Projects New GMC Shop Truck Project

Damn, wish I would have known about the $3 seatbelts when I ordered those headers, I maybe could have combined shipping. Still though, that's cheap. I gotta quit looking on Holley's website.

 

Got the seat cover. Nicer than expected.
all most too nice for the kids beater.
Thick vinyl, padded and piped.
Sewn detail. Not glued.

 

Nice! I had my carpet show up today, but haven’t taken it out of the box yet. Now I know what to expect for the seat cover.

 

Got a few more parts today...seat cover like Anthony’s, stainless bed wood bolts, panel above windshield, rear bumper, and wrong windshield weatherstrip (didn’t notice it was “deluxe” which I guess means with stainless that I don’t have or want.) Anyone need that weatherstrip? At least I didn’t pay much for it.

 

Jeff, inquiring minds want to know. Holleys website????

 

Here you go Lee although lots of parts are out of stock I believe.

https://www.holley.com/products/clearance_parts/

 

Thanks Jeff. Not much for small block Fords but a lot of other neat stuff.

Lee

 

Looks like a good truck Jeff

 

Couple more updates I suppose getting me closer to some progress. My son's 63 C10 left last night so we now have some more room in the shop (after we get a couple of the late model kid's vehicles fixed). And, as part of the 63 leaving, I had worked a deal with my buddy that bought it back to keep at least the tires for this pickup. He figured they would be old and junk by the time that pickup was done, so we figured I might as well start putting miles on them sooner. I wasn't sure about the wheels since they were 5-lug on my son's truck after converting it to disk brakes. Anyway, when I talked to my buddy yesterday morning and he said he was coming to get the truck last night, he asked about the wheels and tires. I told him I would likely be interested in the wheels as well, but would have to convert my pu over to 5-lug to use them. He just happened to be headed to the s**** iron place and had thrown in a set of spindles, calipers, rotors, and tie rod ends off of a 71 C10 that he didn't figure he would ever use. So...score...he just dropped them off to me instead. So, I at least have the parts (I think) that can convert the front over to 5-lug if that is the direction I decide to go. Just need to wrap my head around an old worn out looking lowered GMC with new shiny chrome OE wheels... We will see.

These are the wheels and tires. I think I would want to flip the tires around and run black walls at minimum even if I do decide to run the chrome wheels. Thoughts?

 

I like the skinny whites but it depends on the overall stance and look of the truck.

 

I was thinking about you and the other guys that daily drive their stuff today Jeff, cause I drove the box to work today, and by 11am I had already found 3 excuses to go out for a ride.... Lol. Dunno how you guys do it. My boss finally said "you wanna just work a half day so you can go cruise?"

 

Lol...I appreciate the thought Matt, but I have to fess up that I haven't been driving anything old daily since I sold my Thunderbird a while back. Although, I would love to get back to that. And, yea, hard to focus on work some days when the weather is perfect and it would be more fun to just go drive the two lanes somewhere.

 

Trying to be lazy and not have to go find a 71-72 C10 rear axle that I could swap (and would likely need completely gone through), I just did a quick drawing to evaluate re-drilling my rear axles from 6 x 5.5 pattern to 5 x 5. Appears that can't really work unless I wanted to weld up the existing holes since there is no way to rotate it to not have some interference of hole patterns. Anyway, I have full access to some amazing welders and machinists as well as the equipment to do that. So...am I crazy to even consider? I'm just thinking through working with what I have instead of trying to get too far off the rails looking for stuff that could quickly make this project bigger than needed. Since this rearend is very low miles for as old as it is, I suspect the bearings, gears, etc. are all good.

Oh, and I know they make some conversion axles, but not for the 60-63's as best as I can tell.

 

Those Pinner whites on the chromes will look good on the new truck.

 

If I had access to the equipment, I’d weld up the axle flanges and re-drill them in a heartbeat. Very cool project!

 

Hey Jeff, our guy in Detroit sent me this this morning.... U can see my reply, lol.

 

LOL! Yea, my 56 is similar. I feel bad for some of the parking lots I park it in.

Also, if I can get Silas’s pickup out of the shop from lowering it and a clutch change, etc., the GMC should go in the shop real soon.

 

I think I would have left the truck and loaded Pinky instead.

 

Still going to get it sometime.

 

I vote for whitewalls out. I think you can use a rearend all the way up to 87 in those trucks, can't you? Doesn't the GMC have leaf springs in the rear like a square body, or am I remembering that wrong?

 

Well, I thought the same about GMC’s having leaf springs...but this one and the 62 I recently had were both coil. So, I’ll probably either find a 71/72 Chevy or just weld up and drill new holes in these axles.

 

Finally ended up high enough in priority to get an inside spot. Maybe I can start on it soon now. I do need to do a few things on the black car on the lift to send it down the road first though.

 

How does the saying go? "I'd drive that".

 

Hey! You have my bike.

Ben

 

Can’t believe it has already been in the shop for almost 6 months and I still haven’t touched it.

No kidding Ben? That was my grandpas bike that he bought in 1972. I also have the matching woman’s bike that was my grandmas. They are pretty mint still. My oldest son and I recently did some clean up on that red one putting new tires on it and just polishing it up.

 

Oh, and my trip down under that I am heading home from soon has given me some motivation to get to work on this and the Merc. But, first, I still need to finish rebuilding some brakes on a 67 C10 as well as get the brakes working on that black car on the lift before I can do anything on either of them.

 

With the equipment you have access to I'd weld and redrill. Oh and narrow whites

 

So…this project took a turn. I recently had the opportunity to buy back a car that I built more than 30 years ago to be my younger brothers first car. So, I did... And, now I am narrowing down the projects in the shop at least that I call mine so I can stay focused on my Fairlane, my 40 Merc and the car I just bought back that needs a few things. As we all know, Christmas was just the other day and I have been trying to get my oldest son back into something old so he can go play cars with me and my friends. And, he mentioned not long ago that he would be interested in buying this pickup. So, as it turns out, it became his Christmas present. He is excited and the work should start as soon as that orange truck on the lift leaves maybe this weekend. Step one…stance adjustment coming soon.

 

Had to get all my spare Merc parts out of the bed tonight so he can get started.