Thread: 1957 GMC Custom Shop Truck

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Been working on this truck for a few months now and with only a few weeks left on it for fabricating I thought id post some pics of the work thats been completed so far on the 57'. The idea I had for the overall look of the truck was to take design features from the first series trucks and earlier and incorporate those features into the second series truck. I had some parts left over from a 1950 panel and some other odds n ends out in the shop to work off of. The first thing the truck got was the dash since when i got the truck there was not even a dash in it. Just a piece of pine board with the gauges in it zip tied around the steering column. The Dash took a lil more than 50 hours of fabricating and finish work. I took the 50' panel dash front piece and added another piece of sheetmetal for the top. once that was setup i made the drop in the center of the dash top to take the opposite lines of the original first series trucks which had the hump on the driver side. the defrost vent was made from some banding straps i had lying around and just cut one into small pieces for the spacers. the underside is welded and enclosed using some 1/2" flat stock courtesy of lowes. then took a piece of exhaust tube that had a nice bend that would allow the heater unit to be hooked up for the defrost. once that was done i stiched in more sheetmetal into the old gauge holes and the radio hole and recut those down to fit the new gauges that came with the truck. after adding more filler welds around the gauges and polishing them down i took some body filler and covered the welded areas and sanded em down to get the look i wanted. after the dash went in i added more sheetmetal to tie in the dash to the cab, took a lil forming with the hammer n dolly but all in all i got the look i wanted and kept the function for the window cranks. the last thing on the dash was the glove box which was one i got off of ebay for a couple bucks then cut out the lettering for the GMC script. I just liked the original GMC logo so much i wanted to add it on the truck somewhere so i went with the dash. After the dash was installed i had to cut out the cab corners to replace the cancer with some fresh metal courtesy of the panel donor. Once the cab corner was ready i also replaced the driver side door step and alot of the sheet metal that was all but gone down there. The step was replaced using another donor piece off the panel. I took the running boards and cut em down to fit the space needed in the door step. In order to get the right look and function i had to create a drop step in the running board so the door gasket would be able to seal. I got more pics available in my gallery but thought id update the status of my build since i had some down time. IMG_20110802_190225.jpgIMG_20110809_150606.jpgIMG_20110721_161406.jpgIMG_20110807_204324.jpg

Good progress! Whatcha got planned for the outside of the truck and the drivetrain?

So far the plans for the outside is to replace the wood in the bed with wood from the panel, there is a slight difference in the way the two were cut but i've got more than enough wood to get mine replaced. you'll see in the pic that theres an engine block in the back lol so that wood has to go. the wood from the panel is the original wood and has been refinished so i'll just have to change a couple mounts and trim to fit. the inside of the bed is going to get rhino/linex treated since i want to use this as my parts runner for the shop. The other outside change is to the steps on the truck. i'll get those pics up too. i got probably over a hundred pics at least. i track everything on a project with progress pics.bottomdoorhinge.jpgbottomdoorhingeafter.jpgfirewallbefore.jpgIMG_20110805_181432.jpgIMG_20110605_204531.jpg

The other changes to the steps were a bit easier than the replacing of the rotten metal for sure, just a lil time consuming with lining everything up. IMG_20110807_165414.jpgIMG_20110807_194018.jpgIMG_20110807_202840.jpgIMG_20110807_010447.jpgIMG_20110714_193829.jpg

For the Drive Train im going with a motor i built. A 1962 327 thats 40 over, 495 cam, 202 heads and a whole lot of money in the valve train lol! It should be pushing well over 400 hp but will like to get it on the dyno after its installed. Im gunna match it up to a 67/68' Munice 4 speed ive had sitting on the shelf for some time now and use a centerforce stage 2 clutch. I have to take care of the motor mounts first before i drop in the new motor. the guy i got the truck from didn't do the work but did say the guy he got the truck from did and boy is it a doosy! i'll upload some pics of the motor mounts that are in it now. I couldve run the motor thats in the truck with it borg warner tranny but ive had my motor waiting for a project for a long time and shes been chompin at the bit to get some road time in hehe.

This is how the truck came with the motor mounts that are in it now. they will be coming out after i finish up making new mounts with a crossover welded in. which should be a major improvement over these ones.


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Wow!!!! Some really "distinctive" styling and engineering on those mounts!!!!!

yeah it's a real marvel of modern technology lol. If anything on the truck is a statement or poster board for why im doing basically a ground up build,,,id just point to the engine mounts and say "would you trust that you'd survive driving this truck on the road??"

This is one of my favorite shots of the truck after welding in the new step in the door. I still need to take some pieces of the running board thats left over to tie in the lines through the front fender and assemble the side steps but were moving right along

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This weekend was an eventfull one to say the least. had my buddy over to help set up the suspension so we could do the motor install, but like anything custom or bought that was customized we hit a snag. seems the previous owner decided to use some toyota leafs on the front and of course they are completely incorrect once we set up the axle correctly, so onto the salvage yard to find some 76-86 Jeep CJ front leafs, then back to Ebay for a set of top plates with the shock mounts and a polyurethane bushing kit which was lacking.

Did however get the crossmember engine mount from Trans-Dapt #4810, the universal kit for GM applications, but was seriously lacking some structual integrity for the bolt mounts, i'll be posting up some pics of the changes made to the cross member, but other than that the thing looks pretty slick and will install pretty easily. the other mods made were to a set of Moroso block mount plates which were too long for the crossmember, but after hacking em down by .065" on each and re-welding them back up and adding some more steel to box em theyre a perfect fit for the motor.

now if i can find some parts lying around to fix the suspension issues then will get back on schedule for the motor n tranny.

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The first thing i did was add the cross plates for the engine block mounts to get the correct measurements for cutting them down and keeping them square, you'll see from the old engine mounts in an earlier pic that the old mounts were not up to snuff, then reinforced the crossmember (Trans-Dapt #4810) since although the tabs were fairly nicely welded, did notice some spots where the penetration wasn't up to snuff.

I haven't seen any reviews on these crossmembers yet but I think once guys start using them more they'll want a lil more beef on the mounts from a single tab. Last thing i have to do is polish up the welds from the other day but everything mocks up real nice and can't wait to finish up the front suspension and get the drive train in the truck. Feels like im gettin closer every day to getting the truck out on the road now.

That should hold everybody in place, good work! Sure you want the new mount and x-member??? That old set-up had a lot of, ummmm, character and were certainly distinctive!!!!!

Am i doing it right?? lol

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So got the new springs, shock tower plates and new shackles installed and ready to go, then it was time for the drive train to finally go in. yes that is actually OSB on gravel, did i mention my shop space is limited and when i see others nice big engine bays im jealous? improvise, adapt and over come. luckily the next build will be small enough to fit, this truck is just a bit too big to fit. and i digress,,,

so tomorrows agenda is finish taking measurements and aligning the motor n tranny in the engine compartment and running the last of the bolts to hold the tranny in place and welding the "trans-dapt universal" in place, so far the engines just sitting level but still need a lil minor tweaking to get the alignment just right. did a test fit of the new leaf springs and the ride height looks correct for what i was trying to accomplish so that went over well.

the only hang up is the driver side shock tower plate is butting heads with my steering so another custom part i foresee in the future. the plates were a set of RH/LH 76-86 Jeep CJ application that had to be altered a bit in order to match the bolt pattern for the 57' GM axle but that was the easy fix on the passenger side, the driver side? well thats another matter. even after thats done i still gotta find the correct pittman arm to correct the piss poor job some shmo did in the first place installing a power steering arm on a manual box...UGH! well when shes done shes done and the next one is that 27' frame i just picked up so i'll be starting from scratch so everything will be done right the first time and no more going back to fix others F-ups well that is until another project comes along LOL

It looks like really neat well thought out work! Good Job!

2 questions though, Solid Motor Mounts? and will there be dual shocks used? Certainly no critisicm!!! Just curious!

Thanks, just going through it right now to ensure the correct geometry for the drivetrain and suspension. I will be running a hard mounted motor. The plates I picked up will be for one shock @9-10" of travel the other stud will be for the sway bar.