1955 gmc 150

[T.W.Dustin]

I am the 3rd owner of this truck and purchased it from friends. It was originally a plumber's truck and the owner of the one man business purchased it new in Flagstaff, AZ. The folks I got it from used it in their electrical business and I now have it at my cabin in Northern AZ. It has a 248 and a 4 speed. It mostly sat for about 10 years before I got her up and running again. The engine was rebuilt by a high school shop class bck in the 90s and it has only traveled about 500 miles since then in total.

Here is when I dragged it home from Flagstaff about 2 years ago - this was a quick stop in Holbrook, AZ at the Wigwam.

[T.W.Dustin]

This is where the truck sat for many years:




It is currently in the paint shop and will be finished in the next few weeks. I wanted to take it back pretty close to the original Aspen Green color that you can see under the hood. It also had a creme top but I am going 1 color (including the interior).

[T.W.Dustin]

The body was in excellent rust free condition but it had it's dents and dings. The hinge pockets were a mess and I had to weld in new pockets due to stress/fatigue cracks in the steel:



This is as far as I went on the bodywork and decided to get this truck painted professionally. It is being painted by Premier Auto Body in Heber, AZ. They are doing a fantastic job. Meanwhile I am messing around with my '64 C10.

[T.W.Dustin]

Here are some shots of the assembled bed. It has a color matched liner on the inside side walls:









I am using color matched 16" smooth (stock looking) style wheels and Kenda 16 x 7.50 10 ply (Bias) tires

[T.W.Dustin]

Here is the cab a few days ago prior to paint:

[T.W.Dustin]

Here are some pics from yesterday and today - Scott is doing a real nice job on the old gal:

[ChuckDriver]

Very nice build, love the GMC grill!

[Flames97]

Looks the the truck was in good shape in the beginning. I like the new color. Looks great.
-Aaron

[Kim57]

Welcome.
Very nice truck.
Kim

[T.W.Dustin]

Thanks all. Here are a couple more pics from my painter.

[Rods57]

Looks great, I have always loved that color.

[Kim57]

very nice color.
Kim

[ChuckDriver]

Very slick!

[JML55]

I like it cool truck

[T.W.Dustin]

Here's another re-assembly pic:

[Kim57]

Looks real nice.
Kim

[ChuckDriver]

Nice progress!

[blue 72 gmc 4x4]

Wish I was at that point! Looking nice!

[T.W.Dustin]

Here's a pic from yesterday. It's really getting close. I should have her back in my shop up north in the next 2-3 weeks (I keep it up north at my cabin).

Now that the paint chapter is nearly complete, I am starting to think about getting back on some of the mechanical upgrades I would like to do on this truck. The plan is to keep it mostly stock, but I feel the original 4 speed behind the 248 may need to change. I am starting to research what transmission I can swap to in order to get it rolling down the highway a little closer to the speeds of today's traffic. This truck feels pretty wound out at 50-55 MPH. I was thinking about a 5 speed but want to retain the original bench seat and shifter location. I would love to hear some advice from those who have done this conversion. Thanks! Tom

[AZ59apacheguy]

I installed a T-5 tranny from a 89 Chevy S-10 into my '59 3100 and had no issues with clearing the bench seat. I was able to do this by installing a Hurst close ratio shifter adapter plate and long hurst shifter stick. Works great and I get down the road doing 65mph no problem and only tach around 2100-2200 rpm. There are plenty of threads that explain the whole process. Truck looks GREAT by the way

[T.W.Dustin]

Originally Posted by AZ59apacheguy

I installed a T-5 tranny from a 89 Chevy S-10 into my '59 3100 and had no issues with clearing the bench seat. I was able to do this by installing a Hurst close ratio shifter adapter plate and long hurst shifter stick. Works great and I get down the road doing 65mph no problem and only tach around 2100-2200 rpm. There are plenty of threads that explain the whole process. Truck looks GREAT by the way

Thanks neighbor!

[AZ59apacheguy]

Oh hey neighbor LOL, I just noticed that! Better yet, if you have questions, you can see what I did in person. Let me know.

[T.W.Dustin]

Originally Posted by AZ59apacheguy

Oh hey neighbor LOL, I just noticed that! Better yet, if you have questions, you can see what I did in person. Let me know.

I may take you up on that offer sometime, thanks! Here are a couple more updates:

[AZ59apacheguy]

Man that looks good. I love my '59 Chevy 3100, but my dream truck is a '55 GMC. Someday.............

[Kim57]

Looks really nice.
Kim