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I had the idea a couple years back to take my clapped out 52 chevy and mate it with my 94 Caprice. I always loved driving the Caprice for the power and handling (it is an ex-cop car) and the fact it had ac. The 52 looked cool, but it was a pain to drive and couldn't bust it's way out of a wet paper bag. I did some measuring and discovered the match wasn't all that far off. The wheelbase matched, as did the inner fenderwell locations and the firewall wasn't too far off. So last Easter I starting hacking away at both cars. I ended up leaving the floorboards and firewall from the caprice on the frame and just hacking everything else. This left most of the wiring in tact and I could still move it around under it's own power. I pulled the front clip off the 52 and cut the body off the frame by trimming around the floorboards, and the floors were pretty nasty anyway. I had braced the body in several locations, including bracing the doors shut, so that my panel gaps would all stay put. It took a ton of weekends trimming little by little to finally get the body to fit the caprice floor and firewall. The first couple pics here is what I started with and what I got accomplished over the first weekend.
Now, I have 3 kids, one which was a newborn when I did this, so fast forward a year and a half to now, and I finally got to working on it again. This past weekend I got the body on the floorboards in it's final location, all squared up and level and tacked it down in several spots. My buddy has a shop across town and he's been letting me work on it there, so now stuff is getting done much faster. I just posted a vid on youtube of how the car was as I was pulling it into the garage to work on it about two months ago. During that night, I got it all cinched down and firmed up enough I could take the door braces off.
The next Saturday I put in the driver's seat so that I can get my final steering wheel and shifter locations so I can make that stuff permanent. I'm currently fitting the front end. Luckily, there is about 6-7 inches of free space behind the radiator, so there is room to shove the rad and condenser back. I'll try to post pics and video as work progresses. For now, all the videos from the update to update4 are on my channel on youtube. So far I bought the 52 for 1400 and the caprice for 800, but I got back 450 from scrapping all the steel that was left over, so I'm into the whole project for 1750 so far. If I play my cards right, I might be able to sneak into the under $3000 club.
This was the final dropping of the body onto the floor.
First mockup of the front sheetmetal...
As it sits right now until I get to work on it again (after new year's day I'll finally get some more free time).
And last pic for today... The caps and tires that are gonna go on this beast....
If anybody has a lead on a visor, I'm gonna be in the market for one of those soon. If I can't find one by spring, I might try my hand at fabbing one up. I'd really like one with some nice stainless trim though.
It is too wide. The later Caprice uses the same chassis as the 77-89 downsized big GM sedans, with the same front and rear suspension. Which is what I attemped to use on my frame swap.
I had the body channeled a bit and the fenders fit over the tires, but you couldn't turn the wheels hardly at all before they rubbed.
The only way out might be to track down some 79-back Eldorado or Toronado wheels, those are the only FWD 5x5 rims I know of, and if I remember right the round-body Police issue Caprice is a 5x5 wheel bolt pattern.
Also, there were sellable parts on the stock chassis of that '52. I just sold a set of front brakes off one of those a while back - drums, hubs, and backing plates - for $100 alone. I've done another $150 or so out of other leftovers, too. If the car ran and drove, there were literally tons of things that would have sold pieced out for a lot more than scrap. Tried to find a stock master cylinder lately?
Those who can, do. Those who can't, criticize it on the internet.
1991 G20 van 5.7L - swap meet spl.
1993 3500 dually 5.7L NV4500 - tow truck
1991 Suburban 5.7
Plus cars for swap and sale
&yes, I once tried a frame swap on a 51 Chevy.
Yes, you are correct, the front track is too wide by about an inch and a half. I was planning on getting 25mm offset steel wheels from Summit, but that olds wheel option sounds like it might really fit the bill. I'm gonna be going on a junkyard run sometime in the early spring for other stuff anyway, I'll see if I can set a pair of those. And yes, the pattern is 5 on 5. Glad you guys are into it. I'm gonna make it work someway, somehow. I'm too far to turn back now!
As for the shop, I wish I could afford a place like that. I've got a tiny 12X20 garage, which I'm very thankful for, but my buddy Mark has that shop and he's more than happy to let me use it. After we get this 52 back on the road, we got a '57 to do for him. He just got a straight axle for it and we're gonna go total gasser on it. Flip front end and the whole nine. If you follow the string of videos, you'll get some side info on the other projects we're doing in there.
Oh, and I did save the spindles and drums and all that from the '52. I have special plans for that stuff. On my bucket list is building a traditional 30's ride with a straight axle, and I plan on using the '52 spindles and brakes on whatever that car turns out to be.
We tend to look down on frame swaps here, but it looks as though once you get the track width issue dealt with, you will be one of the few success stories. Lots of nice work there
Let me tell you, being in the middle of this project I can really see why you guys would frown upon swaps like this. I would venture to say 99% of people who dive into a project like this don't have the skills or drive to follow it through to the end. What that means for us is another dead Chevy that ends up as parts, or worse, scrap. I am really determined to finish this car, whatever it takes. It's been off the road now for over 7 years and I've got the itch now more than ever to get it back on the road. Once everything is in fine working order, I plan on driving the hell out of it for a year or so, then I'll dive into the custom work and paint. I want this car to look like a rolling piece of art, handle like a modern car, and have all the modern conveniences in a classic package. All interior work will be designed to look period correct, which i why I adapted the stock steering column to fit the newer steering box. My personal deadline for getting it road worthy is May of 2012. Whether I actually meet it will depend on how much time I can spend working on it. The hardest part of the whole project is just getting the time to do it. Any of you with kids knows exactly what I'm talking about.
It does look like you have the skills to complete this. I can't tell you how many abandoned project Chevys from the '49-'54 era over the years. But yours looks better than most.
1953 210 Convertible, 261 with dual Carter YF 966S carbs, P.S., Remote Bendix P.B. Booster... shade-tree restoration about done.
What he did is exactly what I did, except my chassis was from a Buick with a 119.5" (or maybe 119.75") wheelbase, so after I had the '51 coupe body on it I went and got a Pontiac front clip and put on - which is a bolt up on the cowl as long as you use the Pontiac hood hinges. The car actually remained drivable underneath the whole time, until I sold the motor a few years later.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, criticize it on the internet.
1991 G20 van 5.7L - swap meet spl.
1993 3500 dually 5.7L NV4500 - tow truck
1991 Suburban 5.7
Plus cars for swap and sale
&yes, I once tried a frame swap on a 51 Chevy.
Progress has been at a standstill because of the holidays and family stuff going on. Hopefully next week I can get some more done and post an update....
I feel your pain- had the same problem here. In addition, I had to change a ball joint in the wife's daily last Friday out in the driveway, in the rain. Thankfully, it was the easiest ball joint I've ever changed.
Haven't gotten too much done since the last update, just more work on getting the fenders in the right spot. Holidays and birthdays and house shopping have dominated my weekends since December! I got an OT vehicle to flip and make some money on which has taken some of my time as well. I'm really itching to get back to work on the '52 though, so expect another update in the next week or so.
Yea, the rear end is the exact width, it's the front track that is too wide. I guess it would be a good donor rear for guys who want to lose the torque tube if you don't mind hacking off all the brackets and fabbing up a set of leaf perches.
I finallygot to work on the 52 again today after a couple months of getting other projects done-ish. I have some more pics I'll upload later, but I got a new video up on youtube to show everyone. These tires BARELY clear the front fenders. Once I get different offset rims, it should work just fine. Here's the video....
I got the radiator mocked up yesterday and relocated the oil cooler and trans cooler. Didn't get much beyond that done..... Just a few odds and ends here and there. No pics, sorry. I have to build a a rad core support that fits the frame and still clears the steering box. Not going to be hard, just time consuming. I guess I'll have to start taking pics of the details from here out, since the big picture is not going to look any different week to week.
I started building the rad cor support today and got it mostly done. It still needs some gussets to firm it up, but it's really coming along. Still have plenty of room front and back for a pusher or puller fan, or both!
That's the original hose. I haven't yet taken it off, but I do realize it won't work, lol. It's waaaayyyyy too long and there's no way to make it work by cutting it down, because it still wouldn't have the right bends in it. The bottom hose is closer and MIGHT work if I cut it down, but I'm not betting on that working either. It's a shame because that's some really good quality hose, and I know it's gonna be a real PITA to find a hose that will fit nice.
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drtyler (4)
12-23-11 09:21 PM - 
