1949 GMC 1 Ton dually custom

[dubds10]

So I figured I'd start a budget build thread for my newest project. This will be my daily driver/shop truck etc. I use and abuse my trucks exactly how they were meant to be used

So I'm going to keep track of the hours I put in and the $ I put in and hopefully I'll actually be able to stick to a budget here and record all my progress.

First off, I just bought the truck for $1000. Was a runner/driver about 15yrs ago supposedly. I tried to get it to run, except all the wiring is a rats nest and some even caught fire before. So instead of just getting it going for now, I started the tear down. I pulled out the entire electrical wiring harness from the truck. Didn't take long, only 30min of cutting and pulling to make sure I got every piece of wiring out of there. Next I took off the frontend which only took an hour to do by myself. I forgot how heavy these things are to lift off, but I got it all off complete with no damage.







I got a '76 GM motorhome from a buddy for $60 (cost of the tow) otherwise it was free. I found about $5 in change in it and a $50 gift card to a local restaurant It's got a good running rebuilt 350 engine with TH350 tranny. I didn't drive it around but got it running after hot wiring it. I spent an hour or so cleaning out all the garbage as somebody was living it before it got impounded. Once it's all cleaned out, I stripped the interior out of it and then took down the walls and roof and separated all the materials in piles ready for the dump and recycling. The only thing left is the floor and cab, which'll come off this week. Then I'll bring the chassis to my house for the swap. I've got about 6hrs in to the tear down of the motorhome with just me using a large axe to take the entire thing apart. If I had just used my bobcat when it was here, it would've taken 15min lol Oh well...





I'm hoping to keep this build around $2-3000 for a complete running/driving daily hauler. The truck will be placed on the dually chassis, with a custom 4-link rear end airbagged, with the original bed being widened and possibly widen the fender out if I have to. I'll be getting some 19.5 semi rims and tires to bolt on sooner or later. Most of everything I need I already have or I will buy/sell/trade for to keep within budget. A few things will be new, like a wiring harness, otherwise most will be gently used hahaha This is a work truck, not a show truck.

Nate

[ghettoluxury]

Looks like a good start.

[BBEEP]

I built a school bus on a dually about the same year as your motorhome. The differential in a motorhome is usually 18 inches narrower, but with the same spring perch--pretty cool for me.
The front track is definitely wider than our AD's. I bought a 1 1/2 ton front clip for $60, they are usually pretty cheap. They are a little wider, longer and taller, but they bolt to the cowl and I made the half ton grill work.
You can check my burb/envoy build. I cut the fenders down and shortened the length for my half-ton burb. I think it is a better look than widening the inside edges of the fenders. You can look at the Hot Rod GM build--they did it that way and it appears they still have clearance issues.

[dubds10]

Yeah, I know the track width is a couple inches wider than our AD bodies are but that's ok. It'll get a custom airbag job down the road anyways, so custom front suspension. If you like buses check out this project We're doing a full custom suspension on it, interior etc. Although it's a newer bus...but it's the same chassis as my motorhome, so once it's done the motorhome will be a quick and easy build. There's a lot of custom work to make the bus lay out and still work properly as a daily driver. I couldn't buy the '50s bus I wanted, the guy wouldn't budge on the price. I may just replace the front sheet metal down the road with 1.5T, if I find a nice enough set.

No rush now, I'm just going to get everything put back together and driving. Then I can change things as I go. Doesn't take much to take these trucks apart and put back together lol You can build one in a couple days for the most part. I've got my eye on a couple other ones though to buy and maybe steel parts off of to make custom fenders for the rear and maybe front.

Nate

[BBEEP]

Looks like the front of a C.O.E would work best on that bus.

[drivea55]

wow!

this is going to be something off the beaten path. right up my alley with the building a driver not a trailer queen. (not that there is anything wrong with that) *ducks quickly* lol

kidding aside, it is cool so see a long bed being done.

I was thinking the same thing and yet I already blew that budget buy a grand or 2... if you get addicted, that 2-3 grand will triple.

I be watching this one, and good luck!!! just keep posting up pics!

Brian

[dubds10]

Actually, my buddy wants a COE, as do I, but they are hard to come by. I had to pass up on 2 52 Chevy's COEs for dirt cheap as I had no time to get them before the scrapper came and no room. The acre lot is full of vehicles already lol But since that bus has a clean title/vin there's no point in switching the cab part out. If it were a parts/no title bus then for sure a COE frontend would be going on it.

Yeah, not many people do the long beds, but we work on a vehicles every day and do hauls all the time so it'll be nice to have one complete 1ton work horse for towing the trailers. My buddy got a tow truck, but sometimes we need the trailers. Next up is either building or buying a 2-3 car trailer to make our trips down south worth while

I'm tempted to take a week off work, just so I can concentrate on this project, but last time I took a week off I missed out on lots of $$$ lol So this is a spare time build, but still want it done ASAP

Nate

[dubds10]

Had a couple hours of free time tonight, so I disconnected the dumpbed and lifted it off the frame. I didn't realize how heavy this bed would be..I'm so used to short beds hahaha I had to get underneith of it and use my legs to press it up into the air as I put pieces of metal under it. Then once I got it high enough, just stood in the middle of the frame and lifted it up till it stood straight up. DAMN HEAVY!! Gotta be at least 500lbs complete with wood.



Then I just unbolted the running boards which is easy except for the front ones. They are a PITA cause there's a few things in the way of the mounts. Cant take the drivers side off until I remove the cab, oh well.



Tomorrow I should have the cab off and then the frame will be gone to the scrappers along with the engine/tranny, unless I can sell them locally.

Nate

[dubds10]

I did all my measuring up for the rearend of the truck and I'm about 20" wider than the '49s body lol I can take the bed out 6" with a new bulk head, cross sills etc but then have 14" to widen the fenders PLUS X" amount of extra inches for the semi rims. I can't find a shorty dually rearend up here and I'm not cutting my current one down. I got some semi rims for cheap, so I think I'm probably going to sell my bed since it's in great shape and shouldn't be cut up anyways. I'll just run a custom flat deck on it with big stainless semi truck wheel well

[cAlvis165]

Been lurking here for a while. Just had to say I'm really looking forward to following this build. I've got my eye on a '51 ton and a half that I would love to put on an newer chassis and then put to work. Semi rims sound great! Keep us updated on your progress!

[dubds10]

It's kind of going to be like the '67 Chevy from the Fast and Furious movie, except with a dually. I haven't seen one built yet like what I want to do, so should be a cool daily work truck.

I've got my '55 tho that I'm supposed to be building for the gf right now too so my time is split between the two projects and I've been out of town lots. Hoping to get a few days here so I can finish up getting the motorhome chassis ready and get the cab and frontend mounted.

Nate

[dubds10]

Finally got some time to take the cab off the '49 and scrap the chassis. I couldn't keep the chassis and drivetrain sitting here any long so had to scrap it. Trying to keep things moving these days vs holding on to every truck part lol

Anyways I got the bobcat over to the house and used that Worked like a charm...only had to use my finger muscles Now I just need to finish stripping the cab off the motorhome chassis then bring that chassis to the house and get the 49 mounted. Finally making some progress this weekend and we got 4 loads of scrap done, moved my '55 parts shorty to the yard and brough the '41 out of the back 40 so I can remove that cab tomorrow and scrap that frame. It's a pretty cool 3T dump truck with a HUGE single ram setup. I might try and take the ram setup off and sell or use.

Nate

[Scuba0459]

I am subscribed. I have a '49 1ton 5 window that runs but I want to make it into something that I can drive from Sherwood Park to Langley.

I look forward to watching your progress.

Albert
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[OrrieG]

You should be able to sell the ram set up easily. I have a 69 C30 with a dump bed and have multiple standing offers if I want to sell the whole truck or just the dump flat bed portion.

[dubds10]

The chassis, pto dump setup and bed are all gone now. Just have the cab & frontend and I've just got to get my cab off my RV chassis then I'm good to go. But I found a '94 dually crew cab complete that I may buy and use for the swap. I'm away from home till the weekend so we'll see if I can pick that up or not. Would be perfect because of the size, but I might get it for another project. I want to do the shorty 1ton hot rod.

Nate

[cAlvis165]

Originally Posted by dubds10

The chassis, pto dump setup and bed are all gone now. Just have the cab & frontend and I've just got to get my cab off my RV chassis then I'm good to go. But I found a '94 dually crew cab complete that I may buy and use for the swap. I'm away from home till the weekend so we'll see if I can pick that up or not. Would be perfect because of the size, but I might get it for another project. I want to do the shorty 1ton hot rod.

Nate

Well, what did you decide? Did you go with the '94 or stay with the original design? Hope all is well with you and yours.

[dubds10]

Originally Posted by cAlvis165

Well, what did you decide? Did you go with the '94 or stay with the original design? Hope all is well with you and yours.

I kept my '76 1ton chassis as it's complete with the 350 combo in it all ready to go. BUT somebody bought my '49 so now I'll build my '55 Chevy on the chassis instead Everything is for sale for the right price when it comes to what's in my driveway The '55 is the lil womans dream truck, so once I get it back up here this week I'll tear it down and get the body ready to go. We're moving now too, so I've got to clear out all my trucks parts except what I really NEED.

I got a dually set of 8 lug 19.5s off a '56 chevy step van cheap so now I just need some 19.5 tires in decent shape to throw on. Then the only thing I'll need is a wiring system and drop my '55 body on it. The '55 body is in good shape as well, so wont really need any metal work from what I've seen. But I haven't taken it off the frame yet, so who knows until I get it stripped.

Nate

[cAlvis165]

Originally Posted by dubds10

I kept my '76 1ton chassis as it's complete with the 350 combo in it all ready to go. BUT somebody bought my '49 so now I'll build my '55 Chevy on the chassis instead Everything is for sale for the right price when it comes to what's in my driveway The '55 is the lil womans dream truck, so once I get it back up here this week I'll tear it down and get the body ready to go. We're moving now too, so I've got to clear out all my trucks parts except what I really NEED.

I got a dually set of 8 lug 19.5s off a '56 chevy step van cheap so now I just need some 19.5 tires in decent shape to throw on. Then the only thing I'll need is a wiring system and drop my '55 body on it. The '55 body is in good shape as well, so wont really need any metal work from what I've seen. But I haven't taken it off the frame yet, so who knows until I get it stripped.

Nate

Changes happen...I was dying to do a Chevy build and find myself I the middle of a `65 International Harvester one ton restoration.

Looking forward to seeing the 55 now