Father & Son '62 Step Side Rebuild

[Bmikes93]

Hey guys, new guy here. My name is Brandon and two years ago I bought my dad a 1962 GMC 1500 step side. I'm 21 years old and ever since I can remember he has always wanted a '62 Chevy.

My girlfriends dad was at an auction one day and informed me of a 62 gmc that was there and asked if I wanted to get it for my pops. I didn't know the condition or even if it ran, but I jumped on it right away. He ended up getting it for $1,000. Looking back in hindsight, I'm not sure I would've bought this truck for that much if I could've seen it.

So anyway, I kept it a secret from my dad until I paid Keith back (girlfriends dad) and then took my dad for a drive over to his house one day when I couldn't keep it to myself anymore.

It's not letting me upload photos from my phone, so I'll have to do it on the computer some time soon.

We soon found out that the industrial 305 v6 had almost zero compression in 4 out of the 6 cylinders we checked, so we didn't even bother checking the last two. After some brainstorming and searching nickel adds, we came across a Chevy 350 out of a late 70's Chevy, 1977 I think it was. So we bought that and intend to replace that cast iron boat anchor with it.

So up until this post dad had been dismantling body prices to find out exactly how much rust was really on this thing. Pretty soon we had it down to just the cab left on the frame. We rolled it from our backyard to the drive way to start pulling out the motor. Along with that we pulled out the transmission and driveline. I found out we have a sm420! Sweet! Granny low 1st!

I'm on the search now for a bell housing to go from the Chevy 350 to the sm420 as the bolt pattern does not match up. Anyone have any knowledge on where I should be looking? And if that bell housing has a specific name or designation? Any insight would be great.

After that we rolled it back to the backyard and found out the cab is pretty much done for.. It's rusted just about everywhere. Again we went back to the drawing board and decided it'd be better to find a new cab rather than play the cut and patch game with the current one. We ended up finding a cab at All American Classics in Vancouver Wa (only a 20 minute drive as we live in portland) and picked it up with the passenger door for a pretty reasonable price.

Right now the truck sits in the backyard, the extra cab is also in the backyard, and our 350 is in the garage on an engine stand.

We'll probably run into even more problems than I can imagine trying to get this thing put back together, so that's why I decided I'd post up here and try to find some support from the truck lovin' community.

I'll post up pictures hopefully in the next few days of everything we've done to this point. Let me know what you guys think! Thanks.

[contagious102]

Welcome.!!!! My son and I have built several trucks together , great times and more to come.!!!!! Have 22 year old daughter into truck's also,can't beat the time with the kids.!!! Back when he was 16,we built a 85 square body for him, air bags custom everything,and built a 383 to go in it.We were in my shop last weekend laughing about all the hollering and screaming at each other back in the day.!!!LOL WOULDN'T TRADE A MINUTE of those memories.!! Have fun and good luck of the build.!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[contagious102]

Here's a couple of pic's of his last show truck we built. 99 Silverado.

[1963c-10]

Nice truck...looking forward to your new project

[markeb01]

Outstanding! Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to seeing your photos and progress. It's sounds like you're taking intelligent steps making sure you're not throwing good money and effort away.

You might want to take a look at my build thread. I have a 1960 GMC (originally 305 V6) which currently has a 350 and Super T10 4 speed. A Chevy small block bellhousing from a 60-62 will drop right in and has the passenger side hydraulic clutch connection, but they are increasingly difficult to find and expensive. You might find using a Novak kit less expensive as it will fit on a number of standard left side bellhousings (numbers are listed on the Novak site. This is the setup I'm running which is easy to install and adjust.

Good luck with your project!

I was just thinking - you'll probably prefer to find that original bellhousing if possible, as it uses the rear/side engine mounts on the bellhousing that you already have.

[63N]

Welcome to the forums!
I added a link to the Novak kit and sm420 specs.
http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/sm420.htm

I started my build with 2 trucks and making into one. The donor truck was a stick, and I do believe seeing the bellhousing around somewhere. Would you like me to take a pic and send it to you?

Let me know, and good luck.

[TJ's Chevy]

Welcome aboard! One day I hope to buy my dad a 572 for the 77 chevy. That's been his an my project truck fer awhile...an he's been wanting a 572 or 632...as if the 496 isn't enough already..... lol! Anyway! Look forward to watching the build!