'51 GMC Restomod Finished!

[theastronaut]

I'm pretty much finished building a '51 GMC 100 for another local business. They had the truck restored around 20 years ago but it never was reliable so they didn't do much with it. They brought it to us to be updated underneath while keeping a fairly original look so they could finally get it out and enjoy it. I used Mustang II front suspension, TCI's Parabolic rear left spring/shock kit, an Explorer 8.8" disc/lsd axle redrilled for 5x4.75", a 5.3/4L60e from an '06 Avalanche with a PSI harness, Tanks Inc rear mount tank, Vintage Air Sure Fit kit with Kwik Performance compressor bracket, Ididit tilt column with a '54 wheel shrunk to 15", Lokar floor shifter and e-brake, and all new glass and weatherstripping. I kept the old paint and door lettering since it was in pretty good shape and only had to touch up a few areas. I did scuff the whole truck after fixing/blending base over the repaired areas and shot a couple coats of slightly flattened SPI Universal Clear.

[8man]

Oh wow, that is one fine truck!

[MiraclePieCo]

Sunny beach, that is nice! I love the seamless blend of old and new.

[Matt_50]

I'm so jealous, that looks amazing!
What color brown in the dash?

[mongocanfly]

very nice .....

[caseyjones]

That is a great truck! What are the wheel and tire specs? I've got the same suspension setup planned and am about at the point of ordering wheels.
Thanks!

[joedoh]

really beautiful! I really like the Cibie style euro lenses


those are con2r gauges right? I thought about calling them to see if I could get a plug in set for the 03 donor I have right now.

[tmoble]

Pretty cool.

Are you saying you shrunk the diameter of the steering wheel? got any info or pics of that process?

[b-mac]

Curious about the rear-end re-drill: Since the rotor slip over the lugs, do you have to have rotors re-drilled when you replace them, or is there a better answer for this?

[theastronaut]

Thanks for the comments!!

Originally Posted by Matt_50

I'm so jealous, that looks amazing!
What color brown in the dash?

The dash was painted ~20 years ago and was still in good shape when I started the refresh. I did have brown paint matched for the wheel, column, and A/C panel but it was custom mixed to match the existing paint so I didn't get a code.

Originally Posted by caseyjones

That is a great truck! What are the wheel and tire specs? I've got the same suspension setup planned and am about at the point of ordering wheels.
Thanks!

They're Wheel Vintiques smoothies, 16x7 and 16x8 with 4" backspacing on both. The tires are 215/70-16 front and 235/70-16 rear. Standard baby moon caps with GMC decals we had made to look similar to the original caps. I did have to use a 5/16" spacer in the rear to clear the bed side, and I made adjustable fender braces in the rear to push the fender out for a bit more clearance on the outside. It has fiberglass fenders; steel fenders may have a thinner lip around the wheel opening.

Originally Posted by joedoh

really beautiful! I really like the Cibie style euro lenses


those are con2r gauges right? I thought about calling them to see if I could get a plug in set for the 03 donor I have right now.

The Cibie's are great; they look pretty much like a sealed beam but out-perform many modern lights. Those are Con2R gauges, we picked them since they fit the style of the build really well. The mounting tabs needed a bit of trimming to make them fit.

Originally Posted by tmoble

Pretty cool.

Are you saying you shrunk the diameter of the steering wheel? got any info or pics of that process?

Yes, I found a 15" wheel on eBay, cut the rim off, and grafted it to the original steering wheel spokes.

Here's a post with more info on that.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...12&postcount=7

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by b-mac

Curious about the rear-end re-drill: Since the rotor slip over the lugs, do you have to have rotors re-drilled when you replace them, or is there a better answer for this?

The axle was bought from a local street rod shop already rebuilt and drilled, ready to go into the chassis. I don't remember if they used rotors with the correct lug pattern or if they're also redrilled.

[Donaldo]

Well done ! REALLY NICE !!!

[Softpatch]

that's nice....any chance we could see the under sides.?

[Volfandt]

Nice job. Looks like it would be a great cruiser.
I really like the steering wheel, great mix of old school looks and modern size.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by Donaldo

Well done ! REALLY NICE !!!

Originally Posted by Volfandt

Nice job. Looks like it would be a great cruiser.
I really like the steering wheel, great mix of old school looks and modern size.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Softpatch

that's nice....any chance we could see the under sides.?

I didn't take any pics while I was building it, and I don't have a lift to take pics now. Its nothing special underneath, I had the frame powdercoated but it's not really detailed well. Just meant to be a daily driver level refresh so I didn't spend much time making things look good underneath.

[evilokc]

beautiful.

[solidaxel]

Very nice G M C and the right combination!

[Advanced Design]

Beautiful truck. Nicely done!

[Black_Sheep]

Well done!