6066 (1960-1966) GMC Truck Club Bitcoin now accepted here! 
Pay Dues
Pay Dues or become a Site Supporter
 



Go Back   6066 (1960-1966) GMC Truck Club > 6066 GMC Truck Club Forum > General Discussion


General Discussion Sit down and chat with fellow members! Any topics that don't fit other categories goes here.

Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old December 3rd, 2016, 09:11 AM
Jmclendon's Avatar
Jmclendon Jmclendon is offline
-= Site Supporter =-
 
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: Brisbane, QLD
Truck: 1961 1500 Stepside
Age: 41
Posts: 209
Rep Power: 137
Jmclendon is just really niceJmclendon is just really niceJmclendon is just really niceJmclendon is just really nice
Default I Had a nice drive today

My wife and I have 3 large dogs (Mastiff Xs, round about 80-100lbs each). For the last couple of years, we've been loading them, a couple of dog crates and our suitcases into a mid 2000s VW TDI Golf whenever we go for a trip anywhere.

I'm a reasonably tall dude. So, if you've ever seen how little space there is in one of those sardine cans you'll get it when I say it's the least amount of fun a person could ever have with their knees behind their head (that'll be the most off colour I get. Don't panic.)

Despite the great mileage and such, after awhile it just got to where the whole process was driving us nuts. So, we started talking about getting a truck of some kind.
Now before I continue, there's one thing worth mentioning about living in Australia. Cars are freaking expensive! For example, let's say you're looking at buying a new Nissan Navara. Be prepared to cough up 40-60k AUD depending on what you're interested in. Further complicating things, remember those dogs I mentioned before? Yea, they're not going to fit in the bed of a Navara. Or any other standard Aussie 'Ute' for that matter.

Consequently, I started looking at US imports. I took it for granted that they'd be more than what I wanted to spend. But, I figured at least they'd have a tray that I could fit something larger than an obese midget into.

One slight problem. There's a big difference between "that's a bit more than I want to spend" and "holy jumping *********..... I could buy a house for that much." No joke, if you're after a new(ish) GMC over here, it's going to cost 150k AUD. That's not a typo. When I was growing up, my father never spent more than $1000 on a car that I'm aware of. Admittedly, he was a mechanic, so that helped. Actually, he was one of those mechanics that normal mechanics wish they would be some day. We're talking the kind of guy that can somehow keep an old Rabbit running by starting a small fire under it in the morning when it's cold outside. Next level magical stuff. But still, I wasn't old enough to take a drink until 2004, so it's not like I was a kid when petrol was 10 cents a gallon or anything like that. I guess what I'm getting at is my heart skipped a beat when I saw how much people were willing to spend on 'American Iron' over here.

After having resigned myself to the fact that we were going to have to get some kind of boring Toyota flat-tray something or other, I stumbled on a 1961 GMC that an old man was selling in the e-classifieds (Gumtree, to be specific). The price wasn't too bad, and the truck looked/sounded pretty solid. More to the point, when I looked under the hood all of a sudden all of the things my father used to pound into my head started to make some sense.

I'm not sure if this will make sense to most of y'all, because I get the impression a lot of the folks on this forum have been wrenching on cars in some capacity for awhile, but it was nice looking under a hood and not feeling like a complete moron (seriously, for all I know our Golf is powered by gremlins riding hamsters). There was also the added bonus that I felt like in some way the old truck represented something from my childhood that I hadn't previously realized I was missing.

Looking back, I think I can remember pretty much every car that we ever owned. Living in a rural part of the States, cars aren't just something you drive to and from work, they're a part of everything you do. When there's no public transport, and you're at least half an hour from the nearest grocery store, a car that doesn't let you down is one of the most important things you'll ever own.

The thing is though, there's never been a car in the history of ever that's never let someone down. That just becomes part of the story. ****, I drove around for about a year in an old Ford Fairmont that had so much rust in the fuel tank that at you had to carry a portable air compressor in the back-seat so that you could occasionally chug off to the side of the road and blow the rust off the fuel filter through the fuel line. Then it was just a simple matter of sucking the gas back up through the line so that you could reconnect the fuel pump and get back on the road again. Some folks can deal with it, some can't.

Maybe it was being desperate and poor. Maybe it was watching my father somehow will an old car to life with nothing but an old rag and some WD-40. Either way, I'm lucky enough to be someone that can deal with it.

Anyway long story short, I bought the truck off of the old man that owned it and so began the journey. I've spent a crapload of money, time and effort getting the old truck on the road. There's still issues of course (for those keeping score, yes, I still have a mismatched cylinder head..... for the moment I've just accepted that I'm running 2 types of spark-plugs). But, I'm still pretty **** happy with my decision. Every time I get behind the wheel, it's like stepping into a past that I'm not quite ready to walk away from just yet. Yea, it's on drum brakes, it doesn't shift properly if I'm stupid/impatient, and it'll never win best in show as far as looks are concerned (then again, neither will I). It's slow to accelerate and I'm only now starting to realize how *****ty people can be if they're in a hurry and they think you're holding them up. But, it suits me. I might be living in Australia, but America will always be my home. Somehow driving around in an old beast with the steering wheel on the 'wrong' side just feels right.

I've been using the truck as a daily driver to and from work for about a month now. But, today was the first day that he's been on a real drive. It was about 40 minutes each way (we had an hour break in-between) and it was proper highway driving, not the pottering along that I've been doing.

The day was a complete success (ok, I might've had a moment with the gears and there was a small tire-skid while coming to a stop, once. But, it was totally the other dude's fault LOL). Again, this might sound a bit silly to y'all, but it was nice to be chugging down the road. No AC, no radio, just my wife and I and a bench seat on a sunny Saturday morning. Like the subject says, I had a nice drive today.

Last edited by Jmclendon; December 3rd, 2016 at 09:17 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old December 3rd, 2016, 01:25 PM
bobdylan bobdylan is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: mclouth kansas
Truck: 64 Gmc suburbann 305e, 4speed. v12 truck engine, v12 irrigation,2-305e,305a,305d
Age: 68
Posts: 373
Rep Power: 152
bobdylan is on a distinguished road
Default Re: I Had a nice drive today

Great story. Keep them coming. I can relate, I have had old Land rovers with the steering wheel on the wrong side and non syncro trans, that you had to double clutch. and getting the single finger salute from impatient drivers.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old December 3rd, 2016, 03:55 PM
TJ's GMC's Avatar
TJ's GMC TJ's GMC is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Cave Junction, Oregon
Truck: 1964 GMC 1500 LWB Wideside 305E V6.
Posts: 1,341
Rep Power: 399
TJ's GMC is on a distinguished road
Default Re: I Had a nice drive today

Awesome story, I can understand. I will say there's nothing like driving an old truck on a summer evening enjoying the sunrise. Did that many times through the summer.
__________________
"Excuse the rust I use my truck"
1964 GMC 1500 305E/sm420 4 barrel intake mod and dual exhaust.
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

1964 Chevy C20 292/SM420
1966 Chevy C10 292 hotrod 6/TKO600


My youtube channel aka Military Chevy:
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old December 3rd, 2016, 07:13 PM
Funky61's Avatar
Funky61 Funky61 is offline
-= Dues Paid =-
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Corona, CA
Truck: 1961 Suburban 1962 GMC Utility
Posts: 1,130
Rep Power: 409
Funky61 is just really niceFunky61 is just really niceFunky61 is just really niceFunky61 is just really niceFunky61 is just really niceFunky61 is just really nice
Default Re: I Had a nice drive today

Great story; Need a pic with those Big Dogs in the Back.
__________________
1961 GMC Suburban 305A Overdrive
1962 GMC Utility 305D
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old December 3rd, 2016, 07:45 PM
GMCDAC's Avatar
GMCDAC GMCDAC is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Green Valley, east of Rapid City,SD
Truck: I have 4 GMCs, none with a V-6 - YET! Have had 2 in the family.
Age: 67
Posts: 553
Rep Power: 210
GMCDAC is on a distinguished road
Default Re: I Had a nice drive today

Great story and attitude about your truck! I can understand the feeling! When I drive my wife's 06 GMC, it's so comfortable and smooth but it only takes me "places".

My GMC's are comparably primitive, not as comfortable and require more work to drive. Those trucks do more than take me places, they take me back in time.

DAC
__________________
Doug Crawford
Rapid City, SD

1970 GMC K5 Jimmy Mom drove 30 years
1972 GMC C2500 owned since 1979
1955 GMC 100 driver-project
2006 GMC Yukon Denali---wife's truck

Hope to have a '60 GMC Suburban again someday
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old December 10th, 2016, 11:14 PM
hubarlow hubarlow is offline
Member
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Harlingen, TX
Truck: 1963 1000
Age: 59
Posts: 38
Rep Power: 59
hubarlow is on a distinguished road
Default Re: I Had a nice drive today

Love the story, but somehow I mange to be FASTER on the road with the old GMC than most people with their "new" cars. I do tend to confuse people when I am driving because I tend to shift without the clutch (why clutch when you do not have to) and for some reason they think I am trying to race. Every now and again, this seems to encourage someone to pick up the pace and "Beat the old guy" in a race. I am not racing, just getting the gear speeds synched by matching RPMs with the speed of the truck. Enjoy your American Iron. G'day, Mate! ;-)
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old December 13th, 2016, 05:53 PM
cikmontanan cikmontanan is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: montana
Truck: 1960 gmc 4000 coe
Age: 72
Posts: 11
Rep Power: 71
cikmontanan is on a distinguished road
Default Re: I Had a nice drive today

Nice story for all.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Re: Nice Truck! Archiver Previous Forum Posts 0 March 22nd, 2010 01:34 AM
Nice Truck! Archiver Previous Forum Posts 0 March 18th, 2010 05:45 AM
Re: Nice trucks! Archiver Previous Forum Posts 0 November 24th, 2003 12:03 AM
Nice trucks! Archiver Previous Forum Posts 0 November 22nd, 2003 12:35 AM
Nice looking B model Archiver Previous Forum Posts 0 March 2nd, 2001 02:01 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:10 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2013, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd 681711554703|1710497425|0