My 58 GMC project--"CYRUS"

[Cyrus]

Hi, guys

I posted in the welcome area if you want all the gory details, so with that said, heres pix.

The black one is my 58, and I'm turning it into something like the flatbed pic. Colors will be Lime Metallic with a satin black roof. Enjoy, and I'll post progress as often as I can.

[Kim57]

Sounds like a nice project. Do post lots of pics.
Kim

[Cyrus]

Bear with me. I'm trying to do most of this with my blackberry since I don't always have internet access. Hopefully this is a photo I took when we painted the hood. Other changes are also noticeable. Took off the rusted out bed and put a GMC grille back in

[Cyrus]

This is the 14-bolt rearend I got, with 7 dually wheels for $300. It's a 4.10, not a posi, but I don't care. I've completely rebuilt most of it, just gotta save up another $150 for drums and bearings and seals, and it'll be ready for install.

The next step in the process will be to blow the cab and chassis apart for blasting. My neighbor's dad has a sandblaster and he told me I can use it, just gotta buy my own media. Then the frame and suspension gets epoxy painted, cab gets patch panels and start the re-assembly.

[jjjmm56]

Just an idea you might want to use aircraft stripper first to get rid of the heavy stuff then sand blast the rusted surfaces. Gal. of stripper will do at least 2 fenders or doors.It will do it faster cleaner and cheaper than just sandblasting.The stripper you can put on, scrape it off, then let it sit on the ground for about 1hr till it dries up then just sweep it up. This is what allways works best for me.

[jjjmm56]

Oh and by the way nice truck!

[Cyrus]

This is a better shot of the front end. You can see the paint on the hood a little better in this photo. Again, it's Legend Lime Metallic from an '02-'05 Mustang. The grille, bumper, and hood emblem have all been bead blasted and sprayed with Eastwood's Liquid Chrome without the clear. Just wanted a basic idea of what it'll look like when I can afford to chrome everything.

[northerngmc]

Here is what it will look like with chrome!

[Cyrus]

Again, bear with me! Stupid Blackberry! Hahaha.

Thanks to ALL with the well-wishes and the good advice, and THANKS to northerngmc for rubbing it in! LOL. That exact picture is what convinced me to go with chrome on the front in the first place! I still have that pic saved on my computer and on my phone. It gives me inspiration.

Hopefully below you'll see a really crappy copy of a copy of Pop's truck, Cyrus. I've logged many a mile in that old binder, and hope my son logs more than a few in my "Cyrus".

[Cyrus]

And before I forget, big thanks to OrrieG for the big help on what to do for the e-brake setup! I was wondering what to do to get the old lever setup out from under my column to make way for the firewall mounted booster and m-cylinder. Just so happened to have an e-brake pedal out of a 76 C-10 in the garage! And the rest of the same C-10 in the driveway if I need it!

[70gmcjimmy]

That looks like a real fun project, Cyrus! Your "poor man's chrome" looks great too, but there sure is something about that real chrome on those GMC's. It really sets them apart from everything else!

My first truck was a '55 International 100 that belonged to my employer at the time. At 15 years old, first day on the job, my boss took me over to an alignment shop clear across town to pick up the "shop truck". When I seen it I said I don't know how to drive a clutch! All he said is I guess yer about to learn how. He got in his almost brand new '72 big block short fleet and left me standing there! Well I got the Binder back to the shop and I can't say easily. The guys had a good laff and I learned alot. A few weeks later the company owner put it up for sale and I bought it on the easy payment payroll deduction plan. Still kinda miss that old Binder.
Sorry about the long story!

Later---DAC

[sgtusmc]

Looks like a nice solid truck. Would you be able to measure the grill. I need something to mount to my rear rollpan (you need a rear bumper in Cali, not just a rollpan) I like the turn signal cutouts. I think I could run my exahust out of them.

[Cyrus]

Sure thing! Tip to tip is 72". Center to center on the turn signal holes is ABOUT 55.5".

Thanks for the binder story DAC. That's almost exactly how I learned to drive the old boy! Pop and I were out in the timber about 10 miles from home. He jumped in the old GMC Army issue 6x6 we used as a boom-truck and said, "See you at home!". I was 13 and scared s**tless! I made it home, but smoked the e-brake shoes cuz I forgot to disengage it before I left! Had to pay to have them re-lined, and had to change them, but NEVER forgot it again!

[CAL 58 GMC]

Welcome from one 58 GMC owner to another!!

[Cyrus]

Thanks, Cal! I saw your truck in one of the many magazines, (classic trucks I think), and it was what initially inspired me to start on the old boy taking up space in my driveway. Thank you!!! Absolutely beautiful ol work horse you have there! I wish I had the time and money to make mine as half as nice as yours.

[Cyrus]

One thing that I wanted to share with you guys. (Show off a little to be exact). This is the grille that I bought off of the evil aution site. As you can see it was a bit banged up, but I consider myself a bit of an amateur body-man, so I got out the body hammers, dollies, and files and straightened her out. NO PUTTY HERE! All metal work.

[Cyrus]

So I started yanking the front clip apart this week. This was a couple days ago, now I have the whole clip off getting ready to yank the motor and trans on Saturday. Got the motor sold, now just need to get rid of the 4-speed, then I can get my sandblaster! . I decided to just buy one and do it myself rather than hauling it all to my buddy's dads place and back again, plus, I'll have a blaster when I'm done! WOOHOO, new tools!

[Tx Firefighter]

I hope you have a real good air compressor. A sandblaster will bring most air compressors quivering to their knees in short order.

I totally agree with jjjmm56 on the paint stripper. A gallon of stripper worth a lot of sandblasting. Even if you just strip a bulk of the finish off of the panels it will make the blasting so much quicker.

[Cyrus]

I've been thinking of doing that. The paint on most of the cab appears to be latex house paint and it's on pretty thick. If I can get past that stuff chemically, I think it'll be easier. The undercoating on the underside of the cab is another story.

[Tx Firefighter]

The house paint on my current truck literally jumped up off of the panels when stripper was applied. You could hear it popping and see pieces of it flying off of the truck.

Undercoating is very easy if you know the trick. Get a small propane torch (Bernz-O-Matic). You can buy them for way under 20 dollars even from Walmart. Use the torch to heat up the undercoating a bit and a putty knife will lift it right off. It comes off as fast as you care to move the putty knife.

[Cyrus]

Glad to hear I won't have any problems with the latex. Thanx for the tip about the torch. I'd heard about it before, but I guess I forgot about it.

[OrrieG]

Heat gun used for removing paint works on undercoating too. Less danger and no flames to set shirt sleeves, oily frame, etc. on fire. Trust me, I know...

[56hotrodred]

I bought a soda blaster, used stripper and sanded my truck body and frame down to bare metal. The blasting leaves a heck of a mess which did not matter too much as I live on a ranch but I am still pulling soda out of the cab every time I move it or bang on it. I am planning on blasting the cab with high pressure water before winter hits to remove the rest of the soda. I do also plan on converting the soda to sand in the near future.

The blasting really gets into the nooks and crannies.

I used WD40 sprayed on the undercoating then hit it with a putty knife. Turned the undercoating into almost a glassy texture and most of it popped right off.

56hotrodred

[Cyrus]

OrrieG, that sounds like a hell of a story! Hahahaha.

I started yanking the motor tonight. I forgot that no matter how much you tug and pull on it, that if you don't remember to remove the shifter it just won't come out! I'll resume activity in the AM. I've got beer to drink!

[Cyrus]

That's one small step for man...


Gonna be a while til I get to the "giant leap" part!