1950 GMC Project...

[tylordurben]

greg i am going to reuse the same wood bed floor, raising it 3"-4" from stock, it will sit on the top of the step notch (i made the top surface the same angle as the bed floor ) then ill make front, rear spacers and the center side rail chassis mount spacers. should work out nicely.

thanks kid, i got a lot of catching up to do to get where your at! even though we are not painting the truck there is a ton of work involved.

[CAL 58 GMC]

Great progress in such a sort time!

[mylow53]

i've always loved the stock bed floor even if it's higher. looking forward to your build keep up the hard work
Greg

[tylordurben]

thanks guys!

update...

finished up the rear end suspension for the most part, only a couple welds left to do when i tear it down for paint. did the 2-link trailing arms, about 30" long and they mount to the rear end like leaf springs with u-bolts and a set pin, i still need to make a new bottom plate with the 4 holes because the 2 piece one i am using now was the stock one and the holes are not wide enough, good enough for mocking up though. i haven't welded the axle seat to the axle cause i need to set the pinion angle on it first so its tacked in place for now. made the pan hard bar from the one off my 51 Buick. it seems very strong, i had to narrow it about 2" for the trucks width. located the slam specialty bags on the 2-links and on the top of the notch, also got the shocks worked into the equation, still need to weld the bottom tabs when i remove the rear end they are tacked in strong for now.

well, i cycled the suspension a few times and there is no binding. sure it isnt the best system out there but i think it came out good. i am aware that the pinion angle will change but we can live with that and set it for the drive hight. Next time 4-link all the way!

pics...







thanks!
Yaril

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Damn looking good.....

[pgf545]

Your doing a great job...keep it up. I wish I had more time to spend on dads truck but I don't so I will keep trudging along.

Bernie

[tylordurben]

thanks Bernie! hopefully i can keep this pace up and have it done soon!

well, no real work done to the truck today. waiting on some parts and the motor/trans. but in the mean time i am lining things up so that there are no more time gaps.

did a little photo-shopping, looking at possible wheel / tire options, i am pretty much set on black for the wheels, but still undecided on the tires... maybe you guys can help?

the expected but always a pleasure, wide white walls:



the i don't have money for wide whites so ill run these:



the i don't give a f**k, durty / tough looking blackwalls:



and last but not least, the huh i haven't seen those in a while, red line tires:




also did a quick concept sketch (i know there is a lot missing on the motor, its a concept), my Crayola color pencils didnt have the greens i wanted but here is a look at what i have planned for the motor / engine bay. thinking stock dark green for the clean firewall and a 53 Buick engine green, its almost minty (similar to the Hirohata Merc, first version) for the motor, my Crayola selection was limited, even though the limish green doesn't look bad. almost forgot, its not on the sketch, but i was thinking gold for the carbs.



so lets have it, whatca think?


thanks!
Yaril

ps, im looking for a replacement Radiator that can cool the stock Chevy 350 and fit the stock rad support, any leads / recommendations?

[54 jimmy]

LOOKS SWEET like the crayola sketch work.

[mcharlie]

Hey tylordurben awsome Jimmy. I just got a 1950 Gmc that I am working on. Im trying to find the motor mounts that are mounted on each side of the motor to brackets coming from the frame. Are you familiar with these? Sorry no pics yet I will try to post them later today.

[tylordurben]

check page 2 on my build thread, somebody posted the motor mount and link, they may be what your looking for?

thank you Jimmy. i just had to "see" what ive been thinking about.

got some work done today...

mounted the 8 gallon air-tank. used the same box tubing as the trailing arms. cut to 3-3/4" then angle cut to make 2 halfs, trimmed the fronts and welded in place, drilled and bolted on. remember this is still mocking, everything will come off when i paint the chassis, and i couldnt have planed it better if i tried, the top of the tank is exactly 1" bellow where the bottom of the wood floor will be!



sometimes the smallest things require extra effort. this was the only location i could see mounting the air compressor, so i made an extension to the top of the chassis out of the same gauge metal, then located the 4 holes, drilled and so on. guess it does the job.



here is a final mock up with the valves, think it should fit between the mounts. im also thinking of making a sheet metal roof (so to speak) to cover the valves from rain? dunno. this truck may or may not see rain, better prepared than not i guess. was thinking a simple "L" that can be sandwiched on the top tank mounts and cantilever over the valve. dont know if its really needed though.



also removed everything off the fender wells. routed the wires up in the wheel wells and filled all the holes. now i just need to trim the wells for the MII and prep for paint.



thanks!
Yaril

[Kid]

lookin good! I used the same tank (firestone??) if so, save your self some headache & pressure check that tank before final instl., mine had a leak at one of the weld bungs.

[mylow53]

whats your gas tank plans under the bed?
GT

[tylordurben]

stock one inside the cab, why?

[mylow53]

the cab tanks are notorus for leaking and smelling up the cab. heard of a guy filling up the tank and the overflow leaked past the gasket and stunk up the truck. not to mention the fire hazard. it looks like you have some room above your frame in the rear. since your lifting the bed a bit... I raised my bed 2 inches then took the tank i got from brothers and put it on 2" blocks to get it higher off the frame... i was hoping to clearance the exaust.

[tylordurben]

hey Greg thanks for the insight. i think this truck will keep the tank where it is. it wont be a daily driver. i do love the set-up on your truck though real clean! thanks.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Id go with the black with black wheels or the black wheels with redline tires...

[tylordurben]

wow, its been a while since i updated, like a week or so.

really had nothing else to do to the truck and was waiting for the motor. well it finally got here yesterday, so today i tore it down enough to where i can mock it into the truck and went ahead and degreased some of the major grime. i ordered the por-15 engine enamel kit along with some chassis paint so we shall see how that turns out. for now i am just getting ready to dip the motor / trans into the truck to weld in the mounts.

things should pick up the pace now.

pic of the motor when it arrived:



pics of it now waiting to be fitted into the truck:



the m/t valve covers will be replaced with nicer once and there will not be a/c or ps, only the alt will remain and a 3 carb set-up is already ordered (it has a 30 day wait time).

thanks,
Yaril

[tylordurben]

how about a another quick side project? caution VW content...









got that thing lower now...

stock hight more or less (aired up):



after a local shop did "air-ride" on it (not low enough aired out):



and now after i lowered the front end 4" via beetle control arms and dropped spindles:




things are looking better now!

Yaril

[tylordurben]

ok, yesterday i sat the motor in place. used CPP trans cross member (i modified it to mount over the lower chassis lip as opposed to under the chassis lip). now the member sits like the stock one did. centered the tail end of the trans and put the front motor mount brackets. they make sense standing on the MII cross memeber. i actually get about 5 degrees of downward tilt at the valve cover putting the carb base perfectly flat.

well, thought id post a pic of the front mount before i go in and weld it. i know most motor mounts ive seen come off the side face of the boxed chassis, but i dont see anything wrong with this set up. i think CPP intended it to be installed like this.

let me know.
Yaril

[Kid]

your motor mount set up would have much better side load capability if you move your inboard strap to the frame rail. As shown, the higher the mount gets from the frame cross member, the weaker it gets. Just my opinion Tylor, (& a little trig.).

[tylordurben]

i kinda felt that, ill call CPP on tuesday before i weld them in cause most mounts ive seen go to the frame rails. these just fit perfect as pictured but may not be ideal. thanks, ill look / call about that.

[tylordurben]

just got off the phone with CPP asking about the motor mounts. they said its ok? i still am not 110% convinced so i may do as Kid suggested and flip the mounts so that the inboard brace meets the side rails of the chassis, that will definitely make for more lateral (side to side) support. it will require a bit of trimming to fit the shape but i think it will be stronger dont you?

[55dude]

great project! i would agree to "flipping" the motor mounts and connecting them to the frame rails would be more work but better setup

[mylow53]

mine are connected to the frame rail as are most mounts i've seen in these trucks.

[tylordurben]

well, i went ahead and cut the mounts so that they mount to the frame. i questioned there original position and decided to go ahead and put them where most of these trucks have them. sorry no pics of that, tomorrow.

well, i think the pace is going to pic up... i hope!

today, got the pinion angle dialed in and mocked up the drive shaft i had made for my dimensions. also got the front motor mounts cut, fitted and welded on (most of the way, gotta take out the motor to get to some other spots) and the trans cross member is secured (also need to remove to finish welding). readjusted the rear axle shock brackets and started those welds too. took apart the complete rear suspension. figured out the "column saver", cut my stock column and found out i got the wrong kit, so CPP is sending me the right one and im returning this one, at least its figured out and being worked out. wire wheeled the rear half of the chassis and coated it with some POR-15. that stuffs the best!

i have also lined up a bunch of parts in the meantime and now i only need to order the radiator and shorty headers tomorrow. i think ill be just about done ordering stuff, most everything else will be local purchases.

well, i wasnt trigger happy with the camara today, but i did manage to get these 2 shoots that show progress:





thanks, till tomorrow... got to buy more welding wire, i ran out of the thick one!!!

Yaril