What to do with my 62... build?

[TommyDuncan]

My grandpa bought a 65 3/4 ton Chevy longbed new that was passed between his 3 boys and was eventually going to be my first car but never happened. I really like the earlier trucks also so I decided a knee knocker would be a good mix of the two.

I got a 63 long step. I wanted to convert it to a shortbed, disc brakes, blah blah blah...
It turned out to be kind of a turd.

The cab is rusty AND it has an ugly 80's sunroof...
The bed is kinda floppy and I'm sure there are braces and supports missing.
NO BUENO!

So I decide to find something a little nicer and more complete to start with and remember a GMC that I saw in a yard while working (I work for a utility company so I've been in every yard in town at some point). The hood has been up for the 6 years I've been doing this but it didn't look so bad.

The really cool older guy that owned it said that a barrel nut passed through one of the cylinders and it has been sitting ever since. We agreed to a price and he said I could take my time since I was moving blah blah blah...

Meanwhile I find two parts motors 300 miles away and snap them up, thinking at the time I was gonna need them.

So I go to pay the guy for the truck and work out the details and he tells me he got it started! I was kinda upset thinking he is doing damage but he said he got the piece of allthread out. This whole time I thought it was a nut in the motor.
So the next day before the tow truck got there we had it running and driving. It was under a large covered parking/deck(really nice house!) and I didn't realize just how dirty it was until it was in the sunlight and I couldn't see out of the windshield.

I have since cleaned the hell out of it(still lots to do!), run about ten gallons of fuel through it and replaced the fuel pump, water pump, the water neck, and all the fluids that weren't already missing.


I took her to the nearby Lowe's on these scary old 16.5"s to show a fellow GMC owner that bought a few parts from me

The power brakes and steering work great! These are the best feeling 4wheel drums I have ever seen. Stops better than my Jeep with 35"s

So as of now I don't think I wanna cut this one up...
The paint isn't as nice as it looks but everything else is pretty dang nice!



There might be new chapters to this story. The original owner of the blue 63 wants me to get it running and sell it back to him...it was his grandpa's truck...

...AND there is a 66 GMC half ton longbed sitting on his property!
I just have to decide what I wanna do and stick with it or I will have parts everywhere and a big mess on my hands.

We have recieved about a years worth of rain in the last month or so but it is sunny today so I will get more pics later.

[TommyDuncan]

When I first looked at the truck the drivers side cab corner looked rusty... or something?
It turns out it was just oil. The previous owner stored it in that corner.
The other corner had a thick layer of... I dunno what!

The old cast iron Hydramatic works great but the neutral safety switch has issues.
The interior is pretty clean! I haven't vacuumed the seat yet. Just wiped up an inch of dust and cleaned the windows some.
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[TJ's Chevy]

Great find!!!! Wish I had one that nice! Burn those ol tires till they blow! LOL!!

[TommyDuncan]

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Great find!!!! Wish I had one that nice! Burn those ol tires till they blow! LOL!!

Thanks TJ. I love those straight 6s like you are working on. If my 63 Nova convertible still had the 6 in it I would just leave it.

If that ol' V6 will roast the 16.5"s then that is exactly what I will do after I get some late model 16" Econoline wheels for it. They don't have the nubs for the later style caps but they don't come with the clips either so I will need to drill them when they get here.
The caps aren't in horrible condition but they could be better.
That spare tire might be older than me.
The caps have a steel ring built into them that is in the way of trying to straighten them.
It seems like the edges could be pryed up all the way around to remove the ring but I'm not sure if I should try it? Maybe I will buy a really bad one for cheap so I can experiment?

I noticed that this truck rides pretty good for a 3/4 ton up to a point. Then it rides like a dump truck. I looked underneath and suddenly saw why...
Quarter elliptic helper springs. This truck did have a camper on it most of it's life. It rode on the coil springs until the suspension compressed about 2 inches, then the rubber pad on the end of the helper touched down and things got firm fast!
Next I need to dig into my box of shocks and see if I have anything that will work on the back of this beast. I also have some stock TJ springs, JK springs, and some half ton Chevy springs to experiment with to make it sit a little lower. I also need to figure out how to lower the torsion bar front also. I don't want it in the weeds, just a little closer to the ground and a little less of a rake. It's days of working hard are over. It will tow my Nova occasionally and possibly flat tow the Jeep and a couple dirt bikes but no more campers and boats.
Speaking of lighter duty, the Hydromatic is a pretty tough tranny but it doesn't have a torque converter so the rear end gears are pretty deep.
Since it's a good ol' DANA 60 my best friend and diff building genius might have something laying around for me in the 3 and a half to 1 range. He builds diffs, trans, and V drives for high end off road racing and the Ultra 4 buggies for King of the Hammers and his shop is like a hospital.. so I gotta get it clean clean clean if I'm bringing it over there!
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[TommyDuncan]

The engine is pretty ratty. I was gonna chuck it and put this body on the 63 Chevy chassis until I read up on the V6s. Truxton's rebuild thread sealed the deal...

As I mentioned I bought two spare motors. One has a rod knock but runs. The other was going to replace it but would lock up before it made a full rotation. They came with lots of parts and I paid a little extra for a 500cfm Holley. They even threw in another one in the deal as well as a stocker and an alternator to replace the generator.
I removed the valve covers and rockers from the locked up motor and gave the valve stems a moderate smack with a rubber mallet one by one. The very last one was stuck! I got a little more aggressive with it and it is free. The motor spins through now...
My plan is to put the worst of everything on the motor in the truck so I can still drive it while I scrub and blast and prime and paint the best parts and collect gaskets, seals, etc...
I already have an adapter for the 500 and a rebuild kit.
Hopefully I can build one good motor from the two spares, sell it, and put the rest away for spares since parts are getting hard to find.
SO... my loose plans are to get the 16" wheels so I have some choice of tires, mild lowering, cleaning etc.
When that is accomplished I will know if the ride and performance is acceptable as it is. If not I will get the 1/2 ton frame. Paint, detail, lower, disc brakes, etc.
If I decide I don't want the V6 Hydramatic set up I will probably try to sell the complete chassis to a purist and come up with something other than a SBC for it.
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[TommyDuncan]

They say beauty is only skin deep...

...and I took a look at some of this trucks insides today

I haven't used the fuel tank because it didn't smell very good. I pulled the fuel filter that is mounted under the cab and it looked like it had beads of tree sap on it. The little bit of liquid that spilled out went right down my arm and into my arm pit and burned like carb dip.
So I pulled the tank. I thought it was empty for some reason but once I got it loose I realized it was nearly full of the nasty burning juice. I got it emptied and dumped out a bunch of rust. So I sprayed it out and got a ton more. I would hit it with a rubber mallet and you could hear the crud fall to the bottom.
After about an hour of this I decided I needed a new tank...
...then I pulled the sending unit that the previous owner said didn't work.
I think I found the problem...
Aye Carumba

Luckily for me Tuckers is about 5 miles away and had the tank and sending unit in stock. I got a new fill hose while I was there.



A quick stop at NAPA for a new filter and some fuel line and I was set!
I put 8 or so gallons in it, drove it about 5 miles, and let it idle for about 20 minutes and it says about 1/4 tank...
...that's about right with a V6!
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[Alan's Classic]

Great score I love it!!

[TommyDuncan]

The old Stromberg was giving me problems lately...
I have a Holley 500 that came with my spare motors. I didn't want to put it on until I had the fuel system clean because I am very familiar with Holley needle and seats. Well yesterday I installed the new tank.
So I threw it on( no pics because I started just before dark and wanted to get it done.)
I didn't adjust it, clean it... nothing!
It was so recently used when I flipped the throttle open to take a looksy the accelerator pump squirted...good enough for me!...


WOW! It really woke this girl up! It runs a lot better and I doubt I'm even getting full throttle.
I went to show my daughter and let her drive it(I shoulda taken some pics) and she really likes it!
Then I left and the float stuck and I got stranded right in the middle of Water Street in Henderson. Coincidentally there is a huge car show there at the end of the month so it might be parked there again soon. Maybe I should get a rebuild kit?
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[markeb01]

What an incredible truck. Even including the side, door, and windshield trim. In photos the chrome front end looks like new. The chrome versions are so hard to find. Even vintage seat belt buckles. I think that gas tank sending unit might be the worst one I've ever seen. That tank must have seen a rough life!

Looking forward to your future updates. Good luck!

[TommyDuncan]

Originally Posted by markeb01

What an incredible truck. Even including the side, door, and windshield trim. In photos the chrome front end looks like new. The chrome versions are so hard to find. Even vintage seat belt buckles. I think that gas tank sending unit might be the worst one I've ever seen. That tank must have seen a rough life!

Looking forward to your future updates. Good luck!

The chrome isn't perfect in person but I looked at a rechromed one recently and it was $1200 and not impressive. Maybe I shouldn't say this but I paid less than that for the truck...
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[TommyDuncan]

This truck sits too high in the back and has too much rebound, even though I removed the huge quarter elliptic helpers.

So the next step was to remove the other helper springs... the ones that are wrapped around the shock absorbers.
I have no idea how old these are but they still work!

I have a set of stock TJ springs but I didn't want it that low or soft.
I also have a set of like new rear springs from a newer model Wrangler Rubicon 4 door. These springs provide about 1 1/2 inches of lift on a non-Rubicon 2 door. I know because I swapped them for a friend last weekend. I also have his 2 door stockers.
Stock TJ, 4 door Rubicon, stock springs

The pig tail end of the 4 door springs are too tight and the other too loose. That is easily remedied with a torch but for now I wanna see how they work...

BEFORE

AFTER
Roughly 3 inches
I drove it around the block with stock springs and no shocks and with the Jeep springs and no shocks. It was much softer and still didn't bottom too easily, which is ideal.
Next I dug into my box of shocks...
I used to have so many I had to wire them compressed, but not any more...
The KYBs looked about the right length. They might be a little shorter than ideal but I know they are pretty firm so they should be fine.
Please excuse the crappy night pic...

Next is the front end. I doubt I'm going 3 in the front. It sits close to level now so maybe 1-1½"?
Hopefully tomorrow...
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[notsolo]

Really Great truck, drive it enjoy it, you will find a short bed. These trucks tend to attract there own kind.

[TommyDuncan]

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[tjabv2]

Very nice truck! I live on the east coast and can't find anything near that condition. That is unless I want to pay a fortune.... good luck, it's looking great!!!

[tjabv2]

Love this truck. Unlike you, I'm actually looking for a long bed truck. Have fun with it!

[TommyDuncan]

Originally Posted by tjabv2

Love this truck. Unlike you, I'm actually looking for a long bed truck. Have fun with it!

I have to admit, the long bed is growing on me. I lowered it some more and the length makes it seem lower...

The thing I like about this truck is I can crank the torsions back up, put the stock springs and shocks back in the rear and have a 3/4 ton truck again in about 20 minutes.
I also noticed that I can padlock the tailgate shut when I have my dirt bikes in the back(it wouldn't even close if it was a short bed) and slow thieves down a little...
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[Ta2Don]

Nice Score!!!

[TJ's Chevy]

Looking good! I thought it was a short bed tell now, love those long beds though!

[endlessearth]

The height and the rake look really good in that last pic.

[TommyDuncan]

Originally Posted by endlessearth

The height and the rake look really good in that last pic.

Thanks! I might go a little smaller tire(diameter anyways)in the front but about the same height in the rear. I like a nice, full wheel well. Thinking maybe about a small white wall but I'm not sure? Opinions...?
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[tjabv2]

Originally Posted by TommyDuncan

Thanks! I might go a little smaller tire(diameter anyways)in the front but about the same height in the rear. I like a nice, full wheel well. Thinking maybe about a small white wall but I'm not sure? Opinions...?
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It looks super clean just like it is, but, I am a fan of whitewalls. I think it would give it just a little more pop!

[TommyDuncan]

Today's mission is to go from this

To this....

I was gonna hit it with some gloss black but these wheels are somewhat temporary anyways so I thought I would see how it looks with white.

I will show how I adapted the nub wheel to work with clips later...
...right now I gotta sneak that spare tire back into the museum before they realize it was me!
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[Low Elco]

This thing is cool! Love the OG'ness of it!

[tjabv2]

endless....., I'll send you a pic from PA to take with you on each visit to the inlaws. Help me out here bro.
Tim

[TommyDuncan]

Fire!

The truck caught on fire today...

I was just getting out at the Lowe's near my house and I heard something and saw some smoke. It was the aftermarket ammeter/oil pressure gauge mounted under the dash. The big 10 gauge going to the ammeter was smoking and glowing so I tried to rip it off the back of the gauge... no luck.
I remembered that there was an extinguisher under the seat so I grabbed it.. didn't work.
By now the interior is filling with smoke and the fire was definitely getting bigger..
...since I worked in racing I thought how handy an electrical kill switch would be right now. So I lifted the hood and got the battery cables to come off... WHEW!
This truck had a wooden box on the console when I got it containing a stereo, CB, a scanner and a couple Radio Shack speakers. I removed it because I didn't like it or scotchlocks in the wiring(or even crimp connectors really). The fire would have been much worse if it was still right there in the way.

I just got it home. The whole charging/starter harness is toast, especially around the voltage fegulator. Other than that I'm not sure but it doesn't look like it did any other damage.

Unfortunately I have to be somewhere so I can't dig into it now...

I think this calls for an alternator upgrade!
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