1951 GMC 350 5 Window

[jrdecat]

Yesterday I went and looked at a 1951 GMC 350 5 window big bolt. After giving it a good once over I shook hands with the seller and it was mine.





About 5 years ago I had purchased a 1948 Chevy Loadmaster 4400 and ended up selling it due to lack of time for a project. It was an amazingly solid truck and I never should have let her go.





Just look at those cab corners!!!

I've always wanted an AD truck, but also wanted to be able to roll down the freeway or drive it in the CO snow when needed. My plans are to remove all the sheet metal and part out the rest of the dumper. The bed wood is beautifully weathered and it will be repurposed into furniture. I just happen to make steel furniture for a living and I will be able to recoup my costs from purchasing the truck about four fold.

The sheet metal will get the CLR treatment and clear coated. The backsides of all the panels will get por-15 or chassis saver. I'm going to leave all the dents and dings. I don't have any cancer to worry about, just surface rust. I'm sure I will find some extensive rust when I start teardown, but for now it's all fairy dust and unicorn farts (they smell like rainbows). I will need to fill in the hole where the original mirror was torn off and a hole in the roof where somebody most likely had a spotlight mounted, but that is the only body work I will do.

I plan on stripping out the interior and giving all of it a good coat of por-15 or chassis saver. I haven't decided on a color scheme for the interior yet.

For the donor frame and drive train I'm looking for a mid to late 80's K20 with a 700r4. I figure the swap will be easier if the motor, tranny, transfer case, and all associated things to "make it go" are already attached to the frame. After that all I will need to do is align the fenders and radiator to clear the motor and tires, then align the cab to the fenders and just like that I'll be done . I went with the big bolt because of the bigger fenders for tire clearance and longer hood for motor clearance. Since I'm going 4x4, it is preferable that the body will be sitting up a little higher. The track width of the big bolt is very similar to that of the K20, so I shouldn't have the ugly tire stick out that people usually run into with full size frame swaps. I will just build a flat bed to finish it off.

I'm sure that there is a lot of head scratching and laughter going on about this project, but it's what I've always wanted to do, so I'm going to do it.