1950 gmc 150

[DesertFox00]

So I've decided to start a project; It's a 1950 GMC 150 that my grandfather bought when he returned to the states after leaving the Air Force. It's been sitting in my back yard since the mid to late 70s. From what information I can get the only reason it was parked was because my grandparents bought a new truck.

Everything seems to be there, except the air cleaner. There are some dents, and some rust. The rear tires will not rotate I believe the brakes are locked up, and the transmission will not shift. I have not had a chance to really get under it and look at it. I just put different tires on it yesterday so I can drag it out and get to work on it.

There are some things I'm wondering though. Is there any 8 lug from disc conversions for this year (google came up empty), and is there any conversions that move the steering knuckles back (the rims/tires I put on there are scraping on the steering knuckles)?
Did these trucks come with a torque tube rear end? This truck has an open drive line with a carrier bearing.











I'll get some more pictures later today when I get it pulled out.

[DesertFox00]

So I finally drug it out before I lost all daylight. Tomorrow I'm going to be trying to get the rear brakes broken loose, take the seat out, and put something in the transmission. Should I just put gear oil in it or something else?








I haven't quite figured out what I'm going for, but for now I'm just going to get things working. I might leave it patina'd and all original (minus bed wood), restore it with original motor and transmission, or restore it with small block and new transmission.

[dmack91]

No expert, but here is what comes to mind.

Trans - add lube, put in neutral, disconnect the driveshaft, and see if it turns. If the rear brakes are locked up and the trans is in gear, it won't turn.

Brakes - frozen brakes are a special challenge. Try to back off the adjusters and apply a large sledge appropriately. I would start hitting it all around to see if you can knock it loose. Same with the trans - if the trans is locked up, the rear won't turn.

Disconnecting the driveshaft will eliminate one of them locking up the other.

As far as the engine goes, I would try to see if I could get it running. Those old 6's were pretty rugged. You may be surprised and it could run just fine.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Katrina/10]

I like that truck. The engine and trans may be fine, just check the oil first.

[DesertFox00]

I got the rear drums off, but damaged them in the process. I took the brake shoes out and just put the drums and tires back on. They were caked full of silt from a flood that ran through my grandfathers yard. It never got high enough to hurt the engine, or get in the cab.

I haven't done much with the engine except pull the carb, which I've been trying to find a rebuild kit for. Napa wasn't able to find anything for a zenith carb. The oil on the dipstick looked pretty good for 35 years, there didn't appear to be any water.