Corona Project!

[Kermitt47]

Well, one thing I have learned from this pandemic is bad s**t can happen quickly! This truck has been in the family for 40 years and in my care ( or lack there of) for 20 years. Life kept getting in the way and two major house remodels came first. Well no more excuses and collecting parts so I cleared a hole in the garage and pushed her in. I have watched with interest how so many talented people have created great projects on this site so hopefully some of it sank in. Anyway, I know you like pictures so here are some of where I am starting from with my 47.1 GMC.

[Kermitt47]

Out with the old and dead.. I forgot how much cast iron there is in the front end of this thing.

[special-K]

That's a great truck to start with. Nice to see a '47 1st design. Years ago, I thought all '47s were this style and '48 was the first year Advance Design.

[Kermitt47]

So I found a surprise when I removed the Heater/Defrost unit. Were heaters optional on this truck? Anyway, I was surprised to find a Ford heater and there did not seem to be a surplus of holes in the firewall to indicate there had been a different heater installed. So far I have not found too many Warts for the age of the truck. I did give up on trying to unbolt the small fasteners with Phillips heads, even with lots of WD40 they were not coming apart. Luckily most broke with a little more tightening. Removing the rivets has been a little more fun!

[Kermitt47]

I have been working on filling the Swiss Cheese holes in the frame. (Good welding practice) There are hundreds of them and while I get the removed rivets caused some, I have no idea what a lot of the other holes are for. Anyway, I built a cab dolly and the cab came off today so I can get at the rest of the holes. Then I will send the frame out for blasting and a good prime before starting the rebuild.

[docrock]

Nice work! I'm in for the build!

[Thealien]

Looking forward to seeing this build!

[Kermitt47]

docrock - Nice green 42! as I get further into the rebuild I am sure I will have questions on how it goes back together.
Thealien - wow, lots of interesting links for that hard to find info on swaps I will be checking out.

[gigamanx]

Nice start for the truck! What are your plans for it?

[Kermitt47]

Goodbye to 73 years of rust and crud. Now to start getting wheels back under this thing.

Gigamanx - plans are to modernize the powertrain so that it is fun to drive again and hopefully do some cruising. I have a Mustang II front kit so that will add PS and disc brakes. The rear will be an Explorer 8.8 with 3.73 gears, limited slip and disc brakes. How do you like driving your 49 on air? I am toying with air suspension on this thing for a good ride. Power will be from the General.

[gigamanx]

Originally Posted by Kermitt47

Goodbye to 73 years of rust and crud. Now to start getting wheels back under this thing.

Gigamanx - plans are to modernize the powertrain so that it is fun to drive again and hopefully do some cruising. I have a Mustang II front kit so that will add PS and disc brakes. The rear will be an Explorer 8.8 with 3.73 gears, limited slip and disc brakes. How do you like driving your 49 on air? I am toying with air suspension on this thing for a good ride. Power will be from the General.

I really enjoyed the air suspension. Very smooth ride. I had a 4 link setup for the rear end. If you've stripped it down this far and have to rebuild the suspension anyway, might be worth doing air. Really depends on if you like the look of a car laid out. If you like your truck "truck height" then I'd go with coil overs like many other folks have. Lower maintenance.

My current build I am not bagging just due to cost. I had some coil overs for the rear already so it didn't make sense to try bag it. I'm just going to set the ride height real low for the coil over mounts and avoid speed bumps

[8man]

Great truck to start with. Looking forward to more progress.

[Kermitt47]

8man - Nice work on the 48 AD. lots of good ideas there.

Well I have been busy working on the front suspension and have made a little progress. Not a big fan of the instructions that say measure back 16 inches and weld away!. Have been boxing and measuring and measuring and fitting and measuring.... you know the drill. I think I am getting close so put the cab back on and will try a fender in the next couple of days to see if the wheel still fits in the opening before I get carried away making things permanent.

[Kermitt47]

Had some time today to put on the fender and put some wheels on for a look. The tires are too short, 25.3 inch but it gave me a chance to see if there would be any issues. I will have to research what wheel size and offset would work under this thing. I am thinking a 17 or 18 inch rim and like the Artillery rim or a traditional 5 spoke.

[3757chevy]

I like the idea of artillery wheels. But, I think it will look good whatever you choose.

[70LonghornCST]

Very nice! I can't wait to see this build progress.

[Kermitt47]

Time for some pics as I had the day off to tinker a bit. I decided to stuff the motor in the hole to see if it would fit and what was going to be an issue. The good news is the hood will still fit but I will need a shorter engine oil pan and will have to do something about exhaust manifolds. None of this was a big surprise but you never know until you have it in place. Do any of you transmission experts know if there is a shallower 6L80E trans pan than the truck one I have now? I will also have to think about a radiator and fan but it looks tight up front.

[olcarguy]

Nice work and a good solid truck to start with.....

[Kermitt47]

Oldcarguy; Thanks for looking.
Time for an update. Thanks to Santa Holley the oil pan does not hang below the front cross member any more. The exhaust manifolds no longer sit on the frame thanks to some Hooker manifolds that tuck in tighter to the engine and don't have pipe flanges that stick out to the sides. Time now to come up with some engine and trans mounts.

[8man]

That engine sitting there looks great.

[docrock]

Looks *****in! Great stance.

[Jason 56]

Just found your build. I’ll be following. What Gen V engine do you have there?

[Kermitt47]

It is a 2016 L83 and 6L80E. I had to change to the L82/84 water pump as the original offset one was going to be hanging out in the wheel well. GM also put a power steering pump on the new 6.6l truck engine so I will be going that way too as the brackets work with the center mount water pump. Life got in the way for the last couple of months but I should be back in the garage now.

[Jason 56]

Awesome! The water pump change will leave you with a lot more options. Feel free to ask any questions. You can send me a pm even. I’ve done a ton or research installing mine.

[Kermitt47]

Jason 56, Thanks for the offer, nice to see yours is running! One thing I find a challenge is a good source for the electrical connectors for these Gen V's. I am looking for the fuel pump control module, fuel pump and fuel pressure connectors as well as the pcm fan connector. I have the stock engine harness but finding some of these other connectors is a problem.