Papa's truck build up

[narx66gmc]

So, a little background on the truck, Grandpa (Papa) bought the truck with 9000 miles on it in '67 with a 283/3 speeed on the tree from a Chevy dealer in CO (he thinks). For the next 22 years he drove it nearly every day all over the country building skyscrapers. He drank and did alot of drugs and beat the truck to death. he put 3 motors in and 4 transmissions that he remembers. It was a green with green interior ugly ass truck. Which is perfect for a 14 year old boy to learn to drive on. The truck had sat in one spot from '89 until '96, never started or air put in any tires. We changed all the fluids, and did a tune up, the truck fired right off and I learned to really drive on that old truck on a 3 mile loop around my grandparents place.



I drove the truck until i graduated high school and during that time we put bucket seats, cheap chrome wheels and new tires, primered it rattle can gray from Wal-Mart, and a new front windsheild, and pulled as many dents as we could. It looked like it had been shot with a shotgun.... Then the truck sat from '99 til '04 not started or touched. I wish i had pics of the gray primer.

I was making decent money and wanted a project so, here we go again. I had bought a TH350 w stall and shift kit so that went in it. I had bought an edelbrock carb/intake combo so that went in. Truck was driving good but still had 8-10 year old rattle can primier, so we took it to the body shop to have them straighten the bed sides and fill shotgun holes. All i wanted was a maroon primer job til Papa and I could agree on a color. It sat not started til '07.



The body guy tore both shoulders up and basically covered the bed in 1/2" to 1 1/2" bondo to make it look straightish. We gave him a third of what he asked and didn't whoop his ass. I had aquired a HEI distributor so that went in, new fuel tank and sending unit, new starter, new tachometer, new fuel pump and then the truck sat til Sept '09 not started or touched.

My brother and I put in a crossmember from a '84 susburban, power brake booster, CPP 6 lug rotors (so we could keep the cheap chrome wheels), a 700r4, and all new steering bits. We put used S10 springs up front and it dropped it probly 1 -1 1/2". Now the truck is at my house instead of at the shop so I can work on it more than one time per month. I pulled the grill and bumper off and painted the area behind them flat black.







I also painted the GMC and then sanded the raised part of the letter clean.

My goal is to work on it slowly and steadily and drive it daily next spring. I have a wife and 8 month old baby so slow and steady is all i can do. Next up is getting it running and a bench seat.

[narx66gmc]

Sorry, its a '66 big back window short bed. the first pic is a picture of a picture.

[AZ66GMC]

Looks nice! It's nice to see another GMC

I like that it's a big back window. Wish mine was...

How does it ride with the S-10 springs?


Tony

[narx66gmc]

i wish i knew, it hasn't driven with the new setup yet.

I am going to do all the chrome pieces in a dark gray so here is where we have gotten so far. The grill will get the same treatment next week and i need another bumper ('73-80 painted or chrome, i dont care - $20 is burning a hole in my pocket)







slow and steady is the name of this game.

[narx66gmc]

got two wheels sanded painted! got the grill pulled and started the chrome/rust removal process on it too.

[narx66gmc]

well, didn't get anythng done today except get the tires mounted on the wheels i painted. here they are with the trim rings and centers. i do need to find a new sticker to cover the emblem. i'll paint them for now tho. These will get mounted tomorrow night and I'll start the paint on the remaining two.

[creep]

Looking good!

I painted my centercaps too. I printed out the old gmc 4 times on a piece of label paper and cut the out with a Xacto knife. I had to place the centers of the loops in the "M" by hand but no big deal.

[narx66gmc]

That's what I figured I wd do too.
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[narx66gmc]

got the front rims mounted and the grill scuffed and a few coats put down.







thats all for now, i hope to get the other 2 wheels painted this weekend.

[Ol'63Gmc]

Nice work, man. I'm really diggin the wheels!

[narx66gmc]

got the rear wheels off yesterday. got them sanded today and prepped for paint but didn't have time for that. instead i painted another center cap, the wiper arms, rear backup light housings and fuel cap. just a few more steps and this baby will be nearly shine free....

[narx66gmc]

the grill is done and bolted back on!! the bumper is off and got scuffed and primed for paint. the other two center caps were painted, all 4 are ready now. the roof is taped and ready for paint prep, m,aybe tuesday. the rear rims got one coat of paint and the tires for them are ready to mount on tuesday.

sorry, pix tomorrow.

[narx66gmc]

Got the painted front bumper on, it looks awesome! got the interior door handles and window cranks painted. and got the roof taped for paint prep.







But before all that, i had some quality time with my number one lady.

[REDNOSE65]

any updates???

[narx66gmc]

Update. In the last few months, I have:
Mounted the bench seat
Mounted the shifter
changed the oil/trans fluid/rear end fluid/spark plugs and wires/radiator fluid
Painted some scallops here and there (pix will come soon)
swapped to 75 van front bumper (still some fab work to make it look right)
removed the chains from the tailgate

And tonight we are bleeding the brakes and, hopefully, tomorrow working on getting the motor going again... It's been a few years since it has ran consistently


I'll post pix on monday if we are successful. If not, i'll post pix anyways.

[narx66gmc]

updates:
Swapped from 700r4 to a th350 trans.
drove it around the block a few times.
ordered a full wiring harness and going to start that tonight!!
bought 2 nissan titan 18" rims (painted them), now gotta get tires.

truck is ready to go, just did not have brake, blinker or headlights. therefor, to heck with it, changing the wiring!

pix in 20 minutes!!

[narx66gmc]

only pic i have right now...

[narx66gmc]

well, got all the old wiring out last night. tonight working on getting the new wiring in... also got the Titan wheels on the front (pix tomorrow)

[narx66gmc]

got the wiring finished last night except fot the tail lights and will hopefully get that completed tonight!! mount the new bench seat then drive it to work tomorrow!! wish me luck!!

[Chad215]

Woo Hoo!
Bet it feels good to get it on the road again.

[chad64chevy]

nice progress, lets see some of those pictures!!

[narx66gmc]

wow, i posted this a year ago!! Who would ever have thought it would have taken a year to put it on the road!! i hope to drive it to work tomorrow!! gotta get the bench seat mounted tonight... pix soon

[narx66gmc]

ohhh, its so close!!! i drove it around the neighborhood for ab 30 minutes today double checking everything. seat fits right and sits well, brakes are good and tight, trans shifts right, no overheating or anything...

and here's the pix i promised






yay, finally no wires!!!


got to get it recovered but that can wait...

now gotta get $214 for insurance and tags and i'll be good to go!!

[narx66gmc]

Well, after it being at the new house for a little over a year I finally got a chance to really drive it!! I took it and put some gas in it at the station, had a chat with a old guy that thought it was pretty cool, took up to work to show off and then around town for a lap. several thumbs up forma a lot of folks, it was prety cool to be out running around in the truck again. gotta wire and route the heater so i can start driving it more often now... anyway, here are some pics.




this is the first time it has been to the station under it's own power in over 7 years!!


this is the cleanest the bed has been ever in this trucks 45 years of being around!!

That's all for now, it makes its first show debut next weekend!!!

[kieth]

,s ROCK --- its taking shape.......keep working it can and will get there, call me here in Tulsa, 918-446-2245 I just finished one and started on another and I learned a few tricks along the way that could save you some money................Kieth in Tulsa, OK