53 GMC - CHEVY Trk Grill Swap - Questions

[Worthwhile]

I have been looking for a 53 Chey truck fro a little while... Well I found a 53 GMC, I prefer the Chevy grill. Anyone know what needs to be done to swap out the grill? I am thinking it may be only the hood and grill itself...

Appreciate the help! Thanks in advance.

 

[ccharr]

First welcome aboard, enjoy the ride while here. Got any photo of it?
I'll post some photos of one of the best looking 52 GMC I have ever seen for the AD design years. It sat at the Brothers Truck Show last year just behind me under the trees. As far as changing the front end you may want to get a hold of Joe at DeadZoneTruckin here on the board and see if he has what you need and may know the tricks on getting it done.

 

[Bill Hanlon]

Well I found a 53 GMC, I prefer the Chevy grill.

Check with Ziggy too.

 

[vwnate1]

GMC Grille

Ugly bugger isn't it ? .

However , if you ever move to corn country and need to pick corn through a picket fence , the Manly GMC grille might come in handy..... .

 

[MT AZ]

I can't blame you for wanting to get rid of that ugly buck-tooth GMC grill

But...Changing a GMC truck to the Chevy grill is not as easy as you might think.

The front fenders & inner fenders are interchangable { except the GMC fenders have holes for the parking lights}.

First off ....the front frame X member ,hood ,hood latches & hood latch sheetmetal in the GMC is way different than the Chevy.... which means the hood, radiator support , hood latches & all the hood latch sheet metal needs to be switched out also....

This will be tough to do as the GMC radiator support is 3" taller than the Chevy support & this means none of the existing mounting holes in the fenders ,inner fenders,hood latch sheetmetal or the frame X member will line up with the Chevy radiator support.

You will also need to locate a chevy lower grill panel {Under the grill} along with a Chevy front splash apron {between the grill & bumper}.

It is hard enough to get hoods & fenders to line up & fit correctly even when the original parts are being used..... trying to get all these mismatched parts to fit properly is gonna be a nightmare.

 

[Zig]

Welcome! And Don't Do IT!!!

Change to the pretty Chevy grill, that is. Chevy trucks are a dime a dozen.
Stick with the more rare and MANLY mug of the mighty GMC!

 

[ccharr]

Paul,

Admit it You got goose bumps when you read his first post didn't you.

 

[ccharr]

Worthwhile,

You know what you want, it was explained by Joe what you are in store for and now you get to see is it is worth it. You could just drive the G till you find a 53 that suits you, the chevy you wanted in the first place and then sell the G.

 

[Zig]

All I could think of was shame, shame, shame...
Some trucks are just too manly. They test the level of testosterone in ya, and to own a G, that level needs to be mighty high. Those pretty Chevy trucks speak to the "kinder, gentler side" of a feller.

 

[ccharr]

These below are great G's and most likely the ones I would go after if I were to get a G.

 

[Zig]

Charles with a GMC... I'm liking the sound of that~

 

[Wolf]

oh no no no..... why hid the fact that you have a full oil pressure 7 main bearing GMC manly 228 I6 Instead of that other one, that splashes oil around its hard to switch them over

Paul, I will second that! I could see him with a GMC. He does have the 1 ton though Plus the perfect patina

That GMC above Charles, is beautiful! I would have him try this

Thats all I have to offer though

 

[coilover]

In the 1970's I had 36 AD trucks split exactly even with 18 5W and 18 3W. There was only ONE GMC, a 51, and that's what the man wanted. Here it is back for a little PM (a/c, headlight bulb) nearly 40 years and over 200 thousand miles later and it still looks pretty good I think, grill and all. Has shortened and narrowed 74 Cad DeVille chassis, with every option the Cad came with. Wore out the 472 engine and replaced with a 500. Interior replaced twice.

 

[Worthwhile]

Oh boy! Sounds like alot of work... Guess I had better run down the street and get this other 53' chevy body and front end as a parts car for $600...

 

[Worthwhile]

Here are some pics of it.

 

[ccharr]

Thanks for posting the photos of it, a daily driver till you get a 53 you really want.

 

[Bill Hanlon]

I hate to say that Nate is wrong (this is probably the first time and I'll likely be banned from the forum forever), but GMC in line six cylinder engines (228,248,256,270 & 302) have 4 main bearing, not 7. Maybe Nate was thinking of the 230 inch 6 (and its variants) that Chevy first produced in 1962, which is a 7 main bearing engine.

Reference is GMC Maintenance Manual, about 3/4 of the way down the left column.
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/gmc/5559mm/5559mm360.html

 

[Wolf]

Bill thanks for correcting me there. I was always under the assumption that the GMC's were 7 main bearings. Thanks for setting it right I will still fill up the truck bed!!!

Thanks!!!

 

[Root2812]

Here are some pics of it.

Where are you? You never posted your location. Maybe a board member can point you to the parts you need.

 

[Bilbo]

I can't blame you for wanting to get rid of that ugly buck-tooth GMC grill

But...Changing a GMC truck to the Chevy grill is not as easy as you might think.

The front fenders & inner fenders are interchangable { except the GMC fenders have holes for the parking lights}.

First off ....the front frame X member ,hood ,hood latches & hood latch sheetmetal in the GMC is way different than the Chevy.... which means the hood, radiator support , hood latches & all the hood latch sheet metal needs to be switched out also....

This will be tough to do as the GMC radiator support is 3" taller than the Chevy support & this means none of the existing mounting holes in the fenders ,inner fenders,hood latch sheetmetal or the frame X member will line up with the Chevy radiator support.

You will also need to locate a chevy lower grill panel {Under the grill} along with a Chevy front splash apron {between the grill & bumper}.

It is hard enough to get hoods & fenders to line up & fit correctly even when the original parts are being used..... trying to get all these mismatched parts to fit properly is gonna be a nightmare.

Well, I went from a chevy chassis and installed a GMC front end. I kept the Chevy front crossmember, cut off the lower part of the radiator support on both trucks, attached the lower Chevy to the upper GMC. Worked out fine. I measured the height of the fender support 'ears' on the rad. support before making the mods. All the GMC stuff fits like it's supposed to, so far. This is inner fenders, fender supports, grille, lower splash guard, and by virtue of using the upper part of the GMC rad. support, all the hood and latch parts. If I run into any problems I'll admit it here... So far, it looks like it will work fine, at least for what I'm doing.