I have a dream

[ragtoplvr]

Greetings all. I live in Joplin Missouri, I am a soon toe retire engineer.

I have a dream. A new truck single cab truck with manual transmission, power steering, power brakes, air conditioning/hear, great seat and decent stereo. Oh and windshield wipers. One that can be maintained and driven by me for years. All open computer controls, so I do not have to go to a dealer for anything. No can buss electrical system so I can not change a gauge, or make a improvement Able to change engine parameters and maintain the thing. But without all the rusted bolts and worn out hard to find parts like a vintage vehicle. Or if the truck does not fit me well, maybe the 33 coupe with trailer hitch. I an going to retire soon and need a nice project. I have an heated and air conditioned shop, with a 4 post lift, so have NICE place to work on it.

So how does the truck and or car hold up as a daily driver. It seldom snows here. I could just stay home for those days. Any problem leaving them parked at Walmart type lots. How about the airport? Do they lock securely, does the body hold up well in daily use on paved roads. I am planning on moderate horsepower around 300 to 350. Want mild cam for decent economy at 1400 or so RPM cruise. Regular fuel. Limited slip rear end. Narrow tires, probably 70 to 60 profile. Might occasionally tow a single motorcycle on trailer. Just for fun, no racing or track use. Maybe some impromptu drifting or a spirited acceleration when someone needs to see it.

So is this at all practical? I will use a single axle trailer to haul things like building supplies and my light aluminum boat.

Rod

[FF33rod]

Welcome! Njce dream and eithercthe truck or the 33 would be a great project.
Out of the box, these are not entirely weather proof, no standard way to attach a trailer hitch and dont lock. The latter 2 could be done with modifications . These are very light vehicles so there capacity for towing is very limited. My impression is that the truck is likely a better daily driverwith better door design for sealing.

Good luck with your research

Steve

[NAZ]

Go to one of the major auctions and look for a 50's to 60's restomod truck.

There I just saved you lots of $$ and frustration trying to build your own from a kit. As mentioned above, these are not the most weatherproof vehicles and while you may have the engineering skills to do the design work for making one of these kit cars an all weather daily driver that can tow light trailers, do you have the fabrication and welding skills to pull it off? In the end, you will still be spending more $$ and time than buying one of the older big-three factory made trucks that someone with the skills rebuilt to better than new.

If you are really dedicated to building your own, better have a great retirement pension and a large 401K to tap into. But if you want an unpractical but very cool old skool looking hot rod, then you're in the right place.

[ragtoplvr]

I am concerned about the weight, they are very light. I know I would not want wide tires, hydroplane.. The trailer hitch, I can weld, I only have a flux core wire welder, it would need to add gas shield to do a job well enough to hold a trailer. I would probably just fab and tack it all and then take to a welder with a real expensive welder for the final weld Less cost than tank rent and supplies and practice. Welding the Brackets would burn off the powder coat on the frame, so need to order uncoated frame and then take it apart and paint it all. LOTS of extra work. Then even a 2000LB gross (2 bikes and a bit of gear) load of trailer would need trailer brakes. Since the weight of the truck on the tires for traction decreases with the cosine of the ramp angle, a steeper ramp would be impossible to climb. I expect these are very noisy at speed.

Building up my second gen Dakota sounds better and better. BUT it will not be nearly as cool.

Which of course is the other option. Discussing that on another forum.

[NAZ]

Take it from an old "professional" welder, you'll likely save $$ and end up with a better job if you do not weld or even tack-weld the trailer hitch yourself. Of course that doesn't apply if you truely are a skilled welder but most hobbyists grossly overestimate their skill level when it comes to welding. A trailer hitch is a safety item that should not be taken for granted.

As for powder coat delete -- don't sweat touch up on small sections of a powder coated chassis. FFR powder coating is a bargain unless you are looking for show car quality. If they are still doing the gloss black, Eastwood's Chassis Black is a perfect match.

Again, before committing on this type of project you should take an honest assessment of your skills and your expectations. It's a significant investment in $$ and time. I suspect you have unrealistic goals if you want a all-weather daily driver that will also act as a tow vehicle. I'm absolutely sure I could pull this off but I also know that it would not be economically a good idea. But as a cool hot rod, it's a great idea.

Whatever you decide, good luck and have fun with it.