Back in December, on the way to visit Jody's parents in Crestview, FL we made a stop in Lake City, FL to visit Rockabilly Fabrication. I had been researching on the internet for manufacturers of custom frames for 47-55 Advanced Design Chevy pickup trucks. Most manufacturers either provided kits to upgrade the stock chassis, or complete chassis, but most used Mustang II front suspension and live axle with either leaf springs or 4-link in the rear.

     For me, reusing the 60+ year old frame with modifications was out of the question, for reasons of strength and durability. The new frames by TCI and AME were great, but expensive and I was hoping for something a little more interesting. Enter Rockabilly Fabrication, with a custom frame using the aluminum independent front and rear suspension from an 84-96 C4 Corvette. These are inexpensive, easy to find, with replacement parts available at your local auto parts store. They do replace the Corvette fiberglass leaf springs with adjustable coilovers making ride height and handling characteristics easily adjustable.

     The chassis is jig built by Darrell Robison at Rockabilly, and I must admit, the completed chassis is a work of art. Design and workmanship is excellent, and Darrell was great to work with. He provided me with part numbers of the non-Corvette parts necessary for completion, coilovers, gas tank, power brake unit with pedal, and motor mounts. The rest of the parts are standard C4 Corvette and are usually included with a used front and rear suspension assembly.

     It took Darrell and extra few days to complete the build as he he was working on a new deign for the running board mounts. There are three of these brackets welded to each side of the frame, and in the past, he had been using new replacement brackets, but found that the replacement brackets had thinner metal than the original brackets. His new design is much thicker and look great. I also had him move the gas tank up a couple of inches as I wanted to use a side entry on the tank to a door in the rear fender rather than the standard gas tank filler in the middle of the bed floor.

     So I rented a Uhaul trailer and made the trip up to Lake City to pick up the frame. It's also nice to know that Rockabilly Fabrication is only a couple of hours away if I have any trouble. Darrel had a tractor to lift the frame and load it into the trailer. Unloading it here, was just myself, Jimmy and Jody, but we managed to get it off the trailer and wheel it up the driveway on a couple of furniture dollies. I still keep peeking out in the garage just to admire the workmanship.

     Tonight, I ordered the coilovers from Summit Racing (Strange STR-S-5204 coilovers with QA1-10HT350 front springs and QA1-10HT175 rear springs). Tomorrow, I need to order a rear suspension Toe Bar Flip Kit from Flat-Out Engineering as they don't have online ordering. I also plan on visiting Coastal Corvette in Mims, FL, a local Corvette salvage yard as the are supposed to have multiple front and rear suspension assemblies for sale.