My 1958 GMC 100 Stepside Budget Build

[Kim57]

To be sure about the fit I would suggest getting the distributor you're going to use and installing it and the radiator mount otherwise you may be changing thins down the road.
Kim

[Techie79]

Kim, That is exactly what I would like to do but the funds just are not in the budget right now. Those are some items that I will probably buy much closer to where they required to keep moving. Guess I will have to rely on the measurements for now and just hope I don't regret it later.

[Techie79]

I've been at it every chance I got over the last couple of weeks so time for an update. After getting the engine and trans placed and the mounts clamped in place I cut out the factory dash to firewall brace and test fit the CPP firewall mount brake bracket and pedal. I first drilled two of the holes for the bracket based on the directions and found that the bracket was about an inch too high. So I threw the directions away and redrilled based on test fitting the factory e-brake setup and dash holes and everything fit perfect. I still have to drill for the brake booster boot and shaft but Ill save that for later.




Next I was on to filling all of the unneeded holes in the firewall and floor. There were about 50 in all. Wow, that was a lot of work.






It sure is nice having family to help but trusting my 15 year old nephew, my 16 year old son, and one of his 17 year old friends to help me flip the cab up on its back sure is nerve racking, but we made it happen with no damage




Hung plastic to section off half of the garage and now it on to the long slow process of sandblasting. I just hope I don't uncover too many more hidden problems. At this point I know I still have to fix some thin spots on the lower cowl and do some finish welding on the bottom for the step that I replaced.

[dug224]

Man, I'm a real fan of budget builds. What I really like is the photo documentation you are providing. I'll be referring to it when I get my cab off the frame and onto a buck real soon. dug

[Kim57]

Making good progress.
Nice to be able to work on the bottom of the cab without laying on your back.
Kim

[Techie79]

Me too Dug. I would rather read a budget build any day before one of the high end shop builds. As for the photo documentation, with this being my first project vehicle I want to be able to look back when I'm done at all of the work that went into it and maybe help someone else along the way.

Thanks Kim. I don't think I would want to sandblast and weld on my back under the cab unless I absolutely had to. Doesn't sound like any fun at all.

[ChuckDriver]

Great work on the firewall, the new CPP mount looks nice too!

[SCHRUMGMC]

Enjoying this build, looking forward to seeing more

[59chev]

Great Work!! Looking good

[Techie79]

Thanks everyone. I haven't had a lot of time this week to spend on it but made it out to the garage today to finish sandblasting the bottom of the cab and got it in epoxy primer. I was really happy to see that there weren't any big surprises under all that rust just a little more patch work to do on the drivers side floor. Rust pits were a little deeper than I thought.

[Kim57]

Rust isn't too bad looking.
Kim

[rusty76]

I'm along for the ride. I dig me some low buck builds. Nice truck.

[Techie79]

Thanks Rusty76

I know this is a little off track for the build but the wife and I decided to get out of town for a couple of days so we drove down to Fort Worth and went to the GoodGuys Lone Star Nationals on Saturday. That is by far the largest car show I have ever seen. Lots of nice trucks.
















We had a good day of drooling over other peoples rides and got some good inspiration but time to get back to mine. We got back on Sunday morning and I spent most of the afternoon sandblasting. I managed to get the truck sitting upright again and got the entire outside blasted and started on the inside.

[Nut Case]

Techie79

Great build, Wow all those tks in one place, I'd need a bib if I were there.

What sand blaster are you using, what media, and finally what CFM is your compressor rated.

Keep on keepin on

Nut Case

[Kim57]

Nice pics. thanks for sharing.
Cab looks pretty clean.
Kim

[SCHRUMGMC]

I wish I could sandblast my trucks cab as it is pretty rotted out

[Techie79]

Thanks everyone.

Nut Case, I am using a Harbor Freight 110# pressurized media blaster and the 60 gallon air compressor that my wife bought me for Christmas last year that is rated at 11.5 CFM at 90 PSI. It is a little small but keeps up ok except for running constantly when blasting. For blasting media I am using plain old play sand from the hardware store. I know it is dangerous but so is just about every other media that is worth using and all of the chemicals that I use in the garage. You just have to make sure and use a decent respirator when using stuff that you shouldn't breathe and you will be just fine.





I got in a little more sand blasting tonight on the inside of the cab. I was afraid that I would find some problems hiding in the corners and crevices that had some pretty heavy rust on them but it is coming out really good.

[Nut Case]

Techie79

Thanks for the info, man it looks great.

Keep on keepin on

Thanks

Nut Case

[CURSED GEARS]

I have enjoyed the last three pages, keep it up!

[SCHRUMGMC]

Looking great

[Techie79]

Still making progress over the last few weeks. Finished blasting the cab and got a couple of coats of epoxy primer on it.



Still have a little metal work to do on the cab, but I moved on to drilling the mounts for the engine and transmission and started removing suspension and cleaning up the frame.




Removed the rear crossmember in preparation for the mustang gas tank that I will be using.





Ground off the remains of the make shift motor mounts, scraped off the 100 pounds of caked on crap, and removed the suspension and all other removable hardware from the fame. I used 2 pieces of 4x4 fence post to mount to each end of the fame and attached an engine stand to each end so I could rotate the frame to make it easier to work on.







No pics at this point but I spent a few hours yesterday and have the frame about half blasted and have a can of Chassis Saver gloss black ready to go on.

[RockinKees]

Good work here!!
Cab looks great!
Frame looks straight and solid too

[Kim57]

Coming along nicely.
Cab looks good.
Kim

[BC Toy chest]

Lookin' good, can't wait to see it when you're done. The cab came out gr8.

[Techie79]

Thanks everyone.

Things are moving slower than I would like but I am very pleased with how everything is turning out.

I have finished blasting the frame and have disassembled the front and rear suspension and axles for blasting. No real surprises other than both front leaf spring center bolts were broken and all of the u bolts are needing replaced. I was really happy to see that the spindles were in excellent shape and the wheel bearings and races looked like they were brand new. So other than repacking them with grease I don't think anything will need to be done there. I hope to finish the sand blasting on the suspension and axles this weekend and then it is on to chassis paint but between Thanksgiving, black Friday shopping, and the wife dying to get the Christmas decorations put up we'll see how much I actually get done.

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.