Phlebmaster's 1964 GMC 3/4 ton Evolution- full of pics and win!

[Phlebmaster]

I'm back! I have found myself a new daddy and daughter project. It is a 1964 GMC 3/4 ton with a 305E V6 SM-420 4sp w/granny and a 4.10 rear end....she will pull your house off the foundation, but can't go over 50mph. lol

My previous daddy and daughter project was a 72 C20: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=381104

My youngest want to have the same experience and this will be her first vehicle. This project will include and engine swap, transmission swap, addition of power brakes, steering, and fuel injection!! Woohoo. I hope she is up for this....

Here we go, after my 72 was completed (see thread above) I sold her to another member here. Then purchased my first motorcycle a 76 Kawasaki KZ400 which I turned into a café racer. Then I traded that for an 85 Honda Interceptor vf500, finished that and traded for a rare 86 VFR750....finished the VFR and traded for an 84 Porsche 944 (big mistake), finished that then traded for an Eclipse turbo spyder that I ended up trading for this beast!! You can see my projects in my youtube channel....

whew....now that that is done, let's get to the project at hand.

Here she is, covered in silver Hammerite paint. The body is pretty strait with only a few rust areas in the usual spots and a couple of dent repair attempts.











The GIANT GMC V6 is a beast and runs great! Gets about 8-10 mpg and gets grumpy over 2500 rpm. The 4 spd transmission is in good shape, "clicks" into gears nicely and is very quiet at any speed.



I am gathering items to make this truck more drivable for my daughter. This weekend I will be picking up a 350 TBI w/700R4 complete with power steering and A/C. I am not sure if I am sticking with the TBI or going carb, but we will know more after I get the parts so I know what I have and the shape everything is in.

Next will be power brakes and the parts I need to swap in the auto transmission such as steering column and linkage.


I'll have some parts to sell/trade from the GMC including the 305E v6 engine, original Stromberg carb, Rochester 2bbl, and SM-420 transmission (which has the lowest 1st gear in a stock truck) so it will likely be desirable to crawlers. I am keeping the 4.10 rear end for the sake of fun!

I painted the dash and will finish the interior this winter....looks better than it did!!









Thank you for looking! Stay tuned......

[TJ's Chevy]

Cool truck! Hope you and your daughter have an awesome time with it! T.J.

[66Submarine]

Nice truck. I really doubt that 50MPH is pushing it that hard, though. I have 32" tires on my truck, and 50MPH for me is only 2,200RPM. (Fastest I've had it was about 80MPH/3,500RPM)

[Phlebmaster]

Originally Posted by T.J. MCCAULEY

Cool truck! Hope you and your daughter have an awesome time with it! T.J.

Thank you! She is my youngest and has never shown interest in my projects, but she wants this truck so we made a deal.

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Nice truck. I really doubt that 50MPH is pushing it that hard, though. I have 32" tires on my truck, and 50MPH for me is only 2,200RPM. (Fastest I've had it was about 80MPH/3,500RPM)

Yeah, I have 31s and I can take her up to about 60 and not break 3000 rpm, but the big v6 lets me know it is in there.

[Captainfab]

Welcome to our side of the forum

I'm happy to hear of another father/daughter build.

That does look like a fairly decent truck to build. If you can get everything to support the TBI, I think I would go with that.

[Phlebmaster]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Welcome to our side of the forum

I'm happy to hear of another father/daughter build.

That does look like a fairly decent truck to build. If you can get everything to support the TBI, I think I would go with that.

I think I might go with that advice as long as the tbi engine is sound and I can figure out the harness.

Picked up my daughter's new engine tonight and installed rear brakes yesterday....


That is a happy girl! 350 TBI and 700R4 from a 1990 C1500. It has PW steering and A/C with the serpentine belt to boot! The engine has 120,000 miles and ran when pulled, and the transmission was replaced but mileage unknown. All are guaranteed to work by someone I trust.

That won't look stock I think.....lol

















I will have to buy the computer and a painless wiring harness if I stick with the TBI stuff. Our first order of business will be to pull the heads and intake to verify nothing needs repair (much easier to do it with the engine out anyway) and my daughter can get greasy.

The rear brakes were not installed on the truck....I thought it was strange that I got a huge box of brake parts with the truck....wowzers!

I am not sure if I have this set up correctly, I was not able to find any pictures of the 66 GMC 3/4 ton 8 lug rear brakes.....so I took some of my own to share. Please let me know if something doesn't look right, but I am confident since they work okay that I am real close. I have never installed brakes from scratch from a pile of unknown parts before....eeek!

Oh, and my Dana 60 4.10 is a posi. Nice!!













More to come!! Stay tuned.....

[familyfast64]

Awesome 64 bud. Congrats. I love the buy, tune, drive, and trade but too. Switching things up is fun but I always missed my old projects. Good luck, well be watching.

[Captainfab]

If you go with an aftermarket harness, it should be pretty much plug and play. The TBI's have been around for so long, and used so much (especially with the offroad crowd) that the harnesses are fairly reasonable. Since you are in need of an ECM, I would recommend the better '94-'95 ECM. I don't know for sure if it can be used with the 700R4, but I would check into it. Here is one other source for a harness.

http://www.fuelinjectionconnection.com/gpage.html

On those brakes, I don't really see anything wrong with the assembly.

[Phlebmaster]

Originally Posted by familyfast64

Awesome 64 bud. Congrats. I love the buy, tune, drive, and trade but too. Switching things up is fun but I always missed my old projects. Good luck, well be watching.

She is really looking forward to this build as much as I am. The fun starts with the barter and trading deals to get the parts I want since this is on a budget....but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Originally Posted by Captainfab

If you go with an aftermarket harness, it should be pretty much plug and play. The TBI's have been around for so long, and used so much (especially with the offroad crowd) that the harnesses are fairly reasonable. Since you are in need of an ECM, I would recommend the better '94-'95 ECM. I don't know for sure if it can be used with the 700R4, but I would check into it. Here is one other source for a harness.

http://www.fuelinjectionconnection.com/gpage.html

On those brakes, I don't really see anything wrong with the assembly.

Thank you for the lead on the leads....lol Once I sort out the wiring that is on the engine now, I can see what is missing from there. I want to go with a clean look and make the truck safe and reliable for her. I will be on the lookout for the ECM that will support the 700r4.

[Phlebmaster]

More updates..... We disassembled the 350 TBI to get it ready for the rebuild. :-)

This looks good! I don't know what those numbers mean, but the transmission looks very clean.



I had to pull the engine out of the bed and onto the stand by myself....that was tricky!! But I did it..



I'll have to look up those numbers on the TC....





Pulled the TC and put on the stand mount.



This was the tricky part.... I used a come along and a jack and went back and forth slowly until the engine stand wheels were safely on the ground. :-)



Finally!!



Now I can get started.... Waited for my daughter to start.



There she is....Teenagers, geeze!









That TBI was a rats nest!!



This engine is set up for rollers!! Pre- machined and tapped....I am interested even more now in using this block.



Finally tucked away into the shed where I will spend the winter months rebuilding it.



Thanks for everyone's help so far!

I am not so sure about the TBI set=-up, the electronics intimidate me a bit but I know there is a ton of documentation and resources for the TBI so I won't whimp out just yet and go to the carb. lol

[Zane M]

Looks like a great project in the making.
Like has been said, if you are going with an aftermarket harness, setting up the TBI is a breeze. While it certainly isn't as easy as a carb set up, TBI is "simple" in terms of fuel injection.

[gimmy 64]

I like this. I have 3 daughters and its fun to see your daughter with grease on her hands lol.

[Phlebmaster]

Originally Posted by Zane M

Looks like a great project in the making.
Like has been said, if you are going with an aftermarket harness, setting up the TBI is a breeze. While it certainly isn't as easy as a carb set up, TBI is "simple" in terms of fuel injection.

Yeah, I will look into the pros and cons and costs of going both ways. If I plan on building this motor up for HP I may just go with the carb....we will see. My comfort zone is with the carbs, but hey, try something new...right?

On the side of the FI....I have a Power Commander III on my 2005 V-Strom 1000 and all I have to do is hook up my labtop and I can change the whole profile and performance of the bike.

The block is set up for rollers and I will get better heads so maybe I can get a Vortec set up and still use the TBI set up.

Originally Posted by gimmy 64

I like this. I have 3 daughters and its fun to see your daughter with grease on her hands lol.

She got upset at me for doing things for her...I was impressed.

[blazer-k5]

Congrats on engine. Congrats on the daughter that will wrench.

Your wheels. Did you have to switch what lug nuts you used? Did you buy those wheels for it after you acquired the truck?

[Phlebmaster]

Originally Posted by blazer-k5

Congrats on engine. Congrats on the daughter that will wrench.

Your wheels. Did you have to switch what lug nuts you used? Did you buy those wheels for it after you acquired the truck?

Thanks! The truck came with those 8 lug 16" wheels. I am not sure if the previous owner had to do anything special, but the lug nuts are aftermarket.