1949 Chevrolet ( GMC ) 3100 restored custom hot rod pickup truck

1949 Chevrolet Other Pickups Description

This is a 1949 GMC 3100 pickup truck. The first thing you may notice is, yes, I did convert the front end sheet metal to the Chevy front end.

I completely rebuilt this truck from the ground up, using only the best parts!

Chassis:

I realized the original frame had been welded for reinforcement at sometime in it's life, so I decided to do a S-10 frame swap. This is a very common frame swap on these trucks, so I had full confidence in it. The swap consists of a full bolt on kit from Advanced Design that locates all the body mounts, bed mounts, bumpers, and drivetrain. The S-10 chassis was sandblasted and inspected to make sure I had a good and straight frame.In order to perfect the suspension of the truck I swapped out everything! The front suspension consists of new tubular control arms and fully adjustable coil over shocksfrom Ride Tech, lowering spindles and a big brake kit from McGaughys, and a big sway bar. Out back is a custom built, parallel 4 link with a panhard bar and Ride Tech coil over shocks. The truck rolls on a set of 20x8.5" and 20x10" Intro billet wheels wrapped in Toyo Proxes STII tires. All of the suspension pieces have been powder coated gloss black and the frame itself has been base coat/ clear coat painted.

Drivetrain:

The engine is a 5.7L LS1 out of a 2000 Chevy Camaro. The engine has been gone through and everything was freshened up with all new seals. While we were in there we decided to do a cam swap as well so we replaced all the serviceable partsin the engine... oil pump, timing set, valve springs, pushrods, did the trunion upgrade, and obviously the cam. The engine also has a Vintage Air Frontrunner pulley setup, so the alternator, water pump, ac pump, and power steering pump are all new as well. Rounding out the new engine parts are a new starter, new throttle body, new torque converter, headers, Professional Products Typhoon intake manifold, spark plugs, spark plug wires, intake tube and filter, and probably even more that I'm forgetting. The engine is mated to a brand new B&M street and strip 4L60E transmission that has increased durability and performance for the added horsepower. The exhaust runs out the stainless steel headers to a fully custom bent mandrel bent and TIG welded exhaust. The front portion is 2.5" diameter, merges to 3" right around the back of the transmission, then continues all the way to the rear bumper. The muffler is a Black Widow Pro-Venom 300 series, and the exhaust has been ceramic coated all the way from the headers to the tail pipe. The drivetrain was then dyno tuned for drivability, and still cranked out 325 horsepower at the rear wheels. A summit racing 20 gallon fuel cell is located at the rear of the frame, along with 2 Kinetik HC1800 batteries.

Body:

The cab of the truck was sand blasted and rust repair was performed. This is (and was) an Arizona truck, so there wasn't as much rust as most of these will have. The truck did not have a bed for it when I picked it up, so I got the brand new parts to build a new bed from LMC Truck. I also ordered all the new front sheet metal to swap to the Chevy front end. There is zero rust on this truck now! All the new panels were seam sealed before applying a spray on bed liner to the under side of the cab, interior of the firewall, interior of the back cab wall, and the entire floor inside the truck. All the exterior panels are painted with a GM pearl white paint. This includes the under side of the bed, inside of all 4 fenders, under the hood, under the running boards, and everywhere else (there is no black spray paint or aerosol undercoating anywhere on this truck!)The bumpers and grille are brand new pieces from LMC Truck. The paint has been color sandedflat and buffed to a great shine. Everyone is always commenting on the color of the truck!

Interior:

The factory seat frame still exists, but the rest of the seat has been rebuilt using wood and elastic (seat belt type) material for the new seat bottom and back. All the foam is new and custom shaped for the seat. Then it was wrapped in the same material asthe rest of the interior. The door panels are custom built and feature billet window cranks and door levers. There is a custom built center console housing the AC controls,7" touch screenhead unit, and 2 cup holders. Alsoa newest of kick panels to house a set of 6" component speakers from Rockford Fosgate. Behind the seat is a custom built enclosure that holds two 10" shallow mount Rockford subs and a 5 channel Rockford amp. Finishing off the area behind the seat are another set of 6" component speakers in the corners. The gauges are VHX analog style digital gauges from Dakota Digital. A new steering column is connected to a custom steering wheel that's been machined to match the wheels. The body wiring is a Painless Performance fuse block thatis mounted in the driver's side kick panel area. An under dash AC unit from Vintage air rounds out the interior features. Sealing out the elements is all new glass andcab seals.

I originally built this truck with the intentions of never selling it, so I wanted it super reliable and easy to drive. The truck went to the SEMA show in 2015 as a booth vehicle for ChemSpec/ Metalux, who supplied all the paint for the truck. Shortly after SEMA, it was photographed for Street Trucks magazine after the Scottsdale GoodGuys show. It graced the cover of Street Trucks magazine just a few months ago. I love the truck, but I realized shortly after that I couldn't take my growing family around with me in the truck. If I want to go for a cruise in it, I either have to go by myself or get a baby sitter for the kiddo. So that is the reason I am selling it, I want to build something with a back seat. The truck has been driven a few times over the last year, so it is not 100% perfect, but it is close! It's a wonderful truck to drive, with plenty of power and road grabbing performance suspension. It is a real hotrod!