56 shop truck build

[dubie]

I was impressed at how easy the install was. This week will consist of installing new rear axle seals, replacing everything on the wheel ends and prepping the housing for paint. The. We'll hang the axle and start plumbing in all the brake lines. The. It'll finally be time to put this frame back on tires so we can mount the engine, transmission and then get the body back on. The goal is to have the body back on by the end of February
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[6BT 56]

This truck is going to be cool .. I love the old Shop truck theme . Thats how Im going, staying I guess you'd say with mine. Faded blue , steel wheels and white hupcaps going to dosome kind of logo on the door for my boat hauling company when done.

Keep up the great work. Cant wait to see it together

[dubie]

now if my truck had a body like yours when I got it, I wouldn't even worry about painting it. Perfect wear and tear on that beast!! I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

[JML55]

cool project

[northerngmc]

Welcome back Tim

I have driven through Leduc many times in my 59 and wondered what happened to you and your trucks.

Looks like you have a cool project under way.

[dubie]

Hey Blaine. Every time I go back to Leduc to visit, I always keep my eye out for your truck, just in the off chance you'd be cruising around.

We made the choice that was best for our family and moved back to our small corner of the country. The Alberta housing market was very good to us though so we came back and built our dream home and have now started working on our hot rod pickups

[northerngmc]

The 59 GMC is still around those parts and cruising in the summer. I missed the old girl up north and I gave up fixing the 69 GMC I had and went and bought a nice original 1968 C20, 396, to play with here in Fort Smith.

[71swb4x4]

Nice to have you back, and great looking project. Can't wait to see if finished.
How about some pictures of the motorcycle you painted?
And while I am asking for things, how about a thread of your recent work? I miss the old welding helmet and other project threads of yours.

[dubie]

I'll post up some airbrush work soon. I had a very busy 8 years while away from this forum.
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[dubie]

here are a couple recent favourites. The last picture is a shot of the bike I painted in exchange for this truck and the boat load of go fast goodies it came with

[Kim57]

That's some nice paint work.
Kim

[dubie]

Thanks Kim, it keeps my idle hands very busy and out of trouble.

Here's a few more samples of what I've been doing over the past couple years

[dubie]

Well, today is the first day of a solid week off to work on the truck. Today we'll hang the rear end,and rebuild the wheel ends. Then tomorrow it's brake lines and engine mounts. By the end of the week I want to have the body going back on

[dubie]

we got everything done that we wanted to yesterday. I hung the axle and welded on the shock mounts while the wife did her thing on rebuilding the wheel ends. Today will be bending and installing brake lines and if we have time, we'll tackle the new engine mounts

[dubie]

After we got the rear end done we turned our attention to the brake lines. Those are now complete and the system is ready to bleed. SO last night we installed the cab so we cold find the location for the engine and tranny mounts. A couple small changes need to be made to accommodate everything but it'll fit

A quick progress shot and a shot my daughter took of me wrenching on the steering box. Today we'll install the engine and transmission along with test fitting the doors and front clip

[dubie]

damnit, forgot the pics

[Kim57]

The stance looks good.
Kim

[dubie]

Some mocking going on in the shop today. Just getting an idea of how the tire fits in the wheel well and how it'll all line up. I think I'll be swapping the 2 front tires. The look to big for the lowered stance
What do you guys think? it's a 235 75 R 15 up from and 275 60 R 15 in the rear. I wouldn't want to go any wider because of the tie rod clearance

[Kim57]

Looks good to me.
Kim

[Wheelie]

Looks good. Im a fan of the rallies myself.

[dubie]

I bought the axle relocation kit and it came with weld on shock mounts. For lowering this truck 6" in the back, the size of shock I was shipped was to long. My options were to either raise the upper shock mount which would cause me to alter the bed floor, or build down and add onto the lower shock mount. So I made an add on to the new mount I bought so I can get the additional 3" of shock travel.

Then I cut out and boxed in, a section of my front cross member due to some clearance issues with the pulley and distributor.

Without the power train or any other body panels weighing it down I wanted to see how ow it was sitting. It right at 8" to the rocker bottom.

Then I just snapped a pic of the current state of the shop and one of the truck that was a good angle

[dubie]

no pictures from last night but we get the engine and tranny mounts installed and prepped the rear end to weld on the new lower shock mounts. Tonight I'll get the mounts welded on and install the rear shocks and then get the tranny cleaned up and get a couple coats of paint on it. I'd like to install the 2500 stall soon so we can tuck the engine and tranny into it's permanent home on Friday. The goal is to have the bed and front clip on this thing by the time the weekend is over with

[71swb4x4]

Airbrush work is amazing!! Truck is looking great too, nice progress. Probably the only thing to do right now, we barely made it above zero the last two days, so I am sure you are really suffering!!

[dubie]

we just came out of a -35 cold snap.

[dubie]

Got a bit of painting done on the axle and drums tonight. Then I tried stripping some paint in "questionable" area to see what was under the paint. The tops of the fenders are 100% solid, I was shocked to find that but extremely happy at the same time. I did however find the dreaded high build bondo on the passenger side door, in some spots it was 3/8" thinck. Apparently this truck was in rough shape at one time. We've found evidence of a front end collision at one point in it's life time. ANd this door has a full width crease that was over filled with body filler. The filler job was smooth and it matched the level of the fender but guess how much filler is in that fender. The cab corner was replaced at 1 time and then damaged again, but whoever put this in years ago, did a super smooth job. And it's all filled with metal