Photo help 1957 gmc truck front end

[Missyblue]

Hey all. Just trying to put together my 1957 gmc truck front end. I got it all in pieces. I need to assemble the hood latch to the hood and then all the way down to the bumper. I have the plate the hood latches into but not sure of the direction and feel like I'm missing a few pieces so any photos of the front end that you think might help I would be super grateful

[dsraven]

here is a pic of my Canadian 57 GMC. the rad support used is a chevy style, unlike some that I have seen that use a U shaped rad support with "wings" on either side that connect to the fender extensions.

the latch bolts in from the under side.
the bracket bolts to the cross bar that goes to each inner fender connection in front of the rad support.
the grille bolts to the fender extensions on each side and also to the bracket that holds the hood latch and to the bracket that goes side to side
the release lever for the latch should be on the drivers side

disregard the engine in the pics, it's a frame swap with a 4.2L. same for the home made rad support in the later pic. there wasn't room for the rad behind the rad support so I improvised.

hope it helps

[dsraven]

if you have new fender extensions they may not be drilled for the grille mounts. see the last pic. the one with the red magnet holding things together there. the holes would be drilled into that black piece. I have the originals if you need some dimensions for drilling the holes. I could template it on cardboard, scan to email and send it to you or post it on here.

[dsraven]

here is a better pic of the grille mounting holes in the fender extensions. again, disregard the other stuff that is irrelevant.
the grill cross bars have a bracket on each end that bolts to the fender extensions on each side, through these holes.

[dsraven]

yes, I know. chevy fender without the depression for the mustache grille surround extensions. it's what I have, lol. always a reason to do more work.....modify.....carry on.....
post up some pics of what you are having trouble with and maybe I will have an answer. maybe even a pic.

[Old57]

Here are some pics of my 57 GMC

[Missyblue]

Thanks so.much for the help its greatly appreciated! Yeah I feel like im missing a few things. My truck came in pieces and said it was complete but definitely isn't haha. I'll try and get a few pictures up later. It appears i will have to install my radiator support which I hadn't thought of. Just hoping to get it together but she won't have life for awhile have to save for an engineand life
Thanks again

[Missyblue]

Here's a few photos. The guys i got it from apparently painted one of the brackets for the hood latch plate in the wrong position which i had figured out but I think I have it facing the right direction now?

[Missyblue]

And I guess I might be missing those extensions you talk about I just have the radiator support and nothing attached to it. But since I'm not sure I'm going back to stock maybe won't worry about those for now.
Thanks again these pictures and descriptipns from you guys are priceless 😊

[dsraven]

the fender extensions are the tin work parts that fill the area between the fenders and the rad support. they sort of butt up against the inner fenders in this area. they have 2 holes each on the front side and the grill bolts up to those holes. the fillers behind the bumpers,those wavy parts, bolt to the inboard lower parts of the fenders on each sideand they also bolt to the extensions on the bottom edges.like the last pic of the blue parts.

[Missyblue]

Ok so bear with me. I'll attach photos but from what I'm seeing I need those extenders.
So the parts labeled 2 and 3 from old57 are needed because part 2 bolts to #1 in my truck photo
? Is that correct. Any idea what to search for as to find them? Is this it? Just looks different in photo I guess. Won't necessarily buy here just seems to say what i think i need.
https://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts...-04103790.html
Thanks again

[dsraven]

it is a bit confusing for me to understand what is what here. do you have all the parts from the pics or just the parts from the blue truck or just the rusty parts?
the fender extensions are actually present in both of those pics, they bolt on to the fenders and form the surround around the grill opening on a chevyu truck. the gmc sorta hides that part with their larger grill that sticks out the front of the truck more.
yes, part 2 bolts to part 1. the part below part 2, the wavy part, bolts to the fender extension's lower edge. the cross bar that has the hood latch attached bolts to the middle fender extension with a bracket that looks like a piece of angle iron. this is about level with the top edge of the grille surround opening on the chevy trucks and you can see the angle bracket in the blue truck pics. my rad support is different, like a chevy truck, but I assume your rad support would bolt up to the frame from the rear side lower area. it should sit on rubber pucks.

[Missyblue]

Ok Thanks. I only have the basic radiator mount ill attach photo and the blue truck. The rusty parts were posted from another person trying to help me. So I need to locate my own radiator extensions the parts I circled in his photo as #2 And #3 are what I think I'm missing
I will have to search for those. I'm starting to see how it all fits. Thank you
Any recommendations on companies to purchase from that you Like? I have like the catalogue brothers and tuckers and lmc I think. Need a used resource maybe
Have a great day and thanks again.

[dsraven]

ik. looks like you will need 2 and 3 plus the bits that fills in between the bumper on each side, so the wavy parts below 2&3 on the frobt side of the support. also some rubber for the mounts. do you also have the struts that go from the support to the firewall? mine doesn't use those but the other pic of rusty parts does show them.
I have used the parts guys in vegas. tuckers. he may also be a good guy to ask about what you are missing. I recommed to take some good pics of what you have, against a good background so they are easy to see, then ask on this forum and possibly tuckers. I think a lot of the suppliers get the same parts in a different box and you could end up with good or not so good from anybody. my thoughts only though.

try http://www.fillingstation.com for an assembly manual that should show the parts and how they fit.

try the gm heritage center for info, it's usually free.

try G&R's57GMC here because he has one or 2.

[Missyblue]

Awesome thanks so.much for the info.

[dsraven]

looks like the rad support sits on a centered rubber mount in the middle of the rad support. you would need that too as well as a few of the brackets that support the crossbar for the latch mechanism and the wavy lower filler panels. looks like they have a piece that supports from the side of the rad support forward.

[dsraven]

so, assuming you have the fenders, inner fenders and fender extensions that bolt to the fenders, consider this.
- rad support sits on the rubber in the middle-need that
-rad support is bolted to the top of the front fenders with the "T" shaped brackets, each side-need those
-hood latch is attached to a crossbar that spans between the front fenders-need that cross bar and the latch plus the 2 angle iron pieces that bolt to the fenders each side-need that stuff
-there is an upper rad support filler panel bolted to each side of the rad support-need those-not called fender extensions which look like this and bolt to the front fenders

https://www.classicindustries.com/pr...rts/14124.html

-there are lower filler panels that attach to the rad support below the upper filler panels as well-need those. they look like this

https://themusclecarshop.net/product...diator-support


-there are filler panels that bolt to the rad support on the top by the rad cap, each side. shown in the rusty parts pics-need those

there are the two struts that support the rad support from the firewall -need those-shown in the rusty parts pics
-there are the filler panels and angle iron mounts for the bumper filler, each side-need those

-some of this stuff could possibly be templated with cardboard and custom made if you can't source the parts? somebody with a bead roller could help you get the depression in the panels for strength. a sheet metal shop maybe?

[Missyblue]

Awesome I'll check these out and see what I can do. My dad is going too look through these posts and help me today too he's better at this stuff than me haha
But this has been so helpful!

[dsraven]

post up some pics of what you actually have. I can get you dimensions for the fender to fender width or the crossbar width or the angle bracket that mounts the crossbar etc. whatever parts I have that would be the same as yours. worst case scenario you could fab up something if you can't source it aftermarket or ebay etc. there is a Canadian guy, bill's truck shop who posts pics of his used parts. he may be able to source something for you. USD is pretty good right now compared to CAD. still gotta ship it though.

http://www.billstruckshop.com/55-59used.html

[paulspickupparts]

If possible find and original GMC parts book . They will show an expoded version of the 55-56 GMC and also the DIFFERENT 57 GMC Radiator Support and attaching parts. You will not find these parts at all the Chineese repop dealers like you are trying to do. You will have to find someone parting a 57 GMC and buy used . Do not buy from a 55-56 unless you want a Johnny Cash truck with parts from all years.

[Missyblue]

Ok thanks again. So yeah I thought I had a manual but it's the chevy version so I'll have to search for a gmc one. Bills truck stop said he won't ship me something that large but I think I found what I need. Or at least some of it miraculously. Had a pile of pieces hiding so check photos I think I found the brackets that attached to the truck upper fenders up top and also the lower fillers. Let me know if they look correct. I will try and attach them later this week to the radiator suppolrt and see how things fit.. Need bolts. Then I think my radiator support has the top bar /filler in the 3rd photo which I can't tell. Does it look like I have more of the big pieces (minus those support bars)?
But yes I'm definitely finding out like you guys are saying that not everything is reproduced especially being gmc

[Missyblue]

Sorry don't know why 3rd photo is upside down

[Gumbi]

Missyblue, Here is a picture of the front end sheet metal on a 57 GMC. Looking at the parts you posted pictures of I can tell that you have the parts that correspond to a V8 radiator support. All of the parts in this pic are similar to what you need but it shows the ones for a straight 6 motor. They will just be slightly different in size. You're not going to find these from online vendors that make reproductions. The 57 GMC front end was a one year design so you will need to scour Ebay, junk yards and parts wanted adds on this and other forums, and be patient if you want the original parts. Also I recommend joining Stovebolt.com and OldGMCtrucks.com. Those lower filler panels look like they are for the 6 cyl motor as they look wider than the V8 ones.