Frame Up

[4Elatemodel]

So i know alot of you guys have been super helpful and i come to you again with a question. Im having diffculty finding a truck and have come up with another way to do it and want some other opinions.
It would basically work like me finding a 70 ish c10 short bed frame and building the truck from the ground up finding suspension that i want and making it a roller then a cab and bed and so on and so on. Am i insane? This should work and would save me the time of tearing a truck down. Let me know your opinions. Thanks again.

[astroracer]

I guess it boils down to doing what you have to do. Of course finding a nice frame may be just as difficult as finding the whole truck. Same with all the rest of the pieces/parts. The other thing to consider is getting the parts to your shop. Transporting can be expensive whether you do it yourself or have the parts shipped.
The biggest hurdle to overcome though would be getting ALL of the parts needed to assemble a piece meal vehicle. This may be harder to do then simply waiting for the right truck to show up.
Mark

[Tig]

What Mark said.

I'd rather have a whole truck and disassemble it than source out a complete truck piece by piece.

[bs46488]

It all depends on what is available in your area.

To disassemble an entire C10 would probably take you about half a day.

I had difficulty finding a reasonable SWB truck that was a fair price, so I found a cheap LWB truck and was able to help correct the length of the truck with a sawzall and mig welder.

[protouring70]

So many people are cutting long beds down now and there are so many videos on how to that it may be easier to go that route. Then buy a new short bed to finish it out.

[RobNoLimit]

Well, We have a bolt together rear rail kit for C10's, to convert long beds to short beds. It also has a 4" raised rail compared to stock, for a 4" drop with OE suspension. You can re-use the trailing arms from the long bed.
Or, we have FatBar kits to fit the new rails, in coil-over or air. the rail kits include new rear rails, three crossmembers, new bed stands and all of the hardware. The bed floor will need to be raised 4". Kits run $1175.

I sugest finding a complete truck. I have built from scratch many times, and I can tell you that finding all of the little pieces will drive you crazy. A clean, solid 3/4 long box is usually the best buy. BTW, I have a '70, less bed, frame is cut for the rail kit 6" behind the cab. would need pass door at some point. very solid ca. truck, clear title, no motor or trans. $2300 in Tn.

[glennheath]

Rob,
Are you in Dandridge TN now? That's right in my back door. Do you have a shop located there? I'm transplanting a small block and a tko600 5 speed into my 71 stepside now and handling for the truck will be next. It would be awesome if you are that close to home.