Spiffing a GMC.

Hey folks-

I am a bodyman at a hot rod shop in Arkansas, the H.A.C.K. Shack. I like to share pics of stuff I work on with my forum buds, and its been awhile since I posted something over here. Did a couple Impala Super Sports and shared those with the Chevy crowd. So here goes, I'm gonna share another project with you Car Craft'ers. Its a '71 or '72 GMC with a two-barrel small block. I only did the teardown and assembly on this job, and I've only pointed the lens at it a few times so far. Can't wait to see it all cleaned up in the end. This is around a ten grand job, done in about ten weeks. We split hairs every day on minty stuff, but this is an old truck basically just wanting a well done base/clear color change and a few key replacement parts. Follow along if you like, one day soon it will be all spiffed and gleaming. I think its gonna look wicked!

I already had side marker lights out before I busted out the camera on 5/22/11-







It was a peeler. They were thorough when they laid down the blue, but something didn't last and it flaked off.




Plus it had the rear gas tank conversion done, and that part needed paint.









End of the first day we had it shucked and sanded, a good launch-




Heres the wheezy mill-




Turns out the door shells were nasty rusted and the fenders were aftermarket but OK. We replaced the doors.




Some of the paint blew off with an air hose, the rest of the loose stuff got scraped off with a razor blade then sanded-







Heres that rear tank conversion, from underneath. Had to drop the tank twice to install bed bolts, it was a pain. The gas cap from the tank-in-the-cab days was glued to the old hole in the cab corner, so we welded that up and smoothed it. As for the underside of the truck, painting it wasn't part of this bargain. An undercoat job should do the trick though, if the owner desires later.




Heres a better flash pic of the dash. It has a "P,R,N,Od,D,L2,L1", so maybe it has had a trans swap.




Then the dust and sparks started flying. Rust repairs, more stripping, body filler, polyester primer, many steps occurred. Heres the bed in primer on 6/2/11:






Fast forward to today, 7/1/11. Hood, cowl, glovebox door, etc, getting painted and me assembling the rest of the truck. I worked on it all this week. Heres some reality based coverage- of course the aftermarket doors didn't fit well, they both hit the drip rails. So theres a small paint issue there. Aside from the usual fresh hardware blues eating up some time, assembly went OK and I didn't slip and scratch anything yet. The grille and mirrors are kinda up in the air as to what we will actually install, so those aren't on the truck yet. Looking for just the right newer seat, too.

I think a Roots blown 502 would make the stance just right- we can dream    
























Heres my little list I keep, of things I have to skip past in order to keep the process going in the shop. I like the tape strips but I've seen a dry erase board used. These are just notes to myself about questions or issues I have as I go along, that will eventually be solved or addressed. This helps me know when I'm truly finished with the job.




More reality- I took MOST of this truck apart, but not all. It cost me about a day finding fasteners and parts to build it to this point, but I had few problems with items I actually removed which was mostly the major sheetmetal. Bag and tag, people! Its a giant part of being able to "teamwork". Heres how specifically I mark my fasteners upon removal. It takes a little time on the front end but saves major time on the back end of the job. Easy to do.




Well, I hope you like the picture story. I wish I had a truck just like this one, and I'll be sure to post more pics when its all finished!

If you want to see another one of these trucks I was involved in recently, I did the paint and bodywork while somebody else did the assembly on the Chevy at this link:

http://forums.chevyhiperformance.com/70/8181082/general-discussion/a-good-day-for-junk/index.html

Thanks for checkin' it out, y'all.    

Fanatastic job as usual Matt.

I had swivel buckets in my 67 and the tank was still in the cab. Just an idea. They'd work better if the guy isn't 6'4".

+1 for bagging n' tagging...I use cleaned out plastic peanut butter jars, but I'm at home.  

Very cool  
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Love the black paint, it's looking really good. Keep us posted...   Budnicks  
"Fill Your Library Before You Fill Your Garage"   Good luck "Budnicks"

Thanks, gents. Like I said, I want one just like it (well, almost). I'll be sure to show the shiny finished product but in the meantime I'm enjoying the facelift process, as always.

 

Looks great a job well done.  
Professional hi-performance engine builder
Horsepower sells Engines and torque wins races.

+ 1 on Well done for sure, really looks great.  
_____________________
I PRAY Old cars will never leave my heart,
AMONG other people and things!!!

Thanks! It might have the glass in and hood on by the end of tomorrow, I got the cowl fitted today, worked on the doors, and made a big list of little parts we need. Painted the hood hinges, replaced the rearview, installed the glovebox and door, etc. I have a hairy collision job to get started next, but theres also 46 Ford and 58 Chevy trucks nearing completion so we will be rolling out some shiny stuff soon, I'll post pics fo sho.
 

Well the GMC doesn't have glass mounted yet, but we got the new rear window seal, so soon. I installed the hood and cowl, but the cowl came back off so Ken could fix a defect in the finish. He also took care of the drip rails, where I clearanced for the door frames. I got the new glovebox lock and a bunch of rubber body bumpers installed.

Built up one door but I'll have to go back in it because I have yet to mount mirrors. Gotta remember to get a pic of the door panel weather liners I made. I added a couple scraps of sound deadening to the doors as well.

The customer's daughter's car broke down so the money stops here, and unfortunately his old grille and blue bench seat will be going back in. We ordered a black rubber complete floor mat but it was currently out of stock. The new sill plates are a huge improvement, though. I promise better pics once its clean and sharp, here it is with the cowl removed and a layer of sanding dust from across the shop. The lighting sucks, sorry:





I'll attempt to redeem myself and post these colorful old truck pics, these are the ones I mentioned and theres even more. Hope you like old trucks in general, not just from the General:

1959 Chevrolet Apache:





1946 Ford:





1951 Ford:



 

HEI cap, on a Ford motor?  

I reckon so-

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Small-Block-Ford-289-302-HEI-Distributor,1692.html

More GMC pics, I got the old grille and mirrors on it today.    I gotta straighten out that "C" a little!


 

Its going home tomorrow, so I'll get some "after" pics for sure. Yesterday I cut out the radio hole in the dash for a modern unit, at the customer's request. Ken finished up from there while I worked on other chit. But man I think it looks slick with all the glass in and doors together, even if the seat and belts are still blue. Its in good company waiting for final cleanup meanwhile. Check back to see the finished product and the "exciting conclusion" lol.

 

ALL FINISHED!    Photos as promised.

HACK Shack strikes again-




Black as sin!




Engine compartment:




Interior:







See? Modern radio.




More pics from all around. Thanks for scoping it out, guys.






 

You do fantastic work idrive, i come back from time to time to check this out, Great job I had to tell you. Thanks for posting. Ahh, whats next?  
_____________________
I PRAY Old cars will never leave my heart,
AMONG other people and things!!!

Nice job ID.

That seat looks like the same color I had in a elcamino I used to own I think they called it pearywinkle blue if I'm not mistaken.  
Professional hi-performance engine builder
Horsepower sells Engines and torque wins races.