1965 GMC "Bessie" build thread

[1stseries55]

got a little done today..

I took the cab off, I was not going to but at this point the steering column and 4 bolts were all that was left. I needed to drill holes for my trans mount anyway ...a lot easier with the cab removed


fabbed up a bracket for the canister style fuel filter



cleaned up the frame and shot some paint on it



that was it for today....

[spr85gmc]

what was involved with the rear end swap did you have to move the mounts for the leafs springs?

[joe231]

nice work...what paint did you spray on the frame?

[1stseries55]

as far as the rear swap....it is just bolted in at the moment. That is my next major chapter so I will let you know when i get there.

Joe... I use Zero rust on the frame.... I have used it before and it seems to hold up well

[spr85gmc]

thanks keep us posted

[joe231]

Thanks for the info Jared
it looks nice, is it a semi-gloss finish?

I have been back and forth between Zero-Rust and POR....I just don't know.....

[1stseries55]

the zero rust is flat.... I have never used por-15 (some freinds of mine have) it may be a little better but is a lot more expensive..time will tell I guess

[1stseries55]

it has been awhile since I have posted... have a 13 month old daughter and I do not seem to have the free time that I used to.

Anyway,

got some lower rad supports made and welded in



also got the c-notch finished..welded it in for extra assurance. Finished cleaning and painting the frame



and the score of the month... got a set of G78-15 tires w/ maybe 200 miles on them.. they are awesome!



that is it for now....

[LILRED66]

Looking good...keep on rolling. I am waiting for the next chapter. Thanks for sharing and take care of that 13 month old girl.

[19GMC63]

Nice work, and nice shoes.

[198plus]

Nice work !!!!!!

[spr85gmc]

bump

[1stseries55]

Here is the latest....

almost finished with the drivetrain and chassis...have to go through and make sure everything is tightened down and run some fuel and brake lines then it is onto the cab.

here are some pics

[NF65Fleetside]

really dig'n the motor/trans setup with the cooler and filter on the frame rails. nice work!

[DaddyMack]

Looking great!!

[ncsu]

nice work!

[lonestarluck]

super clean very nice!!

[66coffin]

super sweet so far, i'm doind the 60's thing on mine most likely too. i love the gold engine block w/ the black, looks rad! that satin blue metallic is gunna look sick, ive seen that color before, nice.

[sanford66]

Sweet build!! I love the old-school theme. Keep us updated! Joseph

[Tx Firefighter]

I have a very similar suspension under my junk too. It's later model with urethane bushings and all like you used. One thing I thought I'd mention though, is you might be much happier if you sprung the extra 20 bucks for different sway bar mounts. I'm running the ECE units for deeply lowered trucks and it really pulls the sway bar under under the truck a lot higher so you don't have to worry about whacking it against curbs and such.

[ruffrida2005]

that roller is looking really good. Do you think you'll get much airflow to the trans cooler?

[1stseries55]

thanks for all the compliments guys...

Tx,
I think I will take you up on that suggestion... the truck is so low as it is, I can see how the sway bar could easily hit something, those ECE mounts look like they would give 2-3 inches more of clearance.

Ruffrida,
I am a little nervous about the trans cooler... I have seen other folks on the board mount it like that but I don't think any of them have their rides on the road yet. I am going to add a gauge to keep an eye on it and if it does not work I will have to go with a traditional unit. It seemed like a cool idea so we will see.

[Alan's Classic]

Beautiful work Looks awesome.

[1stseries55]

It has been awhile so here is an update:

The chassis is pretty much finished, I have a fuel line to run and some odds and ends but that is it. Here is how she looks as of today:

[1stseries55]

..so with the chassis finished I have been working on the cab. The floor and rockers are almost finished, have one cab corner to do etc...

I get sidetracked sometimes so this is what I did this week....

The previous owner hacked up the dash to put a radio in at some point, so I just filled the hole in (my modern radio was in the glovebox) the last time I had it on the road.

it looked like this:


it looked like something was missing and the ashtray did not fit correctly because of how the dash was butchered....

I came across a 72 truck at the local yard the other week and it still had the original AM radio in the unmolested dash. I cut that out and did some rearanging and put it in my truck... I am still going to have a modern radio in the glovebox I just wanted a somewhat original look on the dash. I have some cleanup to do but it turned out ok.





I also got the steering column out of the 72 (original floor shift truck) so I will be able to get rid of all the column linkage holes and stuff that are on my column.