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Hey Team,

I am going to try and share my truck build bit by bit. I'm almost 3 years in now but this is where it all started, finding a truck in Alberta an hour away from me and bringing it home. Yes it had great Patina but Patina is not my thing. I want to paint and build everything I can. This is my 1949 GMC Truck Build from Stock full frame off Restomod.

So not long after I got the truck home I began disassembly and gathering the parts I would need right away. New engine and transmission as well Mustang II IFS and a 4 link rear with a Ford 9" rear end.
As with most old things, a lot of the bolts fought me to come loose but I found out just how well built these trucks were.

It seems like researching parts and trying to find things that won't break the bank takes the longest but its been totally worth it to this point. While on quarantine and running out of parts I'm trying to document everything I have done. I have tons of pics so please feel free to ask anything !

Awesome truck! Is that Ferrara Blue i see on the firewall? Looks just like my 49. Glad to see another smart swapper on board. You will love that 4.8! I originally planned on one but a 5.3 kinda fell in my lap cheap so I scooped it up and made use of it.

Hey Barnfind49, I actually don't have a good reason for my 4.8L except that I wanted to keep the truck "economical" fuel wise haha. But later down the line I think I will either beef up the 4.8L or move to a 6.0.
Sidebar to this, did you do any wiper motor replacement? I am really stumped on this at the moment and I want to do it while the underside of the dash is bare.

Yea i took it out, cleaned it up and got the switching valve unstuck. Fed it some lube and hooked up the vac line and it runs like a champ now. I rarely drive in the rain but they work as good as they did in ‘49.

I did pretty much the same to my wiper motor cleaned up nice works good enough!

Nice 49. Were those duel horns on the firewall stock on the GMC? I thought all horns were mounted on the intake.

I honestly can't say. I bought my truck from a farmer in Alberta who's grandpa bought it new and it did not appear to be modified in any way. I have since given the horns to my buddy whose building a ratrod Model A.

Well Once I got the truck stripped and torn down it was time to get the frame boxed, new suspension mounted and the modern engine and transmission dropped into the frame with new mounts. My frame was in great shape so I wire wheeled the entire frame and then coated it with a rust converter followed by Caterpillar black bull dozer paint. Turned out great and its easy to touch up. I have a friend who's a welder who helped big time with the boxing and since the project was going to need more welding I bought a TIG welder and he gave me lessons, I have since done a bunch of work by myself including making and fabbing my own transmission tunnel.

Hey
I just recently saw another truck round here with the same horn stop. So I'm thinking it may be a slight variation or option that some Canadian built trucks had. Sadly I never heard mine toot haha