Wamego: 1949 GMC 150

[joedoh]

edit: shoot, a page break. this is why I hate using the forum tool for pictures, 5 per post. go back one post for more updates.

I couldnt find the windshield center bar inside piece even though I kicked it around a while. I picked up a new one and oh well what the hell a new outside piece too. if you havent installed one yet with new rubber, let me help. the bolts they give you come no where close to inserting. so what I do is buy longer bolts and some cap nuts. I cut the heads off the bolts and thread them into the stainless outside piece then use the cap nuts to snug it all down. you can replace the cap bolts with the countersink bolts one at a time afterwards, but I dont mind the cap nut look, I actually prefer it







jacked the truck up to finish the bumper bracket welding, bleed the brakes, etc. something made me check the trans bolt haha



found the nut in my hidey space of important things and installed it.

[joedoh]

this is a view you cant see, only possible with a camera, because the studs on the wiper face the firewall and the motor is tilted back about 15 degrees.



so getting the nylon washer and e clip on are a real adventure. jeff at bowtie bits said "why not just use the spring like factory?" after I was done and complaining haha.



headliner done, that was fun. my wife helped with the rear section and learned some new words at the same time.



made a bracket for the air cleaner. in my mind the twist worked better than it looks. I may redo that bracket. but its strong and doesnt wiggle.



got amost everything else done underhood. PCM mounted, battery tray sealed and painted, overflow tank installed, and the cowl vent tube routed so it doesnt drop water on the distributor.



couple more zip ties on some harnesses and things, but really I am overall happy with how everything fits. a little hard to fill the overflow, but how often do you fill it anyway?

more to come, tomorrow is door seals, and maybe column reinstall.

[mongocanfly]

In spite of the fitment issues I like those gauges....looks good

[Scott2]

Great progress - I keep looking back in the thread and can’t really figure out how the whole truck got painted. Seems like it just happened in between all the other stuff like it’s not a ton of work. All nicely done and I really like all the clever solutions.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by Scott2

I keep looking back in the thread and can’t really figure out how the whole truck got painted.

first, take away reason and accountability. second, at the last possible second you can paint something before its assembled, spritz a little paint in that area. repeat until its one color! the roof is still bare, nothing to install there hahaha

[oldman3]

joe, nice update. Looking good also...Jim

[reaper71]

Almost there Joe!
Looking great


Mark

[8man]

Nice, and very innovative.

[joedoh]

found some more time.

the headlights were juuuussst slightly different side to side (different manufacturers) so I ordered the right light to fix it. got the interior almost buttoned up and sanded the cab to get rid of the rough spots for a new coat of paint. the nice thing about working in the satin finish spray can medium is that you can just sand back your mistakes and spritz it again. you can see in the picture why I didnt go too fancy on the paint, there is just gallons worth of dents to fill.

but everything works, wipers and gauges and HVAC and well, everything.

[OutlawDrifter]

Looking good champion!

[joedoh]

here is a fun tip. I like reusing everything I can, so when it is time to make the dome light work I reuse the bulb holder and bulb from the front marker lights. I tie it into one of the underdash lights.

[Palf70Step]

Looking better every day!

[65blackfleetside]

Joedoh,
I am amazed at how you are able to fit all of that S10 stuff in the engine bay!!
Truck looks great! Love the gauges and how you are hiding the stock AC up under the dash!

Question: are there any options on changing to retro style steering wheel rather than stock S10 wheel? I am not familiar with how GM builds the newer steering shaft splines? I know changing out the column would not allow you to use cruise control wiper control etc plus a new column is $500-600 bucks.

[Advanced Design]

Looks like another one is about finished. Nice work. What’s next?

[8man]

On the road again, almost there. Looking good.

[oldman3]

joe, I enjoyed the build of Hannah, and that truck really looked cool. About a 1-1/2 yr build on Wamego, and it turned out great. Enjoy this for awhile, until "as you say you get bored." So as many will want to know, is the CEO next?...Jim

[Dachshund]

Nice! Lots of ideas there! I lived in Wamego for 4 years back in the late 80's/early 90's. Worked at KDOT.

[joedoh]

thanks guys, some really stiff stuff left but yes, almost across the line.

dachshund thats awesome, about two months after I started this one I was in st marys to pick up a mini cooper, wamego was right around the corner.

Originally Posted by oldman3

joe, I enjoyed the build of Hannah, and that truck really looked cool. About a 1-1/2 yr build on Wamego, and it turned out great. Enjoy this for awhile, until "as you say you get bored." So as many will want to know, is the CEO next?...Jim

all I can say is.. maybe. truth be told I am anxious for a shop and I have something working that needs some cash, so this one will probably be for sale before I am even bored. if I get the shop, I have enough parts to build my vision of a COE.

and a year and a half? my count is 7 months! I finished hannah in june!


took it around the block. man I love the old timey glow the DRLs give, it would be much simpler and less expensive to just rewire the headlights and do away with the weird ground setup and DRL and AHL, but I LOVE that the DRLS only come on in gear. (or neutral, as seen below). I am a man of many very strict compulsions, and having things the way I want them is one.

this truck really beat me up, every challenge was like a clockwork puzzle that kept falling apart into more clockwork puzzles. I am actually reliving my college days when, after a tough semester, I would still startle awake on the couch thinking something was due. thats how this feels, I have a short short list of squawks and once I work them thats it.

[Palf70Step]

Man that looks good!!

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 65blackfleetside

Question: are there any options on changing to retro style steering wheel rather than stock S10 wheel? I am not familiar with how GM builds the newer steering shaft splines? I know changing out the column would not allow you to use cruise control wiper control etc plus a new column is $500-600 bucks.

sorry, I missed this question at first.

the gm splines are the same 1947 all the way through 2010 or so, maybe even more. the column in this truck is the 2003 s10 column, I actually prefer these type because they dont need a bottom clamp for the firewall, its actually nice that it stops and goes to DD shaft inside the firewall, easier to seal for me.


you have to be careful though, the steering columns changed in 93 or so and so an earlier wheel wont fit an airbag column, well it fits but it doesnt have enough room between the rim of the wheel and your knuckles to the turn signal stalk.

The wheel on this truck is a repop impala copy in 15" like they sell on speedway. .

[joedoh]

time to put the hubcaps on for real instead of double side tape. restating the problem: they make gmc caps that fit rally wheels but they are prohibitively expensive. chevy caps are a 1/4 the price of gmc, probably a volume thing. so I ordered stock 49 gmc caps (that usually mount with clips) and made a plan to modify them.

helping with this plan, mobsteel sent me four blem rally caps. actually they sent five, and I cut one up to try on an old 41 cap earlier. the cut rally welded to the unmodified 41 hubcap was pure crap theater. it stood proud of the wheel and that may have passed a casual glance but really I invested so much in the wheels I wanted it to look better. the two issues I noticed were 1. just cutting the clip flange off and welding the rally flange on would not work on the mobsteels, there needed to be some of the flange left on the gmc cap. and 2. cutting the cheap repop rally flange off left a really really thin and easily burnt through flange, that was hard to get centered.

this is how I fixed both problems, first I used my circle cutting guide on some 11 ga to make a jig that I could use to cut the gmc flange down but not off.




I used my 6" cutoff wheel in an angle grinder and held the wheel flush to the jig



then I put the unmodified rally cap in the hole, it was simple to get it centered and dot welds around it. the extra material in the bend of the cap kept it from burning through and I was happy.

[joedoh]

fit perfect! no standing proud, and centered.



then I buttoned up some more of the interior and did some more road testing





I stopped at the auto parts store for some vacuum hose but couldnt find the HVAC port on the manifold. I DID find a leaky rad cap so I got one of those while I was there. runs good. alignment is WAAAY out so I will fix that tomorrow.

[Palf70Step]

It is looking better and better everyday! Great work on the caps.

[reaper71]

Looks Great

[oldman3]

joe, really cool looking ride, enjoy...Jim