1951 GMC Bookmobile

[Flame Broiled]

Hello everyone

Thought that I would share a metal working and metal shaping project that we are building. Its a 1951 GMC Bookmobile that was from Atchison County, Rock Port, Missouri. In 2000 I found this beast on ebay, it was the first thing I had ever bought off there. I had it shipped up to Vancouver BC, Canada, where it sat for several years while I dreamed up what to do the big girl. After several cold pops and bs sesions a master plan was devised.


So this is what I started with.







As you can see it has little patina, Intially I thought that I could repair what I had...... oh boy!! the further I looked the worse it got. The original 6cyl was stuck and full of water. Good thing cus that little motor was not going to keep up with highway speeds. As I stripped the Interior I exposed the wood structure and that was rotten from end to end.

So a new plan had to be devised!!!

As browsing the interweb I found a wrecking yard in Michigan that had a chassis that would work perfect for what I wanted to build.
The had a brand new workhorse chassis that was destined for a shuttle bus, with a "Front Wheel" drive Duramax Allison combo.....just perfect.

Had the frame shipped up and cut it all up to my specifications, shortend 6' off the back, shortened the wheel base 4' and removed everything else that was in my way.








So with chassis cut down to size I had a rendering done of what I would like to see it look like.





Now the process of tearing it down, We squeesed it in the shop and started cutting, the hoist is going to have to come down to get it back out.

















We placed the Front section that was left over from the original body, over the chassis. Its way narrower than what the wheel base is on the chassis. The front end is going to have to grow 25%, well every thing on this beast is growing by 25%

We thought it would make more sense to work back to front. So up went the jail cell.












After getting the back section all tacked together, we moved on to the front section. First we removed some of the lead to expose the seams.
We are going to do a bit better than this I hope.


















Taking off the 60 year old running lights it became clear that I had made the right choice to go down this path.

Sema Approved stamped on the light, Awesome!! The world best car show is where its headed then....

[chevy_man5]

Very cool project!!! Looks like you are getting after it!

[Kabwe]

Thats insane.lol Cool is not the word its an understatement.

[70-Shorty]

wow, i mean WOW! What an undertaking! Gonna look killer when u get it done. I had a (sort of) similar aborted build with a 51 Ford (oh NO!) Bread Van. I wanted to do it up with a leather couch in the back and make a living room vibe in the back....sold it when i realized i had wayyy to many projects. Yours is going to be roomy as hell in the back!
Tim

[OKGMC4]

This is going to be VERY cool when completed. I like the one you have sitting beside it as well.

[OrrieG]

Wow what an undertaking, but it will be cool. Bookmobile is a project I could get my wife to support too!

[hotrodrookie]

Reading never looked so cool.

[70-Shorty]

Originally Posted by OKGMC4

This is going to be VERY cool when completed. I like the one you have sitting beside it as well.

is the one next to it an old Metro?
Tim

[drivea55]

wow!

now this is sweet!

[cleanshaven84]

Definitely going to keep an eye on this one. This is as awesome build.

[xpickup]

Flame Broiled, Great build. Nice job on the frame and the cage. Can not wait for all the sheet metal to be on. I love the totally different builds with lots of fab work.

Shannon

[JML55]

Great work guys, thats going to be a amasaing ride .

[youngrodder]

Reading is fundametal!!

That project makes my back hurt just looking at it. You guys are doing a fantastic job.

Marc

[AUSSIE54]

Bookin' hell!! That's Vantastic!!!!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Flame Broiled]

Originally Posted by 70-Shorty

is the one next to it an old Metro?
Tim

Hi Guys, thanks alot. We have a ton of work to do still, we will keep posting as we go.


The little one next to it is a 1950 Morris J Van. Another huge project that we are doing for a customer.



Aaron
www.eyekandykustoms.com

[G&R's57GMC]

How COOOoooLLLL !!! Can't wait for the next installment.

[Southcity]

Subscribing

[Russell Ashley]

That's awsome!!! Keep the pics coming.

You must have a fortune tied up in shipping charges.

[Coupeguy2001]

What? that's it? you guys have to keep working............I need pics of that thing.
Too cool!!!!!!

[Flame Broiled]

Sorry guys, busy week.
Stay tuned..... I have been reconstucting the Left front side... Pics to follow.
This is one of the other vehicles that are taking up my time

http://victoriajvan.blogspot.com/


Aaron

[53GMC]

love this build cant wait to see it done!

[Rods57]

this is a cool project. hey in the rafters is that a tempest?

[docrock]

wow very cool project

[jbclassix]

all I can say is WOW

[Flame Broiled]

It became evident that all the wood would have to be replaced, and made 25% larger. So I started making the Front windshield header and A pillar structures.























Since I figured that nothing on the original body would work, we moved the left overs into the belly of the beast for reference. Getting the Imaginary pieces to be in the right proportions and proper locations is tough.
This is where I wish that I was a little bit taller with longer arms. Shes big and awkward, I need a ladder to reach everything. And since I do my best work once everyone has gone home for the day, its been a bit harder.

Note to self: Do not stand or hold onto any bars that are only tack welded or clamped together. Took the first spill the other night, thankfully no one was here to see my fat ass clinging on for dear life!! No Injuries so far.......










Here you can see that the fenders are going to need ....... Replacing!!