Yet another New Guy - 6066 (1960-1966) GMC Truck Club

Zorba · #1 February 27th, 2020, 08:15 PM

New guy here, central Florida. Don't own a GMC, but would like to. I grew up with my parent's '63 2500 with the 9 foot bed. The sound, the sound! The sound of the engine and particularly that wonderful SM420 when my dad would drop it into 2nd towing our 29 foot 5th wheel up a very steep hill. Just did something for my soul. The only bad part of that truck was that it was a rust bucket and was exacerbated by the wrap around cab gutter which was NOT one of GM's better ideas.

Unlike today, my father was able to special order it by LINE ITEM. Then he put a very HD diamond plate rear bumper on it that came off his previous truck, a '53 Dodge 1 ton. Had an enormous "Touraide" trailer hitch that went way back under the truck and was welded with all kinds of bracing.

Ed Snyder · #2 February 28th, 2020, 02:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zorba

New guy here, central Florida. Don't own a GMC, but would like to. I grew up with my parent's '63 2500 with the 9 foot bed. The sound, the sound! The sound of the engine and particularly that wonderful SM420 when my dad would drop it into 2nd towing our 29 foot 5th wheel up a very steep hill. Just did something for my soul. The only bad part of that truck was that it was a rust bucket and was exacerbated by the wrap around cab gutter which was NOT one of GM's better ideas.

Unlike today, my father was able to special order it by LINE ITEM. Then he put a very HD diamond plate rear bumper on it that came off his previous truck, a '53 Dodge 1 ton. Had an enormous "Touraide" trailer hitch that went way back under the truck and was welded with all kinds of bracing.

Your Dad sounds a lot like my Dad. He special ordered the one ton Suburban that's in my garage now. He towed a 24' Avion travel trailer all over the Midwest with it.

Zorba · #3 February 28th, 2020, 04:02 AM

Yea. The inability to order exactly what you want by line item is preventing me from ever buying a new vehicle. Never mind the electronic crap that is "standard" by mandate of our overlords and the Carcos both.
Driving a truck like the '63 was a very tactile experience. You heard the engine, you heard the transmission, you even heard the rear end. You weren't isolated from the driving experience or the machine itself. Not like the numb iPhone on wheels experience we're saddled with today.