'65 GMC 1500 project. From the Netherlands

[Prowbar]

I've created a picture album with some pictures of the truck when I bought it, and with some milestones regarding the progress.

Had a leaking axle seal. Turns out the seal lip was worn to a point where it barely had any pretension. The Speedi Sleeve looked very good. I did not feel like ordering a seal from Rockauto, so made an adapter to use a standard 2.375" oil seal (edit: wrong size given at first). This has a light press fit into the hub and it is secured with Blue Loctite.
See pictures.

To clean up the oily mess I'll boil the brake shoes to remove all the oil from the linings.

[FetchMeAPepsi]

Do you have the part number for that oil ring?
I'd like to see the before and after on those brake shoes too.

[Prowbar]

Originally Posted by FetchMeAPepsi

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Do you have the part number for that oil ring?
I'd like to see the before and after on those brake shoes too.

The ring that houses the oil seal is one that I made myself on a lathe. I used a standard oil seal, 2 3/8" x 3 1/8" x 3/8"

Here is the one I ordered:

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I took some pictures, the one before got a bit blurry. Before boiling I removed most grease and grime from the shoes.

The after shows the linings after they were boiled in a mix of water and washing soda. After boiling I cleaned them with some brake cleaner and a rag.

In my opinion, this is a great way to 'rescue' brake shoes, after they have been soaked in brake fluid because of a leaky wheel cylinder or a leaking axle seal.

[David R Leifheit]

Originally Posted by Prowbar

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Working on the frame paintjob. Already did the rear of the frame while it was on the ground, now doing the frame rails underneath.

I'm using this product for the first layer:

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Basically a product that penetrates the surface rust on the frame. This seals off the rust. It is applied with a very light coat. luckily the frame had very little loose rust that had to be brushed off first, so this saved a ton of time.

When this coat is fully completed, I can move on to the final paint. This is a black chassis/frame paint from Monopol. It is a 2 part deal, based on epoxy.

Some places of the frame I cannot reach right now, because other parts are in the way. These will be done later, whenever the cab is lifted off. I will do what I can, which is the frame and crossmembers, parts of the radiator support etc.

To project the several grease fittings on the front suspension and driveshaft from dirt and dust, these are small cups available for them. To try these out I have fitted them on the grease fittings. We'll see how it works out in the long run.

Also discovered that the oil pan and bellhousing recieved a nice dent, luckily no rubbing from the flywheel. See picture.

My experiences are that many oil pans look like that. I think I sold/traded off all my spare undented ones (and a few with minor dents). The flywheel cover is a nice item to have, although I don't think any of my trucks actually still have theirs. I might have one or two in the barn or garage that I intended to put on a truck ... eventually.

*I say eventually since I have a '63 305 V6 that has the Holley conversion and Electronics, along with the Scotsman plaid covers that has been waiting to go in my '63 for at least 10 years now. Sitting right next to the wife's motorcycle that has been on the motorcycle lift for about the same amount of time (and I have not heard the end of that! Every summer... )

[Prowbar]

Originally Posted by David R Leifheit

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My experiences are that many oil pans look like that. I think I sold/traded off all my spare undented ones (and a few with minor dents). The flywheel cover is a nice item to have, although I don't think any of my trucks actually still have theirs. I might have one or two in the barn or garage that I intended to put on a truck ... eventually.

*I say eventually since I have a '63 305 V6 that has the Holley conversion and Electronics, along with the Scotsman plaid covers that has been waiting to go in my '63 for at least 10 years now. Sitting right next to the wife's motorcycle that has been on the motorcycle lift for about the same amount of time (and I have not heard the end of that! Every summer... )

Back to work!

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[Prowbar]

Good news! Filled 'er up with expensive gasoline (98 octane unleaded), added lead additive, and got 14.7 MPG! Pretty satisfied, and that is just "normal driving" for me.

Bone stock (as far as I know) 305E with the 2 barrel Stromberg and original points ignition. SM420 transmission, 4.10 Dana 60 and 31 inch tires.

Gas prices, converted for 98 unleaded, is 10.10 USD per gallon. Need to get the propane installed!

[David R Leifheit]

Originally Posted by Prowbar

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Back to work!

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That is my problem. Work.
When I got infected with the GMC bug, I was out on disability.
All the time in the world, no money.
Now that I have found a good job I can do its almost the opposite.
I have money, just no time.


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[Prowbar]

Originally Posted by David R Leifheit

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That is my problem. Work.
When I got infected with the GMC bug, I was out on disability.
All the time in the world, no money.
Now that I have found a good job I can do its almost the opposite.
I have money, just no time.


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Sorry to hear.

[lizziemeister'sV6]

Work to live - not live to work.

[Prowbar]

Ok. Now that I got that 478 I have to focus on getting the propane conversion done first - in order to cut my fuel costs by more than half

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I wanted to wait with the conversion because I wanted to get the bed floor in first, which is installed now.

This tank has a 200L capacity, which is around 52 gallons. However, because of safety reasons ie. expansion of the propane as it heats up in the sun, the tank will be only filled to 80% capacity. That leaves 160L or 42 gallons of propane capacity.

I chose a round tank mounted on the bed. I did this to get some genuine capacity. There are tanks that go in place of the spare tire, but these have a much smaller capacity and are much more expensive. I offset the tank to one side, so I can put stuff on the other side whenever I built a toolbox around it, which is a future plan.

In order to mount the propane tank, it has to be attached with brackets to the frame. As it is one heavy SOB when filled up I made a frame that houses the brackets and bolts to the 2 front frame mounting points for the bed. It is now solid as a rock.

Next, I'm going to connect the filler hose and filler opening - and I have a nice trick up my sleeve to hide the filler opening, which you shall see.

A tank meter is not yet installed on the tank. There is the possibility to have a gauge in the cab, however, I will just meter from the tank itself.

Also connected to the tank will be the liquid propane line that goes to the converter in the front. This line is about the same size as a regular 1/4" brake hard line. Remember, it is fed under a pressure of 8 bar (116 psi) to the converter. Also connected to the tank is a wire that operates the solenoid to enable and cut off the propane supply to the line.

The converter converts the liquid gas to a gaseous state. The converter is kept from freezing by the (hot) coolant from the engine. I will place my converter on the return line of the heater.

From the converter, the gaseous propane is fed to the 300A mixer, which is mounted on top of the carburetor. When driving on propane the gasoline supply is cut off and only the throttle blades of the carburetor are used. This IMPCO mixer allows for driving on propane as well as gasoline.

In order to keep the gasoline system working, I'm switching to an electric fuel pump. I can flip a hidden switch in the cab to switch from gas to propane use or vice versa. I will be using a second choke cable to operate the IMPCO 300A mixer. All this will be explained later.