The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1954 Canadian GMC 9300 - "The Journey"

Purchased from Crystal City Manitoba in 1985. Always wanted a Chevy as my brother's friend had a 1953 Chevy he was fixing. I reached out to my Uncle Dan in Manitoba to see if there was one near him since ones in Ontario most were rusted out. Well, he found a 1954 GMC a few blocks over from his house -- 100 bucks! Sold. Now to get it to Ontario. My brother and Dad went on the 8 hour journey to Manitoba.

The truck was in great shape. I was told it used to be a local dairy truck - then sold to other locals. The truck was prepped to be towed back with a tow bar.

All was going well. The next day on the journey home we turned a corner and my brother said his truck was loosing power. The truck was behind us but the rear wheel was rolling away down the road. Luck was on our side -- the wheel did not hit anyone and there was a tire shop and auto store on the corner were we broke down. Six new studs and a new rim and we were off. Made it back to Ontario and took our time. We stopped for the night in Dryden. The rest of the way was slow but we made it.

I now had a 1954 GMC in the driveway.

After a lot of work and new short block, I was rolling. Even won at a car show. The shiny paint job pictures are from 2021 and before.

The years have dulled the finish and the truck sat for a few years. I am nearing retirement and am saving up for parts to spruce this Bolt up again. For now I use the truck regularly and am currently waiting for Patrick's rear end upgrade parts to arrive.

I fixed up the truck to drive in the summers and loved driving the truck. The truck was in the garage for a few years and now it is time to get it going again.

I have used this site before and am amazed at the information from the members. I will try to submit pics for the journey my truck has taken.

Well after doing a bunch of stuff over the years 2017 since parked, I have a battery coming next week to see how well I did gear swap.

Carb and manifolds, waterpump adapter, new bed wood, cowl, floor on both sides, door hinges, spring bushings, clutch and brake bushings, upgraded duel master cylinder, rear brakes, new wiring and pvc system as well as a lot of minor bumps and bruise repair.

I hope I don’t have to many problems.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Time just flies by when you're having fun! Great work Kevin. Wishing for a successful test drive.

I'll 2nd John's wish for a successful test drive! Would really love to see some pictures, please.

Battery should be in this Thursday ,a few weeks ago I had filled the rad with water to check for leaks because I had the rad out and changed the waterpump to the older style using the adapter plate also I swapped the round heater for a fresh air heater ,with all that was done no leaks.Once the battery is in I can check the wiring that was done and continue from there keeping fingers crossed .🤞

Good luck. That’s a long time. Way to be persistent. Nice looking truck. My 46 is probably not quite the shape yours is but I can drive in between. It’s always fun to see people giving a high 5 when driving.

Glen

Good luck, not that you need it.

I understand the questions that run through your head after a prolonged build prior to that first test drive. In my case it was only 4+ years but it was a newly built engine, completely new to the truck drive train (used/unknown transmission and rear axle), brake system, steering changes, in addition to all the body work.

My first drive was several months ago and I continue to drive, diagnose, repair, etc. on a weekly basis. I'm sure your results will be great given your attention to details and the amazing support from the people on this forum.

Thanks for the current picture Kevin. Your truck has come along way since those wintery pictures when you brought it home in your Gallery Forum page.

Got my battery and began to test a few things to make sure it don’t sizzle when I hook it up.I found a few issues with the parking light sockets but sorted that out ,found my heater motor don’t turn and found that it was rubbing on the cast inside and was lucky enough to squeeze a thin screwdriver in the grill to loosen the set screw for the squirrel cage to center it so it won’t rub ,it now runs smooth and quiet.The signal lights don’t seem to work so I started with the flasher and found that it tested bad so I will order a new one and hope that is all it is.Headlights working horn honks .The gas gauge works but shows close to empty so I took the sending unit out and bent it and while it was off looked in the tank and it is nice and clean and empty from when I had it out a few years ago ,the gauge now reads empty .I took out the plugs squirted some oil in the cylinders,cleaned up the points,took the valve cover off ,hand turned the engine to make sure no stuck valves lube the top end put the cover back on .The next step was to put some gas in so I checked all the fittings as new lines put some gas in and no leaks.Here is the part were things started getting interesting I read not to long ago about loosening up the fuel pump fitting from the tank and thought I will do this as the 54 tank feeds up from the sending unit out of the top not the bottom so all is good I will sifon and see if I can get it to the pump .Yes gas is at the pump won’t stop coming out and panic to get the fitting back on . So after a clean up and air out of the garage I seen that the gas had filled to the fuel filter and filled the bowl so hey why not see if this thing runs .I dribbled a bit of gas in the carb ,hit the key 🔑 and stomped on the starter and boom started right up oil pressure up right away and opened up the choke it idled down nice .I had a little gas leak at the fuel filter that was tightened up and stopped but I was surprised and happy it is alive .I have to put the battery on the tray under the floor as it was on the floor under the tray with the longer thicker cables I put on .I may do that tonight and see about what I have to do to check the rear axle 355 upgrade take it for a spin or put it up on jack stands for a run first.

Always nice to hear the engine come to life! Nice work!

Was just looking at some of your posts to find out what you did after your gear swap for break in .

After I adjusted my clutch, I did run my 355 conversion on my jack stands. I only did it for a minute to hear if anything was crunching or grinding, but all was quiet. Then I just did test drives like 25-40mph, maybe 15-20 minutes. I let it rest after each test. Actually, it was only one test drive with a day rest in between. Probably not necessary.

Congrats on getting it fired up and the little gremlins resolved during the preparations. Looking forward to more reports and first drive updates after the axle ratio change. Pictures would be much appreciated - hint hint hint. - LOL

Good to know. Put the battery under the floor tonight and tomorrow will check the new clutch adjustment and put the truck on jackstands for a test of the rear gears thanks John. Dan I will keep everyone posted.

Well, put the truck on jack stands and started it up. Let the clutch out and not much movement. Tried moving the adjustment to the other end and the wheels moved a little more, but stopped. Nothing making any bad noises but looks like something is not right.

I was surprised at how far I had to adjust my clutch before I could get it in gear. But thinking back, I'm not positive I watched the tires spin while on the jack stands. I remember having it in gear and slowly letting the clutch out and letting it run for a minute to listen for noise. Does one of the tires need to be on the ground to make the open diff work? I know the pinion and ring gear would spin, but not positive about the side gears?

At least one of the rear tires should spin when both are off the ground, the engine is running, the clutch is out and the transmission is in any gear.

Going to take the bottom cover off before I try again but I did not know if it was adjusted to far out that the wheels would not spin so a little nervous about this ,We have had record heat here and a lot of fires in the area the smoke is making 6 pm look like 11.

A little more adjustment and it seems it is working but never had time to take the cover off and take a look to check to see if it is right but looks encouraging.I just got Back from my property 1 hour west of Thunder Bay and drove my mgb back to town just in case, there is a very big fire getting closer and there are fires all around in the area and in the quetico park area on both the US Ely Minnesota side and the Ontario side hope the rain comes soon .

Fingers crossed and hope everything turns out for the best and the rain comes to help manage the fires. Stay safe and keep us posted on how you're doing.

Managed to spend a little time on the truck ,tried the flasher I got from Napa and the signal lights now work .a few days ago I took a drive around the block .The truck sits outside for now as my garage is now a storage unit ,found out the window leaks so checking to see were it is coming in from .Still a few things to check and need to change the oil and flush out the block and rad and put some antifreeze in .

Took another trip around the block noticed the temperature getting close to hot ,checked the hoses and looks like the thermostat is not opening up .I decided to change the oil and filter and forgot how much fun it is to get the oil out of the canister Not sure what the capacity is but put about a litre in the canister and 5 litres in the engine ,looked high on the dip stick but will see after is run a bit .Going to leave the thermostat for another day .

Just wondering: If you let the truck sit for a bit, will the oil drain out of the cannister? Or, do you have to use a siphon/turkey baster to get the old oil out?

You need a turkey baster to suck up the oil in the canister on mine it was at about halfway full after the drive to warm up the oil.I have one but it is in the special spot in the garage so I adapted with a squeeze bottle with a tube on the end .

Why not just use SWMBO's baster? Just shoot a little Brake-Clean in it afterwards. She'll never know.

Well I tried that years ago ,I think I was replacing a hockey stick blade and used the stove as a heat gun but I got the sniff sniff what is that smell and it went bad from there.They always know ,and that was hours after I used the stove .

Glad you survived Kevin, and are still with us.