The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Completed Journals 1949 GMC 150 - 5.3 powered stock

Heres a few pics and vids of my latest project. A '49 GMC 150. Ferrara blue. I put a bone stock 5.3 in it attached to the stock 3 speed and kept the column shift and all stock associated parts. Startup with stock floor starter

5.3 running with a nice quiet exhaust. Nobody would ever know what this truck is driving by. Idle clip

Well I got over 100 miles on it and so far so good. I will be putting my 3 speed with borg warner overdrive in it at some point. For now the original trans is working though. The rad is cooling well and it actually drives really good despite not having any shocks. Lastnight I got the original wiper motor to work and lubed up everything and the wipers work surprisingly well. Next thing is to clean up engine harness then continue to wire all the lights.

Very clean install, the girl must move nicely now

Thank you. Im tryin to keep it all stealthy stock looking with the hood down. Yup plenty of smooth power and down low torque and its basically silent. Checks all the boxes for me and what i need it for.

Did the stock steering work or did you do have to modify it?

All stock just moved the steering box over like 2” for manifold clearance. I used a set of f-body ‘99 style manifolds. Worked out very nice.

I'm a fan. Big time! It'll be interesting what the mpg numbers are when you get a chance to take a cruise trip. If the normal LS magic works it should be in the 20's range. Stock gears may be a deal mpg killer till you can get the od tranny in though.

Im sure the 4.56’s right now are killing it but i just been cruising on all the backroads. I do have a Mitsubishi starion that i swapped to a 6 litre witha turbo that makes about 700hp and it has a t56 trans and that car will get well over 20mpg on the highway cruising at like 80mph with the AC on. They are efficient motors when they are happy.

Nice. Been thinking about doing a swap like this on a parts truck. I love the old 216's, which is why i'm building my current one with the original motor. But I have enough spare parts to build another and thinking that LS seems to be just right. of course, I think I would stick the tranny that came with the engine. just to keep everything uniform.

I just liked the stock trans because i love the old column shift because it really feels like goin back in time.

Took it on a 5hr trip last weekend. Keep in mind i have NO O2 sensors hooked up and the MAF disconnected so its running on the revert MAP tune only (less than ideal for mpg’s), no overdrive , running stock 4.56 gears. It got 17.4 MPG. I was actually impressed with that considering all the above. Just with the OD trans it will be in the 20 range and when i do hook up the maf and o2’s and do a little laptop tuning magic it should have no problem getting into the mid 20’s range. Im assuming it will get about what a new gm gets. Probably around 27mph highway. Cant beat that while cruising in style!

Took it to the “fly in” air/car show today. It was a hit. Never even opened the hood hehehe. The purists were in love

Sweet ride

Got all the gauges back in working order. Fuel gauge was easy with just the 6v reducer needed and sending unit seems good. Oil pressure was straight forward after i drilled and tapped a fitting off the oil pan/cooler block off plate. The temp gauge was a little tricky. I went with the old style capillary tube sender but i had to get a aftermarket LS block coolant drain plug and drill and tap it to 1/2npt to accept the bushing/seat to fit the sender. Works well now. I got crafty with the amp meter and retrofitted a voltmeter in its place but used the factory face plate and added 2 small marks with brown sharpie to identify 12v/16v. So basically “0” on the gauge is the perfect 14v charge condition. Im very happy how it all turned out and how stealthy it is and appearing stock like the rest of the truck hehehehehe.

This was a pic from the weekend. My ‘49 looking bone stock and the 50 is on a s10 chassis with a sbc that I convinced the guy to remove in favor of a turbo LS setup. Hes ready for something different and i was glad to oblige haha.

Nice work on the gauge set, should add to your deception.

Haha all part of the master plan. I try to use as many stock parts as possible. I love these trucks just the way they are but i do like the ultra dependable factor of having a trusty LS base between the rails.

Today i went junkyard crawling and got a nice original rear bumper. I have the wrong brackets (1/2ton but my truck is a 3/4ton) but i have them flipped to work for now until i get the correct ones. Now the back of the truck looks much more complete. I also took apart and lubed up the speedo head today because all of a sudden it started to make some noise and bounce. Seems good now.

Tonight i got to installing the 4.10 carrier I recently got from a forum member. The oil in the rear looked like its been in there its whole life. I know for a fact its been in there since at very least the early 70’s. Install went pretty smooth minus 1 u joint strap being seized into the rear end. I coaxed it out with the trusty air hammer. Got it all together and took it for a nice test drive and went up and down the highway to see how it felt at speed. Its definitely tolerable now and my next plan is to install my full syncro 3 speed with a borg warner overdrive. Then it will really be a nice cruiser but for now just the 4.10’s are pretty good.

Nice work!

Thank you!

Lastnite I whipped up a side mount spare tire carrier. Was pretty simple and turned out better than expected. I made it fit my 225/75/16 perfect so its nice and tight under the edge of the bedside. Was easier than locating a decent original that i most likely would have had to modify to fit 8 lug pattern anyways.

Well done Sir! Youse guys with skills make me feel so inadequate at time.

You may want to put that idea together in a Tech Tip, it turned out great.

Nice job! I agree it’s “Tech Tip” worthy!

Well done. Love the gauge treatment. If the old tranny wont hold up to all of that power, Limeworks makes a neat column which looks like a 3-on-the-tree. We used one on my son's '51 truck and we are really pleased with how it turned out.

Seems to be holding up just fine. I dont beat on it. I just drive it around like a normal everyday truck. I have a fast car if i want to beat on something. I plan to swap to a slightly newer mid 50’s full syncro 3 speed with a Borg Warner overdrive this winter. Will still be able to keep the 3 on the tree .

Got the new brassworks heater core installed today. Works absolutely perfect. It helps that the coolant temps run 199-205deg. I had to go junkyard hunting today to find a round original core to rob the bracket from. Its all in now and working great. Drove it tonight and its 28 here and i was toasty in the cab.

Here are some vids of the truck underhood and one driving down the road.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVBSN_UfZ5Q

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhdYI4OExIQ

I got the front bumper filler panel mounted up with the correct original plate bracket. Fits nice and definitely completed the look of the front end.

Nice. I have a 5.3 with headers in my 49 Chevy. I like the horn. I want one. Is it original to the truck? Can you do a video and let us hear it?

Its the original horn for the truck that should be mounted to the intake manifold. I just made a bracket and mounted it in a convenient spot that looked good on the inner fender. Sounds like a stock horn but on 12v

You mentioned a Borg Warner 3 speed with overdrive. Was there ever an overdrive for the Muncie 3 speed? My good old 54-3100 runs down the Turnpike very comfortable at 70 mph. An overdrive would be great. Doc.

Yes the one i have I believe is a “muncie 319” which is essentially a muncie 318 with the BW R-10 hung off the back. Im in the process of just getting it cleaned up and getting it in the truck pretty soon. I have a few other things im finishing up first but it should be in very soon. Will be down for a few days while i have a driveshaft made up for it.

Well i got rid of 98% of all the squeaks/rattles in the truck and i just did my favorite mod to date on it..... put in the muncie 319 with the R10 overdrive. All i can say is WOW WOW WOW! Its like a totally different truck now. The new trans is silent quiet compared to the other growling gear boxes in it before and now in OD it just basically idles around. You cant even hear it running goin down the road. The modern LS power paired with the old R10 overdrive is like a beautiful symphony while driving. I honestly cant believe how well that 1950’s overdrive works. Its a real thing of beauty. Just got back from a long run in it. Took my wife for a scenic cruise just to get her out of the house since shes been off from work from the crazy issues in the world goin on. Even she commented on how much smoother and quieter it was from when she first went for a ride in it. I hooked the overdrive up with the proper lockout cable and wired it with the governor to a 40A relay and a pull on headlight style switch. I can leave the cable in and switch on and it functions normally besides no kickdown. If i want to kick it back to direct simply push the switch in and let up on the gas for a sec and your back in direct drive. I honestly never have to kick it down with all the power of the mighty 5.3 but ive done it just to test it. It automatically drops out while slowing under 27mph just as designed and it will upshift beautifully. Next on my list is finish refreshing the entire interior and adding a underdash AC so i can comfortably drive it all summer with no issues. I would like to send a big shout out thank you to “Pre ‘68 Dave” for his time and insight that helped me take care of the famous 3rd gear pop out. His knowledge on the situation helped me out big time in understanding why these ancient boxes do what they do. I also made a new trans crossmember to mount off the tailshaft mount and had a complete new driveshaft made for it locally. Heres some pics i snapped along the way. **** Just a FYI I got this trans in on the truck deal in the boxes of parts I started with. He told me he pulled it out of a old collapsed garage that was open to the elements for some time. The heavy pitting on the trans case definitely confirms that but the internals were very clean. I cleaned up the case and shot it black then cleaned up the governor and bought a used 12v solenoid and I was in business!

Heres the most recent pic of it backed out of the garage.

Good Golly. Great truck and story. I'm thinking you've built the perfect driver. Looks remains true to the era with modern fuel efficient power integrated seamlessly into a classic truck. Well done Sir!

RonR

Thank you. That was my exact goal since day 1. No power steering dosent bother me because im young enough and strong and honestly i feel 100% confident in the steering and braking abilities so I left that stuff as stock but all well maintained and the truck drives beautifully.

Wish I had OD in my truck. I liked your horn in one of the video's so I found an NOS horn for my 49.

What trans are you running?

350 turbo