hey guys, did the intro thing, now the details, purchased the truck about 4 months ago, she's a 1949 GMC 3/4 ton, long bed truck, 235 inline 6, but been swamped working, school, and paying bills to save some money to get her running again and trying to do some planning in between, wanna build something different and extremely reliable, no trailer queen here, always been a firm believer in you build a car to drive it, not look at it.. so no more deal here she is...
engine won't spin on it's own, brakes are shot, body's pretty banged up, butsolid short of the bed which is pretty beat up, but hey it's a 60 yr old truck, steering working, and everything I pulled the spark plugs, and shot about a can of PB blaster down them and the carb, and am gonig to try to get her to spin probably sunday morning. HAHAHA, one person saw before I could resize it
cool truck man... i dig it... I've been wanting to do that vintage of chevy or GMC for some time... good luck with the start! those old GM inliners have a habit of being tough so you never know... Make sure you can turn her by hand or wrench before you crank her.... C-ya in asbury.. ps - we own a junkie in north jersey if you find yourself in need.. i enforce a heavy discount for hambers..
Count the freeze plugs on the side of the block-that'll tell you if it's a 235, or still has a GMC engine. You might want to start with a 1/2 ton builder, using this one for parts.
it would be alright to build a 3/4 ton into a working or shop truck, but they are a bit heavy duty for normal rodding. that would probably have a 228?
This is screaming for an S-10 chassis swap, it's the right wheelbase, the drivetrain isn't any good anymore, and it's a 3/4 ton which will ride like shit and top out at 40 mph. If it's a GMC motor, keep it for a rod, and swap a complete running S-10 under that. So many other HAMBers have done it and the ride/drive is supposed to be great. Nice grille in it for sure.
Maybe a dumb question, but are the cabs, fenders, doors etc the same on the 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton ? I've got my eye on two of the five windows but one is 1/2 ton and the other 3/4, just want to see if stuff will interchange. Thanks Patrick
Yes they interchange. It's the suspension that is a big difference. Of course you can see that the front end is different between the Cheverolet and the GMC trucks. Good luck! Ken
hahah, boat anchor, coffee table, same difference, but actually 1/2 tons also came in long beds too i believe, a little rarer though, and yeah the 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton I believe have the same sheet metal. I've spent the past couple weeks seriousily debating on what route I'm going with this... -One side I'm like restore it originally, learn something you know nothing about, keep it 60 years old, hot rod the shit outta it and drive it til she blows up and fix it, stick true to the gearhead/loving cars side, rough truck ride, can't drive fast, no AC or heat, "roughing it" so to say -on the other hand I'm saying modernize it, S10 frame, reliable, be able to tow a little, heat and AC, cheap parts, enclosed cab, and leave the roughing it for the next project, convertible, old school, low t-bucket or something crazy, either way, everytime I go to a show it makes me sad, just knowing I can't hop in her and take a ride, so I gotta make a decision soon rodwerkz-junkie as in like wrecker to tow, or junkyard? cause either way I may be contacting you soon
1955 2nd series Chevrolet was the first 8' 1/2 ton - GMC offered them since the mid 1930s. Chevrolet sold an 8' box pickup thru early 1946, but rated them 3/4 ton even though the chassis was simply a 10'' stretched 1/2 ton
I own a 1952 GMC 1/2 ton long bed pick up with a 228 engine. I kept it all original except the rear axle (changed it to open drive) and the paint job (how else will they know it belongs to a girl ) Daisyduke
Check Stovebolt.com for more truck details but I know the sheet metal is the same for 1/2-1 ton trucks. The cabs are the same all the way up to at least 2 ton but I think the body mounts differ. The fenders are LOTS bigger on the 1 1/2 and 2 ton trucks. I don't agree that there wasn't a long bed for the 50's trucks because I've had a 52 and a 54 Chevy with long beds. They may not have been the true 8' though, been a while and used for parts. GMC made a 7' bed that I've seen. Actually, I haven't seen a GMC with a true 6' short box that wasn't a Chevy bed originally. Someone can correct on that one if they want.
If you want to find out anything try the guys on this site, they helped me out loads. www.OldGMCtrucks.com Daisyduke
Actually the 3/4 ton chassis is the chassis of choice for the street rod crowd. its narrower where the rear mounts and you can out a wider tire under there without big chassis mods. I'm not big on the long bed on the older trucks. You might consider looking up a short bed or cutting your bed down. swap in a half ton axle or some other 6 or 5 bolt rear and do the same with the front. you'll have to shorten the chassi to accomodate the shorter bed. I would loose the 6 first crack out of the barrel but I don't have a clue what your finances or desires are. Maybe keep an eye out of an older olds or caddy mill. Dip it way down in the snout and just drop the tail a smidgen so you gots some rake goin' on. Hell its your truck build it the way you like 'em. I guess there isn't a thing in thr world wrong with that.
Dang DaisyDuke did you paint that thing with left over fingernail paint. hehehehe... Clean truck though :~)
damn, that things pink, there's a guy in jersey that has purple one, says it's the only way his wife would let him drop the $$$, hahah, but seriousily I think she's going to get the S10 swap, just for simplicity reason and to get her back on the road sooner. I figure the 4.3 liter will be fairly reliable, 700R4 are good trans and the chevy allows for a lot of easy engine swaps down the road, If any one has a line on a free/cheap S10 from jersey or close by, hit me up, Thanks for the help guys
alright, looks like the truck gods are mad at me, long story short, since I resigned my lease in june, my landlord has called me every 2 weeks or so to bitch at me about something, anything he could think of, yet I never heard from him like at all the first year, no idea why the change, but this morning my landlord called to bitch at me for the bikes in the back yard, including a chopper I built, and now the truck telling me he wants it outt here..and he'll give me one month to do so. now me being the way I am, not liking people to tell me what to do, and enjoying rubbing shit in their face, that gave me one option. I got one month to get her running, insured and registered, so WHATEVER his reasoning.. to be a dick, not liking the primer grey paint, or the rotted bed, he's no longer got a say to bust my chops about what I drive. So Tuesday I'm off, I'm ripping into the motor to take a closer look at the problem, but looks like I'll be searching for an S10 chassis to do the swap, if anybody has a line on a truck, wants to lend a hand, their knowledge anything, def get in touch with me, thanks again guys FUK the man
I'll keep my ears open for an s-10 for you but I do have a late 70's firebird front clip (same as camaro). It's yours if you want it. Probably less work than than the s-10 frame thing. Just cut and weld it on. It'll even bring it down nice and low. It'll need new rotors and calipers but they're cheap. It even has frame mounts, I think. It's been in my yard for over a year waiting to be adopted. you got my #. Come and get it. MIKE.
god damn man, I'm just blown away, Thanks so much, I'm working on a couple lines for S10's, but if I hear nothing back soon. You'll definately be hearing from me. HAHA I would been there today, but my dad borrowed my truck to move some shit and I'm stuck with his 4 door integra (when the hell did the sell these)_
Give me a call tomorrow. My mornings busy, but if you're around in the afternoon I'll swing by to see what it'll take to put that menace on the road. With your landlord problems, bringing an S10 chassis will get your ass thrown out. You need a new place. 848-248-2295
my 54 GMC was a long bed 3/4 ton (still is 3/4 for now) the short bed fit perfect now. never included the photo
hey man, I unfortunately got work, my schedule is 4:30 PM til about 12 wed, thurs, fri, and sat, so I've been slowly trying to toy with it in the morning, but not much progress getting home late, then waking up early with my girl, but I have slowly been looking further into it between work, and the race car and trying to have some fun before schools back up right now, I'm doing what I can to see if it's a possiblity to "cheaply" get her running again, stock for now, but to be able to give it to my landlord and tell him to fuck off, then with him off my case look into long term plans with it shitty part about the bed is it's pretty dented up and supports are rusted and woods near gone, so i gotta decide to find an original, repo, or mod something, found this thats pretty neat...... thats a chevy S10 long bed, and the taillights would have to go, but gives you an idea, i and actually made a template of the curvature of the doors, and am gonna bring it around with me compare when I head to a JY next week, would replace my bed sides, and then I'd work on the wood bottom, either way would be cheaper than the 1600+ for a repo bed
I'll keep you updated with what I find over the next couple days, but I am definately off Monday, so all day will be working on the truck
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