Rockdrillers '63 K1000

[A.T. RockDriller]

I'll try to assemble this in some sort of organized fashion....but while I was working on my '59 3800 (soon to be a 3804).....I ran into a deal on a daily 'driver'....and got a little distracted....
I'll throw in some pic's in chronological order with some brief comments.
Any questions, just ask.

So....I was workin' on the '59 that I pulled out of the black-berries (for a hundred bucks)

[A.T. RockDriller]

And thats when I ran into the '63.
I'm not quite up-to-speed on adding captions.....but I'll figure this out.

Anyway, this is how she looked once I bolted on the swampers.....No clearance problems, and as it was ordered from the dealer, except for a few goofy add-ons.....like the AM mirrors.
I'll copy the history posted on another thread...:

Thanks for the welcome....
I am the second owner....actually the third titled owner.
The history was easy to get....as I bought this a month ago from the original fella's son-in-law.
The story goes like this...or so I was told.
In '63 this guy, who worked for a Government entity and was in charge of a communication tower in the state of Nevada, ordered this truck.... basically as it is today.He drove it up the hill in the morning....manned the tower all day and then drove down the hill in the pm. Every few years he was sent a request form for a new rig, but turned down the offer.....in favor of this one.
In '84 he retired and bought it from the Motor Pool....drove it for a couple of years and then passed away. His wife kept it in the barn 'till a year ago when his son-in-law got his hands on it....Thank God he lost interest before he did anything silly to it.
I'll post more recent pic's pretty quick, as I spent the last week putting Hydra-Boost and a Dana 44 & 12 bolt under it. I know its a shame to alter something so purely stock, but this rig will never see a show.....and I'll drive it daily......so it also got some seats......just to sooth my old bones.
BTW: It drives like a new pick-up.....and rides pretty nice too.

[Clyde65]

I like it, it is odd, but way cool. Love the grill guard too!

[A.T. RockDriller]

So I spent the last month taking care of a few upgrades.
Dana 44 w/big brakes, HD Sway Bar....4:11 gears
Corp 12 Bolt Posi, Strapped w/4:11's
O-Hauled the SM420
Hydro-Boost (see pic. of pump bracket engineering)
Saginaw P-Steering Box (see pic)
100 amp 1-wire Delco Alt.
Aircraft Landing Lights (off-road)
Relay Box with Relays for the Off-Road's & Back-up Lights....so far
Tahoe Buckets
Dash Mods
Split Master Cyl....only used 1/2....had to have something to power my clutch, so until I find the right clutch master cyl., with the right bore & stroke....I had to get crafty. These are the last pic's.....no laughing, now.
BTW, Clyde65....The Grill Guard is a GMC product.
I'll take a picture of the I.D. tag, complete with GMC logo and part#

[aerotruk63]

From the 1964 GMC Custom Accessories book

If your interested in seeing more accessories:
https://picasaweb.google.com/normanm...eat=directlink

[61_FL_Apache]

I like the half master cyl. Very creative!! The rest of the engineering looks great too!!

[A.T. RockDriller]

Now that is really neat.
I love the whole book.....That explains the auxiliary brake unit that was on the inner-fender.
I love it.
Thanks for the props.

[creep]

Very cool! You can put a Holley 500 on the 305 V6 and get a little more power and tunability out of it. Very easy to do.

[A.T. RockDriller]

So I never have really liked these wagon-wheel white spoked wheels, but these swampers were already mounted & balanced on them....

So I picked up some older 3/4 ton GMC hub-caps and with a little creative engineering, I got them painted up and mounted.

Old pic's first.

[A.T. RockDriller]

Forgot the pic's

[Clyde65]

Those look much better IMO A.T.!

[CVA59]

Only thing i can say is:

1. I am very jealous, LOL. J/K
2. You are one lucky guy to find that 59 and the added bonus of the 63.

Great score on both trucks!

[likaroc13]

very cool & different truck...and i really like what you did with the wheels...looks much better!

[A.T. RockDriller]

Thanks Fellas'

[LeftCoast32]

I am really liking that utility bed!! Your 63 is a great truck!!

What is the wheelbase on the 63, looks like a short bed?

Who made the utility bed?

[NWGreaser]

Looking better every time I see it.

[A.T. RockDriller]

Thanks, Grease

[Dinos63]

Very cool very cool!!! Dig the stocker wheel look and that grille guard sic!!!

[badblu97]

Those hub caps look waaaayyyyy better!

[lakeroadster]

Way cool truck Rockdriller.

Just when we thought we had seen every possible combination of these trucks you introduce us to this!

[A.T. RockDriller]

The compliments mean everything coming from such high octane truck fans like the folks on this site...

Leftcoast..
You are sure right....Its 115"..... ordered as a cab & chassis.
The box is built by "Powers"...and it looks like it was tailored specially for the mid '60's GM body style . Check out the wheel opening lines.... Compared to the front fender opening, it looks like it was made for the truck.

I love this mother.

Also....Living on the west end of the Columbia River Gorge, we get a lot of wet, cold......icy weather and I've always had a nice set of Pro-Tech boxes on my trucks, because that's the only brand that sheds water & keeps your gear dry....at least as far as I know.
This Powers box is bone dry. Every tool, all of my paper stuff.....coats you name it............it's dry. Sadly, It hasn't been parked under cover since I've owned it... The way that they fabbed the doors on this thing is pretty neat. No rubber or weather stripping.

I gotta' get paint on this thing. It sure does deserve some fresh color.
It'll happen......Im thinkin'..............

[LeftCoast32]

That Utility Body is too cool, it flows with the truck perfectly!! My 1966 4X4 had a Utility Body on it from the California Park Service. The owner before me pulled it off and sold it along with the PTO, Generator, Welder and Winches. I wish I could have purchased it before he sold everything off.

I would like to find a long bed version of the same one you have. Mine was a Special Order K15 Cab and Chassis for the California Park Service. When I ran the numbers it appears that 80 trucks were made like mine and all were special order builds.

Check this old advertisement out for the Utility Body!

http://www.coachbuilt.com/bui/m/mcca...abe_powers.htm

http://www.coachbuilt.com/

[Corts60]

Great truck! Isn't it a good feeling to have all that history behind it? And I agree with everyone above, the hub caps are way better!! How did you make them fit the wagon wheels?

[RockTonka]

Super cool truck...one on my favorites on this site! I dig the balance, just looks right.

[A.T. RockDriller]

Tonka', Cort & LeftCoast..

I sat here for the last hour readin' the 'Powers" History & going over some of the attached sites. What a cool history lesson.
All of these rigs that we love so much, from the Cameos & Short/Fleet's to Tonka's Task-Master were all basically glorified "tool-boxes" or buckboards.
Some folks' tools are just cleaner than others.

I can't thank you enough for the info LC...I actually know the guys at ABC (American Body Company) here in Portland. They haven't seen the '63 yet.
I'll enjoy showing it to them.
I'll take a few minutes later to shoot some pic's of the hubcap ordeal....
The rears were simple....as you might figure...but the front's included some sort of magic.....Ya' know..like when you need that one real special piece of hardware to make it all come together, and then you find TWO of them on the top shelf in the shop.

Late.