The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Just picked up a 53 GMC for the sons first vehicle.Advice needed PICS ADDED

Hello, like the subject line says. after a long search through hoards of classic Chevys ,the son and I bumped into and settled on a 1953 GMC long bed 4 on the floor.
It has been redone before (but not butchered). Does seem to have been a budget build, but they kept it original looking and classic.
It has been sitting in a barn pretty much untouched since 02, and has the 1/2 inch of dust to prove it. We have a long laundry list of things that it will need and upgrades also.
As of now the plan is too get the ole 6 up and running, do a brake upgrade. Thinking maybe a dual master cyl with discs up front. Driving her that way while saving up for possible engine swap in the future. I have done some research and AS OF NOW the distant future plans at most would be too upgrade to aftermarket front suspension with A arms. Im not much on dropping it on an S10 chassis or anything like that. The body is very solid with some slight filler in cab corners and possibly a bit in driver side fender. One place they did skip in the redo the first time was the floor boards. But with it being his first car and project I think it has tons of potential and if he dings it I wont have to disown him. The previous owner which owns a customizing shop that specializes in old trucks offered me a deal to install new floor pans at a great price. I have worked on Chevy muscle cars most my life , but for a few hundred and he has all the right tools and space I couldn't pass up leaving the pan replacement to him.
My big question is ????
Is there anything to the floor pans I should have him do or modify to prepare it for future upgrades ? Any issues with trans tunnel if some day we happen to drop in a 350 turbo trans ?

I appreciate any help and advice you guys can give.

Thanks

"As of now the plan is too get the ole 6 up and running, do a brake upgrade. Thinking maybe a dual master cyl with discs up front. Driving her that way while saving up for possible engine swap in the future."

That is a very good idea. While doing the disc brakes check all the steering components. Adjust the steering box to the specs in the shop manual. No need for an aftermarket suspension. And for the engine swap, think bigger GMC 6, like a 270 or 302.

ditto on the engine swap suggestion.

Did aan engine and transmission swap on my sons '48 chev truck this past summer. Same body style. He had a chev 235 with three on the tree. We put in a Chev 250 with 700R4 auto trans. Very good combination but I would not do it again. The 250 was an easy fit and he insisted the the under hood "look" era. The 700R4 has created some problems and if I had it to do over I would have used a 350 turbo. Or would have talked him into a 5 speed manual. The auto was to satisfy his wife and two teenage daughters - so they could drive it. go figure.

All the steering was rebuilt and the brakes now have 15" Disc on the front and 15" drums on the rear. The rear end is actually from a '99 Chev Blazer.

Oh, forgot to say. The 700r4 required some tunnel resconsruction. Then the carpet would not fit.

Kenparker: oh, the younger generation that can't drive a stick shift. What a shame. :-) An auto trans takes all the fun out of driving an old truck.

09JK: Your plan is sound. Your priorities (in order) should be stop, steer and go. Get the brakes and steering squared away before putting much time and effort into the engine. As far as an engine swap goes, you need to do some soul searching with your son and define what your needs really are. Newer and bigger is not necessarily better. Unless you want to race your buddies or smoke the tires on a regular basis, there is nothing wrong/deficient about running an in-line 6. I have a 58 Suburban that a previous owner swapped in a late 70's 250. It has plenty of get up to enjoy driving. I haven't tried towing with it yet, so that may be an issue in the future. If more power is needed I'll look for a good running 292 to put in. I'm kind of nostalgic for the old straight 6 engines. I would caution you on installing a GMC 302. I don't have any personal experience, but have been told that the block is longer and isn't a simple swap out. For details on that issue, look in the engine or HiPo forums.

On the floor pan issue; if you can get a good deal from a buddy, I'd go that way. There is a good amount of room under classic trucks, so I wouldn't be overly concerned about putting in an extra large trans tunnel. The only thing I'd suggest would be to make sure the guy uses adequate bracing in the cab. Depending on how much of the floor gets removed at a time, there is a potential for the cab to get out of square. The floor provides a lot of structural stability/integrity for the cab. Some temporary cross bracing in the bottom half of the cab might be a good idea. For further guidance, check out the paint/body forum.

Anyway, congratulations on the acquisition. It is always exciting to get a new generation interested in old trucks.

" I would caution you on installing a GMC 302. I don't have any personal experience, but have been told that the block is longer and isn't a simple swap out."

The GMC 302 is the same physical size as the 228 in the truck now and is a direct bolt in replacement with no modification*. All GMC engines in the series are longer than Chevrolet engines of the same era. Modification is required to put one in a Chevy.

*If the later engine uses side mounts you will need to swap the timing cover plate from an earlier engine.

Nice,, keep it coming. This is the exact stuff I've been looking for.
Anything to help save money. As of now the deal we made was for every dime I spend he matches, and for a 14 year old dimes can be hard to come by.
As far as brakes go , do you guys recommend sticking with the frame mounted master or switching over to firewall mounted ? Would love to find a direct boot in kit with front discs and all. Do the spindles have to be changed out?
Also his has a passenger side spare tire mounted. Is this common for a GMC long bed ?

Sorry for all the questions , but spring is fast approaching and project Dusty Butt (guess I just named his truck for him lol ) is about to commence .
Will try and post a pic or two later.
Thanks AGAIN

Mounting the master cylinder to the firewall does present some challenges. Mainly, the firewall would require extra bracing to be installed to prevent it from flexing. Using the under floor stock location would eliminate that, but I understand that the boosters will interfere with the shifter linkage.
Something you might consider, before you make changes to the truck, is get it in operable condition. Try driving it stock first, see if you like it that way. Sometimes the mindset of "you have to change it to be safe/make it drivable on todays roads" comes up, and people that are new to these truck get bombarded with sometimes false information. I'm not saying all the advise is bad, only that some of it goes a little too far. I will agree with going with a dual master cylinder, even though I still have the original style non-power single in mine. It's a bit of extra safety. Disk brakes? Nice to have, bot not 100% necessary. The original engine and trans? Bulletproof in stock form, plus teaching your son to drive a manual trans, especially a 3 speed column shift, will give him a one up on his automatic only friends. Thinking about it, even keeping the manual steering and brakes (drums only, go power if you go with disks) might even make him a better drive by making him have to pay attention to what's going on.
Whichever way you decide to, though, feel free to ask questions.

Fully understand it would be easy to go overboard on upgrades. Just trying to avoid doing it twice if possible. Take the brake system the way it sets. Being that it has sat for 10 plus years I'm pretty sure the master and all wheel cyls are probably shot. If not and a little fluid and some bleeding would get them up and going I definitely will start out that way and upgrade later. If we was building it for me she would stay manual and drums all the way around. Shoot I ran my Nova for decades with full manual drums reaching as high as 125 in the quarter mile, and switched to disc up front only when she jumped to 140 mph. Sand trap comes up pretty quick at that speed. Lol
You are dead on with making sure he can drive a stick. I try and teach him the extra things previous generations had to learn as much as I can. He actually learned to drive in a beat up old Ford Ranger with 5 on the floor. I would be a little more nervous with this one if it was 3 on the tree, but with it being 4 on the floor I'm thinking the manual steering will be the only thing he has to adapt to.
I have read about the brake boosters interfering with the linkage. Is that only with 3 on the tree ? Or also with floor shift models ?

I like Bill's response. Especially since I don't have to type it now.
You have had a real gem of gems dropped into your lap. In stock form, it is as good as any truck up to the early 70s.
If you want to turn heads at car shows, leave it stock. Even if the body is a little rough, you will get big smiles.
I have a 50 Chevrolet that fits that description and I had a guy about 50 something years old (a young guy ), come up to me at a show and held his hand out for me to shake and said, "Thank you." I asked him, "For what?" He said, "For not cutting it up!
I'll never forget that day. It was really cool to hear.
Carl

Pic 1

Pic 2

That right side spare mount is a user added accessory.

That looks like a great start !!

Don't timid about a 302 or 270. They are all the same length as you existing 228 or whatever. Parts for 270/302 are easily gotten.

GMC engines and 292 Chevys are about 3" longer than a 235/262 Chevy, but he already has a GMC engine.

If the driver's side is as nice as the passenger side, you guys are off to a GREAT start! Welcome to the "'Bolt"!!

Man, nice truck. Wash her off, get brakes and get her running - you might be surprised how much you like her stock. Also, I'm told that it's generally easier to sell a stock truck later than one that's been "modernized." You can tell where my heart lies by looking at the pix below my name. Good luck with it!

Hoping to head south and pick her up this week.
I have one tire with the bead broke and was wanting to drag one down with me so it's an easy roll up on the trailer.
What bolt pattern is it ? I'm assuming a 6xsomething.

My uncle has a large amount of old rims all diff sizes that hold air , just wondering what will fit her in a pinch ? Any later wheels ?

Again thanks for all the help.

Firewall mounted master with 7" booster is available on E Bay around $300.00 includes brackets for firewall to dash bracket to stiffen. If you are keeping the 4 speed look at the master with 7" booster that mounts in the original location. Available in disk drum configuration with proportion valve. Also around $300.00 Front disk conversion for original spindle kits are also available.
Mike

Well she is home and the clean up has started. Engine does spin freely by hand but the ole starter didn't want to crank her. I dropped the starter and cleaned all the contacts for the foot start. It bench tested fine.
Plan is to switch it to 12volts and a negative ground. Trying to keep cost to little to nothing until I can check the condition of the engine. From searching I think I have found (but please correct me if not ) I plan to disconnect power supply to the coil and the power feed into the cab. Install an extra 12 v batt I have and run it negative ground. Then see if we can get her cranking over. If so I plan to get a knock down for the fuel gauge and coil then hook everything up and see if she will fire. Am I way off with this plan ?

If you want to run a split reservoir M/C with a booster,you can mount it farther back than the stock one and just use a longer push rod from the pedal to the booster. Then you'll have plenty of clearance,and you can put a new filler hole under the seat. I did that on my '54 2 Ton.
Speed

About the converting to 12 volt. I've always thought you have to replace the flywheel if you want to use a 12volt starter, but im not sure. can anybody tell my if i'm lying or not?

You can stay with the original 6volt starter just wire it for 12 volt negative ground and it will work just fine. I have done this a number times and have had no problems with it, they are a very strong starter and there are tons of them around. Plus I like what you are doing (the father son project). My son and I did this 8 years ago and he still has his. One of the best things we have done together.

Please use the proper forum for your questions. I.e. electric bay for electrical, engine shop for engine questions, etc. Thanks, the moderator.