Joey's Garage - 1948 GMC Truck Restoration

The purpose of this web site and all the photos is not so that I can show off my truck but to share the lessons I have learned and hopefully help out those that are doing a restoration of their own.

(Keep in mind that this site along with my truck is work in progress.)

My restoration project, or an idea of restoring a truck, started out with a desire and a need for a project to release daily stress and to get myself out of my wife’s hair. Instead of constantly looking for new home improvements and odd and end projects around the house, I needed something that would last longer than that of a three day weekend. So the question was, "What I can do?"

As time went by and thoughts went through my mind, the idea of learning how to restore an old vehicle became a wanted desire. I say an idea of learning because I enjoy trying new things and trying to find ways to fix problems and coming up with new ways of doing the same old thing.

So from then on every time my wife and I would go for a Saturday motorcycle ride or a fairly short ride after Church on Sunday mornings, not only was I looking for the roads we have yet to travel, I would have an open eye out for an old vehicle with a For Sale sign on it.

As for what type of vehicle I wanted or age, I was not particularly set on any given vehicle. Although my eyes were more focused on finding an old Stingray, I was not focused on anything other than one that did not need more work than what I felt I could handle.

On November 11, 2007 after a Sunday Church service, my wife and I were out on one of those nice and peaceful rides through the country side and ended up riding through one of our favorite little Texas towns, La Grange.

As we were passing through La Grange I spotted this old green truck sitting behind an automotive repair shop. With a quick u-turn we whipped around and pulled up beside the shop and parked the bike.

With the shop closed and no one around, quietly and respectfully I went up to the truck. Not knowing the shop owner or anyone nearby, I did not want to get in trouble for trespassing or give anyone the idea that I was up to no good.

After standing at a distance for a few minutes and with no one giving us a second thought, we went up for a closer look.

After a quick walk around the truck and a look in the bed, I opened up one of the doors and banged on the floor boards. “Sounds good and solid.” I then popped the hood to make sure no one has done any stupid modifications to the truck like dropping a junk yard V8 in it. Then looked under the truck.

To my surprise, the truck looked to be in good shape. Although the idea of restoring a truck was new to me and I had no idea what I was getting myself into, I felt that this truck had no more problems than I could handle.

So after taking down the phone number of the shop and taking a few pictures with my wife’s digital camera, we were once again back on the road.

As Monday morning rolled around and I was back in the office, I decided I would give the shop a call and inquire about the truck…. After talking with the shop owner, I learned that the owner of the truck still has yet to settle his bill and the truck has been sitting there for a few weeks and becoming a hassle for the shop owner. So with the question of, “Is the truck for sale?” the shop owner told me he would give the truck owner a call and then call me back.

After three long hours had passed, the shop owner called me back with the price the truck owner wanted for the truck along with what he still owed for repairs. So with a smile on my face, I told him I would be by Saturday to pick it up.

Now I might not be the shiniest lug nut on the wheel but I am not the dullest, nor am I one that has been cross threaded but I still had a lot to learn about restoring a truck.

I have never painted a vehicle other than spraying on some can primer on my car when I wrecked it during my teenager years. Although I have ripped apart the motor on the old Harley a few times just to keep it dependable enough to ride up to Canada and replacing some cracked heads on one of my teenage cars I 'pushed too hard.' I had a great bit to learn.

Knowing all this, I started googling everything. From shopping for power tools and equipment to paint guns and welders. I also did a great bit of reading on different user groups and manufactures web sites. Oh yea, by the way, if you are a GMC guy or even an old Chevy man and looking for a good user group to pop off a few questions, learn something new or simply set and talk truck stuff, might I recommend, "www.oldgmctrucks.com" In their discussion group, you will find a bunch of good men that know their stuff and are willing to answer a few questions and with all discussion groups, keep in mind that these are people just like you. Hard working men that value their time and their opinions. Look for answers before you ask them and show respect.

Another area I looked for information was at the local book store. There I bought a few books and started reading. One of the books I bought that I enjoyed was, "How To Restore Your Chevrolet Pickup." This book was and is a very good starting point for anyone that is taking the first step in restoring their truck.

This author, Tom Brownell, also has other books for restoring Fords and collector cars which are very good reads. Full of information that I go back to on a regular basis.

All in all, I have learned a great bit by reading and lessoning to others, but none of that compares to the lessons I have learned by simply doing it.

Lessons like, "Never try to sand blast anything in your garage." Talking about a mess! Then again, that was my first time I had ever used a blaster or seen one used. After just a few minutes of blasting I came to the conclusion that this was going to have to go outside and I needed a bigger compressor. So with a quick trip to Home Depot, I returned with some hinges, two sheets of exterior plywood and a large drop cloth.

After cutting one of the sheets of plywood in half and hinging it, one half on each side of the full sheet, I had something I could stand up when needed and then fold up and put out of the way when not in use. The drop cloth was then cut in half, draped over the two ends and the back and held in place with a few staples. This way with the staples, I could pull the drop cloth back off, shake it out when done and then put away. This now gave me a blasting area outside that could be folded up, left outside and not be in the way when not needed.

As time goes by, I will be updating this web site with the lessons I have learned and tools that work and place these under the link to "Shop & Tools."

Also some other information I gained well in advance was the idea of taking lots of pictures and taking plenty of notes as I worked.

Seeing that this restoration project will last close to three years, I know that when it comes time to put it all back together, I need to know how it came apart so I can in turn put it back together without having leftover pieces for my wife to point out.

Therefore, the main reason in creating and paying for this site is to have a place to store my pictures and notes for future reference for myself and those looking to learn from my mistakes and successes.

For the part of not being the shiniest lug nut on the wheel, that is true and if you spend any time looking through my collections of pictures, you will see that I give things some strange names and on occasion, the wrong names. Not to mention that my spelling is way off at times. Then again, there is no spell checker when you have a marker in hand and your mind is more focused on what you can take apart next...

If you have questions or comments, like lessons you have learned, feel free to email me at joey@joeysgarage.com

Thanks,

Joey

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