Me & Gramps' '51 GMC 5 Window Project

Moved the bed over and got it all lined up and hand-tightened.



Like some other people, I felt the rear bumper stuck too far out behind the truck. We ended up moving it in and up about 2" both directions. It's not a huge difference, but I think it looks a lot better.

 

Polished up the three hood badges and got them put on. Then we stuck the grill back in and got to work on the front splash apron and bumper. One of the bumper mounts was way off, so we heated it up and bent it into place. I can't say how happy it makes me feel to see the front of this truck shining again.

 

For the easiest "install" of the day, I finally got my Jalopy Journal key wallet put on the truck keys.

 

Fine looking truck. Good job to work with Gramps like you did, he must be a great guy!
Anxious to see it with smoothies and whites. Carry on.

 

Thanks Greaser. He's a great guy, and I'm very thankful for this time! Yeah, I am really looking forward to the smoothies and whites....just gotta figure out which kidney I wanna give for the whites.

 

Wow that looks really good.

 

Thanks! Looking better all the time!

 

Awesome job Cubby!

 

Thanks Todd!

 

Awesome...gettin close...glass was fun huh? Little ones getting big...mine too...

 

Closer all the time! I'm commuting back and forth to Kentucky, so time is more critical, but I'm plugging along on it in-between. I WILL be driving it this Spring! Oh yeah, the rugrats are getting bigger all the time!

 

Seat belts are all in now. Went with three chrome latch lap belts, and I think they look great with the seat.

 

As far a sheet metal goes, she's finally a complete truck! We put the rear fenders and aprons on, then tightened them and the running boards down. Considering the aprons were after market and the running boards came off another truck I'm thrilled about the margins and how well they all went together (with a little convincing).

 

The '51 Missouri tag I had originally registered to the truck got stolen last summer during a garage sale at our house. I was apprehensive about trying to track another tag and "51" tab down after how long the search for the first one took. I managed to find each separately and just got the "new" tag registered. Happy I did, I love the look of the old tag on her.

 

In case anyone is interested, I used stainless button head bolts for the fenders. I like the way they look personally.

 

Those button head allens looks great. I will have to shop for some.

 

I actually found Amazon to be about the best place to get them!

 

Trucks really looks great! I'm envious at how good it turned out.

 

Thanks Dennis, it's turning out better than I even imagined. It'll look better once it's running down the road every day!

 

Thanks.......I will have to take a look!!

 

This is a post I've been excited about being able to make for a long time. We spent the day yesterday working on the door and vent glass, adding the trim around the windows and headlights, and putting her new shoes on. All of our door glass came from LMC, and I'm happy to report it all fit great (after plenty of beating). Vent windows took the majority of the day. Those stupid little rivets and the setting tool proved to be quite a pain. For anyone interested in a step-by-step process for the vent window rebuild, there are some great links in the AD Truckers Sticky Tech Thread. We had to go three places to find some, but we used the 1/16 rubber setting tape instead of the cork/canvas tape sold by the part suppliers. We were very pleased with how it worked.

 

We used aftermarket headlight rings and they lacked the original metal clip on top. We took the clips off of the original rings and used a product called Q-Bond to attach them to the new rings. I should have taken a picture, but I forgot. That Q-Bond is no joke, and I definitely recommend it for attaching small pieces like clips and tabs.

 

The MOST exciting update of the day is the new shoes. Coker 15x7 smoothies, beauty rings, police caps, and Diamondback II 225/75/15 3" white walls all the way around.

 

Looking great! Thanks for taking the time to post all the details.

 

DUDE! This is so perfect! Goes to show just how many ways these ADs can be built!

How have you not scrubbed that blue shit off already?

 

Thanks man, been a long time coming! It was VERY hard not to scrub, but I figured I'd wait until we had it done.

 

Yea that's bad ass....wish I had taken the time to find a gmc or at least the front end. Stance is perfect.

 

Thanks man, I'm loving the stance. Rake looks great as is, but I think the truck will end up leveling out a little more once the bed wood is in and the springs break in. Have you noticed your back end drop at all with the posies now that you've been driving it a little while?

 

Hi Cubby: Nice thread and beautiful job on the truck. It's a great design, nice color and what a difference the new tires and wheels made! Thanks. TEB

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