51 GMC 5 window+S10+5.3/4l60E

[bsccp]

OK, new to the forum. I've been lurking for several months and have learned a tremendous amount from everyone else's experience and builds. So here is my project.

I thought that it wouldn't be too hard to find a 47-54 AD here in West TX. Well guess what? It took the better part of 6 months and several hundreds of miles of driving around and following up on leads. There seemed to be three basic theories on why people wouldn't sell their trucks: 1) belonged to my dad/granddad, etc, very hard to argue with that one, 2) I'm planning on restoring it, or 3) asking way too much money!

After all this time and gasoline it turns out that my neighboor across from my shop (also a fabricator, convienent) had a buddy that had not one, but two for sale. One was a long bed Chevy regular cab and the other was a 51 GMC 5 window! I had hoped for just a regular cab Chevy but ,wow, something a little different. This is some serious farming country around here and I had not expected to find a 5 window GMC. Also, since I was planning on using an S-10 frame I didn't really need drivetrain, etc. Well be careful what you wish for! At that point in time I didn't think $750 for a complete truck was too bad.

Not only did I find my project, "down in the dirt," like I asked for but it had to be chainsawed out of the overgrowth and loaded onto the flatbed with a tractor with a bucket. It took 5 car guys and a fork lift about 30' to off load it into my shop! Never underestimate the advantage of wheels

The S10 was an 83 regular cab, long bed. Perfect, I thought. The owner asked if I wanted the bed and I said I don't need it. For $300 I thought it was a little high but I figured I would salvage what I could and sell the rest for scap. Once again, be careful what you wish for!

Turns out that this had been an abandoned vehicle locally and it was very obvious that it was not a local truck. It looked like it had been back in the rust belt for many years and was literally falling apart. After blowing the front end apart and salvaging what I could electrically, I realized the floor of the cab was rusted through!

The same kind gentleman with the forklift was still helping somebody move out of his shop so we put the forks through the door window opening and lifted it off the frame (cab mounts were totally rusted) and put it on a flatbed and off to the scap yard. Between the engine (2.6 V6) and four speed and cab I netted $120

So, $180 for the frame was OK. Rear end is junk, front suspension will be replaced with late model Blazer and the gas tank will be replaced with a plasitc S10 unit and wiring will be reviewed.

In my part of the world I can get a complete "takeout" 5.3 with wiring, computer, etc for around $700 and I have a very good tranny shop that will let me use a 4L60E core for mock up. He charges $800 for an excellent rebuild with converter, aftermarket shell and Vette servo.

So that's the start. More to come.