I would like some advice and opinions on building an 54 GMC AD. First question: Mod an original frame or S10 frame it? Pros and cons of both? I want the truck low. I'm not really thinking about bagging it, I just want it low and to handle a little better than a 54 truck. Second question: Do I need a whole 47-53 Chevy front clip or can I just get the Chevy grill? Thank you for your help and advice.
The fenders are different between gmc and chevys, but could be modified. I would keep the stock frame, But i dont like s-10 frames. You could always do a mustang 2 front suspension, and to lower the rear is just like everyother truck. There are alot of parts out for ad trucks, I would suggest looking around at what everyones got. Do a google search. Or theres always some stuff you can do to the stock front suspension to make it handle better, ball joints, bushings, lowered front axle, they simple trucks
Thank you for the response. I did a google search, thats where I got the S10 frame idea. I was already thinking Mustang II front kits before I saw everyone doing the S10 swap. Now I just need a good stock frame to start with.
S-10 frame is waaaay more work than it seems. Just find you a nice stock frame and go from there. They are all over craigslist in my area....
If you don't have the stock frame and you can find one, go with it. I did the S10 frame on mine, but only because I was being a cheap ass. I kinda dove in not knowing what I was doing. Also, S10 frames are not really HAMB friendly.
This isn't really directed at you, so please don't take offense, but I get tired of hearing that. This site is about hot rodding. The very definition of hot rodding is working with what parts you have available to build a better vehicle. As long as the vehicle it's going in is pre-'65, it's HAMB friendly. Funny that people have been fussing about non-HAMB friendly parts for years, but I've yet to see a thread deleted asking about an S-10 frame swap or putting in a late-model engine. Again, not directed at you, EnragedHawk, just a minor rant.
No offense taken at all. I was mostly giving the guy a heads up. However, there's a lot of stuff that the mods are willing to let slide, and late model parts are one of the biggies, but they're still not traditional. Too many late model parts on a car and it becomes a street rod. And also, Ive had my own threads deleted before for asking about late model engines (efi in particular), so it does happen. Edit: I actually moved a lot of my own build thread over to dogfightmag.com since I was doing so much OT stuff on one vehicle (s10, bags, efi, disc brakes, etc).
I put Jaguar IFS on my 52 GMC frame. Easy-peasy as my young nephew says. The Jag crossmember and suspension all unbolts from the Jag donor as one-piece. Only thing you need to do is add upper shock mounts. I welded the Jag crossmember into mine. Here is a pic showing how easy: My plan is for the bottom of the running boards to be about 7 inches off the ground. Not super low, but nice ride height.
I see too many really nice AD trucks being cut up to stick S-10 frames under the "because all the cool guys are doing it". It's a good option if you don't have a good stock frame to begin with or if your stock frame suffered a hack job in the past. . I've done the Camaro subframe thing with a 68 rear steer subframe and the truck rode great an drove great but there was the issue of getting all of the sheet metal lined up and fitted. I don't think I'd do it again though. The S-10 requires some pretty thick spacers on the hubs to move the wheels out where they should be in the wheel well or they look like they have been sunk in the wheel well. That alone adds a couple hundred bucks to the cost of the swap that guys seem to forget about when suggesting it. Then you have to put the ugly booster and master cylinder up on the firewall because it won't fit under the floor anymore. I've got a Mustang II style crossmember and tube A arms for the 48 for the latest build but If I were to do it over I'd hunt down a Jag front end like 38 Chevy 454 showed above and still might do that. My truck is going to be a reacher that will do a lot of miles an a lot of long road trips in the next few years and I'd like to have it pretty solid and reliable.
My '48 had a stock frame with MII front suspension and Dodge Caravan rear leafs with lowering blocks. Drove like a dream for over 50,000 miles!
I am doing this very model......a '54 GMC. When I bought it it had a Heidt's MMII front crossmember, so I am going to keep that. If it hadn't had that, I likely would have bought a Fatman MMII for it. Either one will drive fine.....and I say this from firsthand knowledge of a truck so equipped, not hearsay.....but I like the Fatman heavier guage crossmember better. In the rear, I am using S-10 leaf springs, frame brackets and rear shackles. On the rear shackles, I boxed the frame rail, put in a tube midway in the frame rail for the S-10 shackle bushing. This process lowers the truck several inches on both ends. Also, I added a crossmember above the rear axle and used the S-10 shocks as well. I most definitely WOULD NOT recommend use of an entire S-10 frame. The amount of work to get everything fitting correctly, body mounts etc., simply does not seem justified compared to upgrading the original frame, which is, by the way, a much stonger unit to begin with. As for the narrow track often mentioned, the common solution of changing the wheel offset or adding wheel spacers, almost never mentions how badly that changes front end geometry. Waaay too many amateur builders disregard proper engineering principles in favor of "style", as though they are incompatible. Then they claim hwo great that all works for them. Their definition of "works great" seems to be based mostly on just because the wheels didn't fall off and it will go around a corner, all must be well. It's not so simple as that. The S-10 frame swap has far more "pop culture" appeal than it does actual benefit for many applications for which it is proposed........in my not so humble opinion. Regarding the front fenders, '54 (& '55 first design) appear to me to be the same as Chevy. There is an area embossed, or pressed into shape, behind the parking lamps that is common to both, I believe. The hood and latch panel are the primary parts that you need to change to use a '54 Chevy grille in place of the GMC. Ray
Thank you for all the help and info! Per 38Chevy454 suggestion and pic, I went to the scrap yard today and scored a whole front suspension from a 84 XJ6 for 50.00 dollars. I have a lead on a 52 SWB complete frame for 250.00 dollars. Thank you guys again for all the help and advice!
Cool, glad my suggestion and pic helped you decide what to do. $50 for the whole front susp is a great deal.
I did the S-10 Frame swap on my son's 53 GMC using the AD Engineering kit and I would do it all over again!! I never took on a project this big before and felt this would be the easiest and cheapest way to go and I believe I made the right choice. You can buy an old S-10 or frame from a scrap yard for 300 buck or less, 4X4 Axle and drop the front spindles 2 inches and rear axle 3 inches and get a real nice riding height. I decided to make our project a custom job and will enter it into car shows, therefore decided to do additional fabrications that would not necessarily need to be done for a daily driver. Check out my photobucket: http://s275.photobucket.com/albums/jj310/rhondayou/
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