Hi, this is my friend's macbook pro 2010
I'm trying to help upgrade the usual stuff, ssd + ram.

His macbook is running el capitan on a 500gb hdd, and he mentioned he had problems with macbook having random restart that gives this error (in pic)

I assumed it was os problem, so I wanted to swap it with ssd and fresh install of high sierra via usb. Now this is when it gets tricky, seems like in the middle of installation, the macbook pro restarts again and repeatedly giving me the same error when I try to reinstall the os.

I've already googled this error and it ranges from kernel panic, os updates and mostly the solution involves troubleshoot with os.
The problem is the os installation was done on a blank ssd therefore it could be a hardware issue? Has anyone faced similar problem?

Might be power issue

If it is a 15-inch model, it is likely caused by graphic components fault, whenever the Mac switch over the discrete graphic chip the Mac will reboot or shutoff. You can google online, there are no permanent fix for this issue. Apple had officially recall this problem in the past but long expired now.

If it is 13-inch you might want to check the hard drive cable.