1948 Chevy Motorama "Concept car."

[MARTINSR]

A little history, I bought this truck in Dec 73 a few weeks before my 16th birthday with $200 paper route money. It was owned by a family friend and had been used on a farm since new until he got it as his first car. His brother made the flat bed (it was like a piece of furniture, very well done) and he drove it to the same highschool my mom graduated from in 1936. He made the intake and headers with my brother in metal shop class and was quite ingenious if you ask me. The first photo is from the day I came home with it. Now mind you, I didn't have a license yet, only a learners permit so my mom was riding shotgun that day.







There was a two other trucks like this at school and I wasn't going to have one like everyone else's......so I chopped the top about two months after my 16th birthday.



And drove it to highschool looking like this as this photo was taken in the school parking lot.



I painted it orange, "Competition orange" or so I thought. I picked the color out of the 76 Corvette color chips, one problem it ended up being the only year the Corvettes were painted "Omaha Orange" a Chevy fleet color since 1936 and the color of the Cal Trans dept trucks! But after spending $33 dollars on that gallon of paint and with it masked up and ready to shoot in my garage, I went ahead and shot my second paint job ever Aug 1st 1977.



And off to my first rod run, Andy's Picnic Aug 7th 1977 with my brother and his Model A, the my first paint job ever.



And no, I was not taking this picture of the guy in the short shorts, did we really wear those in the seventies? YEOW
Nope, this was inside Andy's picnic and I was digging the attention MY little truck was getting.



Ok, that was the first "incarnation" of my truck, it looked like this up until 1979 at some time. This was the last photo of it before the big metamorphosis.



It was a 3/4 ton originally (with a foot or so cut off the rear of the frame behind the rear axle) when I got it. A replacement 1/2 ton frame was found and it would change forever.

[MARTINSR]

The first look at it with a bed on it, 1979 some time.



I went to put my Buick 401 in it and found that the steering box had to be moved way too much. I knew it was common to put the SBC in them but figured I knew better.

So I started moving the motor around, over some, maybe back? Well I decided if I was going to move it back, I might as well move it ALL the way back! I ended up with the motor between the seats and a 16.5 inch long drive shaft back to the 64 Nova rear end.





I found a red I liked and started painting it.



Drove around a little like this. Yes that's the oil pan about 6" off the ground right under the cab.



And finished....







Drove around like this for a number of years, until around 1992 (as you can see by the date written by my smart *** brother on the back of the cab) and decided it needed a rebuild. I never liked the poor chop top I had done with two gallons of bondo on the roof. No kidding, it was an inch and a half thick in one area! So I picked up another cab at the wreckers and started all over again!



sold the old cab (just found the bill of sale among the parts the other day) and I was off and running.

I did a Camaro clip. They are not what I was after and I soon realized this.



Anyway, I sectioned the cab and was on my way to the next version of my truck.









And the story continues.....

[MARTINSR]

And on to the trucks last (but will it be final?) version......

I traded the Camaro clipped frame and got another frame (the trucks third!) it's under the pile of parts you see.



A 51 passenger car frontend....same as Corvette...more on that later.



And a 57 Chevy rear end (I will call it a 55 being they look identical)



I built a cart for the cab out of a piece of frame I got from the guy who bought the Camaro clipped frame.



And so the story continues....

[MARTINSR]

I have had a love of the GM "Motorama" dream cars for many years.

1954
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRmlDhaiYJc

And 1956
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=Rx6keHpeYak

It's funny, my dad was a Buick salesman and actually attended the SF Motorama Shows many times yet I didn't know this as he never talked about it.

The first Corvette was introduced at the 1953 Motorama. These shows were like rock concerts, Broadway plays, they were SHOWS for GM to introduce their cars to the public, they were brilliant marketing tools.

Harley Earl was said to be the creator of the very first "Cream car" or "Concept car" with the Buick "Y job" in 1939. It's so wild how small the world is now with the net, I am "Friends" with Harley's grandson Richard on Facebook!



Under his leadership at the GM design studio some of the most iconic designs in automotive history were created.







And of course....the Corvette.



My goal is to make a 1953 "Concept car". I love "Themes" when building a car. It adds a lot of fun to it. So a "Concept car" or "Dream Car" it is! One that could have fit right in at the 1953 GM Motorama shows. My first thought is that this truck is Harley Earls personal truck and he brought it down to the GM design studio and had them make a few changes.



I will have a lot of artistic freedom as they could have done just about anything. For instance I have planned on using the 56-57 Corvette steering wheel and thought that was pushing it as I am after the early fifties Motorama, but in doing research I have found a photos of the 54 Corvette hardtop and it had one of these wheels! So, I have a little freedom so it's fun to think "How would they HAVE done it".

I am off and running to the next Motorama show at the Waldorf in New York 1953!

[MARTINSR]

It will be running a 53-54 Corvette motor by the way.

[MARTINSR]

Took my first steps back on the truck filling the gas filler hole in the cab. This filler and tank were moved to the cab in 49. In 47 and 48 these trucks had the tank under the bed on the right side with a filler coming out of bed right above the right running board apron. I have an NOS 47-48 gas tank that I will be using to gain a bit of room behind the seat and also to clean up the lines removing the filler from the cab.









And I was off and running!

[MARTINSR]

I was using my "Five minute a day plan" building it and damn it, something was getting done!

Here it was out in my "Viewing Courtyard" as Harley Earl Called theirs at the styling studio.





The "Viewing courtyard" was where they would roll the cars being designed out onto this yard so they could stand back and take a look at it. There were even a few turn tables where the cars would rotate while they checked out the modifications they were making. These cars were often clay models of course.

These two are the very famous concept cars, the Olds F-88 and the Buick LeSabre.



So that's where I stopped three years ago after a funky physical at the doctors office and I had to put my time in the evenings to walking and exercise. All my numbers are now great and have been for a while as I still walk every other night. But damn it, I think I can fit 5 minutes in! So that is my New Years resolution, getting back to my five minutes a day plan and so far since January 1st I have been!

I'll post here when something good comes along but maybe not my every five minutes I put it as that's sure not very exciting.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Well after the first week on my five minute a day plan I got something done, WHOOO HOOO! Got a patch panel all welded in on the cowl. Not much, but a heck of lot more than I got done the last year!

Brian

[MARTINSR]

I got another rusted through section cut out on the bottom of the cowl. I also cut a slit up the cowl at the door edge to widen the gap little. I will fine tune it when I do the welding of the patch.

Brian

[iowaboynca]

This will definitely be an interesting build!

I like your 5 min plan! So much i've tried adopting similar...unfortunately lately it's been limited to picking up after my dogs. (jeebus, they chewed threw another pair of gloves?!?)

Thank you so much for sharing the journey of what got you to "here". Keep choppin' that wood!

[nvrdone]

brian - glad to see your still at it. Nice to know that there is some one else who takes a long time on a project. I bought my '49 in San Leandro for 235.00 in 1973. its gone thru a lot of changes over the years. I also remember the Andy's pick nick in Castro valley back in the day. what high school did you go to ?

[hewittca]

This has been one of my favorite build threads to stumble upon in a long while! I love the history you shared of your truck, and the theme you are going after. While reading through your posts I couldn't help think of the Ship of Theseus. At what point, if any, was your truck not the same truck you started with?

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by nvrdone

brian - glad to see your still at it. Nice to know that there is some one else who takes a long time on a project. I bought my '49 in San Leandro for 235.00 in 1973. its gone thru a lot of changes over the years. I also remember the Andy's pick nick in Castro valley back in the day. what high school did you go to ?

I was the first full graduating class at American High School in Fremont 1977. Is that you in the shorts at Andy's Picnic in '77?

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by hewittca

This has been one of my favorite build threads to stumble upon in a long while! I love the history you shared of your truck, and the theme you are going after. While reading through your posts I couldn't help think of the Ship of Theseus. At what point, if any, was your truck not the same truck you started with?

It's STILL the same truck in my mind. The front fenders and the speedometer are the only things I drove home that day with. Everything else has been changed at one point or another. But it's still the same truck, you with me?

Here is the original hood that came with the truck after a "test drive" around 76 some time.



I would drive it down the street after every weld. LOL This time I forgot that I had removed the hood latch!

So that was the start of the replacing the truck I bought one part at a time. But the truck never was sold or anything like that, just one part at a time got swapped out until only the fenders, and inner fenders, and the speedo are the ones that came with it that day I drove it home.

Brian

[Keith Seymore]

Cool history and truck, and nice effort on the thread!

Since you mentioned both Corvettes and Motorama I thought I would quickly post up a few relevant pics, for your reference and entertainment.

Here's the Motorama Corvette on display at New York's Waldorf Astoria.

All of the '53 production cars (quantity of 300) were white exterior, red interior with black removeable tops (no side windows), and the Blue Flame six engine.

The only obvious difference between the Motorama car and the production cars was that the side spear on the front fender pointed down rather than up (and with no trim on the door).

The Motorama car still exists and therefore maintains the honor of being the oldest Corvette in existence.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Here's a couple pics of the first few production cars being built. These were built in the GM Assembly Research Center, located on the northeast corner of the Flint Assembly plant property (where I started my career). You can see they are using passenger car wheel covers since the Corvette specific covers were not yet available.

I worked in that building and it appeared very much the same. Sadly it is no longer there.

K

[suville]

Kule, luv GM concept cars!

[MARTINSR]

Thanks guys, Keith, what did you do in that building and when?

Brian

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Thanks guys, Keith, what did you do in that building and when?

Brian

Thanks for the follow up; that was the Assembly Research facility for GM, so they would set up pretend assembly lines to verify part fitment or process/techniques and to root cause and solve assembly problems. It was pretty standard practice to take employees from the assembly plant proper and give them short term assignments at GMARC for training and for a little bit of a break. I would have been over there off and on between 1979 and 1986 or so.

I've worked in all those Design studios and prototype build facilities, too (and both GM proving grounds). I had a bunch of posts that I deleted because it seemed like too much, but I can comment and/or answer questions about that if you like.

K

[Keith Seymore]

Also - hewittca has a couple links in his signature that show development activities of the various pickup programs.

I would recommend you scan through those if you have time and are interested in that sort of thing.

K

[joedoh]

I like the section job! always thought these trucks looked a little high waisted with a chop. I like your 5 minute plan too, and I like the ship of theseus paradox hewittca mentioned, I have gone through that myself!

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by hewittca

This has been one of my favorite build threads to stumble upon in a long while! I love the history you shared of your truck, and the theme you are going after. While reading through your posts I couldn't help think of the Ship of Theseus. At what point, if any, was your truck not the same truck you started with?

I went to the pages with the design of the C10 and there is some super cool stuff there! I have been on that site and don't remember seeing that. Now I got there and I can't find those same pictures you posted. So now I am wondering if I am missing something on the AD, can you go and see if you can find something on the AD please? EXCELLENT "Viewing Courtyard" photos!


Brian

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by joedoh

I like the section job! always thought these trucks looked a little high waisted with a chop. I like your 5 minute plan too, and I like the ship of theseus paradox hewittca mentioned, I have gone through that myself!

Thanks, I am doing everything so it looks "factory" but just different. The top chop for instance, so the windshield would have the correct angle, not too much, not too little, I lengthened the roof half the way and then raked the posts the rest of the way. It now "flows" like an original design.

The section is only 2.5 inches with a 3.5 inch chop. I had started chopping it 20 years ago at 4 inchs and when I got back on the project three years ago I unchopped it to 3.5.

Brian

[Advanced Design]

Brian, thanks for the background on your truck and starting a build thread. I am tagging along too.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

I went to the pages with the design of the C10 and there is some super cool stuff there! I have been on that site and don't remember seeing that. Now I got there and I can't find those same pictures you posted. So now I am wondering if I am missing something on the AD, can you go and see if you can find something on the AD please?

You have to ask for certain photo sets that they haven't released yet. I am in the process of acquiring the Advanced Design and Task Force photos. As soon as I get them sorted out I will post what I find.