The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline SBC T5 in a 47?

Yeah, I thot milk crates were the ideal setup.

Ed

I didn't have the extra money for milk crates, I went with the free pallet set-up. The Mexican blanket just finishes off nicely I think.

I subscribe to the idea if you can do something for 15 minutes every day the project will move continue to move along. I've been dabbling with hand buffing out and waxing the old paint. So far I've gotten the front clip done. Not sure if these pics will show the difference.

Planning on tackling the king pins and bushings this weekend. Been reading what I can find. Mostly from the main Stovebolt page.

A brief history of an old truck: (Wish I knew more.)

Became good friends with a guy that I met at Carlisle a couple years ago. He's an AD enthusiast. About a year and a half ago My wife and I decided to ask him to find us a truck. Prefer a GMC, and a 5 window, but a Chevy 3 window would be fine too. Must be a manual trans truck, and really solid! We went back and forth over about a dozen trucks over a 4 month period. One day he called and said "I think I found your truck, 49 GMC, light pale green. In southern California" Sounds good, go get it. (From the east coast) Couple days later he called and said "I definitely found your truck!! 47 GMC 5 window, been sitting in a garage in So Cal for 30 years. Hasn't moved. Owner died decades ago and the family is ready to get rid of it."

He picked up both trucks and a 59 GMC. Mine was the first one. Notice the drag mark behind the tire getting it out of the garage. (That's my favorite picture of this truck, he texted it to me shortly after taking it)

I do have a contact number for a relative. Left a voice mail but haven't heard back. I'll try again. It's a great piece of history, I'd like to know more about it.

Heading home.

In the nothing ever goes as planned category, I attempted to change the king pins and bushings last Friday. After reading everything I could, especially here , I removed all the necessary parts but wasn't able to pound out the pins. Holy smokes they were in there. I ended up taking out the axle and bringing it to a friend's shop to do it on a press. I'm planning on cleaning everything up this weekend and putting it all back together. Wish me luck!

Went back together pretty easy. Still don't have the new drag link or the adjusted pitman arm yet. I put the wheels on anyway.
There's a really cool car show in Davisburg Michigan June 1st. Sins of Steel. Traditional hot rods, all pre 64 stuff. The attitude there is great. Not to many pretentious jerks. I'm shooting to have this thing on the road for that. Still pages of stuff to do.

Great work. Nice save, too. Congrats! Should be a great driver. I read all posts and didn't see it addressed, or any pictures, so I will ask: what did you do about the original crossmember that was under the 6-cylinder bellhousing? Or was this truck previously hot rodded with a V8 and that crossmember removed or altered? Apparently it did/does not have the original torque-tube rear axle. If you did discuss any of that, sorry I missed it.

The 50 Chevy 3600 I bought in 99 had a SBC V8 in it already. The steering box was moved outboard of the frame about 1.5-2". The solution to the clutch pedal arm hitting the exhaust was to bend the arm away from the exhaust and bring it thru the floor in a new hole. That put the clutch and brake pedals at different levels, but worked great.

Thanks Frank. The truck had the original 6 cyl, manual trans (I think a 4 speed) and torque tube rear end. Part of the deal from the guy that got it for me was that he put a 57 Chevy truck rear end in it. The original crossmember is sitting in the bed of the truck awaiting the next run to the scrap yard unless you or someone else wants it. Send me a PM. I addressed the pedal by putting another hole in the brake arm about a half inch down, then cutting about a half inch off the arm and the original hole. I notched the floor lower about a half inch and bolted it back together. The pedal sits in about the original position, but the swing arc isn't exactly correct, but it feels just fine. I also added a 3/16 dowel to the assembly for a little reassurance in case the bolt ever loosened up. There's a lot of red locktite down there so I'm feeling pretty confident. Seems to work pretty good now even though I haven't actually driven it.

Just re-read your post. The cross member in the bellhousing area got chopped up. The one I have is for the trans...I think.

Okay, thanks. I don't want to make a fuss, but that crossmember adds a lot of structural support to the frame besides holding up the rear of the engine. I know some others will not agree... My 50 3600 that I mentioned had a 54 or later crossmember and a bellhousing designed to mount to that crossmember - in the original location. Behind that was the old SM-420 4-speed and original driveshaft. Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing your truck. I like it! I hope you have a ball with it.

I tried using a bellhousing that would mount to the frame crossmember but the starter on my 350 wouldn't fit into the area that was for it on the bellhousing. I ended up having to find a "621" bellhousing. I did add a crossmember under the new trans. Not sure how much structural integrity it added. Probably not much.

What is a 621 bellhousing?

Aluminum GM bellhousing that fits the 11 inch clutch and starter I have. Was used on big blocks and small blocks. Not sure the years but I'm guessing late 60s thru the 70s. They're reproduced now but I was able to find one at Hershey last fall. It was a great score for me. Same guy had a NOS clutch and brake pedal set up with Z bar etc for a late 60s early 70s Nova. One of my favorite cars. I grabbed that too. Can never be too optimistic, even though my wife says I have enough vehicles.

Thanks! And again, good work and good luck.

Got my steering parts back from Nostalgia Sid's. Instead of bending the pitman arm to compensate for my steering box being moved over, he put a taper in it to accept a newer style tie rod end. So the new joint is on the inside instead of the outside. Sid also tapered the steering arm and made me a new drag link to make it all work together. I'm planning on putting it all back together this weekend.

I also put some paint in the area behind the grill. Whenever I see an old car or truck with an aluminum radiator clearly showing I think to myself "That looks kinda dumb". Now I'm that guy. I've got a diesel lawn mower and whenever the radiator gets grass or dirt in it the thing overheats. I hate to put paint on the radiator fins reducing the efficiency of the rad. Maybe I'm overreacting, I dunno. They've been painting radiators since the dawn of time.

The cast iron bellhousing with the angled motor mounts will work, but the 3-bolt starter mount boss has to be cut away for clearance for the block-mounted starter. The Chevy bellhousing I use on my engine dyno has been modified that way. Since the torque load of the dyno is carried by the bellhousing on my setup, the later model aluminum one isn't an option!
Jerry

Sid’s does quality work. Maybe it’s because he’s from Oklahoma and the town I was born in!

And he's a nice guy to talk to on the phone. Probably for the same reason.

I had thought about that, but chickened out. That's cool though.

Got the steering back together. With the new disk brakes, fresh king pins and bushings, new drag link and ends, and tires I'm feeling a bit more confident about the front end of this truck,

Put new chrome emblems on it, put the glove box in and a new glove box button/lock.

Got the exhaust done today. I'm digging how it came out. Sounds and looks great. IMHO
I drove it home from the exhaust shop. Much less scary than the first ride. The alternator isn't wired yet so I was a bit worried about making it home. All worked out.

Next weekend it's going back to my buddy's shop (hopefully), we're going to attempt to sort out the wiring.

Many moons ago I talked with Sid about dropping a Chevy 3600 (3/4-ton) front axle and reshaping the steering rods, etc. I decided not to do a static drop on that truck. He seemed very knowledgeable, helpful and courteous. His work looks very good. No wonder he has a good reputation.

Your truck looks great. I love the duals. Done just in time for the cruising season.

Yeah, I like Sid. Seems like he's done a lot of em.

Thanks.
As of today Sins of Steel is 26 days away. The wiring is a mess. The lady doing the seat texted me last week that she's just getting started on it, but is having surgery this week but will "try to get it done for when I need it". Ugh. There's some work to be done on the rear end and I really have to do something inside the cab. And, I'm planning on putting an oak bed in it from Mar-K. I also have 2 full pages of misc. stuff to do. We'll see how it goes.

Started on the boards for the bed. Wasn't sure about the color at first, but now that I have stain on all the bottoms of the boards I like it.
Hoping to install it next Thursday or middle of the following week. We'll see how it goes.

"Mark"

I have read through your build . Really great job so far ..... makes me want too go looking for 'That old GMC truck'.

I can relate to your T 5 install : I bought a '93 Sonoma W/C T 5 & followed along with "Jay's T 5 page". I installed that trans

into my '69 NOVA , behind my original 250 / 6 (had the stock power-glide), and that T 5 made my Nova "A FUN CAR to DRIVE, AGAIN".

Keep Your build going --- alot of us ARE Following along ......... Thanks for all the Info & Pictures

jim

Thanks Jim, I appreciate that. Late 60's Novas and 66 Chevelles are my favorite cars. Seem like they all have SS emblems on em now. You'd think GM only made them that way. A 250 with a T5 would be a great set up in a Nova. I mentioned in another post someplace that I bought a set of NOS clutch and brake pedals for a late 60s-early 70s nova at Hershey. Had the Z-bar and all the doodads. Great score. It's on my automotive bucket list for sure. (Jay coached me all along the way doing my T5)


My buddy John and I spent 12 hours this weekend trying to sort out the electrical on this truck. The guy I got it from put in a 12 volt harness, but since I bought it without a motor and trans there were quite a few wires dangling. Also, I never got the wiring diagram so we really didn't know what went where. I really don't know what I was thinking but I figured it'd take us 4 or 5 hours. Doh! At this point I've got headlights, running lights, tail and brake lights. The truck starts with a switch. The alternator works, but we have to make a change to the wiring, and we ran a lead for an electric fan, but we need to add in a relay and a switch for it. We changed out a headlight bucket for a new one too. I've got no dash or gauge lights, but that's due to a faulty headlight switch. I'd like to get the dome light and horn to work. That might be asking for a lot. Lol.

If it wasn't for a few friends of mine, especially my buddy John from high school (close to 40 years ago), this truck wouldn't even have a motor in it yet!

I'm still trying to get a lot more done before June 1st, but I'm falling behind on my "real" work. Ugh. As I like to say, I'll see how it goes!

Got my seat back from upholstery today. It was done by the sister of a good friend of mine. To say that I'm delighted would be a gross understatement! This seat smelled and looked disgusting when she picked it up. I felt kinda bad that her house might smell like it. Ick. It's all leather and smells like a new leather coat. Can't wait to get it in the truck. It really came out great!

I discovered that the heater core is leaking. Ugh. Drained the radiator and pulled it out last night. Took it all apart early this morning. I'm doubting that I can have it fixed and the fan motor replaced or rewired for 12 volts by the weekend. The dilemma is that the radiator drain is on the front of the radiator and can't be reached with the grill in place. I bolted the grill in late last night. If I bypass the heater, then put it back in later I'll have to go the nuclear option and just pull the bottom hose off. No biggie I guess. The heater core is an old Mopar Deluxe unit. I'm guessing it's from the 40s.? It's pretty cool and apparently has been in the truck for a really long time. I'm planning on rebuilding and using it.

Sins of Steel is in 6 days and I still have pages of stuff to get done.
We'll see how it goes....I'll keep ya'll posted

Mark

I'm about to get my 63 seat done. I'm thinking fabric would be cooler than vinyl, but less durable. What made you decide leather? I'm sure I'd like leather too.

Basically I got an offer I couldn't refuse. Lol. We really wanted to do leather but figured we couldn't afford it. Our family friend did it for far less than we could have hoped for. She brought over some samples and we really liked this combination. The insert is a textured leather used in the Ford king ranch trucks, the rest is GM.

I'll post a couple pics when I get the interior together. I ended up ordering brown carpet since the seat came out so nice.

Focused on shiny things this morning.

Spent considerable amount of time this afternoon on the wiper motor. Too many pieces missing, it's beyond my immediate control. I'll skip it for now. Bummer.

The "Mopar Deluxe" heater core is a total loss. Oh well. I'm looking for a decent AD one now. There's a guy on Ebay that has a couple. They look nicely refurbished, but are out of my price range at the moment. I'll bypass it for the time being. Lots more to do.

Tackled the bed today. Gordon came out early and helped the entire day. Couldn't have done it with out him!
By 8am I broke both bolts holding the tailgate hinge on and the first holding the old bed wood. Not a great start. We decided to take a circular saw down the plywood and take the center section out. That worked great. Had to sawzall out some of the bolts, but we got em. We test fit the entire assembly, took it all back apart then did the outside boards first. After that we worked from the right side because we knew working around the gas tank would be a challenge. It was. Took just over 8 hours and I'll clean up tomorrow. All in all I'm pretty happy with the results.

TADA!

Got the back end buttoned up this morning. New repop bumper.
Got the carpet in. I don't really like the match and I didn't really do a great job putting it in. Combination of a pair of crappy scissors, dull box cutter and a guy that really has no idea what he's doing.
Then I put the shifter box back in with sheet metal screws. The first screw grabbed the carpet and put a really long run in it. What an idiot Jeez! Looks terrible. Good thing I did a lousy job installing it.
Oh well. Still things to get done. I gotta wire in the electric fan, then I'm wanting to put some miles on it. I'll finish up the trim stuff later tonight.
We'll see how it goes...

Got the fan wired up, and a few loose ends straightened up and took er for a ride. Drove a couple miles and decided to take a look under the hood. The radiator is leaking like crazy. UGH! I'm sure the local "all night radiator shop" is closed tonite.

So tomorrow I'll be a spectator at Sins of Steel....again!

I'm looking for a radiator cover for the GMC. It's different than the Chevy. I posted it here , but this thread seems to have some traction so I thought i'd ask.

Sorry if this is overly tacky.

Just after this last post I pulled the radiator out, had it "fixed" and put it back in. Drove it 4 miles and it leaked again. This was really my own stupidity. A new aluminum radiator is only a couple hundred bucks and it's a pain in the rear to pull it out and put it back in. I ordered a new Champion radiator (I've got one in my square body and love it). I hadn't touched the truck since. Life gets in the way. (although I did ride my Harley 4500 miles from Mich out west especially in the awesome state of Utah.) Finally this weekend I swapped out the radiator and put the first 6 uneventful miles on this truck in decades. Now it'll sit again for a few weeks at least while life gets in the way again. (no bike trips planned unfortunately). The timing isn't quite right, the steering is a bit "floaty" and there's still pages of work to get done on it. But it looks pretty cool and really that's whats important!

Worked on the fuel gauge today. It kinda works...sort of. fuel gauge

Too much to do the next couple weeks so I won't be able to mess with it. Hoping to drive it at least a little. I put it back in my car barn. I always enjoy looking at other peoples crap so I thought I'd post a pic of mine. Over the years I've discovered the correct number of Hot Rods, Harleys or Handguns is exactly 1 more. I've got room for one more.

After i wired up the fuel gauge it bobbed up to 3/4 tank, about where it should be, then settled in at 1/4 tank. I put 5 gallons of gas in to fill the tank. It then showed 1/2 full. I drove it a couple time totaling about 8 miles then parked it and haven't touched it in the three weeks since. I had to move it out of my barn to get at something else and noticed the fuel gauge seems to read the correct full. Started it up a couple times and it goes up and down like it should. Hmmm... maybe I'm a genius.

Yes I know the cluster is crooked. It's on the list.