Good morning everyone! I spent last sunday with my dad unearthing my new project from his garage. It's a '61 GMC that I'll be working on to drive to Viva Las Vegas next year. We have it staged to flatbed it to my house this upcoming saturday. In the pics you can see how much crap accumulated on top, in, under, around and in the bed. It was sitting in the garage for almost 20 years. It has a 305 CID V6 that still runs and has only 93,000 miles on it. FIrst things first I'll need to get new tires for it and rebuild the master cylinder, since the clutch and brake pedals go all the way to the floor with no resistance at all. A carb rebuild is also on my to-do list. Can't wait to get started working on it! Excuse the PBR bottles. We took a beer break and I was fucking around.
While I'm not too impressed with the color that sure wouldn't stop me from taking it home if it was offered to me. What a solid looking truck. Be sure to tell Dad thanks!!!
It's the original paint. I'm going to swap beds with my dad on his '57 Chevy, so I'll be learning me some bodywork. I want to go flat black on it, eventually. The green isn't my thing either, but looks good enough to cruise around for a while!
Thanks for the comments! I'm going to have to eventually paint it, since like I mentioned my dad wants to swap beds with his '57. Don't know about color yet. Save it for last. All I know is that I registered my truck for the Viva car show next year and dammit, I'm driving it there! Too bad I can't convince the wife to jalopy it 300 miles to Vegas
What a beaut! I dig that color for sure. Gotta love them old trucks and PBR. <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input jscode="leoInternalChangeDone()" onclick="if(typeof(jsCall)=='function'){jsCall();}else{setTimeout('jsCall()',500);}" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
fsae0607, Neat project, nice looking body from where I sit. If you keep the 6 keep a close watch on your oil pressure, those engines have been known to bust a fuel pump diaphragm pump fuel into the crankcase. But they do pull like gang busters.
HEY! What did you do with the west coast mirrors that are in the very first picture? If the set is in good shape, I'd be interested in them. Also, skip the flat black. The last thing the world needs is another perfectly good looking stock paint job flat blacked over.
I thought it was the original color. I believe it's Fathom Green. It's a nice color. Popular on Camaros and Corvettes. Buff it out.
Thanks! That ice cold Pabst tasted mighty good after we pushed the truck out of the garage! Will do, I think I may just pop in a brand new fuel pump for shits n' giggles since I have no idea when it was last replaced. I had to remove them to install my car cover. I'm going to replace them with smaller ones soon once I hit up Pomona. Cool man, I'll PM you when ready to sell! Wow no one likes flat black??? I plan to do that until the bed swap after Viva. Nice! My dad's a truck guy so I guess it's in the genes! Thank you! BTW I just about crapped my pants right now window-shopping for WWW tires! Looks like I'll need to do some more side jobs and not charge beer for my labor!
Lets see..............flat black? Check. PBR? Check. VLV? Check. WWW's? Check. I think you've managed to cover just about every cliche except for the red wheels, dont forget those.
If that is a matching set in good condition, be sure to let me know when you want to get rid of them. As far as the flat black, you have a somewhat rare color paint that is in great shape after 51 years of roaming the earth. I'm not all restoration happy or anything, but, there are many out there that would kill for paint that old in that condition. Personally, I have no idea why anyone would consider splitting up the original bed pretty much parting that thing out. To me that thing will lose some of its' cool factor once that bed is gone. On top of that, the flat black and wide whites thing is tired. A flat black rig usually seems like it was pieced together out of a bunch random parts and then rattle canned to look somewhat uniform. You don't have a pieced together truck, you have a very nice original truck, and making it look like any of the countless flat black trend chasers out there is an insult to it in my opinion. I'd buff the shit out of that paint, take care of any of the rust, lower it a hair, and keep those wheels. If that thing isn't what you're after, sell it to someone who wants something like that, and get a pieced together flat black one with a SBC. Just sayin'.
That is one badass truck, please reconsider turning it into a run-of-the-mill truck. Get it mechanically sound, crank the bars and block it. I even like the blackballs on white wheels.
Damn nice truck there! Cant believe how solid it looks. I knew this thread would turn into a "dont touch it" vs "its your truck, do it how YOU want" fest.... I dont care what you do to it, but if it was mine, I would........just kidding, have at it! Haaa!
I saw the "cliche" shitstorm coming! Just ideas I'm kicking around. Still running on the natural high of getting a new project! What kind of sucks is that my dad gave me the truck on the condition that we're swapping beds. At least I want to prolong that until after Viva next year. I may keep the original paint scheme, who knows. Will cross that bridge when I get there. For sure though I'll be putting in a 283 SBC/Muncie 4-speed, since my dad has a bunch of SBC's and trannys laying around. @Muttley: What's wrong with Viva? Heaven on earth for me! It's the one event that I request time off of work for every year!
Point out to your old man how much taking that bed off of it would ruin it. He probably wants the bed because he's under the impression you're just going to paint it flat black anyways. Find him a clean step side (should run you about $500 for a real nice one), and don't paint it flat black. Then he has no motivation to want that bed. As for Viva, many people feel that Viva has become more of a Rockabilly R__ R__ poseur festival filled with PBR, flat black, wwws, and red wheels than real car people.
Will take that into consideration, thanks! Not to get too o/t, but I go to Viva for the bands and the culture more than anything. I'm a Greaser all the way. Yes there is a good share of r** rods there and a good share of nice rods. I dig 'em all.
buy a nice bed for your dad and don't ruin that truck please. if you want another flatblack pos sell it and buy one that somebody already fucked up.
Have to agree with the masses. Buy the old Man a bed! As far as the paint, its your truck, ive been changing my mind on my 32 for Years! Its still black primer. That Green is cool as shit, though! Remember, it's only original once!
yes,nice truck,leave it green buff it out.oh and take that blue hat off in your avatar!unless yuor a mennonite,in which case i apologize.[
The ONLY thing I would do to that truck cosmetically is lower it just a bit. And wash it Seriously though, this truck has survived for so long in its original great shape. That would be like taking a girl with nice tits and giving her implants that make her perfect, natural boobs look just like every other plastic, spray tanned, wannabe barbie girl who is following the latest fad.... just for the sake of "enhancing" what is already perfect
Luckily the front is torsion bar, so I can give it a nice little rake. I just gave it a quick wash so I wouldn't put my new car cover on 20 year old dust. Oh I see. It's a "Last Chance Garage" tin sign, not a hat!