55.2-59 front clip install help

[Missyblue]

Thanks to you all my transmission linkage is done and the column is mounted and steering shaft done sooooooo.........I finally .......I think maybe can install my front clip!!!!
Mine is a 1957 gmc... Curious of any tips or advice. I tried to take good notes when pulling it apart but that was like 2 years ago and it wasn't done well or all complete the 1st time either. So....hoping for advice.
1. instal inner to outer fender....I currently have the inner fenders separated from the outer fenders due to having to cut for mustang ii. So not sure if best to install inner to outer 1st and then attach to truck or if it matters? I know I have more fine tuning on the inner fenders to clear all the new brake stuff and such.

2. fender with spacers it had before at the Cowell seems tooo low, like hangs a half inch below the driver door. but wonder if this adjustments need to wait till its all strapped together and then start fine tuning. Don't need show perfect lines but not tearing up fender with door haha

3. hood brace connects the fenders together but would it be better to do radiator support 1st since it centers everything?


Any photos of the front pieces together would be helpful. I know I have a few saved from when people helped try to decipher all the parts in the bed of the truck I bought but haven't found much for detail shots on vehicles that shows final placement

Thank you!

[57tailgater]

That is not a stock radiator support for a '57 1/2 ton. May be for a COE but I don't know for sure. Definitely not for a 1/2 ton. It should look more like this (borrowed from Dan In Pasadena's thread). There is then a panel that goes clear across between the fenders below the grill.

Looks at this link: https://www.trifive.com/d1/55-59Assy.pdf and refer to section 13.

[Missyblue]

Originally Posted by 57tailgater

That is not a stock radiator support for a '57 1/2 ton. May be for a COE but I don't know for sure. Definitely not for a 1/2 ton. It should look more like this (borrowed from Dan In Pasadena's thread). There is then a panel that goes clear across between the fenders below the grill.

Looks at this link: https://www.trifive.com/d1/55-59Assy.pdf and refer to section 13.

Thank you I appreciate it. I should have specified mine is a gmc so a little different.but you reminded me I think I had a link to a gmc manual maybe....

[57tailgater]

Yeah I found a pic showing your setup and I can see the GMC mustache. I didn’t know what they looked like - a lot different! Someone on here should know.

[dsraven]

here are some pics of my frame swapped 57 gmc. I have the original rad support pics as well, just gotta find them.
it seems like some GMC's had the Chevy rad support, and some had the GMC support made from a bunch of smaller parts bolted together.

[dsraven]

here you go, found them
stock new Chevy rad support just like the old GMC one that came out.

[dsraven]

here are some pics of the side brackets that hold the crossbar in place
pm me with your email address if you need better dimensions
the lower filler part that connects the fenders at the bottom was a single piece on my truck. you could do the same if you simply fab a new part.

[dsraven]

here is a pic or two of my home made filler panel for behind the front bumper. made with stuff a normal car guy may have laying around the garage. 16ga cold rolled sheet. first pic is the stock part. rusty but served the purpose of dimensions.
second pic is the new home made part in front of the home made rad support. it's a chassis swap so I needed to move the rad forward of the stock rad support. I thought I might as well let someone else enjoy a smokin deal on the new rad support I had bought and just start from scratch on something that will fit my needs. the new filler panel needed to have a bigger cutaway for the rad since it sits in front of where the original rad support would have sat

[dsraven]

my answers to the initial questions:
-check/replace the rear cab mounts and ensure the front cab mounts are not sagged etc as the cab location and mounting integrity is important on these trucks. do the same for the rad support mounts. use antisieze on any bolts that will be installed for their final time, use masking tape on the edges of body parts that may contact the parts next to them
-check/rebuild/replace the door hinges because the door hinges need to be nice and tight for everything to be adjusted correctly and have a good consistent body gap each time the doors or hood are opened/closed. you don't wanna lose any paint or bend a body part. do the same for the hood hinges.
-fit the doors to the cab, no fenders in place and with no latches in place to mess you up by drawing the door into it's final spot. line up the rear of the door to the body line of the cab. when done check/replace and install the latches and adjust so they hold the door closed but they don't pull the door up or down into it's final spot. door latches have a primary and a secondary latch "click" so ensure you are on the second "click" as the final depth adjustment is made. I always try to adjust doors with no weatherstrip in place because it can skew the adjustment by acting like a shim. adjust the door to fit the opening and then worry about the weatherstrip. don't adjust the door later so it will close with the new weatherstrip in place. if the weatherstrip is keeping the door from closing then it is too hard, steele or soffseal would be a choice to look at in that case as their stripping is very pliable
-install outer fenders and adjust to fit the doors and the body line. there are shims under the top rear end of the fenders at the cowl for a height adjustment as needed (my answer to question 2), like body washers. to get things initially placed I usually slip a long tapered punch through that rear upper fender mounting hole and into the threaded hole in the cowl, just to help get the fender on when working by myself.
sometimes the cab or rad support needs to be shimmed up or down to get the body lines all lined up fore to aft between the fender, door and cab. using metal shims like body washers, some guys will use a single thin plastic shim on one side of the shim pack here against the metal to cut down on squeaks later, (like a washer cut from a yogurt container lid if nothing else but they are available commercially). the cab rear mount becomes the constant here and the front cab mount becomes the shimmed mount as required. the rad support may also need to come up or down to get the body gaps correct and the body line straight. I usually install a new set of rear cab mounts and rad support mounts so nothing is beat up and sagged out. then see if the front of the cab needs to be shimmed up to raise the middle of the body line or maybe the rad support needs a few shims to bring the front of the assembly up. I use a magnet on the rear of the cab and the front of the fender at the body line. I use the magnets to hold a string line so you can see if the body line is lined up between all the panels. you could use a laser but they are hard to see unless it's dark and you also gotta have one first. some body lines are kinda not as sharp as you would like and can become hard to discern where the lines are with the string in place. a piece of tape on the front and rear of each panel, with a pencil mark where the body line is, will help you see better. I usually space the string away from the panels by a bit. I use a couple of thin office erasers for that, taped onto the body under the string at the front and the rear near the magnets, but you could use whatever you have laying around as long as the spacers are the same thickness roughly. a bright light placed nearby at the same height as the string will cast a shadow on the fender where the string height is if that helps.
-mock up and trim the inner fenders as required for your suspension clearances and then install. there are L brackets with rubber bushings on the firewall to hold the inner fenders down low at the rear, if you still have enough room with the MII front end installed. the inner fenders locate behind the rad support up front, down low on each side, and bolt onto the front side of the front fender extensions. it's kinda one of those things where the rad support may need to be unbolted a few times during the assembly and line up stage. nice not to have a rad in place or headlight buckets in the fenders for access to the hardware. understand that I work alone and have had 4 shoulder surgeries so I don't usually install the fenders with the inner fenders attached because they are heavier and more chance of scratching something or getting injured. these could be placed as an assembly if you have help.
the front fenders on my 57 are 46" apart down at the lower section where that filler panel is located, the home made filler in the post above. I understand by the pics that your lower filler panel between the front fenders may have come from one of those GMC only rad supports but you could easily make the Chevy rad support work for you with less parts involved. those braces on the front corners of your fenders were not present on my original Canadian GMC. as far as centering everything off the rad support, you should watch the youtube below. sometimes the cab needs to be rotated to get the hood, fenders,doors etc to fit correctly since it all works as an assembly. the hood also has an X brace under the inside which can/should be loosened so the hood will fit down into the gap between the fenders properly. if the hood seems like it is bent and won't sit down like it should sometimes that is the reason.

here is a good youtube on adjusting body parts for correct gaps on these old trucks. it's worth the time spent to watch it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgUwd9PdWiA

check section 13 in the assembly manual. it's good to download a copy and save it in case the web deletes this one.
https://www.trifive.com/d1/55-59Assy.pdf

front sheet metal assembly section 13 sheet 8. note that the Chevy grille is possibly a bit different than the GMC. my front bumper has a valance that bolts to the underside of the bullets on the bumper and covers that lower area. my grille with the moustache bolts to a depression on the front fenders on each side and covers the grille opening on the fenders as well as the Chevy turn signal holes in the front fenders.
rad support mounting, section 13 sheet 14, shows the assembly and the shims
section 1 sheet 46 for front cab mounts showing shims

[dsraven]

here is a pic of my inner fenders showing the flange that wraps around the front side of the rad support and bolts up, those little angle iron brackets bolted up and the front fender extensions.
my truck is sitting on an envoy frame and running gear so disregard the non relevant stuff.
hope all this helps. do you have a rad support now or you have nothing and need to know how it's supposed to go together?

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by 57tailgater

That is not a stock radiator support for a '57 1/2 ton. May be for a COE but I don't know for sure. Definitely not for a 1/2 ton. It should look more like this (borrowed from Dan In Pasadena's thread). There is then a panel that goes clear across between the fenders below the grill.

Looks at this link: https://www.trifive.com/d1/55-59Assy.pdf and refer to section 13.

Ha! I haven’t been to this thread before and as I’m going through it I thought, “That REALLY looks like my truck!

[57tailgater]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Ha! I haven’t been to this thread before and as I’m going through it I thought, “That REALLY looks like my truck!

Hope you don't mind!