Quote:
Originally Posted by C10 - C90 Bill
My '62 GMC 6500 with the 478 would go 62 MPH. Back in the gas crunch days when they let trucks go faster than cars, I was passing cars like crazy, lol.
We were just talking the other day on another truck site that the 2-Ton trucks, in the middle between 1/2 to 1 Tons and the Heavy trucks, went the slowest for some reason.
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The V6 GMC engines had a reputation for throwing rods out the side of the block if you pushed them too fast, so I was pretty cautious
The medium duty trucks tended to be farm trucks, urban delivery trucks, or service/construction trucks. I guess they figured that nobody was going to be driving one very far on the highway.
Plus they were mostly just using the same engines as pickups, only with way lower gears to handle the heavier load. My 1958 Chevy 2-ton utility/boom truck had the 235 straight six with a 4 speed and a 2-speed. I don't know if I ever even got it up to 35 mph on gravel roads. That's the same engine my mom had in her 1959 Belair
My GMC just had a single speed axle. Since it had a two piece driveshaft already, I thought about splicing in an auxiliary 3 or 4 speed transmission. Given 12 or 16 gear combinations, I'm sure I could have found the right ratio for climbing any hill or getting tickets on the highway.
