The 50 Chevrolet Hot Rod project


Here is the start
 I have owned this 1950 Chevrolet pickup for 20 years. It is for the most part (as far as I can tell) original except for a few coats of paint and the right front fender.Although  It hasn't been on the road for over 10 years it is still in runnig condition. I still use it to haul brush and stuff around my 5 acre property. After about 5 years of debate on what to do with this truck I came to the conclution of making a hot rod. The theme I chose is consistant with that of the early 60's when these trucks were plentiful. No big high horsepower V8 or Mustang indapendent front suspention for this baby. I will keep it period correct with a hopped up 235 six and dropped front straight axle.Also I do not plan on any body modifications. Will keep the split windshild and won't do any top chopping or channeling. I want the old look but with a little more modern running gear.
The tear down and assesment

front sideback viewdamageside wiew
The truck is in very good shape after 60 + years. There is very minimal rust in the usual plasces (easily fixable). The major type damage is the doors (both sides) were spung to the point of denting the quarter panels.(Common with this vintage) Luckly there are replacement panels available and I have chose to replace both sides.The right side was also hit at some point in it's life (explanes why the right fender was replaced) and did cause some damage just to the front of the right quarter panel. (easy fix with quarter panel replacement)

The cab fix
q panel removalsideside2lt side
Here the damaged quarter panel was cut away and the new patch panel was aligned and welded in place. While the panel was off I took the liberty to condition the inner cavity with POR15 rust preventative paint. This stuff is great. I did tests by coating rusted parts and letting them set out side to the elements and that was years ago and no bubling or pealing could be nioticed. The only effect I could see was the gloss black finish did turn to a flat black. This is sometihing the manufacture did mention if exposed to sun light.
More cab photos
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The left side fix