'66 GMC BBW w/351E and Factory Buckets

[oklahomaduner]

I'd have to say leave it blue!! I got a chance to peek through some of your pics, definitely looks sweet!! And I'm glad to see another local GMC guy!
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[oklahomaduner]

Well we decided to rebuild the Rochester carb we had. Dropped it off to a friend of my fathers Monday and picked it up today. He told us that is was real rough inside, but he managed to get it all cleaned up for us! My girlfriend and I put it on this evening and buttoned it all up. (In the process of showing her how to work on real trucks because for some reason she likes f@rd)
So tomorrow should consist of replacing plugs, and seeing if she'll fire up if this snow doesn't interfere!!
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[TwoFiftyShifter]

I bought a 63 chevy grille for my GMC... I also have a chevy hood and tailgate, just becuase that was all i could find. I feel guilty now looking at your purebred GMC's guys

[oklahomaduner]

It's ALIVE

I replaced the plugs and a bad part of rubber fuel line I missed the first time, primed the fuel lines, and after a few backfires through the carb we had her running, revving, and leaking exhaust! It's sounds mean... Yesterday I threw on new exhaust gaskets and plugged a random drilled hole in the exhaust manifold, fixed a hole in the rad. hose and found a few other little things that need replacing. Today I went back and noticed antifreeze around the thermostat housing so I picked up a new gasket and thermostat that I'll put on tomorrow and see if there is anything else I need

[oklahomaduner]

Replaced the radiator hoses, new battery, new cables, all new fluids and I have her running smooth. I got to the point where I was about to take it off the trailer and she wouldn't move. after 15 mins of being stumped, my grlfriend says "Did you put transmission fluid in it" Guess who's never living that one down...

The truck runs, drives, stops, and steers amazingly!!

Unloading it

Driving it around

Quick run down the street

[Palf70Step]

That is so nice. Truck sounds really good.

[oklahomaduner]

Well I have been tinkering with the truck for awhile, chasing parts, and cleaning it up. I was able to bring it home and drive it short distances. I picked up a buffing wheel and some compound to try buffing up the paint, it worked pretty good to give it a little gloss and it cleaned up the rust stains.

I've also spent some time looking at wheel/tire options to get it a little more road worthy. We have looked at a few different styles but we kept coming back to the rally's. So my dad managed to track down 2 with 6 rings and 4 caps. He got them cleaned up and painted. And we also stumbled across a set of 235/75-15

[oklahomaduner]

more pics

[Berean]

That's a good looking truck. Post a wide shot with the new wheels/tires.

[Palf70Step]

That is looking real good!!

[oklahomaduner]

Thanks guys! Berean, I Haven't gotten the rear wheels yet but once I do I will definitely post up a pic!

[RockTonka]

Originally Posted by Berean

That's a good looking truck. Post a wide shot with the new wheels/tires.

Best side shots we have at the moment, looking for the correct 6-lug rearend to replace the previously swapped in 5-lug...and a couple more rally's to get everything right, and we will be that much closer to being roadworthy.
Thinking about dropping the front and back down a bit, but aren't sure if we want to go that direction.

[RockTonka]

The first pic in my son's earlier post (#57) shows a 275/60r-15 that originally came on one of the two 15x8 rally's we found. We kinda liked that size (especially if we are dropping it a bit), but that tire was trash.
In our searching for "not new tires", we found a set of nearly new 235/75r-15 BFG all-terrains on CL for less than the cost of one new tire...while not our first choice, these were too nice of condition to pass up.

[oklahomaduner]

I've been slowly working through this truck... very slowly. I drove it around a couple days and it started starving for fuel real bad due to a clogged filter. So we decided to tear into it and pull the seat, carpet, and tank. While it was out I cleaned all the old gunk off the floor, got all the wiring in order so everything works now, and just cover the basics.

We had decided to replace the tank with a new one since ours was pretty bad. We bought the new tank and put it in only to find out that it wasnt the same... we had the 20.5 gallon tank from the factory. So we changed our minds and went back to the stock one. My father and I aren't too fond of coating the inside of it and seeing how this truck is on a tight budget we wanted to try cheap methods of cleaning it out... So after talking with an old-timer we got the idea to dump a couple gallons of orange juice into the tank and let it eat away at the rust. It actually worked decently, but not good enough. So next we used muriatic acid, which worked really well. So now the tank is back in and the interior is done for now until I can afford upholstery and carpet.

On to the engine, we decided to convert it over to HEI using a 1978 Buick 231 distributor with the proper adapters, all the parts are sitting in the garage almost ready to drop in. (the dist. shaft needs a little mod) Also we have a two barrel holley 500 on its way in to help out a little more.

We did finally manage to chase down 3 more rally's which I am in the process of painting.

So the last big item on our mind is a new 6-lug rear end with 3.42's and she should be running good!

[chevyrestoguy]

What a COOL build! I love to see success stories of old abandoned trucks being resurrected. There's lots of them out there capable of running, and in this economy, they can be had for a song. What I like about this truck is the fact that it's a GMC with lots of really cool, rare options. That's a very unique truck.

You and your Dad should be knighted for your great deeds in bringing old soldiers back to life!! Keep it up!!!!

[Str8axle]

Great score!! You're gonna like those bucket seats. I had a '67 CST with those in it. I kinda regret getting rid of them.
Anyways, good luck with your build and congrats!

Ray

[65GMCFirstride]

wow thats in greaat shape is that chrome grill orianal

[ChiefRocka]

Father/Son team at its best !! Love the actions shot, and the GREAT score on an awesome truck !!

Good Job Man ... keep it coming !!

[tapeworm]

Love the patina! Maybe fix the nasty spots (like the bottom of the one fender) but leave as is & enjoy!

[Joemomma1]

Very nice. If you still have the seats out can you please post up some pics of them?
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[Real_McCoy]

Sweet ride! Good job in persuing this one.

[factorystock]

Theres an original tu tone '66 GMC parts truck (no title) being sold on ebay #320680555803. Has the rare bucket seat option also. Looks like alot good parts. Anyone in Colorado?

[RockTonka]

Thanks for the encouragement. My boy and I are struggling with convincing Mom that this really is a cool truck and that all the leaks will eventually be fixed. We hope to have the carb and hei in within the next week or two and be able to use it while we tinker with it.
Joemomma1, I thought I had more pics of the seats out, but could only find these...

[Joemomma1]

Thanks for the pics, thinking about using the style of those seats. I'm partial to a sort of stock appearance.
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[jbclassix]

Way cool truck for your collection!