How do I lower a '66 3/4 ton GMC ?

[Budman56]

Originally Posted by tincan1966

I don't understand why the mass opinion is that only shortbed 1/2T trucks are worth doing anything with. True- they do sell better, -most buyers aren't wanting a "truck" so to speak. But so many good LWB are being cut up to make them.
There's alot of lowered 1T dually's that still work every day, hauling trailers, etc. Lowering a vehicle does not render it useless. It also doesn't mean it loses value either.
Personally I wouldn't own an all original truck- because all you have is a shiny covering over 1960's technology and parts-which in today's world are inadequate for every day use.
With the amount of parts available, anything can be done to make your truck the way you want it.

Tincan
I agree with your opinion I myself like the 3/4 ton long bed and went looking for that truck with the ideal that I would update the drive train for everyday use and I just liked the look of a long bed, dont get me wrong if I had the chance to purchase a short bed I would. I have been able to buy several long beds because no one really wants them, so that is better for me but not good for the over all classic, because a lot of these trucks are being crushed just because they are long beds.

[66Submarine]

Originally Posted by tincan1966

Personally I wouldn't own an all original truck- because all you have is a shiny covering over 1960's technology and parts-which in today's world are inadequate for every day use.

Wow, thank you so much!! I'm so glad you told me this, I was totally in the dark before. Imagine this; here I was, thirty seconds ago before reading this, driving my woefully inadequate "60's technology" everywhere I went, without a second thought; hauling stuff, pulling trailers, everything. Not even having a dedicated support/maintenance team following me everywhere I go. I wasn't even stopping every fifty feet to adjust the points, LOL.

To the OP, it's your truck, but here's my thought. How many 60-66 GMC 3/4 tons rolling on lock ring wheels do you see around town? Now, think of how many "unique" "slammed" half tons with big wheels you see. I think that's what people are saying. Personally I'm a fan of the factory look. Whatever makes you happy.

[tincan1966]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Wow, thank you so much!! I'm so glad you told me this, I was totally in the dark before. Imagine this; here I was, thirty seconds ago before reading this, driving my woefully inadequate "60's technology" everywhere I went, without a second thought; hauling stuff, pulling trailers, everything. Not even having a dedicated support/maintenance team following me everywhere I go. I wasn't even stopping every fifty feet to adjust the points, LOL.

To the OP, it's your truck, but here's my thought. How many 60-66 GMC 3/4 tons rolling on lock ring wheels do you see around town? Now, think of how many "unique" "slammed" half tons with big wheels you see. I think that's what people are saying. Personally I'm a fan of the factory look. Whatever makes you happy.

Again I typed before I completely picking the right words.
I mean absolutely no disrespect to those who do restore trucks to original condition, it is an artform and the patience level is incredible to complete the detail work necessary.

How I meant that to say was- IF to be used in everyday, commuter traffic, as originally designed, the vehicles are inadequate with their '60's technology, compared to today's standards. Not saying that newer vehicles don't have their faults and break, just as often.

But no one can argue that in 1965, for example, these trucks were not intended to drive 70mph in free way traffic for 50+ miles everyday. If they were, then no one would upgrade to power steering, power disc brakes, electronic ignition,etc. Alot of the issues are formed from the differences is available fuels.. Again, these engine in original form were not intended to operate on unleaded fuel.
My PREFERRENCE is non-stock vehicles, I like my creature comforts and add-ons, LOL!

I know I dug a hole, here and again, I mean no disrespect, just my opinion and I am entitled to it. Alot of people think I destroy trucks by changing everything.

[66Submarine]

Well, I can't really agree with you there. My trucks are all beater drivers, not "trailer queens". My current driver is my '65 C-30. Manual steering, four wheel manual drum brakes, SM420 four speed, 4.10's, and a several hundred thousand mile veteran 2 barrel 283, with points. Paid $600 for it. It runs on the cheapest 87 octane I can find (never had any real trouble with that, personally). It would run 70+MPH all day long; it would be a little thirsty, but 70 is only 3,100RPM. I had it up over 65MPH just the other day, ran great there. What did people drive in the 60's in free way traffic if not these trucks? Do you want me to believe a guy went to the dealer in 1965, bought a brand new truck, and always took dirt back roads so he never exceeded 45MPH? You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I think the facts differ slightly, IMO. YMMV. Personally, I think my truck drives just fine like it is. I drive it everywhere I go, everyday, in whatever traffic I get into, no problems.

[Budman56]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Well, I can't really agree with you there. My trucks are all beater drivers, not "trailer queens". My current driver is my '65 C-30. Manual steering, four wheel manual drum brakes, SM420 four speed, 4.10's, and a several hundred thousand mile veteran 2 barrel 283, with points. Paid $600 for it. It runs on the cheapest 87 octane I can find (never had any real trouble with that, personally). It would run 70+MPH all day long; it would be a little thirsty, but 70 is only 3,100RPM. I had it up over 65MPH just the other day, ran great there. What did people drive in the 60's in free way traffic if not these trucks? Do you want me to believe a guy went to the dealer in 1965, bought a brand new truck, and always took dirt back roads so he never exceeded 45MPH? You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but I think the facts differ slightly, IMO. YMMV. Personally, I think my truck drives just fine like it is. I drive it everywhere I go, everyday, in whatever traffic I get into, no problems.

Here is where we all differ, I had a 1956 truck with a straight 6 and a three on the tree, I was 18 and it was my first truck, I blew up that motor 3 times from trying to drive it on the freeway at freeway speeds, then I thought that I would change the motor to a v8 and again blew the motor, what I didnt know and what I believe tincan is saying is it helps to upgrade your truck if you are going to drive it the conditions that we drive today, do you need to upgrade your truck probably not, if your going to drive it a weekend driver, but if your driving it every day in all the condtions that the road can through at you I would think that you would want to. and it make a difference what part of the country your are driving in, say if your in L.A Cal, on the 405 freeway doing 80 mph and the traffic comes to a complete stop within 200 feet your 45 plus year old drum brakes are not going to cut it. you will rear end some one. And having a three speed tranny instead of a 700r and the right gearing in the rear end will keep you from blowing up your motor. I have see it too many times when older trucks are trying to merge onto the free way at there maxed design freeway speed of 55 and they just cant get in front of the on comming traffic, this causes a unsafe condition on the hiway. also if you drive your truck long enough with that 3 speed tranny and 411 gear you will blow up that motor I know that for a fact. Having said all that upgrades are not a bad thing and they just might make your trip more enjoyable. Thats my 2 cents!!!!!!

[tincan1966]

Originally Posted by Budman56

Here is where we all differ, I had a 1956 truck with a straight 6 and a three on the tree, I was 18 and it was my first truck, I blew up that motor 3 times from trying to drive it on the freeway at freeway speeds, then I thought that I would change the motor to a v8 and again blew the motor, what I didnt know and what I believe tincan is saying is it helps to upgrade your truck if you are going to drive it the conditions that we drive today, do you need to upgrade your truck probably not, if your going to drive it a weekend driver, but if your driving it every day in all the condtions that the road can through at you I would think that you would want to. and it make a difference what part of the country your are driving in, say if your in L.A Cal, on the 405 freeway doing 80 mph and the traffic comes to a complete stop within 200 feet your 45 plus year old drum brakes are not going to cut it. you will rear end some one. And having a three speed tranny instead of a 700r and the right gearing in the rear end will keep you from blowing up your motor. I have see it too many times when older trucks are trying to merge onto the free way at there maxed design freeway speed of 55 and they just cant get in front of the on comming traffic, this causes a unsafe condition on the hiway. also if you drive your truck long enough with that 3 speed tranny and 411 gear you will blow up that motor I know that for a fact. Having said all that upgrades are not a bad thing and they just might make your trip more enjoyable. Thats my 2 cents!!!!!!

Thank you, I didn't say it as nicely, and didn't mean to be an a** about it either. Was merely an opinion,sorry didn't realize I would have a wrong one, LOL! It;s all good, tho, like I said I respect the restorers for the skill it takes to do them correctly.

And sorry to have gotten the thread off topic.

[66Submarine]

Huh, I'm pretty surprised you blew that many engines up. What actually failed? 3,100RPM is 55MPH in a gas dump truck, and they don't blow up from that. There's an old trucker from Texas on another board, he said that guys ran the 4.120" stroke 292 wide open all day and thought they were some of the best engines they'd run. His personal truck was a GMC with a 371 olds, he said he ran 3,800-4,200, and never let it get below 3,600. Also said he did a basic rebuild every 100k or so, and that the engine was still good years later when the truck was wrecked. Boats with I-6's, SBC's, and BBC's all run over 3,000 at cruise, no apparent reliability problems there, either. I need the 4.10's for towing, they really aren't that deep, anyway. 2,200 @ 50, a little over 2,400 @ 55, little bit under 2,700 @ 60. I don't drive on the highway a lot, so it makes more sense to let it scream there once in a while than to lug it everywhere else. Still looking for an old auxiliary trans to split shift+OD. (700R4 I don't think will take my planned 20K GCW too well ) My father's '10 has a 3.07 in it and a tall tire, for him that works great. Not what I'm after, though.

I didn't say disk brakes weren't a good thing, I may very well add them to this truck for pulling heavy trailers. The brakes actually work real well, though; as of right now the high void rear tires + rear brake bias is the limitation, by far. I actually have a clip on youtube.

'65 Chevy C-30 brake check (four wheel manual...

The biggest thing, though, IMO, is paying attention and anticipating what is happening, or could happen. I had a guy pull out in front of me the other day, I was only going 35 or so, but was something like 50' away when he set up for the T-bone. Because I was paying attention, I saw him run up to the stop sign and figured that he was probably going to blow through it. And he did. I was ready for it, and the only damage was to my dried out bias rear tires, which made a neat little blue haze behind me. The truck had absolutely no trouble stopping. Had I not been paying attention, even if I had all the brakes in the world, I would have ran through him. By the same token, take me in my, say, 250' 60-0 truck (being real generous there), and "Bill" in his shiny new 150' 60-0 truck. Bill's in an alternate dimension, following the same car I am. The car is a Corvette, and can stop in 100'. Say I am paying close attention, and following 170' behind him. I see him as soon as he begins to stop, and I'm ready for it and lay down on the brakes. I don't hit him. Bill was 50' behind him, not paying attention. By the time he notices what's going on outside of his phone, the 50' has already been closed. Now, since the resulting distance between where the car will stop and where he will is -50', I think Bill's truck is going to need some attention, along with the Corvette. By the same token, If I'm 200' back from traffic when it does a 150' 80-0, and I'm paying close attention, me and my drums are probably still fine. The guy on his phone tailgating someone with disk brakes probably isn't. A new truck still (generally) takes longer to stop than a car. Now, I realize that in LA I might not be able to follow @ 200' on 405. That's one of the many reasons why I stay away from there. I don't think I could take LA.

Again, not knocking the disk brakes. The dissipate heat better, and heat=friction=brakes. They work better, I won't argue that. But, just because you have them doesn't mean you're safe. And, just because you don't, doesn't mean you aren't. Know your limits, stay within them, and stay alive another day. My two wheat pennies.

[Budman56]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Huh, I'm pretty surprised you blew that many engines up. What actually failed? 3,100RPM is 55MPH in a gas dump truck, and they don't blow up from that. There's an old trucker from Texas on another board, he said that guys ran the 4.120" stroke 292 wide open all day and thought they were some of the best engines they'd run. His personal truck was a GMC with a 371 olds, he said he ran 3,800-4,200, and never let it get below 3,600. Also said he did a basic rebuild every 100k or so, and that the engine was still good years later when the truck was wrecked. Boats with I-6's, SBC's, and BBC's all run over 3,000 at cruise, no apparent reliability problems there, either. I need the 4.10's for towing, they really aren't that deep, anyway. 2,200 @ 50, a little over 2,400 @ 55, little bit under 2,700 @ 60. I don't drive on the highway a lot, so it makes more sense to let it scream there once in a while than to lug it everywhere else. Still looking for an old auxiliary trans to split shift+OD. (700R4 I don't think will take my planned 20K GCW too well ) My father's '10 has a 3.07 in it and a tall tire, for him that works great. Not what I'm after, though.

I didn't say disk brakes weren't a good thing, I may very well add them to this truck for pulling heavy trailers. The brakes actually work real well, though; as of right now the high void rear tires + rear brake bias is the limitation, by far. I actually have a clip on youtube. '65 Chevy C-30 brake check (four wheel manual drums) - YouTube The biggest thing, though, IMO, is paying attention and anticipating what is happening, or could happen. I had a guy pull out in front of me the other day, I was only going 35 or so, but was something like 50' away when he set up for the T-bone. Because I was paying attention, I saw him run up to the stop sign and figured that he was probably going to blow through it. And he did. I was ready for it, and the only damage was to my dried out bias rear tires, which made a neat little blue haze behind me. The truck had absolutely no trouble stopping. Had I not been paying attention, even if I had all the brakes in the world, I would have ran through him. By the same token, take me in my, say, 250' 60-0 truck (being real generous there), and "Bill" in his shiny new 150' 60-0 truck. Bill's in an alternate dimension, following the same car I am. The car is a Corvette, and can stop in 100'. Say I am paying close attention, and following 170' behind him. I see him as soon as he begins to stop, and I'm ready for it and lay down on the brakes. I don't hit him. Bill was 50' behind him, not paying attention. By the time he notices what's going on outside of his phone, the 50' has already been closed. Now, since the resulting distance between where the car will stop and where he will is -50', I think Bill's truck is going to need some attention, along with the Corvette. By the same token, If I'm 200' back from traffic when it does a 150' 80-0, and I'm paying close attention, me and my drums are probably still fine. The guy on his phone tailgating someone with disk brakes probably isn't. A new truck still (generally) takes longer to stop than a car. Now, I realize that in LA I might not be able to follow @ 200' on 405. That's one of the many reasons why I stay away from there. I don't think I could take LA.

Again, not knocking the disk brakes. The dissipate heat better, and heat=friction=brakes. They work better, I won't argue that. But, just because you have them doesn't mean you're safe. And, just because you don't, doesn't mean you aren't. Know your limits, stay within them, and stay alive another day. My two wheat pennies.

I will agree that at the end of the day it all about paying attention and not talking on the phone or otherwise being distracted. I think that you would agree that drums in the rain are not the best and when it come to trying to stop on a dime I would rather have disk than drum, a heads up test from drum to disk anyone will tell you that disk is better, and thats all I am stating. There is nothing wrong with drums but I prefer disk for the above mentioned. that said I think we killed this subject. As far as the blown engine it called being young and dumb = blown engine.

[66Submarine]

Yeah, like I said, disk brakes dissipate heat better. And heat=friction=brakes. They work better, being more fade resistant, I think we can all agree about that. Can't say I have noticed any hangs with drums in the rain, though, I think that's mostly about actually getting water into the drum (like driving through deep water) if I'm not mistaken?

About the blown engines, what actually let go, I mean? Rod through the block, spun bearing, etc. The reason I asked is you said you blew "that" engine up three times, as though it was the same one, which would suggest it wasn't a cat failure. Always like to learn something new.

As to killing the thread; high five, we did it! At least we didn't all end up in a screaming match, hahaha. Back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

[Budman56]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Yeah, like I said, disk brakes dissipate heat better. And heat=friction=brakes. They work better, being more fade resistant, I think we can all agree about that. Can't say I have noticed any hangs with drums in the rain, though, I think that's mostly about actually getting water into the drum (like driving through deep water) if I'm not mistaken?

About the blown engines, what actually let go, I mean? Rod through the block, spun bearing, etc. The reason I asked is you said you blew "that" engine up three times, as though it was the same one, which would suggest it wasn't a cat failure. Always like to learn something new.

As to killing the thread; high five, we did it! At least we didn't all end up in a screaming match, hahaha. Back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL yep!
as for the engine twice it was the rod bearing and once the cat failure motor couldnt be rebuilt, all I was told by the mechanic was that it was caused from over reving the motor for long period of time (like doing as fast as it could drive on the freeway) like I said young and dumb, just didnt know better.

[factorystock]

This "was" a completely stock low mileage nicely optioned original paint '66 GMC 3/4 ton that you rarely ever see. It appears it was never advertised for sale in original form or I would have out bid him. This is what it became once the customizing bug set in. http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/Showca...d-July2000.php Point is, IMO this was an original paint truck low mileage truck that needed nothing, a collectors dream, an historical artifact, now it looks like all the rest. IMO, history was destroyed. If it was never in super clean original condition to begin with, it wouldn't have bothered me. I heard it was later put up for sale. Go figure, why wasn't it for sale before all the transformation? Needless to say, I have no interest in it now.

[19666Trucker]

Wow I thought we help this guy out on how get is 3/4 gmc out of the clouds. Just remember to pay att attention, cause you never know who isn't. Let's slam this gmc.
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[factorystock]

Originally Posted by factorystock

This "was" a completely stock low mileage nicely optioned original paint '66 GMC 3/4 ton that you rarely ever see.

Found the before photo.

[oem4me]

Originally Posted by factorystock

This "was" a completely stock low mileage nicely optioned original paint '66 GMC 3/4 ton that you rarely ever see. It appears it was never advertised for sale in original form or I would have out bid him. This is what it became once the customizing bug set in. http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/Showca...d-July2000.php Point is, IMO this was an original paint truck low mileage truck that needed nothing, a collectors dream, an historical artifact, now it looks like all the rest. IMO, history was destroyed. If it was never in super clean original condition to begin with, it wouldn't have bothered me. I heard it was later put up for sale. Go figure, why wasn't it for sale before all the transformation? Needless to say, I have no interest in it now.

When it's all boiled down, I'm with you Factorystock. That "sinking feeling" set in immediately after reading about painting it a Cadillac paint color.... blah blah bl ...uh! Who cares ?? Like you said, before it was something special. Now, it's been magically (and probably expensively) transformed into something entirely uninteresting. Ho hum. ...NEXT!.

[BigDan3131]

I agree, do what ever you want. I know I will with my 65 GMC 3/4 Ton LB. IMO stock sucks and I have no intention of ever leaving anything I own stock unless it was some ultra rare numbers matching ride. Mine had the 305E with powerglide but the the motor is long gone and the new LS is happy to be in there. The previous owner had just spent 6 bills on the brakes so no drop spindles yet but I will cut the coils up front. Out back it has overload springs and if I pull those and maybe 2 from the regular pack it should drop it about 2-3 inches.

[AndrewJoey]

Originally Posted by 19666Trucker

Wow I thought we help this guy out on how get is 3/4 gmc out of the clouds. Just remember to pay att attention, cause you never know who isn't. Let's slam this gmc.
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That's funny, I think it's cool everyone gets going on different topics because of one post topic. I've got some good ideas and can't wait to get started. It's pretty bad when you're on vacation and all you want to do is get home so you can work on your truck.
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[AndrewJoey]

Originally Posted by BigDan3131

I agree, do what ever you want. I know I will with my 65 GMC 3/4 Ton LB. IMO stock sucks and I have no intention of ever leaving anything I own stock unless it was some ultra rare numbers matching ride. Mine had the 305E with powerglide but the the motor is long gone and the new LS is happy to be in there. The previous owner had just spent 6 bills on the brakes so no drop spindles yet but I will cut the coils up front. Out back it has overload springs and if I pull those and maybe 2 from the regular pack it should drop it about 2-3 inches.

This is exactly what I'm gonna do to start too. Also, new rims and lower profile tires will drop it some as well. After that will see how she looks. I'm gonna save the patina, redo the wood bed, get the 351 purring like a kitten and drive it.
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[AndrewJoey]

Almost done, just cleaned it up, new spark plugs, fresh gas, lowered it some, and put on some different rims and tires. I love how it turned out, just gotta redo the wood in the bed.

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[bmur66]

I love it man. You did good.