Complete alteration of a car: assembling a car with your own hands from a GAZ 52 truck

If you have the opportunity to purchase an old truck for a very small amount in a broken condition, be sure to take this opportunity. We want to tell you about the exclusive conversion of the GAZ 52 truck into a pickup truck. This is an interesting and different DIY car assembly. It stands out for its approach, creativity and small budget. Such an unusual auto-tuning is not unique. It is made on the basis of the existing body, nodes, the rest of the spare parts are bought. Thus, the new car combines retro and the latest components and components, delighting the owner with exclusivity.

What else is good about remaking a car with your own hands based on a registered car? The owner will have the opportunity to re-register it and use it as a full-fledged road vehicle. Such operations when assembling a car with your own hands “from scratch” are difficult. Some examples of alterations can be seen in the video below.

I must say that this type of auto-tuning pickup truck from Gaz 51, 52 and 53 is very popular, you can find many similar projects on the net. You might like the idea. And assembling a car with your own hands will help you become the owner of an exclusive car.

Truck into an exclusive pickup truck - where to start?

The car shown in the video looks like an exclusive pickup truck. At the same time, it is very comfortable and functional. Its only drawback, in our opinion, is a small clearance (ground clearance), which makes it similar to a sports car. But otherwise, it is quite technologically advanced and convenient in daily use. The pickup truck moves quickly and has good maneuverability. What characterizes the master well, when the assembly of the car was carried out on their own and without experience.

The front part of the GAZ 52 body is completely preserved, the car is recognizable. Meanwhile, it has its own face and harmonious design thanks to the author of the project. He can be seen driving his brainchild on the streets of Tomsk. Assembling the car with his own hands made him a famous person in the region.

History of creation

The history of the appearance of this pickup truck is worthy of a cinematic scenario. First, the guy bought a Gazelle in order to build a car based on its chassis. But later the developer abandoned this idea and learned about such a car as the Toyota Crown. It had good suspension, a chassis suitable for the project, and an engine. These spare parts have found application in autotuning.

Alteration of the car began with the acquisition of the Japanese car Crown. Then the GAZ 52 body was attached to it. On this basis, the first version of the car was assembled. But the owner also had a good mechanic who recommended changing the engine. This was necessary due to the nature of the design. It turned out that the turbine rested against the lever.

As a result, I had to buy a naturally aspirated engine. Subsequently, all the insides were repeatedly rebuilt. The author was not very good at automaking and learned everything as needed. In addition, the interior trim and the creation of individual parts took a lot of time, which also increased the cost of creation. It took 2 years to create a pickup truck.

Specifications

Most of the details remained original, and the naturally aspirated engine complemented the interior of the car very well in appearance. Alteration of the car is clearly a success. Now it is an exclusive retro pickup. It has an expensive interior trim. And it's nice to look at inside and out.

The car has an automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive, typical for sports cars. In this case, it is necessary to increase the carrying capacity, given the compact dimensions. It has a 300 hp V8 engine.

Prototypes

Dynamics and static stability

When assembling, special attention was paid to the rear of the body, completely welded by the owner with no experience in such work. I had to additionally think over aerodynamics, since high speeds, such a cabin and the cargo part did not really fit together and affected handling. Especially at high speeds. Despite the shortcomings, the alteration of the car was a success, the pickup behaves very confidently on the road. Drift stability is impressive for self-tuning.

Interior

The interior is designed in retro style. All original elements of the dashboard are preserved, leather seats are made, wooden and chrome-plated interior parts are added or restored. Additional work was carried out with the seats, firmware was used, which had a positive effect on comfort.

Comfort indicators

The pickup truck features a low seating position that was traditional in the 60s. But this reflects positively on the review.

The car is not so well soundproofed, and it also does not always pass obstacles unnoticed. This is due to the retained original suspension and rather stiff shock absorbers, but this issue can be improved. Now a pickup made from GAZ 52 and Crown looks like an exclusive retro car that has everything it needs. And it reflects the spirit of the 60s.

What is the result?

The owner does not reveal all the features, and there is also no video of the auto-tuning process. But we can show a video of another similar, but already foreign project. The conversion was based on a 1960 Chevy C10 and a 1938 Buick coupe.

As a result, we can say where to start assembling a car with your own hands. It is worth listing the steps:

• We need to follow the path of the first racing drivers, the same Enzo Ferrari, choose and purchase a chassis. In our case, this is a used car. To spend less on spare parts, it is better to choose a prototype with good mechanics.
• Next, it is desirable to choose a body, but you can do it yourself.
• After that, put everything together and highlight the design flaws, it is better to consult an auto mechanic.
• At the next stage, spare parts are monitored and, if necessary, replaced with more modern ones.
• After assembling the structure, you will need to make calculations and analyze the stability of the car drift (you can read about stability and other useful things at link). This is necessary so that the car does not roll over and behaves predictably.
• As a result, interior trim is being carried out, which is also not worth saving.

And most importantly, you can start small. It's okay if the first version fails.

You can get spare parts for restored cars and a full consultation on deep autotuning at Elite auto. We can find everything you need at the best and most affordable price.

Other examples