1970 GMC C2500 Ol' Green

[davem815]

As requested by GMCDAC.

This is our 1970 GMC C2500 that we purchased about 1 1/2 years ago. We purchase it as a father/son (and wife) project. My son just turned 14.

I wanted to restore my dad's 1971 Chevy C20 that has been sitting since about 1987 when he passed away. He bought it in 1974 and I learned to drive a 3OTT in it and remember taking a family vacation to the Smokey Mtn. in it.

I knew it would be too big a project for a 13 year olds attentions span. And I needed to start on a simpler project. So we looked for something as a driver/project. We looked at several truck, then looked at this one. In about 30 sec. I decided I wouldn't buy it because it was too rusty. When we left son and wife were both upset because they liked it. About a week later the kid texted me and lowered his price $500. So we bought it. I figured fro $1700 we could play around with it and have some fun. We drove it home 2 hour without a problem. Also it had no windshield rust, it was rusty, but it all down low, floor, fender bottom, etc. Here are some recent pictures:

[davem815]

And some pictures from the seller's ad.

We have dome mostly mechanical fixes to get it dependable/safe to drive.

new brake lines, 3 pt seat belts, tires, U joint, center bearings, turn signal switch, steering column bearings, seat, floor mat, window seals, heater levers, fixed exhaust leaks, replaced two split rims, added mirrors, chrome hub caps, bumper guards, inside bed spare tire carrier, etc.

[Funky61]

Well that cleaned up really nice Dave. Looks to be the 8 1/2 foot bed longhorn version (I know GMC did not call it that) ?

[GMCDAC]

Thanks, Dave, you got that truck for a good price! I'm glad your wife and son put in a bit of pressure to buy it. Is the spid label on the inside of the glove-box door still intact? That tells the story of the truck when it was new. Please keep us informed about what is going on with it!

I forgot to quote Funky61, but I don't think that's the 8-1/2 foot box. There would be a visible vertical seam where the extra 6" was added at the cab end of the box. It is possible that someone may have filled that seam later but GM didn't. The only GMC one I have ever seen in person had a "Sierra Grande" badge in the same place as Chevy's "Longhorn" badge but I know there were 8' box Sierra Grande GMC's made too.

Here's a pic of my '72 C2500 and the spid label. We bought this truck in 1979 and still driving it!.

DAC

[davem815]

It's a 1970 GMC base model Deluxe, with 307 V8 and 4-speed, granny gear. 8 foot bed is correct. Very basic farm truck.

Attached is the SPID. It had two original 16" split rims and two 16.5 x 6.75. We found three more 16.5 x 6.75 rim. (spare matches) 16.5 x 6.00 with 8.75 tires were standard and 16.5 x 6.75 with 9.50 tires were an upgrade and had a higher weight rating. we found five chrome hubcap and my wife painted them over the winter.

It's got a big ol' farm bumper on it. the kind that extends the hitch for hooking up wagons.

Not sure if you can read the print, it's pretty faded.

506 DARK OLIVE 628 LIVE VINYL TIRM
BX2 BODY SIDE MOLDINGS B93 DIIR EDGE GUARDS
G50 HEAVY DUTY REAR SPINGS G70 REAR LEAF SPRING
M20 4 SPEED TRANSMISSION Q20 16X6.00 KELSEY
V46 CHROME BUMPER-FRONT Z53 AMMETER-OIL GUAGE

Truck was built Canada. I don't know any of the history of it. 134k or maybe 234k miles. could be 234 with the wear it has. still original engine though. about 90% original.

[davem815]

DAC, love the camper. I saw one on craigslist last year right after we bought the truck. I wasn't ready for another purchase at the time, but I love the period correct campers on these trucks.

My wife has converted me to GMC. They are a little bit rarer, and I like the chrome grille better. We now have 2014 K2500, 1970 C2500, 1966 1500. I also like 3/4 tons. They look a little more "trucky".

I'm also over on the 67-72chevy truck site with the same user name. (If this is allowed, I'll remove it)

[GMCDAC]

Hi Dave, thanks for the additional info on "Ol Green". It looks like a solid truck that's still ready to work hard! Interesting it's a Canadian built truck.

You did good finding GMC hubcaps. I had to use '73 Chevy caps and I made GMC stickers to cover the bowtie. I couldn't find any GMC ones locally and couldn't afford internet ones. The camper is also a 1972 and has a 6' foot rear overhang requiring an extra axle. Glad you like it.

I'm on the "big city" forum too, lots of education there also but too much going on for me to keep up. I sell and buy a few parts there mainly. Our '55 GMC did win April TOTM over there this year, entered on a whim, basically an "ugly truck" theme for that months vote---LOL! We have 4 GMC's listed in my signature.

DAC