'52 Rot-box Turned Tire Roaster.

[Wybrow]

Hi guys, going to get around to putting up a build thread of my truck.

I've wanted a 47-53 pickup for as long as I can remember. It was the first vehicle I "fell in love with", and have been after one ever since. My grandpa owned a '52 GMC long before I was born. I eventually found that out many years after he passed away and set out to find one. I've looked at a handful of them and they were always missing fenders, hoods, the box, etc. I wanted one that was mostly complete, condition was not a big factor for me. A friend called me one night after work and said he had spotted a truck in a field, had pulled in and talked to the owner, an older fella. I stopped in the next day, we made a deal and I picked it up a few days later. He wrote out a bill of sale, describing what I had bought, also including "has no warranty", I wish I knew where I put that, it would be great in a frame.

The truck is not actually a '52, from my research I have come up with it being a '50, (if someone knows for sure let me know), there are no VIN tags on the truck nor does it have an ownership. I will be building it into a '52 and licensing it as that when the time comes.

I paid $600 for my truck a little over a year ago, and haven't touched it since. I'm currently in the middling of finishing my car and will hopefully get to ordering some major suspension parts for the '52 over the summer.

Here is a picture the day I first laid eyes on it.



And how it sits now:













It is definitely nothing to look at, but it will be in years to come.

My plans include:

-LSx engine
-Twin Garrett GT30's
-T-56
-C4 IFS and IRS
-Get it as low as possible, static
-Destroy tires
-Piss off the neighbours.

Sounds like a lot, but for this truck I am definitely in for the long haul.

Sorry for the long-winded starter post, I've been wanting to get that out of the way for a while now.

Here is that infernal car that is currently taking up my time:



And, my daily:

[Bierkan]

Nice looking truck! I would concur with it being a 50 - cowl vent, drivers side vent and louvers on the passenger side.

Look forward to the build.

[_Ogre]

why do they get rid of all the cool stuff?
i'd like to have that drivers side vent on all my vehicles



get the vin and tag stuff all sorted out before you start the build
you got a good deal, $600 around here doesn't get you much

[NEWFISHER]

Yes 50. You also have the pre 51 one piece windows. I love the drivers and cowl vents in mine.

[98layinframe]

Looks like a pretty nice score for 600 bucks!! Really wish my cab was a 50 or older with the nice one piece door windows and the side vent.
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[nebdrummer]

Why turbos with a manual trans?

And what gt30s are you talking? I thought those were under 60mm snails? Get at least a set of 62's!

I'm turboing my 3/4 ton as well, just finishing up on bodywork and paint. I will be going with a BW billet 80mm
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[Katrina/10]

What size wheels and tires do you have on the silver car?

[Wybrow]

Originally Posted by Bierkan

Nice looking truck! I would concur with it being a 50 - cowl vent, drivers side vent and louvers on the passenger side.

Look forward to the build.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by _Ogre

why do they get rid of all the cool stuff?
i'd like to have that drivers side vent on all my vehicles

get the vin and tag stuff all sorted out before you start the build
you got a good deal, $600 around here doesn't get you much

I thought it was a pretty decent steal, thanks!

Originally Posted by NEWFISHER

Yes 50. You also have the pre 51 one piece windows. I love the drivers and cowl vents in mine.

I look forward to being able to use it someday!

Originally Posted by 98layinframe

Looks like a pretty nice score for 600 bucks!! Really wish my cab was a 50 or older with the nice one piece door windows and the side vent.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks, man. I recognize your truck and screen name from s10forum, I think?

Originally Posted by nebdrummer

Why turbos with a manual trans?

And what gt30s are you talking? I thought those were under 60mm snails? Get at least a set of 62's!

I'm turboing my 3/4 ton as well, just finishing up on bodywork and paint. I will be going with a BW billet 80mm
Posted via Mobile Device

I've been following your build for a while man, you've got some amazing sheetmetal talent.

I've always owned manuals, everything I drive is manual and that's what I like to drive, haha. The car is turbo'd and boost is addicting.

I just tossed GT30 out there, definitely not decided on turbo size as I haven't really done much research on the LS based motors.

Originally Posted by Katrina/10

What size wheels and tires do you have on the silver car?

They're 17x10 +25 with a 215/35 on the front and a 17x10.5 +19 with a 215/40 on the rear.


I managed to stumble on a C4 complete rear end completely by mistake this week. I'll be picking it up soon, and it will be stored in the box of the truck until I wind up working on it. I can't say no to a solid deal.

Sorry fellas, again won't be many major updates for quite some time.

[BILL48]

Welcome fellow canadian , looks like your going to have a very interesting project and i am looking forward to following it. I too have a somewhat slow build in progress but as you know it's hard sometimes to get motivated when the weather sucks. Just let me know if your looking for things i know a few people in our area that have parts at reasonable prices or even trade ...bill

[OrrieG]

Good start, I will echo getting the title and registration sorted out before hand just in case you might need to find another donor with a good title. To many posts here over the years from guys that put in the time, money and effort and are in a bureuacratic nightmare trying to get their finished truck legal to drive.

[Wybrow]

Well guys, here goes nothing. We're finally getting rolling on working on the truck. We've just recently moved into a newer, much bigger shop, I disassembled the truck for the move and recently just recently over the weekend finished stripping the frame to ready it for work.

I came up with a simple plan, I really just want to drive this truck right now, so rather than stick to my original plan that included a tube frame, LSx and the like, I'm going to do it on a budget, bag it and drive it (hopefully) early this summer.

Rough plans include:

305/350
TH350 w/shift kit
triangulated 4 link
G-body front clip
semi-repaired body (enough that the body is at very least, safe to drive)
simple 8-valve setup with 7" bags at all 4 corners setup to lay running board
bench seat
raised wood bed floor

Nothing fancy at all, remember, I'm going at this with a budget, while still attempting to keep the quality in the build that I am very attentative toward.

The truck was purchased as a 3/4 tonne, long-bed, 8-bolt, great big sum-*****. Not staying like that. We drew up some new rails that will be lasered out by a friend this week and welded in next weekend. They will effectively turn the truck into a short-box and allow it to lay running board on a 30" tall tire.

Loosely eye-balling up the cardboard template. The factory leaf perches are still attached to the frame, which is why it is not flushed with the frame.





I hope to have the rails TIG'd fully next weekend, along with having a plan of attack for the bag bridge, front 4-link crossmember, fuel cell mount, fuel pump and trailer hitch.

This week I'll be hunting down a G-body front clip, and a 4wd S10 rear differential (remember, think budget).

[alaska gasser]

Nice looking truck. The S10 4wd rearend is about 5" wider than a 2wd. I used the 2wd on mine with 15x10's.

[_Ogre]

did you get the vin and title straightened out.
here in the states that can be the hard thing to do.

[Wybrow]

Originally Posted by alaska gasser

Nice looking truck. The S10 4wd rearend is about 5" wider than a 2wd. I used the 2wd on mine with 15x10's.

If I'm not mistaken, are people not using huge spacers with 2wd S-10 chassis swaps?

[alaska gasser]

I didn't use any spacers on mine and everything fit well. I am using a 3/4 ton frame though.

[Wybrow]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

did you get the vin and title straightened out.
here in the states that can be the hard thing to do.

I haven't yet, we're fortunate enough to have a classic truck boneyard only a couple hours away, I'll just "buy another truck" (vin/ownership)

Originally Posted by alaska gasser

I didn't use any spacers on mine and everything fit well. I am using a 3/4 ton frame though.

Interesting, I'm using a 3/4 tonne frame too.

[Wybrow]

Well, I've managed to get some work done on the truck tonight.

The frame is now completely stripped, and ready to be modified.



I started picking at the cab tonight. I braced the door gaps before I pulled the cab off the frame originally. I removed sixty-something spot-welds tonight that attached the firewall to the cab and what was left of the floor. From here I will be able to get some more bracing in the cab and cut the floor out. Once the floor is out I'll have the cab blasted and from there I'll begin a very tantalizing amount of sheetmetal work.







I've been on the hunt for a G-body front clip for a few days, and accidentally stumbled on an '84 Cutlass for sale locally. In true G-body fashion the rear frame rails are rotted out, however the rest of the car appears to be in great shape. I'll be hopefully picking it up Friday on the cheap. It has 123xxx original km on it, the guy is also the original owner. I'll be using the engine and trans for the truck also, so I'm getting a few birds stoned at once.



I should have frame rails this weekend, those and the Cutlass, I'll have tonnes of work to keep me busy for a while without spending any real money.

[69CST-V]

I'm in on this build. Looks like we have similar cab issues to face. Will be watching closely.

[Wybrow]

Originally Posted by 69CST-V

I'm in on this build. Looks like we have similar cab issues to face. Will be watching closely.

Haha, yes, we are definitely in a similar boat. It's amazing how time takes it's toll on steel.

Picked up the Cutlass Friday night, I must say, it is in amazing shape for the $600 I paid for it. Took the car for a drive tonight just to shake down the drivetrain and suspension. I honestly can't believe how well the car ran and drove. I felt bad about cutting it up until we started poking around. All the removable sheetmetal is literally flawless, however, I found a fist-sized hole in the drivers floor pan and a couple small holes in the rear wheel arches. If I was a G-body guy, this would definitely have been a real good project car for money invested.

Anyways, here's what it looked like at about 7pm tonight, before we took it for a drive:





And, just a few hours later:



Tomorrow after work, I'll pull the rear-end out of it and the car will be ready to go outside and sat around to be parted-out.

Hopefully next weekend we can get a relative start on the front clip, I'll also have my rear rails from being lasered. Having a bare frame to start with it'll be difficult to lay out my front clip, but I look forward to the challenge.

[Wybrow]

Hi fellas,

I got the rear-end out of the car last night. Originally, I wanted to try to use it, but I have a buyer lined up so I think I'll let it go. I'll likely wind up using one of a hundred S10 rears I have laying around (again, for the time being).

Also, I managed to find my old AVS 5-gallon air tank (definitely needs some cleaning up and a new bracket) and half of a set of Moroso solid motor mounts. I know I've got the other half somewhere, will just take a little digging.





Once the weekend rolls around, there should actually be a considerable amount of work done to the frame, I can't wait.

[ghettoluxury]

Originally Posted by Wybrow

Well, I've managed to get some work done on the truck tonight.

My two loves a Square Body and an Advance Design.

Keep it up it's looking good so far.

[Wybrow]

Originally Posted by ghettoluxury

My two loves a Square Body and an Advance Design.

Keep it up it's looking good so far.

Mine as well! Thanks!

Finally, something cool to look at. My buddy Dave and I got my sheetmetal rails tacked together tonight. It was quit a feat bending the top and bottom plating. We made a "bender" so to speak out of an old 14" steel wheel and a link bar end welded to the bench, which actually worked amazing.



Step by step of how we put them together. It took us a while to figure out a decent process to get them assembled, but once we did the first rail, the second one was a breeze.









The final product, tacked together.



Tomorrow night they will be welded and we hope to at least have the front clip tacked in aswell. So far it has been a very productive weekend and it's only just Friday night (Saturday morning for those of you just getting up).

[69CST-V]

Nice work. At this rate you'll be firing the motor Wednesday. LOL

[oldman3]

Nice work, got any extra brackets hanging on the back wall..Jim

[Wybrow]

Originally Posted by 69CST-V

Nice work. At this rate you'll be firing the motor Wednesday. LOL

Thanks! Haha, that would be real nice! I hope to have it as a rolling chassis that has working air ride by Christmas. I think that's a feasable goal.

Originally Posted by oldman3

Nice work, got any extra brackets hanging on the back wall..Jim

Thanks! Haha, it's handy having a friend work a laser table. Definitely a good thing to have just laying around for those stupid late night ideas.