar team, Ron Beauchamp. Im located in Port Perry.

[snopro]

Well where do I start with photos, My photos aren't that great they are mostly from my phone. And I can't find one of the truck when I first got it. At least not a digital copy lol. But it was more or less something like this but blue and a little more rusthttps://www.pro-touring.com/webkit-fake-url://6703F715-AFDD-4135-B040-0166D7C317A9/url.jpg

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The Race car when I got it home and pulled the body off.

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Race car and cab stripped and ready to meet for the first time.

[raustinss]

Looks cool, hell of a nice guy to hook you up with that stuff. Just one question though why not stretch the chassis to meet the truck dimensions...help give it proportion and keep the sleeper kinda look. ? Also please keep the pictures coming looks like a great project

[snopro]

In those pictures you can see how much the car was set up for short oval track with the major positive camber. I have since changed the drivers side UCA and have some negative camber on both sides. It was quite a bit of work taking all the old cage off. In hind sight I should have just bought a car that fit the chassis instead of fitting the truck to the car, but I had the truck and wasn't going to give up on it that easy.

[rustomatic]

This is very cool--please continue developing! On a side note, I happen to be a huge fan of Canadian whiskey, Black Velvet in particular...

[snopro]

Heres a rendering that Shawn Mascoll is doing for me, Not finished yet but you probably get the picture.
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[Mr.VENGEANCE]

Yeaaaaaa!!!!

[raustinss]

Hey rustomatic.....come on buddy... there are WAY better rye whiskies then black velvet do your self a favor and drive up to Vancouver..

[snopro]

Looks cool, hell of a nice guy to hook you up with that stuff. Just one question though why not stretch the chassis to meet the truck dimensions...help give it proportion and keep the sleeper kinda look. ? Also please keep the pictures coming looks like a great project

Yeah they are a awesome group of guys, I will probably help them out a bit this coming season too. A couple reasons I didnt cut up the frame, I didnt want to mess with the geometry because it was designed for that wheel base, lose weight because it less sheet metal on the box and stiffen everything up because the box is welded to the cab and the frame, and the cab is welded to the frame so it should all act like a unibody with a cage nice and stiff haha

[snopro]

Thanks vengeance, means allot coming from you, your camaro is sick. Hope you dont mind me using your terminology but it is the best way to describe it. Hope to be part of streetfighters.com once its finished

Chris

[snopro]

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The firewall from the stock car chassis is about 6 inches further back into the cab than the truck firewall. I bent the cage up with a manual pro tools bender, its made from 1 3/4 .120 wall. I made one cage in the truck last summer but after sometime it just wasnt as tight as I wanted it to be. So I built a new cage for it and I am much happier with it and my skills are improving. I guess thats the biggest thing with a first build, the more you do the more you learn and then the more you want to redo because you learnt from your mistakes.

[tylers88]

Looks good, can't wait to see it finished, just a "little" more extreme than my C/K build

[dug]

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The firewall from the stock car chassis is about 6 inches further back into the cab than the truck firewall. I bent the cage up with a manual pro tools bender, its made from 1 3/4 .120 wall. I made one cage in the truck last summer but after sometime it just wasnt as tight as I wanted it to be. So I built a new cage for it and I am much happier with it and my skills are improving. I guess thats the biggest thing with a first build, the more you do the more you learn and then the more you want to redo because you learnt from your mistakes.

That last sentence is EXACTLY where I'm at with things. I've done stuff 2 or 3 times because of what I've learned. It becomes frustrating though. Your build looks pretty sick, lets see more photos. And what about that motor?

[snopro]

well I didnt get much work done to the truck this weekend, I had to help a buddy install a dump box on his 1 ton. But I did get a little done and have some more photos.

I made some filler pieces for the cage to help tie the cage to the frame, stiffen it up even more and fill some gaps.
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I cut them with the plasma cutter, I think if Im going to make more that I will try to find someone in town that can cnc laser cut them so they are more precise.

[snopro]

Engine 383 cu in, edelbrock heads re worked, edelbrock performer intake, holley 750 carb
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[snopro]

I welded my box to the cab door jam, figured it would be the easiest way to make everything look right and the easiest spot to weld without warping, The drivers side had the fuel filler door so it will be a little more difficult to hide.
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Tried to keep my cage as hidden as possible. Still going to make some pieces to tie into the a pillar.
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And Im putting the rad in the back.
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[Tig]

This thread is full of win :)

Great job




subd

[snopro]

Even though the box is super short I dont think it will be out of proportion, Its actually the same wheel base as a K5 Blazer although it will have a little more behind the rear wheel than the K5 does. Should work good on the small road courses and the autocross tracks :)
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Chris

[snopro]

Its hard to get a decent wide angle shot in the shop Ill roll it outside once the driveway dries out a bit and I get the chassis painted.

[CruizinKev]

good work so far man! :twothumbs

[tylers88]

Even though the box is super short I dont think it will be out of proportion, Its actually the same wheel base as a K5 Blazer although it will have a little more behind the rear wheel than the K5 does. Should work good on the small road courses and the autocross tracks :)
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Chris

oh man that looks sweet chopped down

[tornadocaster]

Hey! You know when a new invention comes out and people think hey I thought of that long ago!
We have quite a few of these rollers around here and I thought this would take care of so much work in building an autocross monster!
I wouldn't have thought to just cut off all the roll cage as I don't have much experience with them. I would be fighting with it and compromising something or another.
The body lines look great and in fact remind me a bit of the old convertible full size blazers that looked like shortened pickups when the top was off.
Keep up the good work. I'm subscribed.
Cheers
Gio

[snopro]

I made some new templates to cut out more gussets and fill in areas of the cage, made some to tie in the 'A' pillars to the cage. 7506175062

I also started playing around with seat position, Bottom of the seat is going to have to be about 8" above the floor.
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[dug]

I dig the gussets!

[snopro]

Thanks for all the positive comments everyone. What's everyone think of the olive drab? I have been throwing other paint schemes around in my head, like nimbus grey with brighter color for accents or. Going really wild and making it look like a molson stock ale sponsored road race truck lol

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Or I might save that paint scheme for my 64 amc rambler and make it a widebody trans am style car :0

[tylers88]

I think OD green with black wheels and what ever is there for interior would be very cool

[snopro]

Not much of an update although I have been getting allot done on it lately, engine should be in for the final time soon :) And I will be working on the #60 canadian nascar team again this year so I will be able to get cheap parts :) and learn how to set this truck up once I get it on the road. We were testing at Mosport international speedway recently, which is just down the road from me.

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No livery on it yet and still had an old motor in it but with an updated front clip on the car it was really working well

[linkstar69]

Awesome little truck. Should be a weapon

[85coupe50]

Cool project...

[snopro]

Thanks for the kind words guys, I should have some more exciting posts soon

[796spdbu]

Im digging it! You should post this in the pro-touring truck section!

[dodgedartgt]

I just found and subscribed to this thread. Cool truck! Do you have any updates since June?

Mike in FL

[snopro]

updates soon, sorry for the delay its been a busy summer.

[bovey]

Super neat. Can't wait to see the finished piece on the track. Are you planning to make it street "legal"?

[snopro]

Yeah I do plan on making it street legal eventually but probably develop it more on the track first then figure out a way to get plates on it lol

[snopro]

I was lucky enough to get some time to work on the truck this weekend. I got started on the rear inner wheel wells, I dont have a bead roller or an english wheel so I had to come up with a creative solution and Im loving the way its turning out. What I started with is a 16gauge trailer fender from princess auto. 86321
then i had to give it a relief cut so i could open up the angle to match the original wheel opening 86322
then i had to add some "speed holes" lol just because I bought a dimple die :)863238632486325
Then I mocked it up in place, the trailer fender is only 9" wide but i wanted to bring it across to tie into the cage so I had to section and graft another half of a fender on. 8632686327
I guess some of you guys are probably wondering why I would put holes in the wheel wells, I dont plan on putting much in the back that will need to be protected from water and debris and if I'm lucky it may release un wanted air turbulence from the wheel well and maybe even increase down pressure a little?
Im pretty happy with the way everything is tying in together so im going to make some more parts for the truck with the dimple dies.
Anyways im looking forward to everyones thoughts.

Chris

[Z06killinSBF]

Looks great, I'm digging everything about it

[Guyt699]

Any more progress on the truck?

[snopro]

yes i have made a bit more progress but the weather up here has been keeping me busy. I have pics of my progress that I need to load soon. cant wait to get it back on its wheels soon

[RayTx]

I think it's worth a shot to dimple whatever you want, but do one thing at a time and test it so you know what's beneficial/detrimental. ...or just dimples everywhere! If it gets out of control, just start duct taping holes till it sticks! A/B pillar fillers look great dimpled. Cool truck.

[snopro]

I hear ya there, I definitely don't want to overdue it to the point that all you see is the dimples when looking at the truck. I appreciate the insight

[EL T1]

This is an awesome project!

[gutt_72]

Bump for justice! The people demand an update!

[snopro]

Hey guys, wish I had more to update on the truck, plans have changed a little once again but its going to be better in the long run, will be better for drive ability on the road and more potential on the track. I have a done a little on it this winter but not nearly as much as I wanted. This winter was relentless for us. We do snowremoval and tree service so with the ice storms and all the snow we were crazy busy

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[Tig]

That looks amazing, digging the progress.



On a side note. How much snow have you guys had in total this year?

[SLAUGHTERHAUS FAB]

Giving me bad ideas. Cool truck! I had never thought of a truck on a late model or cup car chassis until now.

[bovey]

Any updates on this monster?

[dannyuscg]

Hope this one didn't die, any updates or progress ???

[snopro]

Sorry guys no updates yet, Should be coming back into the shop this fall. and on the track this spring

[sdg0080]

Fantastic build man. Love it.

[ASDTANK]

Any up date on the build? giving me some great idea's for my 89 silverado.

[Badasschevillac]

Awesome build and rendering!!!
This might help you in the color department

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[snopro]

Looks good Badasschevillac. Hopefully I will be able to get some forward progress this summer on the truck.