78 GMC Pick up 67,000 miles

[Guest Road mister]

Didn't have to go far for this one. Neighbors Dad had this since new, low miles, Straight Six, 3 Speed on the Column, Runs great. I took it for a spin Saturday, I felt like I was in an episode of Maybury RFD, it was pretty cool.

It's getting a shower, shave and a fresh paint job. This handy little vehicle will now see the road on a regular basis.

Edited February 16, 2010 by Road mister (see edit history)

[unimogjohn]

Can hardly wait to see the transformation and the final reveal. I have a 79 Chev sports van that is going to be my next project. I will take my pointers from your refresh.

[Guest Road mister]

John, You have quite a collection, performance to older classics. Curios how a van fits in with your taste? Tow vehicle? Road trips? I have enjoyed a few vans over the years, nothing sporty about them but there easy to drive, roomy and pretty versatile.

[unimogjohn]

The van, I bought it in 1980 with 5K miles. It was a locally done conversion van, and we used it as our family transport and tow vehicle. Still runs like a top, and the only thing we have ever done to it is brakes, tires, couple of batteries, and a water pump; oh an alternator. That is it. Now with 147K miles she is a little battered by rust, but still runs great. Now she is a farm vehicle, hauling hay, feed, lumber, etc. Time now to give her a face lift and continued life. She has a 350 engine with 4 barrel carb, auto., 3/4 ton.

[msmazcol]

Watch your cab mounts before you get carried away. Had one in that era.

Rot was it's middle name. GM had some kind of bad steel source going for sure.

[Larry Schramm]

Was this truck in the years that had a cable attached to the motor mounts to keep them from separating that ended up in a campaign?

[Guest Road mister]

Finally had time to give it a thorough once over, pretty much cosmetic only. It hums down the road just fine.

I am humbled by a few of the in depth ongoing builds, spent hours of interesting reading.

I guess the beauty of this era truck is it's no frills simplicity. It literally is a tractor with fenders and higher gear ratios. You open the hood and that straight six is as low tech as you can get. Driving the three on the tree is not for someone in a hurry. Already used it to pick up some fire wood during this cold snap, it hauled just fine. I have no intention of any mechanical modifications. The cab mounts are still in good shape. It's going to get some new sheet metal here and there and a paint job. That Eastwood product looks perfect for the tarnished yet solid frame. Is it harmful to rubber bushings?

[Guest Road mister]

Testing Photo upload

[Guest Dean_H.]

Congrats on the cool old truck. The GM 250 six was about the most reliable engine ever built. But the three on the tree trans can be a pain, especially when the shift linkage gets some wear. I had one that would get jammed up. It would still be fun to drive one again, just for old times sake. I always liked that engine though, and yours has the electronic distributor. Very nice.

[Guest Road mister]

Thanks for the input and words of encouragement. I have been picking away.

A little sandblasting, some metal, fiberglass, whatever it takes. Do not envision a prize winner but look forward to a slick little driver.

Out for a ride and some gas Saturday and learning what was common place of days gone by, select your gear as you approach the turn and use both hands on the wheel to navigate the manual steering through the curve.

Edited February 18, 2010 by Road mister (see edit history)

[Guest Road mister]

3-10-10, the body work is done. My 24 yr old chipped in, not bad for a back yard job. I used a one-stage urethane paint and was very happy the results. We sandblasted the rims bumpers and hubcaps, they got a primer coat and a finish of semi white. I then broke out the artist brush and by hand filled in the GMC logos. <o></o>

Just a cleaned up daily driver with a new lease on life.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Nice Job!! I am envious.

Ben