Well the new project arrived this weekend.
This truck has been worked on by at least three different shops however never made it to assembly. Many of the parts have been robbed or lost so it will be a puzzle to put together.
Paint job looks nice from 5 feet but begins to lose its luster upon closer inspection. There are drips of hardened clear under the door edges, runs along the back of the cab, and then the scratches from being stored for a few years.
Anyway here are a few pictures.
Powder coated frame with Chevy 383 stroker motor and TH700R4 transmission just sitting in place:


A 9" rear end from a Lincoln Versailles will provide the drive.


One of the problem areas with the paint job is on the side of the bed:


Doors don't look bad but you can see where the metal was pitted in spots they painted over. Also they forgot to paint the lower hinge covers:



Cab:




This is the front fender where undercoating was applied over rust:


The other front fender metal is split below headlight bucket:


I could go on but you get the idea. Anyway this is a time and materials job that should keep me busy for a while.

Looks interesting Jim, do you have a plan?

Right now I am photographing and inventorying all parts.
I will do a mock up build checking for critical alignments and missing parts.
Of course there will be lists of things that need to be ordered, fixed, replaced, etc.
I plan to install all brake, fuel and air suspension components prior to beginning assembly.
There is no wiring harness so that is another consideration.
Many of the painted parts can be touched up but the guy's wife mentioned she is trying to get him to change the color. So I'll wait on that for a while. Other parts will need to be stripped, repaired and properly painted.

Sounds like he can afford it and the truck is already there, so it would be a waste of good talent to put that together as is, I vote for a complete strip and repaint.

Started cleaning up some of the pile of rusted parts.
It's nice to have a big blast cabinet for this stuff.








The steps were really mangled so I straightened one slightly and decided to test fit. Turns out they are not for this truck.



I could modify them and make them work but the amount of labor to do so would be more than the cost of buying correct replacements.

Just tinkering right now and trying to get the full plan together. Going to start with the fuel tank and lines, brake lines, and air suspension system installation before I get crazy putting the body together.

The fuel cell being fitted:


You can also see that they never attached the rear air springs to the axle. Once I started messing with that I noticed one of the upper shock bolts was longer than the other and was actually hitting the rubber. Took some massaging to get the bags placed correctly and even then I had to grind some on the bolt and nut to get clearance.

Installed:


I plan to run fuel lines after I get the air suspension components installed. For now I'll concentrate on the brake line installation which will require locating and welding some tabs to the frame.

Noticed the brake master cylinder assembly was loose and only held in place by one bolt that didn't look straight. After investigation I found they had not drilled the holes properly and only one was close to right. The rest looked like this:


Amazing what some people can do.

If that was here in Pahrump they would want that whole job done painted and delivered in a week for a 1000 bucks.

What kind of time do you think your gonna have in it?

This is a major project since it has been worked on by about 3 different people and many of the parts are missing or were put on wrong.
The contract calls for time and materials and the owner understands I do this part time so it will take a long time to complete. He wants it turn key and realizes many things are missing and will need to be purchased.
Right now I have the motor on my R/T at the machine shop being built so I plan to keep my day job until that car is done. Once that is paid for I may quit the day job and start doing more projects like this truck since that is what I enjoy doing.
I am currently working on the the brake system and have the cab on the truck so I can check brake pedal alignment before getting too far ahead of myself. The underfloor power brake assembly that was on the truck was in the wrong location so the pedal wouldn't have come through the floor in the right place.
I measured and ordered the drive shaft for it and it was delivered today. I haven't even opened the package yet so I'll get to that tomorrow.
Next will be the air suspension system and then the fuel system plumbing.
Lots and lots of work to be done.

I dont envy you with that project I hate building customs to much put it together take it apart put back together stuff for me.
Im anxious to here about your engine though I bet your excited about that !

I am having the block bored .040 and zero decked for 10:1 flat top pistons.
It will be a quench motor using .039" Felpro Marine head gaskets and a set of 915s with over sized valves (2.14/1.81) and hardened seats. (New Ferrea SS valves, Viton Seals, Valve guides and keepers) Should have about 11:1 compression when done.
1:6 roller rockers, Comp camshaft, Holley 870, Edlebrock RPM Dual Plan, MSD ignitiion, 1 7/8 headers, 2 1/2" exhaust, etc.

Hemi 18 spline 4 speed, with new gear set, syncros, etc. 11" clutch, Dana 60 axle.