Maylene '51 GMC
 

First and fore most, hello to everyone who visits or subscribes to my build.

This is the story of Maylene. She is my daughter. My ole lady and I bought her in late February or early March of last year(2012). Soon after we found out we were expecting :D. I really wanted a daughter and she wanted a healthy baby. I couldn't argue with her there but off subject; low and behold we were having a boy 8D!!!!! I was not disappointed by any means(since it wasn't a girl...) Maylene became my daughter. That was the name we had decided on if he was a girl.

This is Maylene when I found her.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps760d9aec.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps2da01f86.jpg
She is a native of Missouri as I later found out. Born in St. Louis and was 624th off the line.

She is a 1951 GMC 3/4T Longbox. The gentleman I bought her from thought she was '50, he took it in on a trade.

Backstory
I called the guy up(craigslist ad) talked for a few mins like total strangers. I asked the usual stupid questions because lets face it he was 2 hours away from me and I had no intentions of going to see the truck. Mainly I couldn't afford what he was asking. I talked it over with the ole lady and first look it was love at first sight for her...
I had explained to her that a week prior I was talking with my dad about his 1966 mustang and the restoration it needed. Basically asking him for it because I needed a project(not knowing my son was soon to be on the way). She agreed to it as our project and chipped in what she had saved. I called the guy up made a time and drove down to see her in person. Without hesitation the truck was sold.

The original motor was not in her, instead a Buick Nailhead was mated to the 3spd transmission. Believe it to be a 1954 264 V8.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...pse2f5b0af.jpg

SO....
you're probably wondering...what is he going to be doing, restoring? parting? or staring at it... Glad you asked. I am big into ratrods and after I saw that front grill it screamed ratrod to me. And the journey begins....

what to do...
 

After a year of sitting in the garage and not much done but the motor being taken out it was time to get a plan in motion. I finally had some time after my son being born to give some(very little) attention to her.

The plan was to rebuild the nailhead but after research i decided to go with another nailhead I had found on craigslist. A 1961 364 nailhead. This motor was pieced all together but not assembled.

Well that quickly changed yet again when I found this on craigslist for $100
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...pse20f4b46.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps3ac870f5.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps8ecc500d.jpg
1984 SBC truck 350

Over a course of a week I had the SBC tore down and ready for machine shop and rebuild. A new born takes a lot of time so that is why a week.

The motor situation is still unsettled...along with transmission etc...

I soon came into question if I wanted to use the original frame and the rest of the setup. Stumbled upon the popular S10 frame swap. Researched that idea and found it to be difficult. I know there is a company that sells a bolt on kit but hey im on a budget and cant afford $1000 for that kit. Mulled it over and a buddy talked me out of it because he believed it to be too much for me to handle with this being my first project and all. He advised me to spend my time getting a running motor first and go from there... so I scrapped that dream.

S10 swap it is...
 

Even though I wasn't thinking of finalizing with an S10 swap I still searched and wanted to figure out if it was possible for me. I am a craigslist junkie and had found several frames. One being an '82 I passed because it wasn't in the best of shape. I found a guy here in town that had a '97 frame for sale but no pictures. I figured what the heck I'll go entertain the idea and take a look. A total stranger at first then we became friends and like that it was a domino effect. We talked about what I had planed and what my goals were etc...

After 2 hours of chatting my 364 nailhead was traded for the frame
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psd8d4199f.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psea152541.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...pseb70997c.jpg

there was some start to rust removal and priming for paint...half a$$d I know but that doesn't matter for a ratrod.

the real fun
 

time to take Maylene off of her frame and give her a new resting place. My new friend lol figured with my small garage space it wasn't the best to try and remove the clip and cab in my driveway. So he offered his garage...
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps65b4d47f.jpg
after a couple of hours loading and unloading she spent the week with a new garage so we could tear into her.

On the afternoons we were both free we started the disassembly...
Preparing to take the front clip off.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps1c6af3e0.jpg

Couple of bolts and some elbow grease clip was off
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psc6925b5b.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psbffcb470.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psabd11885.jpg

More bolts gone and parts gone...
 

Time flies when you are having fun...

front cab mounts undone and rear unbolted the cab was finally free, probably been awhile since that was done last.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps738e1b8e.jpg

blocked up waiting for transport
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps1565639d.jpg
if you can notice in the bell housing someone made that adapter for the nailhead to mate to the original transmission.


Time to haul off the cab...
Using my cherry picker we fashioned 2 tow straps around all four corners and lifted it up and off and onto the trailer.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psb391d7af.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps75c85812.jpg

This is what was left....
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psf9f8c4a8.jpg



Hauled the cab over to the S10 frame and sat her down and mocked what it potentially will look like
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps90de0388.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...ps0b6153e0.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psffeff63d.jpg
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...psf28d7e24.jpg

hard to believe all that was done over a span of 2 weeks.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

Great back story. Congrats on your Son and your "Daughter". I'm subscribed.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

Thank you very much... I actually stumbled onto your posts and it helped me with my decision to push forward with the frame swap.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

OK I can not be held responsible LOL. I need to write up a disclaimer! WOW you are not that far away. I'm pretty sure there is one or more guys up in that area doing the swap as well. If you search the threads of the 47-55 forum for S10 or chassis swap you will surely find them. I have not counted it up but I think there are at least 20-30 guys on this forum doing the swap. Mine is moving pretty slow due to lack of time and money.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

oh I take full responsibility of my own actions. I understand the slow part. literally took me over a year to even get moving. my son is almost 10 months and takes up a majority of my time and $$$. The pictures of the swap so far have just been on Sundays the only true day I have off in the week. Plus some nights but only an hour or 2 here and there.

I am a new member so I haven't searched the site to its fullest yet but I will.

I am doing my swap a little different than what I've researched thus far.
The plan is to align the cab up with the stock cab mounts for the S10; which are pretty darn close(off by 4-6 inches). Plan on cutting the front mounts off and bolting them to the cab with new hardware bushing etc... same for the rear mounts. Once we get it where we like it and happy with height, re weld the mounts where the rest.

Thoughts anyone else gone that route with a cab?

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

Good Plan. There are a couple here who did just that using the old mounts and making them work. There is a guy here in Wichita who also did it but I think it's on another forum. His mounts look awesome. He is also a member here so you might want to look him up. His handle is 62ChevyII. I "Barrowed" a lot of what you see on my build thread from him. Here is a link to his build thread on Killbillet.com

http://www.killbillet.com/showthread...(step-by-step)

He actually does 2 builds on this thread. He sold them both.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

Nothing new to post on the swap. Winter hit and stopped all progress. Tis the season.... But it allowed me to get the SBC over to the machine shop. So that's getting done. To pass the time I've been pondering the cab mounts, trans mounts, motor mounts etc... When I realized duhhh I do not have a transmission yet. Cruising craigslist I stumbled upon a few leads but none promising.(can't fit inside the wallet) cough cough. Until I found a crate 350 w/ turbo350 shift kit stall the works. No price tag though; called for kicks and may have stumbled onto a great deal. The guy just wants to make room in his garage. $300 for both. See my dilemma? Means I'd have 2 motors when only one is needed. I figure for mocking purposes it would work just fine. Mention both are in working order?? So my dream of having Maylene on the road by spring isn't far fetched....

Time will tell. Happy holidays everyone and a Happy New Year!!

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

Hey Bart,
I know you've referenced that Killbillet thread a few times. You weren't kidding. That is a great writeup. Now I just wish I had a plasma cutter.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

RangRayy, I'm in Warrensburg, just down the road from you. I've done an S10 frame swap, and lots of other stuff with AD's. Let me know if you need anything, I'm happy to help a fellow forum member.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

I decided with motor mounts from jegs. Had some extra cash so I spent the money. They came in yest and I only had time to put one in. Man they're a booger to get to. The person before me cut notches in the frame to access the nuts but it's very tight and little room to work with.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...27E72C33BD.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...188804BA34.jpg

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

Someone must've already done his but it wasn't easy and I'm still fighting one bolt I need help.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...FB5750596D.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...3E4469377F.jpg

In red is where they cut for access.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

Rang,
Someone mentioned to me that you might be able to get a wrench in on the drivers's side where the fuel lines come out. In fact, he said that he drilled/cut a hole in a similar location on the passenger's side to get a the nuts.

While I had my spring out I was able to weld in the nuts on the driver's side before I put it back in. However on the passenger's side I plan on wrapping a wire around the nut to hold it while I start the bolt into it. I'm hoping that once it snugs up it will not spin. Ultimately I will be welding my mounts in, but i want to use the nuts/bolts for mockup purposes.

Re: Maylene '51 GMC
 

I did in fact use that hole but the pass side was a bit trickier. But I got it.
http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...DE93BC1126.jpg

I scored a 305 with a transmission so I'm using it for mocking purposes until the 350 can go in.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...205519E3B3.jpg