55.2-59 57 GMC how rare??

[dsraven]

check bills truck stop for front grille stuff. they had a chrome one awhile back, like weeks.
yes, 57 had the ribs in the hood, at least mine does.
front fenders are a little different as well, flat spots to mount the wrap around mustache grille surround extensions. could be easily cut/fabbed into a set of chevy fenders if thats whats available though. dash is also different style of hump and gauge package.

[jmlloar]

Originally Posted by dsraven

check bills truck stop for front grille stuff. they had a chrome one awhile back, like weeks.
yes, 57 had the ribs in the hood, at least mine does.
front fenders are a little different as well, flat spots to mount the wrap around mustache grille surround extensions. could be easily cut/fabbed into a set of chevy fenders if thats whats available though. dash is also different style of hump and gauge package.

first question, "bills truck stop"?

second question, my fenders look the same as chevy to me, am I missing something?

[dsraven]

google it, bills truck shop scroll down for pics of the grille, bottom of the page. Canadian stuff so USD covers more. yeah, gotta ship but you pay shipping from anywhere for most stuff anyway.

http://www.billstruckshop.com/55-59used.html

[dsraven]

fenders look the same until you look around the opening for the grille. look for small flat spot in the bump for the grille surround, where the mustache would wrap around and bolt on there. the stache covers the hole in the fender where the chevy turn signal goes so about the same height as that. chevy fenders don't have the flat spot because their grille is totally inside the opening. chevy fenders bolt up the same and lots of guys swapped the front end sheet metal because they liked the smoother look of the chevy plus parts were easier to come by. if you have a true gmc but not the flat spots on the fenders then this could be the case, especially if your stache doesn't fit well on the lower parts that house the turn signals.

[Phungki]

Originally Posted by dsraven

fenders look the same until you look around the opening for the grille. look for small flat spot in the bump for the grille surround, where the mustache would wrap around and bolt on there. the stache covers the hole in the fender where the chevy turn signal goes so about the same height as that. chevy fenders don't have the flat spot because their grille is totally inside the opening. chevy fenders bolt up the same and lots of guys swapped the front end sheet metal because they liked the smoother look of the chevy plus parts were easier to come by. if you have a true gmc but not the flat spots on the fenders then this could be the case, especially if your stache doesn't fit well on the lower parts that house the turn signals.

Yes that’s what someone did to my GMC. Whole front end got switched to Chevy. Kinda sucks really. Had me looking for all the parts that aren’t repopped and only made from 55-56. Worse if you have 57. Told the mustache is slightly different on a 57. Can’t verify that myself tho

[jmlloar]

Mine was original its just rusted beyond any exact recognition. I have nothing to go by. do have a decent rad support and hood but nothing else. and my replacement cab is gmc also.

did a search for the above mentioned location, only thing I could find is an actual truck stop not a parts place.

[jmlloar]

Thanks for the link.

[jmlloar]

Originally Posted by dsraven

google it, bills truck shop scroll down for pics of the grille, bottom of the page. Canadian stuff so USD covers more. yeah, gotta ship but you pay shipping from anywhere for most stuff anyway.

http://www.billstruckshop.com/55-59used.html

This place had nothing. They need to update their website

[jmlloar]

Ok, got my donor truck
2002 GMC sierra 1500.
has good running 5.3 in it
will be hooking that up to the factory sm420 and rear axle.

also has a nice set of leather bucket power seats that look like will be an easy swap

[dsraven]

nice to hear you have the donor. now the disassembly fun starts, lol. it's always good to take pics and notes on how stuff was put together so later you can remember. I know it doesn't take long to take a complete truck apart and box the pieces. if the pieces are labelled or pics taken on how they originally fit together it can really help later. some will even take a pic of what is in each box so they know where the parts are. thumbdrives are cheap.
not trying to say don't do what you want to do. as a firefighter I have been to many collisions where seat belts were not worn. the impact on the rescue crews removing the mangled deceased body parts can be significant and long lasting. maybe you could reconsider the no seat belts thing and possibly install some seats with the belts already integral to the seats if that would make it easier?

[jmlloar]

The pic thing is a good idea. I'm ok with 30+ years as an auto mechanic.

as far as the seatbelts go it is a gamble either way. Sometimes they help. Buddy of mine was saved by not wearing his. He was in pass seat , driver was ejected and survived. pass was thrown into divers seat and pass seat was destroyed. Most likely he would've been killed if strapped to it.

Not saying seatbelts dont help, but since sometimes they do and sometimes they hurt your chances I think it should be my choice or "gamble" to wear them or not.