More GMC Photos

[Ed Snyder]

Since some of you seem to enjoy seeing photos of old GMC trucks, I thought I'd start a thread showing some of the trucks from my past. If any of the rest of you want to show off some of your long-gone trucks on this thread, feel free!

The first one I'll post is a truck I bought here in Medford in 1991 for $3500. It had been sold new here in 1965. I think it had about 50,000 miles on it when I bought it. I was the third owner. First owner was a lumber yard. It was a half ton, long-wide, 4 wheel drive with 305E, and 4 speed. It had a fresh coat of paint on the exterior when I bought it. I then had the interior painted. It came with 15" rallye wheels mounted on the truck, as well as the original 16" split rims in the bed. I had the split rims painted, bought 7.50-16R tires for them, and installed swap meet hub caps. I kept it for six years, selling it to raise $$ for the 1962 Suburban I still own.

The photo with the black background was taken by a professional photographer after one of our annual Medford Cruises, using a big black felt backdrop. The other 3 were taken at West Coast Chevy/GMC Nationals in Paso Robles, CA.

As always, click on the thumbnail for an enlarged version.

[GMCDAC]

What a beauty, Ed! I don't know how you could bear to part with it, but if it helped you get things done with your Suburban, it was worth it.

Great thread, thanks for starting it!

DAC

[FetchMeAPepsi]

That one on the felt is someting! It's interesting to see how they were done before Photoshop came along and you had to actually HAVE a background before you took the pic.

But why is this in "Other builds" forum? It's a 60-66, right?

[Ed Snyder]

Originally Posted by FetchMeAPepsi

But why is this in "Other builds" forum? It's a 60-66, right?

Maybe "General Discussion" or "Builds and Journals" would have been more appropriate? Jeannie -- do you have the power to move it?

[GMCDAC]

Originally Posted by FetchMeAPepsi

That one on the felt is someting! It's interesting to see how they were done before Photoshop came along and you had to actually HAVE a background before you took the pic.

But why is this in "Other builds" forum? It's a 60-66, right?

Originally Posted by Ed Snyder

Maybe "General Discussion" or "Builds and Journals" would have been more appropriate? Jeannie -- do you have the power to move it?

Ed, were you trying to open a thread for folks that have pics of any year GMC from their past? If so you probably put it in the right place. That's how I took your original post:-)=

DAC

[Ed Snyder]

Originally Posted by GMCDAC

Ed, were you trying to open a thread for folks that have pics of any year GMC from their past? If so you probably put it in the right place. That's how I took your original post:-)=

DAC

That was my intention, Doug. I was hoping to see photos of more GMCs here, not necessarily 60-66 models.

For example, here's a photo of me and my Dad standing in front of the 1968 GMC Suburban I bought right after graduating from college in 1970. (Doesn't everybody want to buy a GMC Suburban right after they graduate?) It had 4WD, 307 V8, 4 speed, custom trim, and no other options that I recall, not even power steering. I learned really quick to keep my thumbs on the outside of the rim while 4 wheeling on rocky trails in southeast Missouri. I bought it for $2500 in St. Charles, Missouri (Rusty Nut's hometown). It was in great shape.

My first choice was a V6 powered 60-66 4WD Suburban, but I didn't realize at the time how rare they were. I learned much later that production in that era was only an estimated 100 to 200 per year. Four wheel drive GM trucks started to become way more popular in the late 60s.

My first job out of college, by the way, was in the engineering department at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in downtown St. Louis.

[GMCDAC]

Originally Posted by Ed Snyder

That was my intention, Doug. I was hoping to see photos of more GMCs here, not necessarily 60-66 models.

For example, here's a photo of me and my Dad standing in front of the 1968 GMC Suburban I bought right after graduating from college in 1970. (Doesn't everybody want to buy a GMC Suburban right after they graduate?) It had 4WD, 307 V8, 4 speed, custom trim, and no other options that I recall, not even power steering. I learned really quick to keep my thumbs on the outside of the rim while 4 wheeling on rocky trails in southeast Missouri. I bought it for $2500 in St. Charles, Missouri (Rusty Nut's hometown). It was in great shape.

My first choice was a V6 powered 60-66 4WD Suburban, but I didn't realize at the time how rare they were. I learned much later that production in that era was only an estimated 100 to 200 per year. Four wheel drive GM trucks started to become way more popular in the late 60s.

My first job out of college, by the way, was in the engineering department at the Anheuser-Busch brewery in downtown St. Louis.

That is an awesome piece of history in one photo, Ed! So cool that was your first ride outa college. I had to drive a similar one on my first construction job in 1975-77 building high voltage power lines across very rough terrain. I too figured out the thumb position is very important!

About the time you are talking I spent time occasionally in St. Charles. My Dad would come up here almost every summer and take us kids down to Georgia to spend a little time with his folks. He had a sister that lived in St. Charles and that was always one of the places we stayed during the trip.

I had no idea that those early 4x4 GMC 'burbs were THAT rare. This one was on craigslist locally around a year ago, sitting a long time non-running but it looked really nice. I couldn't come up with the $1900 he wanted and no one bought it. He re-posted it a few months later for $2500 and it sold right away! Go figure.

DAC

[Ed Snyder]

Originally Posted by Ed Snyder

For example, here's a photo of me and my Dad standing in front of the 1968 GMC Suburban I bought right after graduating from college in 1970.
My first choice was a V6 powered 60-66 4WD Suburban, but I didn't realize at the time how rare they were.

Since I wasn't able to find a 4WD 60-66 Suburban, after I bought the '68 I started a search for the next best thing, a 2WD 60-66 Suburban. I found one in mint condition about a year later. It was a '63 with 305E, 4 speed, custom trim, three rows of seats, and under-dash A/C. A previous owner had even installed curtains in the rear. When I bought it, the center seat had been turned around 180 degrees and there was a table (like a dinette in an RV) between the second and third rows. I bolted a bottle opener to the dash. It was a great party truck for a single guy! I owned both Suburbans at the same time for a couple of years. Later on I taught my new wife how to drive with a manual transmission in the '63.

After I bought the '68 I put 8.25x16.5 wheels with 10x16.5 tires on it. When I sold the '68 I took those off, put the wheels and tires it came with back on it, and installed the 10x16.5s on the '63 instead. I had to bend up the inner lip on the rear wheel openings with a crescent wrench to get them to fit. The photos below were taken before I did that.

The first photo shows the '63 parked in my folks' driveway behind the '65 one ton Suburban that I have now. Both Suburbans were the same color. That's my Mom standing next to it, and my little brother Pete (whom the attendees at June's Wichita mini meet got to meet) peaking out the window. Pete would have been 6 years old here in 1971. The second photo is me standing by the '63 which is long gone now.

[Ed Snyder]

I used to drive by this truck nearly every day on my way to town and back home. I stopped one day to ring the owner's doorbell. I got to meet Lou who had driven this truck on his job with the regional natural gas provider. When he retired, he was given the opportunity to buy it since the truck was being retired too. It's a 1963 two wheel drive with 305E, 3 speed manual, big back window, short wheelbase with utility body. The engine has always been run on propane, so the internals are probably really clean.

I offered to buy the truck, but Lou wasn't selling. One day the truck was gone and I realized Lou had moved away. I managed to find his new location recently, but if he still has the truck I can't tell due to the high fence around the back yard. If anybody out there wants to try to buy this truck, let me know. I'll ring the doorbell and find out if Lou is still alive and if he still has the truck. He'd be in his 80s by now, if not 90s.

[Ed Snyder]

Four more photos of Lou's truck. If anyone is seriously interested, I have another couple dozen photos of this truck, and higher-resolution versions of all of them.