New truck
 

Picked up another craigslist wonder: 64(my birth year)GMC 1/2 ton 305 V6.

Drove it home fine- parked it for a couple of days went out today on my day off to work on it-turned the key*click* nothing else. Charged the battery- same thing- one big click, then the dash goes dead. I'll likely be picking up some new battery cables tomorrow after I do a little more fiddling, this was exactly what happened with my 66.(which is now my reliable daily driver)

Pics:http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck001.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck006.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck003.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck005.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck014.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck012.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck011.jpg

Re: New truck
 

some of the bad:http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck008.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck007.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck009.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck013.jpg
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck015.jpg

also some rust in the cab corners and a mostly dead instrument cluster.
shocks are completely gone,tires are different brands.

The good- new brakes all around, blinkers and lights had just been rewired(as in- they work- I'll have to check what was done) the motor seems fresh, no leaks,great power when I drove it, tranny shifts smooth, dash and steering wheel are in good shape.

Plans are to rattle can it black for now,find some trim and cab sails, moon discs, and maybe chop a coil out of the front springs, and see where I decide to go from there, I kind of want a "60's dry lake push truck" feel.

any words of wisdom on the 305(I'll be keeping it in the truck) would be appreciated- I know not to rev the hell out of it.- I'm already on 6066 GMC guys yahoo list.

Thanks for checking this out- any hoots, jeers or hollers are welcome.

Re: New truck
 

Sweet truck man. I love that factory GMC stereo. What are your plans.

Re: New truck
 

Thanks!

Nothing too radical to start with, fix some rust, get it to be a comfy, reliable daily driver with a bit of character. After that, who knows?

Re: New truck
 

Did the battery cables do the trick? My truck did this a few weeks ago after sitting up for a month, and I got pissed and left it alone...

Re: New truck
 

If the terminal clamps are loose it will do that. If the cables are no good it will do that. If the terminals are dirty it will do that. I think if you cleaned them up and made sure they were pretty snug, that should solve your problem. If not you have to keep searching. Cool truck by the way.

Re: New truck
 

Nice! I see it's a custom cab. Do you have the trim for it?

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Cool truck- congrats

Re: New truck
 

Thanks guys!

63 Whoopie/Chevy Fleetside: didn't get a chance to work on the truck today- Got a call from the guy I bought it from and he said he had found a bumper that he'd bought for the truck and for me to come pick it up. I now have a nice old (heavy) chrome front bumper to replace the bent up one that's on there.

I will say that that was exactly the problem with my 66- I cleaned the terminals, then swapped them out for new ones and the problem persisted- a buddy of mine who builds sandrails came over and took a look- went out, bought new cables, installed them and the problem was solved- the corrosion had crept its way under the insulation and caused so much resistance that the truck wouldn't start- so- I'm going to just get new cables with new terminals this weekend when I can work on the truck again. The ones that are on there look fairly ratty.

19GMC63 no trim yet- I'd like to get some on there, eventually-I like how the custom trim looks.

BTW- I finally ponied up for the subscription through paypal- how long does it take for my name to change color so I can take advantage of some of the member privileges(like posting WIW/WTB,WTS?)

Re: New truck
 

Replaced the battery cables and terminals with new 2 ga stuff- fixed the "click and die" problem.

Now the carb is shooting a fountain of gas out of the copper washer over the bowl(accelerator pump?)

I saw a thread about replacing the old carb with a holley 500- I think I'm going to go this route- as well as pertronix ignition.

Then it's on to the patch panels- I'll be switching to this truck as a daily driver shortly, and working on the 66 3/4 ton in the meantime.

Looked around at the chassis electrical- it's got a new harness to the taillights.

Re: New truck
 

Truck runs, drives, is registered and insured in my name as of today.

I swapped carbs out- went the cheap route for now. I had picked up a suburban shell, it came with a bunch of parts, and one of them was a working carb, I pulled the old one off, bolted the new(er) one on and hoped it didn't leak.So far so good.

Rattle canned the truck flat black, now I need to install seat belts and some shocks and I'll be driving the wheels off of it.

Re: New truck
 

What's with the cut-outs in each side of the bed. Saddle bag fuel tanks?

Re: New truck
 

It doesn't have the tanks- the P O had put another bed on- he said the old one was thrashed. There is a locking cover on one side and a gaping hole on the other- I may just try to scrounge up a couple of tanks and install them- I hear the 305's are thirsty.

Re: New truck
 

:metal: Excellent start, neighbor. Truck's got potential.

That cancer is all fixable - nice flow thru ventilation for now.

Mac. :mm:

Re: New truck
 

Nice score!! A guy should have at least two classics trucks around - one to drive -the other to fix.
We need pictures after the rattle can rebuild !!

Re: New truck
 

I Like the truck , looking good keep us updated.

Re: New truck
 

Got the shocks all around, driver side seatbelt, saddle blanket seat cover and tailgate installed.

Found a roll pan in the back of a 65 mess that the pic a part was trying to sell for way too much, got it for 20 bucks. I have yet to install it- I may have to figure out a hidden hitch as I want to use the truck to tow with eventually.(though I just may leave that duty to the 66)

Swapped grilles and bumpers with my 66- painted them black and mounted them- I'll gently try to pound the dent out of the chrome grill this truck came with and mount it and the bumper on the 66 soon.

Lights and dash seem to work fine- turn signals work beautifully, truck starts (even with no choke in the cold mornings) runs and stops great and makes my 50 mile commute without a hitch. The new old carb seems to be holding its own- no need to swap to a holley just yet.

I'll be throwing the 60 hood I got on there soon enough, then it's time to start getting the heater controls in order and start on the body.

some exterior pics:
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...k/pix001-1.jpg

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...k/pix002-1.jpg

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...k/pix003-1.jpg

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...hik/pix006.jpg

and 1 with the 66 behind it.- my 2 burbs are parked in the back yard.

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...k/pix004-1.jpg

Re: New truck
 

Nice Find!
Backup lights on the bed eh?(not a requirement untill 66 right?)
Saddle tanks as well? Custom cab trim missing?
You sure that wasnt a custom Camper version??
Leaf springs in the rear?(Easier to swap in a more modern rear end maybe)

Nice Truck Man, Enjoy!

Re: New truck
 

Cool to see an update; I remember when you originally posted!!:metal:

Re: New truck
 

Ham-er- the bed's a replacement- I don't think I have a reverse switch on the tranny for the backup lights(hell- the truck didn't even have seatbelts) so I just snagged the lights from my 66(which doesn't have a reverse switch either- even though it has the lights in the bed.) they're not wired to anything yet. It looks like a Chevy bed- as I think the GMC beds only had 1 band of trim running down the side- someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

No tanks either- just one locked fuel door and one gaping hole.

I'll likely try to get some trim for it some day- I know it's kind of rare- but it's not in the budget right now- every penny's going to keeping it running/safe for the moment.

It's got leafs and a dana44 here's some pics of the PO's "suspension mods":lol:


Looks like there was an I beam welded to the frame just over the leaf to act as a "load capacity enhancer" to keep the truck from sagging so much as he loaded the back up with stuff to haul to the swapmeet.

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck023.jpg

Which led to this damage on the frame:
http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck024.jpgon both sides.

here's the diffhttp://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck025.jpg

more mods: I pulled some broken helper coil mounts and some rusted u bolts off of the axle:http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck026.jpg

and thanks Pro- slow and steady is gonna win the race on this one- I have to keep it drivable while I work on it- so I'm hitting all of the little things first.

Re: New truck
 

Here's the hood that's going on it:http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck022.jpg


I think I might try to find out what that blue is and paint the whole truck that color eventually.

and can anyone tell me what this is attatched to the back of the 4speed?
Parking brake?

Creep has a better pic of one in his build thread.

http://i686.photobucket.com/albums/v...64truck027.jpg

I'll be hitting the underside of this sucker hard tomorrow with the oven cleaner and the pressure hose.

Re: New truck
 

I was going to say it looks like old grease to me:lol:......I'd love to drive one of these but havent made the leap yet. Glad to hear its holding together for you.

Re: New truck
 

Drum for a hand type parking brake, the band and mounts are missing. Trans most likely out of a larger truck. I see you have dirt doppers also. Someone must of like to haul alot of weight on the old girl!

Re: New truck
 

It is the hand brake. I actually am taking a rebuilt one off of my 64 3/4 ton. Well, I'm taking out the trans and engine for a swap to a Vortec motor and th350. When tuned up they work quite well.

-Panelrodder
1953 GMC Panel
1964 3/4 Ton Long Bed Chevy

Re: New truck
 

Thanks for the responses and the info-

There's certainly no shortage of grease on this truck,lol.

Yeah- the PO said he used it for heavy hauling- that's how the original bed got thrashed.
Question: What's a dirt dopper?

Re: New truck
 

On the side on the trans, the mud wasp nest. We call them dirt doppers.

Re: New truck
 

any updates??

Re: New truck
 

It's still a driver- I had some carb problems and money was tight so I robbed the carb off of my 68 charger- it was the exact same carb as the one that was on the truck. It now runs like a top- I haven't done anything more to it- I've sort of transferred all of my ideas that I was going to do with it to my 66. Since this truck runs a lot better than the 66- I wanted to keep this one a daily driver while I putter with the other one.

That 305 just keeps chugging along.

I've since picked up a suburban also- so this truck may become a parts donor at some point, but so far it's a great beater/ parts chaser.

Re: New truck
 

Sadly, a few weeks ago the motor in this truck gave up the ghost. Lots of clattering, smoking and grinding noises on the freeway going home from work, pulled over as fast as I could, wouldn't restart.Towed it home and parked it.

If anyone needs parts off of the 305 V6- PM me- I'll happily sell the stuff off cheap to someone who can use it.

I thought about remotoring the truck at some point- but I likely wont. The cab floor is so rusty that I may just scavenge the running gear, steering and other stuff to use on my 65 GMC Suburban, maybe the windshield and cab front can go to my 64 sub. The tranny is smoother than the one in my 66, The frame has that ugly damage in the rear, there isn't a straight or non rusty panel on it and this was always meant to be a parts truck.

I feel kind of bad retiring one of these trucks, but I guess it will live on in some way as a donor to my other ones.

Re: New truck
 

Did you happen to end up with a good spare chrome gmc (66) grille ? I need one ? Kieth

Re: New truck
 

I think you should try and find a cheap replacement eng for now. Look on Craigslist. Go to a pick n pull on half price day. No one really takes the older 350's and such. Just thought.

Re: New truck
 

Kieth, the chrome grill I have has a pretty ugly dent in it- I'm probably gonna keep it on this truck or use it on my 4x4 (I like the jimmy grilles better and the one on the chevy is messed up)

Chevy Fleetside- I'm probably gonna do just that- I just picked up a wrecker bed for my 66- and that project has headed in an unexpected direction, so now I need to have a truck bed to haul junk around in- it looks like the old dog gets a reprieve- I also have to pull the bed off and weld some reinforcing plates over the damaged frame sections.