Jump to content

My 73 GMC truck


Guest exbcmc

Recommended Posts

post-106605-14314298293_thumb.jpgI'll get a better shot later, was headed to a carnival with the grandkids. Bought 'er new in 73. Only has 88k miles, 350 engine that is tired.....
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought my first new Chevy truck in 1976. HD suspension with a 4 spd. tranny. It was ordered with a stepside box but was delivered with a fleetside box. I wasn't going to take it but eventually decided to take delivery. Traded it later on a '77 chevy stepside. Loved that truck. I'm surprised that you can keep it in gas. Those quadrajunk carbs really sucked the gas!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought my first new Chevy truck in 1976. HD suspension with a 4 spd. tranny. It was ordered with a stepside box but was delivered with a fleetside box. I wasn't going to take it but eventually decided to take delivery. Traded it later on a '77 chevy stepside. Loved that truck. I'm surprised that you can keep it in gas. Those quadrajunk carbs really sucked the gas!

I'm glad you brought that carb up! No matter if I'm going up hill, down hill, pulling that old camper, (in the day) that truck gets 10 mpg. I was going to replace it and the mechanic said, "that's a great carb. People would give you $1,200 for that thing." Now you've brought it up. Can I get better than 10 w/another carb? An Edlebrock? Throw me a bone!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm surprised that you can keep it in gas. Those quadrajunk carbs really sucked the gas!

My father had a '76 GMC like yours with a 454 in it. Three quarter ton camper special. Eight mpg loaded or empty, highway or in town. The engine had problems so he replaced it with a 350. Eight mpg. Zeke

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm surprised that you can keep it in gas. Those quadrajunk carbs really sucked the gas!

My father had a '76 GMC like yours with a 454 in it. Three quarter ton camper special. Eight mpg loaded or empty, highway or in town. The engine had problems so he replaced it with a 350. Eight mpg. Zeke

We bought this truck in the middle of the first oil embargo. We stayed away from the 454 because you could not get dual tanks with the 454. We were told it had something to do with emissions. I remember filling one of the tanks in Lake Tahoe and it cost $20. I thought to myself, "crap, I can't afford this....."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought a new 76 GMC. it was what they called the spirit of 76 model. 76 logo inside of doors, outside blue & white and inside was red ,white, blue. GMC made them only one way for the bicentennial. it also had a wood bed, 350 with 4 barl. at 200 thou. timming chain went. drove it over 350 thou until there were no floors left. that was in N.J.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those middle-'70s GM pickups were some great vehicles. In reality, their fuel economy was no worse than anybody else's trucks back then.

When I went to work at the Chevy dealer in 09/76, I drove a Chevy Scottsdale "Spirit of '76" truck. I thought that was pretty neat, at the time. Chevy had "Sprit of '76" cars, too, all white exteriors and similar white w/multi-color accented trim. It was a 6 cyl 3-speed with 3.73 gears and P235/75R-15 whitewalls on factory 15x8 Rallye Wheels, with the 6100lb GVW (which meant "regular fuel" rather than "unleaded fuel"). It got about 14mpg, consistently, in mixed freeway/city driving. It was replaced by another "heavy half" in '78. That one was a 350 4bbl automatic Silveado. The second tank of fuel, it got about 12mpg and went down to about 11.5mpg, no matter how I drove it, even after a tuneup at the recommended mileage.

Not sure about only the 350s having dual tanks back then, but the factory dual tank models had an evaporative emissions canister for EACH tank, so adding another tank was something that we let somebody else do. Usually, what we did add was an "L-tank" which slid under the added tool box in the bed.

Our dealer was good about ordering their pickups "to work", which meant 3.42 gears for the 1/2 tons with 350s & automatics, 3.73 gears for the 3/4 tons, with C30 350s getting 4.56s and 454s getting 4.10 gears. Plus heavier rear springs and everything else it might need to reliably be a "war horse". Gas mileage was something that was tolerated, it seemed. But then we had lots of ranch customers back then that were also loyal repeat customers. Other dealerships didn't spec their vehicles in this way, back then.

For about 11 years, my "office" was the front seat of a Chevy pickup, starting with that '76 Scottsdale and then Silverados after that. They were "good horses" to have under you . . . even the two 5.7L Diesels I drove.

Modern pickups might have mega-torque diesels in them and all of that, but those older GM pickups (especially the heavier-duty ones) had a tough feel about them that the newer trucks just don't have. Take care of that 'ol JimmyC and give it the respect it's earned. Still a GREAT truck!

Enjoy!

NTX5467

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I ordered my new '76 Chevy ,I really wanted a new "Sport truck" that Chevy came out with but I deemed it too expensive. I think they ran more than $6,000, pretty steep for a 20 year old making $1.75 / hr. I saw many of them lined up at local dealerships and thought they were really snazzy trucks. The truck I did purchase was an excellent truck aside from the lousy gas mileage, but gas was only about .40-.45 per gallon if I remember correctly. I had it loaded with about 8 square of waste roofing material that didn't even bend the springs on that HD suspension and I was passing cars in high gear going up one of our long hills here in PA. I think it listed for around $5,300 and with my trade in of a '72 Nova I paid about $3,500. Remember the fads then ( at least in our area) with putting curtains on the rear window and mounting colored "nookie lights" under the dash! Trucks became a big craze around that time!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The GMC my father bought had been forced on the local dealer. It sat on his lot for almost a year before we bought it. The sticker price was $6000.00. At the time the T.V. series "The Six Million Dollar Man" was popular. The nickname of the pickup was six million dollar truck. Zeke

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The GMC my father bought had been forced on the local dealer. It sat on his lot for almost a year before we bought it. The sticker price was $6000.00. At the time the T.V. series "The Six Million Dollar Man" was popular. The nickname of the pickup was six million dollar truck. Zeke

In May of '73 we paid $5k for the truck. The roll up windows are arm blasters....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 1973-1987 (and through 1991 with the crew cabs and Suburbans) were (and are) fantastic trucks. The mileage, while not unusual among trucks of that size and vintage, has more to do with the weight and the barn-door aerodynamics than with the drivetrain. Of course, the mid-1970s bandaid emissions equipment (slapped on quickly to meet Federal requirements rather than integrated into the system as today), coupled with the pre-computer fuel controls, didn't help either. Often the lack of availability of certain options was related to "emissions" only because the manufacturer didn't want to spend the money to certify an unusual combination. The Federal certification process is model and equipment specific and isn't cheap or quick.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I drove a 454 77 Chevy crew cab a couple of hundred thousand miles as my shop/work truck.

It got about 8 mpg all of the time.

A gas fill on both sides was a bear. I would fill one tank and have to move the truck (often had a trailer) to fill the other, sometimes to a different station. Usually my credit card would not work at a second station until I made a call to the phone number on the back. This was before pay at the pump.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a beautiful 1973 C20 Suburban with the 454. I could squeeze 10 mpg on the highway when empty. Towing a 25' enclosed trailer with two light brass cars in it through hilly terrain with the AC on got me 3 mpg. You almost couldn't pour the gas out on the road that fast.

Now I have a 1999 C1500 Suburban with a 6.5 diesel and I get 22mpg empty and 14 mpg towing. More power than the 454 too. Progress!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In May of '73 we paid $5k for the truck. The roll up windows are arm blasters....

That and the auxiliary fuel tank knob! Our knob was soon replaced with a pair of vice grips. God help you if you used the vice grips for something else and forgot to put them back in the cab of the truck.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I drove a 454 77 Chevy crew cab a couple of hundred thousand miles as my shop/work truck.

It got about 8 mpg all of the time.

A gas fill on both sides was a bear. I would fill one tank and have to move the truck (often had a trailer) to fill the other, sometimes to a different station. Usually my credit card would not work at a second station until I made a call to the phone number on the back. This was before pay at the pump.

I'll run one tank empty, fill it and then run off the opposite side. It is a pain.

What I'm having trouble with lately is with the new pumps in Calif, gas will leak all down the side of the truck. The rubber does NOT seal tight. At times it'll take me 10 min to fill a tank, nearly one drip at a time.....I just had the vent hoses changed and am hoping this helps.....also, the hoses that run from the tank switch under the truck go bad about every 5 years. They get soft and when the fuel pump tries to suck gas from the tank, the hose will collapse and the engine dies. Lots of fun.....just has those replaced and the guy used fuel inj hose? He says it is better quality and will last longer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a 77 4X4 with a 400 and automatic. I usually got 12 mpgs but did get 16 mpgs a few times if I drove it just right. I also had problems with those gas pumps with those crazy emission nozzles. I had to take the nozzle and stick it upside-down in order to fill the one and only tank the truck had.

I also wished I still had this truck. It still ran and drove great with 90K on it when I sold it a few years ago.

IMG_4606.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a 77 4X4 with a 400 and automatic. I usually got 12 mpgs but did get 16 mpgs a few times if I drove it just right. I also had problems with those gas pumps with those crazy emission nozzles. I had to take the nozzle and stick it upside-down in order to fill the one and only tank the truck had.

I also wished I still had this truck. It still ran and drove great with 90K on it when I sold it a few years ago.

IMG_4606.jpg

I"m loving all these replies. Did think '73 and up were very popular...That's my trick too, hold the nozzle upside down. At times I'll leave the island with a gal on the ground!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought this 1978 Chevy K15 heavy half ton, 350 with full time four wheel drive used in 1993. I put it to work till I sold it in 2005. Never checked the mileage (was afraid to) but when one of the dually tanks rusted out I just plugged the line and never replaced it. Since it was used only for plowing it gave me a break during the night having to fill up the single tank and get a coffee.

She worked hard and more than paid for itself over that time but this kind of work isn't good on the snow plow blade and frame and those GM bodies which usually rust out fast up here.

post-36036-143142985808_thumb.jpg

Edited by dei (see edit history)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought this 1978 Chevy K15 heavy half ton, 350 with full time four wheel drive used in 1993. I put it to work till I sold it in 2005. Never checked the mileage (was afraid to) but when one of the dually tanks rusted out I just plugged the line and never replaced it. Since it was used only for plowing it gave me a break during the night having to fill up the single tank and get a coffee.

She worked hard and more than paid for itself over that time but this kind of work isn't good on the snow plow blade and frame and those GM bodies which usually rust out fast up here.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]296558[/ATTACH]

I repainted ours about 5 yrs ago. The white paint looked orange.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of our salesman started buying c10 Suburbans. Normal 350 4bbl, 3.42 rear axle, and such. For one, he sent it to a "tune up shop" and had the carb/ignition recalibrated and also added headers to it. He loaned it to our parts manager for a quick western trip. With all of that work, on the "quick trip", it got about 15mpg average.

One neat thing, after the factory stereos got FOUR speakers in the 4dr trucks, is that the rear speakers in the Suburbans were in the rear roof pillars, facing forward (as the stations also were, from '77 and up). It sounded pretty neat, even a little "delay" with all of that space back there.

NTX5467

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...