New guy

[hubarlow]

Originally Posted by Jmclendon

Glad you got rid of the rims lol

Good luck! I reckon you got the better end of that trade!

I quite agree! So does my insurance company. They charge me ONE dollar more a month now to cover the truck! ;-) I will have to take some more pics with the OLD rims back on the truck and post them. Ebay provided me with some "Poverty" hubcaps from a 70s-80s era GMC, and they now rest nicely on the old rims. They look similar to the originals, but are chrome instead of the painted white that originally came on the truck. I never did have the original caps and I liked the chrome better. Besides, they were cheaper than the painted ones.

[Cayoterun]

Originally Posted by hubarlow

Hello! Just got a '63 GMC 1000 about a month ago. It has the 305 V6. I just LOVE the arguments I get when folks ask, "So, what you got in it?" My first response is usually, "You would not believe me if I told you." They usually reply, "So what DO you have in it?" "A 305 V6." "V6? You sure it's not a V8?" "Nope, it's a V6." "They never made such a thing!" At this point, I open the hood and POINT at it. "THAT ain't no V6, that's a BIG BLOCK!" "Count the plug wires." Usually I can see the mouth move, "One, two, three, four, five, six" and then they shake their head and walk away. Those that don't walk away get an education. I LOVE it!

Got this truck from a buddy of mine. He kept telling me he was going to drop a 350 in it and turn it into a 4 wheel drive. I begged him not to. About a year ago, I came home with an '83 El Camino. My buddy started lusting for the "truck" as soon as I got it home. Kept asking how much I wanted for it. I told him $3500. I was using it as my daily driver and did not really want to sell it, but if someone wanted it more than I did, I was willing to part with it. Finally, a bit over a month ago I get a phone call. "You willing to trade the El Camino for my old GMC?" "Can I drive it back and forth to work?" "Yep, it runs. Needs some work, but you should be able to fix it." I did not even ask to test drive the truck. I drove over to his house with the title for the El Camino and all the keys I had for the car. Drove the truck home that night. I had a vacation planned for the week following, so I did not start working on the truck until about two weeks after I got it, but I have been working the kinks out ever since. First thing to go was the 24 X 10 Ghetto rims my buddy had put on it. They were too tall for the truck. I asked if he still had the original rims and tires. He did. I got them and put them back on. The truck performs MUCH better. It no longer feels like I am taking off in second when I am in first.

In order to steer the thing with the 10 inch wide wheels up front, my buddy converted the truck to power steering (not a bad thing to do, so I will likely keep it). However, he cobbed up some brackets to make the pump fit the engine. I will likely be looking for the power steering pump, brackets and pulleys from a later model (maybe a '72) GMC with power steering. Not sure if such a beast exists, but if it does, I suspect this is the place to find out. I am also looking for another hood for the truck. From what I have seen, a 61-64 hood will work. Maybe something from an old school bus or something. If anyone knows of one, I would be grateful to hear of it. It would be just WONDERFUL if it was located somewhere in Deep South Texas! I could make a road trip for Central and Southeast Texas, but would have to have it delivered by truck if outside of these areas.

I look forward to hearing from you all, and any help/advice I can get would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the site, Hubarlow:

First thing I noticed about your post was the response your get about the V6, ----"THERE AIN'T NO SUCH A THING".

I get a kick out of the responses I get when I talk about the V12s. Isn't it fun to have one, and educate some people about a great piece of automotive history?

Some who have seen it the first time and scratching their heads, I add that it was a factory option back in those days. That's when I get the big "deer in the headlights look". I'll finally confess that I fibbed a little.

Enjoy your toy, and keep us posted on your progress.

[bigblockv6]

I am also looking for another hood for the truck. From what I have seen, a 61-64 hood will work. Maybe something from an old school bus or something. If anyone knows of one, I would be grateful to hear of it.

Actually any 60-66 GMC hood will work but you don't want a 60-61 style hood on your 63. Stick with the 62-66 style hood

[hubarlow]

Originally Posted by Cayoterun

Welcome to the site, Hubarlow:

First thing I noticed about your post was the response your get about the V6, ----"THERE AIN'T NO SUCH A THING".

I get a kick out of the responses I get when I talk about the V12s. Isn't it fun to have one, and educate some people about a great piece of automotive history?

Some who have seen it the first time and scratching their heads, I add that it was a factory option back in those days. That's when I get the big "deer in the headlights look". I'll finally confess that I fibbed a little.

Enjoy your toy, and keep us posted on your progress.

What do you have the V 12 installed in? I have been thinking of looking for a 478 to drop in just to mess with people, but a v 12 would be even more spectacular! I just don't think there would be enough room in the engine bay.

[TJ's GMC]

Welcome aboard!

[hubarlow]

"1964 GMC 1500 305E/sm420 4 barrel intake mod and dual exhaust." Did I read that right? You found a 4 barrel intake for the 305? Where? Watched one of the videos with the GMC. You drive it like I drive mine. Every day.

[TJ's GMC]

Originally Posted by hubarlow

"1964 GMC 1500 305E/sm420 4 barrel intake mod and dual exhaust." Did I read that right? You found a 4 barrel intake for the 305? Where? Watched one of the videos with the GMC. You drive it like I drive mine. Every day.

Yep, you read it right. It's not a factory 4 barrel. It's a magnum intake that I milled out to fit a 4 barrel. Thanks for watching the videos!

[Cayoterun]

Originally Posted by hubarlow

What do you have the V 12 installed in? I have been thinking of looking for a 478 to drop in just to mess with people, but a v 12 would be even more spectacular! I just don't think there would be enough room in the engine bay.

The one I kept is a '46 Chev pu mounted on a '84 GMC 3/4 ton frame and running gear. Had custom adatpers built to mate a 700R4 auto tranny. No hood. From firewall to front of grill measures about 7 feet.

I put another V12 on a '72 Ford long wheel base 1 ton, but used a '62 GMC cab and front clip with a flat bed. Gave it to a museum. It has the same tranny/V12 combo.
I found the easiest way to get it all mounted was strip the frame, then started at the front, mounted motor and tranny with new mounts, then added cab and all after that.

V6/12s are a fun world to play in. I always wondered why GMC quit them except maybe the couldn't sell enough parts since they hardly ever broke down, and fuel consumption was another mark against them.


I'll be watching your progress and see where it leads you. Have fun.

[bigblockv6]

Originally Posted by hubarlow

"1964 GMC 1500 305E/sm420 4 barrel intake mod and dual exhaust." Did I read that right? You found a 4 barrel intake for the 305? Where? Watched one of the videos with the GMC. You drive it like I drive mine. Every day.

Actually GMC did offer a 4bbl dealer installed option on V6 Magnum engines. The 2bbl Magnum manifold already has a square bore 4bbl plenum, it's just a matter of milling the top of the base and opening it up. Here's pics of a square bore and spreadbore versions I've built.

[bigblockv6]

V6/12s are a fun world to play in. I always wondered why GMC quit them except maybe the couldn't sell enough parts since they hardly ever broke down, and fuel consumption was another mark against them.

I could never really get a legitimate answer from anyone why GMC stopped producing the V6 as well as the 60 degree family of engines. I watched that period of time closely back around 74 and it appeared to be some sort of planned obsolescence that was from the hierarchy of GM and not the GMC Truck & Coach division. GMC Medium Duty Truck Brochures in 1974 did not list any of the GMC V6 or Turbium 478 Diesels, you could not find H, J or T 7500 series brochures at the dealers which were models that were exclusively powered by the V6. Yet when you would go to the dealer all these trucks in 74 still had the V6. To me I saw the trend of everything going to Chevrolet powerplants around that time as a reason of cutting production costs since Chevrolet engines were a lot cheaper to make than the big V6's. I think even GMC historian Don Meyer brought that up too. When you really think about that it makes sense because the GMC Truck and Coach division never had produced an engine of their own from that point, their engine plant ceased operations in Pontiac Michigan