Hi guys, just as the title says I'm the new kid. I put a post down on the welcome forum but, figured I should say hi on here as well. I lucked into getting my late grandfathers 48' I was incredibly lucky to get his ORIGINAL title from 1963 with it. the body is clean for being outside all its life. My hopes are to put a 3.9 or a 5.9 Cummins in and axle swap (working on the rear ax now). I've been reading for a long time on here as to what others have done and taking everything into consideration if anyone has some advice or tips for me I would love to hear them.
That body style has little room for an i’cooler, etc., so it would be well to plan on a 4bt at most, Look at what people have done on trucks with small engine compartments, Ford early Broncos included
Ed
'37 GMC T-18 w/ DD 4-53T, RTO-610, 6231 aux., '95 GMC running gear, full disc brakes, power steering, 22.5 wheels and tires. '47 GMC 1 ton w/ 302, NP-540, 4wd, full width Blazer front axle. '54 GMC 630 w/ 503 gasser, 5 speed, ex fire truck, shortened WB 4', install 8' bed. '55 GMC 370 w/270, 420 4 speed, grain, dump bed truck from ND. Works OK.
BC59, close but not quite, Mitchell South Dakota not too far Haha. Ed yea I was thinking the same thing I'm looking into some other alternatives. There is an option to do an after cooler that Cummins makes and uses engine coolant to cool the boost air coming in. This would help with making space, but the downfall is it's not very effective in cooling one the engine is warmed up. I'll be looking into some other creative alternatives to make an effective air to air cooler and engine work together in close quarters but that is still all part of the fun!
GMC trucks of that vintage have the hood latch assembly, etc., slightly farther forward because of the slightly longer engine, using GMC hood latch assembly might save a few inches, my ‘55 GMC is such an example!
Ed
'37 GMC T-18 w/ DD 4-53T, RTO-610, 6231 aux., '95 GMC running gear, full disc brakes, power steering, 22.5 wheels and tires. '47 GMC 1 ton w/ 302, NP-540, 4wd, full width Blazer front axle. '54 GMC 630 w/ 503 gasser, 5 speed, ex fire truck, shortened WB 4', install 8' bed. '55 GMC 370 w/270, 420 4 speed, grain, dump bed truck from ND. Works OK.
I would take a very close look at the chassis to see if it can support the amount of torque a Cummins will throw at it. You're dealing with 78 year old metal and a Cummins is so easy to make mass amounts of horsepower and torque. I was at 600hp/1200tq with a mostly stock motor just some add ons and supporting mods. I also shoved a 460 and C6 into a 52 willys truck, it was so tight I ended up having to put the radiator in the bed. Anything can be done if you have the time, money and skills.
