For What It's Worth

[Speed]

Hi all;

I know this isn't a ,but it works like one. It's a 1976 GMC one ton duallie I got as payment for repossessing an ATV and snow plow for a friend. Not much to look at,but has some good features:454 engine that runs pretty decent,SM465 transmission that seems quiet and shifts well,4.10 rear axle,has good HydraBoost power brakes,tilt steering,factory tach,dual tanks-40 gallon cap.,WAS air cond.,missing compressor.(I have one in the shop,so it'll get on-board air for horns,filling tires,power tools etc.) It has 9.50R-16.5's that are near new,and has a new dual exhaust. I've driven it from Reno to Elko,and a couple of trips back to Reno. Drives nice,and gets better mileage than my smallblock one ton. I named it Rocky,it kinda reminds me of the character Stallone played in the "Rocky" movies. I'll try to get some pics included here.

Speed

[Ironman]

What a beaut !!!! So what have ya got planed for the beast

[Double L]

Too bad you couldn't get a Detroit in it. I know at one time the 70-89 GM trucks were available with a Detroit Diesel from the factory.

[Double L]

My engine compartment looks clean. I forgot how many hoses those old carbonated trucks had. Mine a Throttle Body Injected. I pretty much got a mechanical engine with very little electronics.

[mackcl96]

When you think you know someone over the years on here in what they type,(SPEED THE REPO MAN)

didn't come to mind.

[Gambi80]

Damn...only the second time I've seen a truck that vintage with a factory tach!!

We used to have a 76 Chevy dually flatbed like that too...but with no factory tach and a TH400 auto. That truck was a badass tank...we just called it "the flatbed" tho...

[Speed]

Haven't locked in an "official" use for this one yet;my other one ton is built pretty solid,but isn't near as good on the highway,and with a smallblock it falls short on power when the loads get heavy,so I think I'll be using this one for pulling a car trailer or flat towing cars and light trucks (1-1/2 ton and smaller) when I pick up or deliver 'em. Come Springtime,it's gonna need a new clutch,and I'll install the good doors that came with it at that time. Other than that,it's pretty much good to go.

I've run across the factory tach dashes occasionally,they show up on eBay now and then. That and tilt steering,and the front end being in good shape,make it a good truck on the highway. Kinda wish I could get a little better mileage,but I think it'd take a Cummins transplant and/or a 3 speed Brownie to do that.

My other one ton,I think,will become a winch truck. I'm working on getting a 15,000 pound PTO winch,and I have a PTO box I think fits the NP435 I have in it. The general plan is to build jin (sp?) poles,add idler pulleys all over the truck,and set it up so I can winch from any direction. Since it won't have to have a mountain of power,I'll hopefully end up with a good 292 six,from the same man that has the winch,to put in it,(with another new clutch)and do some work on the 355 it currently has, (low miles on rebuild but makes too much crankcase pressure at road speed,no matter how I configure the breathers.) maybe put it back in later,if I don't end up with another use for it.

Of course,my EH will be pulling a 35 foot 5th wheel flatbed as soon as I get all this stuff tuned in. Still have some work to do on the truck before I can safely drive it on the road.

As soon as I can get my wire feed operable again,I'll start building the Mack's trailer. Any heavy welding that needs to be done,I have two friends who have the big guns,so it shouldn't be a problem. This trailer will have an electric winch for loading,and I'm thinking of dove-tailing it,with slide out ramps,and I want to put receiver hitch sockets down both sides and on the back,to use a smaller removable winch or to tow another trailer behind. Don't know how stout the trailer axles will be,but I'll figure on replacing/upgrading them later on. They currently have the "wide-four bolt" wheels that were popular on RV's. I figure if they're okay for a total 14,000 pounds,they'll work,but I doubt that'll be the case.

Speed

[Speed]

I got the doors on the big block truck swapped,and put a better hood on it as well. Spent half a day getting everything adjusted to eliminate air leaks at the tops of the doors,and to get the hood to pull down snug at the rear corners when I shut it. also put a different stereo in it,found the connector that snaps onto the windshield antenna and plugs into the antenna socket (it was missing from the truck) and actually bought some speakers,so I have a stereo now. I finally emptied the right tank so I can change out the sender. Hope that fixes the problem! Next big item will be a new 12" clutch,later this Summer. (And a case of black primer-this truck is currently 5 different colors,and some don't look good together.) I'm finally seeing the weather moving towards the warming

I've waited for,so I can start getting some work done. Won't be too long until I can bring the Mack into town,get the brakes sorted out,get some glass done,get decent tires on it,put it to work. Should be a fairly busy Summer.

It's getting pretty late,I should get a little sleep.

more later.

Speed

[ARTEMIS1759]

Nice truck. My wife had a truck I bought her with a factory tach. '77 Custom K10 Short box 4x4 Chevy. Then her other truck she built in high school shop class that her ex-husband totaled she put a factory guage set with a tach in. That was an '83 short box 4x4 with a 454 punched to 472 ci. 6" lift with 35's all the way around and a jet black paint job.

[Speed]

Nice truck. My wife had a truck I bought her with a factory tach. '77 Custom K10 Short box 4x4 Chevy. Then her other truck she built in high school shop class that her ex-husband totaled she put a factory guage set with a tach in. That was an '83 short box 4x4 with a 454 punched to 472 ci. 6" lift with 35's all the way around and a jet black paint job.

HEY-we built my smallblock one ton with a hood,left front fender and left door from a '77 K-10!

I used the bigblock truck a couple of weeks ago to flat tow a '66 Chevy half ton to Reno. All went well,except the one ton developed a vibration at 60 and over,and it seemed to get worse. While I was in Reno,I took the duals off and washed all the mud off them and the brake drums,and I thought that'd smooth things out. Loaded up the 292 and Posi rear end out of the '66 and hit the road for home. This time the vibration started at about 40,I tried to get past the shakes,and at 70 the mirrors un-adjusted and the doors started to rattle,so I backed out of it and found a tire shop. turns out the vibration that had haunted me for 300 miles was the left front tire separating. I pulled it and tossed it onto the deck,and moved the left outside dual up front,and down the road we go.

(I'm sure glad I finally caught it-that tire wouldn't have made it another 10 miles.) Well,now I have the bad tire replaced and have all my wheels back where they go. (Had a hell of a time finding a decent used 9.50R-16.5,finally was given one by a friend.)

Changed my mind about putting the 292 in the other one ton;I'm going to put it in the '57 GMC 2 ton instead. Quicker,cheaper and easier than rebuilding its stock 270,and it'll work better for my purposes. (About the same torque,a little more horsepower,substantially higher redline.)

Took a load of metal to the scrapper today,hopefully tomorrow I'll make a dump run,put gas in the Chevy and the BroncWorth,take some gas and a fresh battery out to Ryndon,get the running,and move two trailers from Ryndon to White Rock (about 8 miles) where I'll be storing everything. I really want to get my parts car here next and get my '66 Catalina front group changed,install the gas tank,and take IT to White Rock,then bring the home so I can get it ready to work.(Rebuild at least the rear brakes,free up all the adjusters,replace the pinion seal and input/output seals on the Brownie,drain and re-fill both of the boxes with synthetic 50 weight,change the truck over to the 10.00R-20's,install a wiper motor or two,hopefully get another windshield in it,install the new mudflap hangers and old,worn out mudflaps,and MAYBE figure out an air system for the air horn and trailer brakes.) There's a load of other stuff it will need,but these things will make it a functional work truck. I'll have to make another YouTube video of my once it's working again,to send to the guy I bought it from. THAT'LL frost him!

Speed

[imhsar]

good job !!!!!!!! have you loaded your video..... or even trying some more inventions with your trucks. just attach all these photos i wanna to watch it Edited July 16, 2010 by Priciyana Edison

[Speed]

I'm not real good on the posting video etc. but I'll get 'er figured out somehow.

I just acquired another truck (Like I need another truck!!);I traded an old '73 Ford pick up for a 1954 (My birth year) GMC 350 (2 Ton)Conventional cab flatbed.No title (I can get one for $240.00),sheet metal and glass is good,seat is good,tires are not,but they all hold air,it's complete,was driven to where it is now,and I'm into it exactly NOTHING! Best of all,it has a 302 six,BIG 5 speed (possible a 5th over??),2 speed axle and a Brownie. Don't know a lot about it yet,but plan to go pull all the ID numbers off it and see what I have in the next couple of days. When the owner said he was selling it for scrap at $50.00/ton,I knew I had to save it. I need to get another camera,but will get pics as soon as possible.

Even though this isn't a ,we ALL like old trucks,don't we?

Speed

[other dog]

I'm not real good on the posting video etc. but I'll get 'er figured out somehow.

I just acquired another truck (Like I need another truck!!);I traded an old '73 Ford pick up for a 1954 (My birth year) GMC 350 (2 Ton)Conventional cab flatbed.No title (I can get one for $240.00),sheet metal and glass is good,seat is good,tires are not,but they all hold air,it's complete,was driven to where it is now,and I'm into it exactly NOTHING! Best of all,it has a 302 six,BIG 5 speed (possible a 5th over??),2 speed axle and a Brownie. Don't know a lot about it yet,but plan to go pull all the ID numbers off it and see what I have in the next couple of days. When the owner said he was selling it for scrap at $50.00/ton,I knew I had to save it. I need to get another camera,but will get pics as soon as possible.

Even though this isn't a ,we ALL like old trucks,don't we?

Speed

We do indeed!

[Speed]

Hi all;

Well,I went out and got pics of the new truck and wrote down ID numbers off the truck and Brown Lipe transmission,so I'll be trying to figure out what's what on it.

The Brownie appears to be a 3 speed,model 5531,serial number 51501,just in case there's anybody with a book on these things. I'm waffling on whether to pull the running gear to put in my '57 GMC dump truck or leave it as is and do the little work it'll take to make it a driver and just drive it. Or maybe put the 5 speed and 302 in the dump truck and build a running 270/4 speed set up (The current running gear in the dump truck) to run in this truck. I discovered the old truck has relatively little rust,and is just in such good shape (And it's a '54,my year of birth)I just can't make myself consider getting rid of it.

As soon as my trailer's done I'll probably go get the Ford truck I traded for it and deliver that,then go back and bring the GMC home to work on,see if it'll run and drive.

Hope I can figure the picture thing out.

Speed

[other dog]

Hi all;

Well,I went out and got pics of the new truck and wrote down ID numbers off the truck and Brown Lipe transmission,so I'll be trying to figure out what's what on it.

The Brownie appears to be a 3 speed,model 5531,serial number 51501,just in case there's anybody with a book on these things. I'm waffling on whether to pull the running gear to put in my '57 GMC dump truck or leave it as is and do the little work it'll take to make it a driver and just drive it. Or maybe put the 5 speed and 302 in the dump truck and build a running 270/4 speed set up (The current running gear in the dump truck) to run in this truck. I discovered the old truck has relatively little rust,and is just in such good shape (And it's a '54,my year of birth)I just can't make myself consider getting rid of it.

As soon as my trailer's done I'll probably go get the Ford truck I traded for it and deliver that,then go back and bring the GMC home to work on,see if it'll run and drive.

Hope I can figure the picture thing out.

Speed

Looks really good! Anything that old that's been sitting that long around here would be a big pile of rust. Starter in the floor-haven't seen that for years of course, my Daddy had a pickup about that age when I was a wee little feller with the starter in the floorboard.

[Speed]

Out here trucks don't generally rust much except for cab corners and the occasional passenger side floor,where the tow chain lives every Winter. What happens here is the pack rats and field mice LOVE old trucks,so they nest all over the inside of the truck. Favorite places are inside the seats,in the air filter,in the heater box,in the headliner,behind the dash,behind the seat,I even found a nest in the gas tank of a truck I got once...and they chew the covering off any wiring they see;that can make for interesting times when trying to make a field-stored truck run.

Speed

[RowdyRebel]

Hate ta tell ya, but the steering wheel is on upside down

[Speed]

Damn--does that mean I hafta scrap it anyway?

[Speed]

Damn--does that mean I hafta scrap it anyway?

07-27-10

Hi all;

Well,I went back out to the GMC today with plans to pour some Marvel into the cylinders,try to get the brakes working,and do some serious cleaning on the truck. The plan was to let the Mystery oil have a few days to soak before I tried to crank it over,then do a one-day thrash to get it running and bring it home. I decided to move the truck to a better place to work on it,about a quarter mile down the road. I hooked my tow strap around the hitch on the BroncWorth and hooked the other end to the tow hooks on the GMC's front bumper,locked the hubs in and put it in 4-Low and it pulled the GMC out to the road,I stopped as soon as I had it pointed straight,put the GMC transmission in 3rd and the Brown-Lipe in high,tied the steering,and pulled it to where I could work on it without all the sage brush and goat heads to contend with. Since the engine turned over,I won't have to wait for the cylinders to un-stick. Next thing I wanted to do was get rid of the mouse crap off the floor,out of the glove box,and out from under the seat. The first two areas weren't as bad as I thought,but under the seat-it was PACKED with mouse crap and padding out of the seat! I got most of it out,once I have it home I'll wash it out with the garden hose and a scrub brush. In the process found a lug wrench that fits the lugs,two tail lights,two spare fan belts,half dozen reflectors,couple of screwdrivers,a ventilation fan,a spare starter and the most recent plates off the truck,expired in '92. The brakes didn't get much done to 'em because I couldn't get the master cylinder cap loose,but I do have a plan for next trip. It's a 3/4 inch square head,so I'll use my 3/4 to 1/2 adapter off my big ratchet,tap it into a 1/2 square socket,and break the cap loose with a hammer and impact driver. I'm about 80% sure if I can fill the M/C up and pump the brakes a while,it'll have brakes. There's still a little work to do on it to make it run, (The battery cable ends are junk,the fuel filter is missing,and it needs a couple of quarts of oil and some coolant)but I'm hoping to be able to drive it home next trip. I might even try to get a little video of it actually moving,if it runs.

I decided,assuming everything is serviceable,to leave it pretty much as is,except for maybe some better tires,re-decking the bed and,of course,a stack,with a short glass pack just before it.

Then,all that's left will be getting a title for it.

I'll try to get more pics as I get more done.

Speed

[Speed]

Hi all;

Okay-the '54 is home. I got a couple of pics once it was here,just don't have 'em downloaded yet. One of these is where I'd created enough space to park it,the other is on the road coming into town with it.

Some things I discovered about it:

STILL no brakes. On my list to work on that problem.

Carb appears to be freshly rebuilt. very clean inside.

Not much torque evident;Probably more fuel pressure,a tune up and some back pressure on the exhaust will help a lot.

It has a Clark 5 speed;is there a difference in the shift pattern between the DD and the OD? I think I was told that 4th and 5th are reversed in the shift patterns,but that was 20 years ago,so

The Brownie is a 5531,which was originally in an IH truck.

The wipers don't work. It's tempting to put one of those hot rod wipers kits on my want list,but I'll probably just re-plumb it and rebuild the vacuum wiper motor,and add a big-ass vacuum tank.

Stiff clutch-needs to be adjusted. Or replaced.

Runs good-stays at around 165 degrees,holds 60# oil pressure cold,45# warmed up. Need to run a compression test.

Generator isn't charging. Don't know if the generator needs to be re-polarized or the regulator points need to be cleaned.

Fuel pump isn't pumping. Manual pump is missing,electric pump is going but no volume or pressure. I plan to use the manual pump off my '57 GMC dump truck since I'll be switching it to a 292 Chevy anyway.

Heater blower works,both speeds.

Horn works-sounds like a WWII Jeep horn.

Gas gauge will likely work if I replace the toggle switch that switches from main tank sender to saddle tank sender.

Parking brake works well,but is very sudden and really hard to reach and use while moving.

Feels and sounds like all the boxes are dry. Another thing to check out while under the truck.

Speedometer cable is missing,will have to be custom made,due to different trans. and aux. trans.

Feels like the steering is fairly tight,steers good on the road. A little grease will make it a lot better.

It's very LOUD! Only has about 3 feet of 3" headpipe,no muffler. I have a glasspack header muffler for it though. And I'll have to give it a stack.

No knocks in the engine,no excessively noisy valves.

Engine has a miss,but after sitting for over 10 years,it's probably a plug or wire,or both. A full tune up is in order.

No coolant leaks,noticed the heater's bypassed.

Rides and steers just like my EH,but with a softer seat. Come to think of it-it STOPS like my EH,too!

Could really use an electric 2 speed shifter ;the dash mounted switch is going to be awkward to split gears with.

No title. Not a problem,really,just a $240.00 expense I could do without.

All in all,not a bad deal-I'm happy.

Speed

[other dog]

We had a '59 (I think, might be a year off either way) GMC 860 wrecker where I worked years ago that had a 5 spd. Clark overdrive transmission. 4th. and 5th. gear was backwards-5th. up towards the dash-and you shifted the 2 speed different too. Instead of the usual 4th. lo-4th. hi,5th. low,5th. hi you went from 4th. lo to 5th. lo, then back to 4th. hi to 5th. hi. Is your 2 speed electric or vacuum shift?

'Course with your 5 speed,the brownie,which has under-direct-over,and a 2 speed rear...I know nothing

[Speed]

My 2 speed is vacuum shifted,so I don't anticipate using it much-probably just leave it in High.(There used to be a conversion kit to make it electric,but I can't find anyone who knows anything about it or where to get one.) If it was electric,I might consider trying using it and the Brownie,see how THAT mix works out for running empty. I suspect I'll have enough reduction gears to do whatever I need to do,and,I suspect,a double overdrive. This may very well end up being just a recreational "Driver",so I probably won't get too serious about the shifting. Hell,just the main box shift pattern's probably gonna result in a lotta scratched gears before I get used to it. Just the little I've messed with it so far,it feels all non-synchro,too.

BUT-first things first;I'm going to get the fuel system working right,get the brakes working right,and get the electrics and lights working right,and to a complete service on the truck. I need to find a set of West Coast mirrors to fit this,because I just don't like to drive a truck this size that doesn't have proper mirrors. I also need mirrors for my EH,for the same reason.

Speed

[other dog]

My 2 speed is vacuum shifted,so I don't anticipate using it much-probably just leave it in High.(There used to be a conversion kit to make it electric,but I can't find anyone who knows anything about it or where to get one.) If it was electric,I might consider trying using it and the Brownie,see how THAT mix works out for running empty. I suspect I'll have enough reduction gears to do whatever I need to do,and,I suspect,a double overdrive. This may very well end up being just a recreational "Driver",so I probably won't get too serious about the shifting. Hell,just the main box shift pattern's probably gonna result in a lotta scratched gears before I get used to it. Just the little I've messed with it so far,it feels all non-synchro,too.

BUT-first things first;I'm going to get the fuel system working right,get the brakes working right,and get the electrics and lights working right,and to a complete service on the truck. I need to find a set of West Coast mirrors to fit this,because I just don't like to drive a truck this size that doesn't have proper mirrors. I also need mirrors for my EH,for the same reason.

Speed

fixed the steering wheel for ya anyway.

[vision386]

Man this brings back some memories! we had a truck very similar to this one on our farm when i was a kid, just about the only difference i see is the trans. ours was a 4 speed, with an electric 2 speed rear, used to go through points pretty freqeuntly as i remember, they were a bitch to set/change......one thing i like about these old trucks is the distinctive whining sound the trans./rear makes when your driving it anyone who has driven something this old will know what i'm talking about! looks to be a good solid truck from what i can see, as otherdog said, anything this old out our way is probably suffering from a terminal case of "tinworm" allthough ther are still quite a few 1-1-1/2-2 ton trucks in various stages of disrepair around here!.........Mark

[Speed]

Yeah-it really is actually in pretty good shape;has a little rot in the cab corners,but unlike most everything else I have,at least the rot is in places where I can get patch panels.

I worked on the truck some more today;checked the boxes and all were good except the Main box appears to be EMPTY. Speaking of that-where do they put the ID numbers on the Clark transmissions? I hope it's not on the right side,there's a shifter for the brownie and a big-ass parking brake bracket hanging off the right side.

I also put the glass pack muffler on it,sounds much better. Checked the plugs,#4 was a little oily,but the rest looked good,but badly worn. Checked compression on 3 and 4;3 was 150#,4 was 145,so it looks to me like maybe it'll live. Apparently,there is no provision on this engine for a mechanical fuel pump. I expected to see a block off plate behind the electric fuel pump mount,but there's nothing back there. I may be getting my facts wrong,but I think I recall reading that some military 302 engines didn't use manual fuel pumps,so maybe this was a military engine.

Tried re-polarizing the generator,but it still doesn't charge. I'll probably put an alternator on it later. I worked on the lights a little while I was checking electrics. I fixed the front turn signals,,four way flashers,traced the wiring back to where the tail lights will be once I clean up some connections. The wiring to the headlights and dimmer switch still needs some work;all I can get working is one high beam. No low beam,and nothing on the other side. I saw that all the accessory wiring runs through 3 terminal strips under the hood,and one little box by the regulator with 2 fuses in it. Part of getting the signals to work was loosening and re-tightening the turn signal wires on those strips,so maybe the same trick will work on the headlights. I probably should clean up the connections on the dimmer switch too. They're gonna be a bear to get to! Looked at the master cylinder,and it looks like it could be leaking;can't tell if it is or if it's wet from spilling brake fluid filling it. I'm going to wash the outside down with carb cleaner and bleed it a little tomorrow.

I also picked up 4 badly used 11.00R-22.5's to try on the '57 GMC dump flatbed. They're junk tires,but they'll work okay just to check clearances;then,if it looks like they'll clear everything okay,I'll throw some effort (and money ) into getting some better used tires.

I'm always amazed at how addictive a new project can be.

Speed