found this old beater about 8 years ago. told dozens of people about it, for sale for $700. a runner driver with a Cad motor with a 58 Tri-power manifold adapted to the truck 4 speed. I wasn't interested but couldn't believe someone didn't buy it. about a year and half ago someone on the hamb did a post on making a 32 grill shell out of a GMC grill. remembered the old grill laying in back of this truck. stopped by to see if I could get the grill and ended up buying the whole truck for $340,00 (its all I had with me)
filled the corner windows, channeled it 5 1/2 inches brought the cab down to line up with the front fenders. sectioned the hood and firewall 5 1/2 inches at the same time. really made the proportions almost stock(except shorter) been asked about the cowl section 2nd photo is uncut. if you enlarge the third photo and see the mis-matched louvres it will explain itself. it was cut just above the heater box
Looks good with the cab extension. I just figured out your name change. DUH! I chuckled when I saw this and thought "another project is just what you need"!
photo 3 shows the new metal added for the 5 1/2 inch channel. that dropped the doors even with the front fender and no running boards
wow , nice work. I'd like to see some more pics of where you cut the cowl. What are you going to do with the windshield? Thats one of the reasons I holding back on cutting the roof on my '54. What are the headlights from? I like the extended cab alot but I think it would have been more proportioned with the corner windows. If you have any more pics you could email them to me direct (so as not to tie up bandwidth) at fastfrankie73@verizon.net Thanks
the firewall was simple. I took 5 1/2 inches out of the hood also. no pie cut and that is favorite part. it made all the proportions look uncut. I've always heard how tricky that is to do. this was my first time and nothing to go by other than I wanted it done. after I finished Ron Covell came out video on how to chop and section a stude p.u. I'd like to know how professionals do hoods. I can't imagine anything easier that what I did One of the photos show where I cut straight up the cowl and 90% across the firewall just above the heater box. lost the fresh air duut on the outside. the windshield I just took a gl*** cutter and cut the original down it was easy also (but I've been cutting gl*** for 42 years)
one more time, this project is real low buck, I had several parts cars and a COE that I cut up for pieces. the COE gave up the blue parts. but all the distinct COE parts are in tact and waiting for a suburban or panel truck conversion. A 55 chev 4 door gave up the roof I had already sold the front clip, doors, the dash went to a canadian HAMBER for 10 bucks (should have gave it to him) screwed up a good hood and front fenders on a 47 buick fast back for the hood latch's opens from either side or can open both sides and remove the hood( after I detail the motor) A 52 ford pu gave up the utility boxes (this going to be my shop truck) that made it necessary for the extended cab. all the cars I cut up were free except the 50 dollar buick which is a parts car for my 48 buick roadmaster fastback
Hey, I thought you got your old HAMB name [48 Hemi] back. Didn't I see a recent post with that name? Maybe it was an old post, brought up to date. The truck stuff is nice, Jim and I know the Blazer has 10,000,000 miles on it. You probably want to build a shop truck to replace the blazer and all but damn! I'd love to see the 48, 3 window coupe on the street this year. Are you gonna get it driveable this year? That is one bad mutha coupe.
BTW, Jim....the post making a 32 Grille shell froom a GMC unit takes a 47-53 GMC grille. They came down a lot further where a 54 only comes down to the park light housings...not really long enough to make a decent deuce shell from.... When I was in Jr High in The Dalles, my dad had a dark green 54 GMC with a chrome grille like yours. I wonder if it could be the same truck but he'd bought it from a construction company and it had a sever case of "job-site-rash" all over it....dings, dents etc.
Rocky, the 48 Hemi car will be on the road this year period! the Blazer only has 787,000 miles on it. the trans went out and the motor is still fresh, only 269,000 on the last rebuild, with GMC for a work truck. I'm going to drop my 425 horse 396 with a turbo 400 and gear veadors overdrive in the blazer and get that last 213,000 miles out of it. At my age I'll probably never have another million mile rig. I'll just have to channel and section the duece to fit the grill never had thoughts of cutting, doing a trade out with Vic at Starbrite plating. not the grill itself (it's still shiney) but the surround, the deluxe chrome grill extensions, parking lights, 54 stude headlight bezels (hooded). have a 52 DeSoto front bumper (hanging low) In the back I'm running the tool boxes just about half way up the back window. (that way I can see anything bigger than me, anything smaller had better watch me.) I'm cutting up a (free) 56 DeSoto to finish the bottom of the tool boxes with rockers and wheel wells. also going to run an inch or two of the 56 fins and tail lights with 59 cad len's (the real ones with defusers) keeping with the 56 DeSoto rear bumper. interior I've extended the shifter up and dropped the dash and windshield down 5 1/2 inches with the section, and another 5 1/2 with the channel. going with 80's riveria 50/50 split bench with dual arm rests ( hey I'm going to live in this truck) I might even drop air in it someday. gold metal flake square 60 DeSoto wheel. DAMN I NEVER NOTICED HOW MUCH DeSoto I"M RUNNIN' HERE! I need a new name for a Cad powered GMC/DeSoto.
Rocky, this truck came from Washington. was dark blue. it has a lable about the cad motor being installed on 7-1-67 83,000 miles sorry they might have made more than two 54 GMC'S with Deluxe trim, who knows Jim
Are you saying the COE might be available to someone wanting to build a COE Suburban/Panel? I have both the Suburban and a 1-ton panel and have been lookng for the right COE cab to make the next step.
Lookin' REAL good, Bro! I like where you're goin' with that! Keep up the good work, & Good Luck! To me, all this is a hobby. My wife says it's an obsession! Could it be all the car parts under the bed!
I'm the original Whoarder, have problems selling anything (but I do trade!) how much do you want for the panel LOL this GMC isn't something I was looking for or even wanted. But I've always wanted a stick shift caddilac and thought the tri-power manifold was worth what I paid for the truck. I really need a shop truck that I can lock my tools in. the ford truck was free, it's on a international 4X4 ch***is that had a mopar slant 6 with push****on shifter. I'm trading out some gl***work for a stock 52 ford truck ch***is for another project I don't want or need (but "free is a very good price")I have a rebuilt 232 (1955) ford six with a hurst shifter mounted (another freeby) just needs flames and my phone number and the box's mounted, bolt in the seats Oh and the main thing, it's still 12 inches above the ground, I need to drop it as low as I can get it. It's just a work truck and tow rig for my hot rod. never going to a frame swap/clip or any other thing that will make it drive and handle like a new truck (if I wanted a new truck I'd buy one dammit)
I dragged that panel home from Springfield last summer. It even spent about 90 minutes in the parking lot of the IHOP on McLoughlin while I had lunch with my parents. I'll keep it until I find a COE cab to go with it. I have lots of that era truck stuff, and am always open to swapping something.
want to play hardball heh? what do you have to trade? I have to tell you when I went to buy that COE the owner wanted $400 for it and before I could get my wallet out he made me a 2nd offer. If I would haul off a 55 chev 4 door (rust free) and a 56 chev 2 door hardtop he'd give me the COE. I cut up the 55, sold the front and back clips, the dash and 3 of the doors for $510.00 sold the 56 just to clear a spot for another $100.00 then cut the cab of The COE to build the GMC. So you can see I'm going to have a hard time breaking even unless I pay you to take it (thats not going to happen) could use a dropped axle, or anything else to lower the GMC
Don't know what I might have that you'd want. It may be the only thing I have that would lower your GMC is the broken front springs I took off the front of mine. I have a Buick 430 sitting out back that could use a new home. Interested in an old, but not quite old enough, motor? Its sat outside (under cover, but outside) for at least ten years. I may even have the automatic that was behind it. You might want to know I only have this motor because it was thrown in with a couple of small journal small blocks that came with two early '50s big trucks I hauled home for nothing a few years ago.
I have dozens of motors sitting in the shop most are HEMI'S, have small blocks 265,283,327,350, cad 331. lincoln 317, ford 232 6, chev 235,261,292. buick 300,310. plus 25-30 vehicles. I guess my answer on the 430 would NO!!! I'm not a dealer I'm just an old car whoarder
LOL! Can't believe you don't want my Buick to complete your collection! Unfortunately I can't bring myself to offer any of my trucks. Well if you think of something a guy who hoards early 50's Chevy and GMC trucks might have that you want remember me, if its a stock part I either have one, or did... Meanwhile I'll be patient. A COE will come to me. I have to finish another project before I could start that one anyway.
sorry I didn't think about truck whoarders I just threw four gl*** fenders and two gl*** hoods on the burn pile the flames were so high and the smoke so black I had to take pictures. another reason not to build plactic cars (not that anythings wrong with that!)
Frankie here the post I'll add some photo's of the hood section when I fire up my other computer, I have none here
hood section, 1. what I did was line it up and tacked it to the fenders 2. I made a cut all the way around the hood and cut off the top above where I wanted the break. 3. picture number one I slid the top over the bottom lined everything up had to make a few relief slices to line them up. then clico'd (sheet metal screws do the same job) them together 4. I took a die grinder and made a start point for my air sawsall and made one cut thru both parts. I just did 8-10 inches at a time and alternated from side to side. also made some relief cuts in the lower half so I could do small sections at a time as you can see in the second photo. 5 the die grinder and sawsall not only gives a good gap to weld but allowed me use sheet metal screws with large flat washers to pull the two parts flush to tack then move to the next section. it went very fast and I didn't get any pictures of that step. I ended up with very little distortion (till I ran over it in the driveway last week haha) If you have any questions let me know, hope this helps
I got my front end parts back from the platers. got a couple more patch panels to finish. then bolt the front clip together so I can work on the hood that I ran over screwing around. Paso Is close and I am far
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