My First AD Truck 53 3100

[73kay]

Ok some of you may of already read some of my post about my truck. I'm making a build thread just to make it easier for everyone.

Background:

I just finished restoring a 76 c10 shortbed when a neighbor was getting rid of his 49 gmc. It was a 49 frame, 54 motor, 49 cab and a whole bunch of odds and ends. So $300 it was mine. I now had to source the body panels.

Bought a roller 53 3100 for 1100 on Craigslist. No motor or tranny but already had a ford 9in posi 3.5 ratio! It had gauges too!

Plan now is to add all the best of everything to one truck. This is the first phase. Later on after I transition outta the army I'll restore it but for now it will be a cruiser. I got the 235 running, bought a radiator, installed a Saginaw 3 speed to the stock bell housing and picked up a 85 caprice driveshaft that fit both length and the ford 9in. Also picked up an alternator and wiring harness outta a 77 Chevy c10.

Today I took it for a short drive around the block and it was awesome! Still waiting for a shifter from eBay, so I had it in first for the drive.

I'll publish my photos when I get to my computer but pretty happy for having less than 2000 to get this think running.

More to come. Feedback welcome!

[LOW A D]

Nice trucks! Is the red one the one you bought as a roller? Was it already painted when you got it?

[73kay]

Sorry the red one was my buddies. He just flipped it. Shame but he made some dough off it.

[73kay]

well, its been a bit since my last post, but I wanted to get some photos up here.

This was my $300 project, pretty much a bunch of odds and ends of a 1949 GMC 1/2 ton pickup. The guy bought it and ended up taking everything apart and scrapping the sheetmetal, saying it was all too far gone (rust). So I starting taking inventory of everything and trying to at least see if the motor would kick over.

Honestly, I like the way it happened, it makes it so much more interesting and satisfying when you figure out how these old trucks were built and what goes where.

I ended up getting the 54 235 running and noticed I had some leaks in my freeze plugs, they were smaller than the holes you see below but I'm glad I just had water in it. I cleaned out so much crap in the motor it was amazing.

My garage was full, so I had my side yard work for now, I know i know kinda ghetto, but oh well.

[73kay]

So around the same time I was looking for some sheetmetal for my truck when I came upon a guy in Austin selling a 53 3100 for $1100. It had no motor or tranny, but had the gauges, the steering wheel, all the panels, the bed everything! So I got real excited and picked that sucker up as fast as I could and brought it home. The best part was that the old torque tube had already been removed and a ford 9in 3.50 posi was loosely connected. The only bummer was no vin plate and no title. I was gonna use the GMC Cab anyways, but things changed.

My wife loves these "bubbly" trucks better than my squarebody so thats good, hahaha.

[73kay]

Well I had my father-in-law in town and a few trusty neighbors to help me get this motor into the new roller 53. I know you guys are probably thinking there had to be a better way that what we did but let me explain:

I already had robbed the 49 frame of its front suspension because the 53's front springs were cracked, and the back of the 49 frame had flat tires etc. So we got a cherry picker on the grass and lifted up the motor, but as you can imagine, that sucked and didn't get us far. I'm a pretty stubborn guy and was like, hell Ill pull it with my 76 c10 to the street, so we rigged the cherrypicker to my hitch and my neighbors guided it onto the street. I still have a long trench across my grass by doing this but, it was fun and I will always laugh remembering it.

The biggest shocker to me was just how tight the 235 squeezed in there. Some guys mention there was a plate and rubber padding, I just used the rubber padding, thinking that the plate was an adapter from the GMC frame for a chevy motor. Ill have to do some more research on that.

[73kay]

Now for the fun stuff, I got my radiator in from ebay, it was a 3 row I think and for 140 I thought a good deal. My temp gauge never really worked on it so I still need to figure that one out, but I had the motor idling and it actually wasn't too loud for not having exhaust. I cleaned out the gas tank and the gas line/valve and I still went through two filters of crap. I'm half tempted to just cut into the gas tank and really scrub in it and weld it back shut or something.

I was able to hook up the oil pressure line to the stock gauge and it was showing 30, not sure if the 54 goes up to 60 or not. The stock temp gauge line was cut and I have the fuel line disconnected because I am running a 12 volt battery right now.

I installed a saginaw 3 speed tranny from a squarebody c10 which I am really familiar with until I can find a good t5. (I hear the t5 and saginaw are the same length???) So I installed it and measured the length and after rolling around in the dirt at the junk yard I saw a 85 caprice across the truck rows and I was like, why the hell not and measured that sucker. It was spot on! I bought that, an alternator, and the wiring harness of a 77 c10, (I'm gonna use that for the 53). Best part of the driveshaft was that it was the perfect length and the universal joint fit perfect with the ford 9in. 3.50 isn't too bad for now and with 23570r15s I think I will be in the upper 2000s at 65/70. S10 t5s are just too pricey for me right now and I want to wait until I find a deal at the junkyard.

I think that is a good start to get caught up where I am right now. Since then I have done a quick little drive around the neighborhood, but the brakes are scary and I will dig into that more this weekend hopefully.

[iowaboynca]

fun, isn't it?

[FarmerSid]

Great story and start to your build. Sounds like things are working out for you. "bubbly"! That's good.

[Advanced Design]

Great family and a cool project. We like bubbly trucks too.

[73kay]

Originally Posted by iowaboynca

fun, isn't it?

Yes it is! I never would of thought I'd get to work on classic trucks like these.

Ya you gotta love how my wive describes these bubbly trucks lol