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Old 01-10-2008, 12:27 PM   #1
Cole_lol
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Re: 52 Project

Hello,
I see your putting a large motor into your truck, I am about to start my 51 GMC build, and I was thinking a 454 big block but I was told that that my not be a good choice because its not economical and hard to work on, with yours do you have plent of room to work on it or is everything really tight? Note this is going to be my first build and have lots of mechanics that are just willing to spend my money and stuff so. I dont know im kinda up in the air on what type of engine i should put in it i guess. Allways open to suggestions so I thought i would start here.
Thanks,
Cole
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Old 01-10-2008, 12:36 PM   #2
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Re: 52 Project

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Originally Posted by Cole_lol View Post
Hello,
I see your putting a large motor into your truck, I am about to start my 51 GMC build, and I was thinking a 454 big block but I was told that that my not be a good choice because its not economical and hard to work on, with yours do you have plent of room to work on it or is everything really tight? Note this is going to be my first build and have lots of mechanics that are just willing to spend my money and stuff so. I dont know im kinda up in the air on what type of engine i should put in it i guess. Allways open to suggestions so I thought i would start here.
Thanks,
Cole
The old saying something like, " How much money do you have and how fast do you want to go"
There is plenty of room in these trucks even enough for a supercharger under the hood
Now the cost of rear tires may be of some concern!!!!
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Old 01-11-2008, 07:17 AM   #3
Daniel U
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Re: 52 Project

Quote:
Originally Posted by Cole_lol View Post
Hello,
I see your putting a large motor into your truck, I am about to start my 51 GMC build, and I was thinking a 454 big block but I was told that that my not be a good choice because its not economical and hard to work on, with yours do you have plent of room to work on it or is everything really tight? Note this is going to be my first build and have lots of mechanics that are just willing to spend my money and stuff so. I dont know im kinda up in the air on what type of engine i should put in it i guess. Allways open to suggestions so I thought i would start here.
Thanks,
Cole
Cole, what do you intend on building the '51 truck for? It may bethat it would be more economical to go with a 5.7(350). It's still a V8 but there are many more aftermaket parts/kits for them making them cheaper to build. My '88 Camaro, '99 Tahoe, and '54 5 window all have injected 350's. I had already bought the software and TPI stuff for my IROC, so it was a no brainer going TPI with my '54. You can go hog wild with these builds, so be careful. Me and my mom are both doing '54 Chevy trucks. We both have Must.II front ends with identical drive trains. She's only spent 1/4 of what I have and is nearly in the same place with her build. My truck will be much different than hers when finished but they will both look the same to the average person as we drive down the freeway together. It all depends on what you want to build/spend. I would suggest thinking about it a long time. My trucks budget has doubled already and I can't drive it yet! Don't make the same mistake! Have a budget and stick with it. These things can evolve! Just my .02
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Old 01-10-2008, 05:41 PM   #4
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Re: 52 Project

Man that thing is CRAZY. Dad is putting his together for my mom. He is almost done with the motor and with any luck it will be running this summer so she can enjoy it. It is going to be mostly stock. I think he did ad a few performance mods but nothing like yours...lol. What do you run with that thing? Looks like a Super Gas or super street car. I but Ralph Nader is Pissed!!!!!!!!!!

Bernie
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Old 01-11-2008, 11:34 AM   #5
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Re: 52 Project

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Man that thing is CRAZY. Dad is putting his together for my mom. He is almost done with the motor and with any luck it will be running this summer so she can enjoy it. It is going to be mostly stock. I think he did ad a few performance mods but nothing like yours...lol. What do you run with that thing? Looks like a Super Gas or super street car. I but Ralph Nader is Pissed!!!!!!!!!!

Bernie
I put this car together when my son was 16. He started out in jr dragsters then went to a vega, then this one. We kept it really mild (he was only 16) it has a 408 sbc, powerglide, 4.88 rear. Best time was 10.28 at 129 mph.........not bad for a mild motor. Son has since gone into the Coast Guard so rather than leave the car sitting, I sold it.............one day I would like to do another one.........we'll see.
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Old 01-11-2008, 04:44 PM   #6
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Re: 52 Project

Cole, Sorry I missed your post. I think that a good small block would be a better choice. The reason I say that is because a big block is really tight. The distributor is going to hit the already recessed firewall and the water pump pulley is only about 1/4 inch from the radiator fan. We had a radiator and fan setup custom built and everything is still really tight. The reason we are running a big block is because we already had it and I was up to the challenge. If it was mine and I was starting from scratch the small block would be the motor of choice. This truck is going to be cool when it is done but it has been a ton of work and for your first truck I think keeping it simple would be the way to go. There are a lot of projects out there that never get finished because the owner gets in over his head. Get the thing running and then you can do other thing to it as you can afford it or have the abilities to do them. That way you can enjoy the truck. I have been working on this thing for 2 years and hopefully we are going to have the running gear in it soon and then we are going to do the body work. If you have anymore questions post them and I or someone on here will try to answer them.

Bernie
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Old 01-11-2008, 04:51 PM   #7
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Re: 52 Project

Prostreet, Too bad you had to sell it but i understand. I guess the Corvair turned in to the other 58. My niece runs a jr and has done pretty good with it. She won the division 4 finals 2 years ago and has won several times this past season. My sister in law has a web site with a bunch of our racing stuff on it, both past and present, check it out.

www.moondustmotorsports.com

Bernie
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Old 02-03-2008, 01:30 PM   #8
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Re: 52 Project

Wigadore, I just looked back through my thread and saw that I had talked to John at PRC. I am sure that we would remember building that radiator because I talked to him several times. I don't know what you are looking for but I just called him and told what we were building and they hooked me up. I did give him the measurements for the hose sizes but that is all I remember giving him. They must have the dimensions for that thing. If you want I can give you more specific pictures if you will tell me exactly what you are looking for. I included a couple of pictures that may have a better look for you.

Update: We had the frame blasted and dad painted it last weekend but had some issues with the paint, so he was going to try to reshoot it this weekend. Once that is done we are going to install the front end pieces and put the motor in for the final time. So all the running gear will be in at least and then on to the body work. Hopefully if all goes well then maybe later this year we will get to take a ride...lol.

Bernie
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Old 02-04-2008, 12:50 AM   #9
CAL 58 GMC
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Re: 52 Project

Wow Bernie, thats one sweet radiator! Were did you get it?
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Old 02-04-2008, 12:14 PM   #10
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Re: 52 Project

Cal, We got it from Prc Hotrods in Illinois. Very nice piece and great people to work with. I am going to order one for the Camaro pretty soon but it probably won't be all shinny...lol.

Bernie
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Old 02-04-2008, 01:41 PM   #11
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Re: 52 Project

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Cal, We got it from Prc Hotrods in Illinois. Very nice piece and great people to work with. I am going to order one for the Camaro pretty soon but it probably won't be all shinny...lol.

Bernie
Is it custom made or are they distributors of them?
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Old 02-05-2008, 02:48 AM   #12
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Re: 52 Project

Cal, They are the manufacture of them. They make models for several applications, but the one that I had built for the truck is a semi custom unit. I think they had the basic measurements but I had it built for the big block and had them move the fan and made sure the hose barbs were the right size. The workmanship is outstanding and the price was comparable to other units.

Bernie
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Old 04-09-2008, 04:59 AM   #13
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Re: 52 Project

Ok I finally got some picture worthy work done on the truck. We got the frame blasted and painted along with all the front suspension parts. Dad and I got the A-Arms, Springs and spindles installed and then went to put on the rotors and ran into some trouble. It seems that the new rotors that we got are about 1/4 inch shifted farther to the out side than the originals. He is going to make some calls this week to see what we can do to fix this. Here are a few pictures that I took yesterday.

Bernie
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Old 04-09-2008, 05:29 AM   #14
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Re: 52 Project

Just a quick question. What did you do inside the frame that was boxed? Did you clean it up and put some rust preventer down or do you not see any problems with that down the road?
Thanks,
Cole
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Old 04-09-2008, 04:38 PM   #15
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Re: 52 Project

Cole, What I did was to wire brush the heck out of the inside of the frame and then paint Rust-o-leum on the inside of it and the boxing plates. Also in the area where I was going to welding I painted it with weld through primer. The frame had been sand blasted years ago so it was pretty clean. We also tried to get as much paint on the inside as we could while painting the frame. I am thinking that will be enough because we don't plan on driving it in the rain and bad weather. This is my dads toy so I don't think we will get it out unless the weather is good.

Bernie
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Old 04-09-2008, 04:59 PM   #16
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Re: 52 Project

Chassis looks great, I am about to start painting the '51 frame.
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Old 04-09-2008, 05:38 PM   #17
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Re: 52 Project

Looking good enough to eat off of!
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build thread ->http://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vboa...d.php?t=228674
My 1954 (TPI 5.7/700R4/10 bolt 3:73) Chevrolet 5 window 1/2 ton short bed Pick up
build thread->http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...3&goto=newpost
1960 (400/T350/?) Apache 10 short/fleet side-big window
1973 (TPI 5.7/700R4/14 bolt 4:10 w DANA 60 front) Chevrolet Cheyenne 4X4
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Old 04-10-2008, 04:03 AM   #18
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Re: 52 Project

Looking really good Bernie!
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Old 04-10-2008, 03:22 PM   #19
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Re: 52 Project

Hey Thanks guys, the frame turned out really nice, although not show quality it is what we were looking for. This is going to be a driven truck and not a show truck...lol. Hopefully in the next few weeks we are going to put the motor in it and then start the body work. More pictures to follow.

Bernie
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Old 04-28-2008, 05:36 AM   #20
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Re: 52 Project

Here are a few pictures of some stuff that I got done last weekend. My dad and brother finished installing the front end stuff and got it set down on the ground with a set of mockup wheels. Also we bolted up the tranny to the motor and set it in place. I also got all the March drive belt stuff installed. Now that most of the chassis is done it is time to start the body work.

Bernie
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Old 04-28-2008, 08:24 PM   #21
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Re: 52 Project

WOW!!! That looks super sick! I love the motor with its March drive belt! Your Dad truck is going to be really nice based on the work already done.

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Old 04-29-2008, 10:04 PM   #22
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Re: 52 Project

hey there Bernie,

maybe i missed it i just looked back thru your posts, but whats up with the rear shackles for the rear leafs? on the 50 GMC im working on i used the front shackles on the rear they are 1" shorter, but yours look even shorter! thats means more drop, do tell please.

thanks,
Yaril
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Old 04-30-2008, 05:08 PM   #23
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Re: 52 Project

Yaril,
That is an after market spring kit that I think we got from CPP. It comes with the new springs, front and rear hangers and new pads for the rear end. It is supposed to lower it some but I don't know how much. The shackles are only about 3-4 inches long. Also the springs have less arch than the originals. Dad didn't want to bag it so everything we have done so far is with springs. If you need anything else let me know.

Bernie
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Old 04-30-2008, 09:21 PM   #24
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Re: 52 Project

cool thanks Bernie, ill see if i can buy just the hangers with hardware.
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Old 04-30-2008, 09:46 PM   #25
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Re: 52 Project

Bernie,

Whats next on the list. WHat are your palns for a fuel tank?
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