56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

So I've built a couple of these truck over the years and parted out a bunch more. Last truck I did was supposed to be my last project due to health and other issues. I was really happy with but it met with an untimely demise (see my sig)

Stayed away for a couple years and went back to muscle cars for a while but it just wasn't working for me. So I found this little beauty and snapped it up. Nut & bolt frame off resto of a clean Saskatchewan truck that somehow found it's way out to Vancouver BC. Figured I've done them frame-up before, why not start with something a little further along this time :gi: So here she is my new final last project - one more time :)

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Nice looking truck.
What engine, trans etc?

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Very nice looking truck.
Kim

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Very nice, What are you doing to this one , original or modified?

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Wow. Nice! What are your plans?

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Thanks for the compliments. Engine is 235 6 banger and 3 on the tree. Has Fenton cast iron manifolds with dual exhaust. Still has the foot start. Drum brakes and stock steering. Still fun to blast around in. I sold a 12 sec 66 Malibu to buy it and it couldn't be more different.

Used it yesterday to haul a load of topsoil, truck didn't even work hard....

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

What a find, love that truck.

Plans for now are to keep it pretty stock chasing down details like dome light, small adjustments on doors etc. My Mr Hyde side wants to do ifs and irs slammed with a blown small block and 5 speed custom interior with GTO buckets and console with cup holders.....

Meanwhile back on planet earth I gave it a little clean up and took a couple new pics
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Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Super nice looking truck

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Nice photo. :c2:

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Thanks Jean-Marc ! Yours is one of my favorite builds! Also a big fan of Bam's build (please come back ! I feel for you but if you stay away the jerk wins) and really enjoyed following Dan in Pasadena's 55 big window.

Thanks! there's this cool old barn just down the road from my place, makes a great photo location

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Nice looking Chevelle.
66 is my favorite year and hope to get another one.
Kim

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Thanks Kim my favorite year too but I have a single car garage.....

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Great looking GMC!!!

Nice truck but should I butcher it???
 

My new truck has the six and 3 speed with 4:10 gears. Great for putting around town but I like to go places and the nearest good size town is an hour away. Truck really doesn't like to go over 50 mph on the highway. Also it rides rough and the front axle bottoms out against the frame sometimes over a bump ( couple leaves pulled out of all the spring packs). Not complaining I knew that going in and I'm ok with it..... for now....:) I've been tossing around whether to leave her as is and enjoy it for what it is, or build a new chassis based on the stock frame, maybe keep the six or maybe not, it runs good just needs some more gears and taller final drive gear.

So I was looking at suspension options and decided not to do a clip this time. Both of the trucks I did in the past turned out really good but getting the rad support and the front bumper mounts right is a little tedious. On the yellow one I used a 80 G-body and the black one had a 65 Lemans/Chevelle clip. Instead I've been looking at options that keep the original frame in the front:

C10 front crossmember - bolt in but I find the track too wide for going as low as I like

Volare/5th Avenue - not crazy about the way it looks but has been done many times and works well, easy height adjust with torsion bars

Various commercially available IFS not using MII parts - Scotts, Heidts, Alston etc. All really nice but too expensive for my budget. Not saying they're not worth the price but it is more than I want to spend.

MII-based crossmember kits - Fatman, TCI, Horton's Welder Series (more affordable) - cost is less than fancier ones above but still close to $2k or more all said and done (shipping, taxes, brokerage etc add to price) and sorry but just not really a fan of most of these but that's just me. They are very popular and are proven to work well when a quality kit is installed properly.

So there is one option that I've always regarded as being really expensive and too complicated so never really considered it, until lately that is.

Say hello to my new donor car for front and rear suspension (and maybe engine & trans too)

Picked it up for slightly more than the cost of a Must*ng 2 kit and it runs and drives great! Almost a shame to cut it up, might just give it a quick paint job and drive it for a while first. Drive the truck when I want to go slow, drive the car when I want to go around corners fast :)

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

That should work out real nice.
Kim

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

What year is the vet? I used an 85 vet with the flatout engineering kit and I find it to be a bit too narrow with the wheels set up I have anyway, I had to use wheel spacers to get the wheels out. the 89 to 96 c4 are about 1.5 inch wider and I think would have worked better, for the front anyway. And also I should have moved the front axle forward an inch or so it would have looked better in the wheel opening.

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Thanks Kim.

It is an 85 too. I'm hoping it will be just right for track, read that it is 59.5 rotor to rotor. What are the sizes and backspace on the wheels you used? I think your truck looks great JML. The truck in my avatar was 58 inch track..

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Bob that red truck is BEAUT!!!! I would just leave it alone and enjoy it for what it is already.... you know due to your 'advanced age' and all that kinda stuff.... (that you wrote about in past threads) :lol:

I think you said you were 18 in '81!!!!! thats MY AGE!!! :lol: and from all the advertising I see around all my local beach towns is "OLD GUYS RULE" !!!! ;)


I think you got a good recipe.... leave the truck for slow and steady.... and paint the VETTE up for some fast and furious times.... :metal:


Good luck with whatever you decide!

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

I have 17x8 front rim with 0 offset so I have to use 1.25 wheel adaptors

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

ptc I wish my body was as young as my brain, or yours! LOL Had a few medical issues over the years and they do tend to slow me down some for sure. I like the way you think though :metal:

JML that's the size I was thinking. Will need to compare notes if I decide to go ahead with this.

The six is a bit tired and the rear gear is too low so I thought "just a simple engine/trans/diff swap, out of a 70s/80s pickup, that's the ticket yeah...." and then it starts to snowball...:)

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Looking forward to the updated stance!

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Sorry to hear about your old truck ( hadn't looked in awhile) but
THIS...
IS...
AWESOME!
Love the truck. it's beautiful. AND a gmc, even better. You won't be disappointed with the C4 stuff. We've driven mine from Tulsa OK to Pigeon Forge TN 3 times now, at 70 mph the whole way and brakes and ride can't be beat. I had to use wheel spacers too, even with a 96 front, but the 97 vette wheels are awfully positive offset. Only thing I would do different is I should have a bought the heavier aftermarket crossmember for the front. The stock sheet metal vette crossmember flexes and causes steering / alignment issues unless you reinforce it..a lot. Have fun and good luck!

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

ChuckDriver I'd love to have it sit like yours, not sure if I will get it there but will try.

OKGMC4 thanks for checking in on this. I went through your build today and was thinking of using the stock K-member, thanks for the advice!


I'm also on the lookout for a solid stock frame to build on if anyone on Vancouver Island knows of one? My frame is in great shape but I'd rather keep the truck in one piece while I build the new chassis, I will happily pass my restored chassis on to anyone wanting it for a very reasonable deal after I've made the switch.

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

I will admit that if you could get the engine far back and low it might be ok. My 5.3 is sitting really far forward and it goofs up the weight distribution. I've noticed the small block guys can get it positioned better but the LS engine is just wider and harder to package.

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

A 5 spd would probably be the least expensive way to get freeway speeds.

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Bob, check out the frames from canadian hotrods in tappen bc. I have seen them up close at their shop. really well thought out. not cheap but good I think. they have a lot of good points you may want to incorporate into anew frame or suspension swap. these old frames are pretty flat so fabbing a new one may be easier than working with your old one. you can set the frame width to whatever you want then and adjust the cab mounts accordingly.
just a thought.
old red looks great. I can see why you want a few upgrades though, speed and suspension wise. it sucks to always bracing for the bottoming suspension and feeling like the engine is revving too high on the highway. the slow truck and fast car is an option though.

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

dsraven I checked out Canadian Hot Rods a while back and they are nice, but like you said not cheap. Have a nice rust free spare frame now and stripped out a second vette (first one was just a little too nice to part out)

Have an old school engine ready to go in with a 700r4, should be ready to start making sparks sometime this winter.

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Nice engine bobinbc. I spot early camel hump heads, finned corvette valve covers and an oil fill tube. What displacement?

I'm have a similar plan, old school 327 and a 700r4

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Thanks it's a Corvette 350 with 327 heads, forged pistons, 1962 Edelbrock C4B intake and a mild cam.

Re: 56 GMC Last build - one more time LOL
 

Very cool! Mine is an small journal 327 with the same heads and an older Performer intake, that will be milled for the oil fill tube.

Re: 56 GMC Last build - update
 

I know this is an old thread but just thought I would update.

I left the GMC intact, was just too nice as is to modify. The 350 went into my 65 Nova SS and the Corvette parts got sold.

Fast forward 2 years and I have another truck, a 57 Chevy shortbox, and I'm building the chassis for that one. Bought the spare frame back from a buddy, picked up front and rear C4 suspension and started building my own mounts.

Picture of truck is a crude photochop to lower it to my intended ride height :)