A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

Ok guys, I had the opportunity to work on my truck over the Holiday weekend and am needing some answers about some various topics including my emergency brake, throttle cable, and interior setup.

I put the vent doors in and ran into a problem with the emergency brake. It was mounted to the outside of the dash with a random bolt which I can assume isn't correct and the cable is extremely long and ran through a hole made in the firewall by the PO. It has never worked and blocks the handle to the vent door. Can anyone tell me if this is correct? the cable ran horizontally rather than downward like the LMC catalogue showed.

http://i45.tinypic.com/2h4fdar.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/25q3hb7.jpg

Next is the throttle cable, the cable does not seem to be ran correctly. It is the correct cable but the rod does not seem to be long enough. Is it the right one for a 71? As you can tell I had to shim the cable to get full throttle. Where the cable comes through the firewall is about an inch higher than the top of the rod. What needs to be done?

http://i50.tinypic.com/34opitu.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/2luto8x.jpg

Third, the steering has extreme laxity and now the joint appears to be leaking grease. It looks like where all the "play" is coming from. How can I fix this? Does the column need replacing?

http://i50.tinypic.com/33da2c2.jpg

Lastly, my interior has wood trim. Does anyone know where it came from?

http://i48.tinypic.com/sblrhw.jpg
http://i46.tinypic.com/290sn0g.jpg

Thanks for reading the lengthy post. All suggestions are appreciated.
JonFrank

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

From your pictures it appears your cab is not a 71,
looking at the throttle linkage mounting nut welded on the inside of the cab (behind the throttle linkage in your pic) that cab originally had a throttle lever bolted from the outside instead of a cable, (used from 67-70)

The throttle linkage shown in your picture is not from a 71-72 chev truck. not sure what its from.

I would get all the throttle linkage from a 71 or 72, grind off the current nut plate, mock up the new pedal and drill the three holes needed, weld nuts on the firewall side, then drill a new hole where the cable needs to be and use a file to make the hole square.

On your emergency brake need a bit more info to try to help you sort things out,
Is there a rectangular hole in the firewall just outside of the fuse block? or is there one below where the steering column comes through the firewall?

The wood on your interior is someones custom creation..

Mark

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

Only thing i can answer is the wooden stuff. I think thats custom hand made stuff. Never seen it in a magazine or anything.

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

Thanks for the quick information guys. I figured as much on the interior pieces but they actually look decent.

I am actually pretty shocked about the cab. Although I knew the throttle had to be odd. Is swapping over to the correct setup labor intensive?


There actually is a square hole under the steering column. Im pretty confident the cable is not even close to correct. The cable has nothing to secure the cable into the square hole. I guess I need the correct cable... Also the emergency brake setup was bolted to the dash but on the outside. Should it be on the inside of the dash? I hope that made sense!

Well...If some think it isn't the correct cab is that going to confuse the emergency brake setup?

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

the throttle linkage swap is not real difficult, cutting off the original nut plate, the drilling of a couple of holes, and filing one square for the cable, and bolting it to the firewall

Since your cab has a square hole below the steering column that identifies it as a 1968 cab, hence the reason for the odd emergency brake issues.. in 68 the cable came in under the steering column to a large "pull handle" intead of a foot pedal..

Here is a link to a picture of a 71/72 firewall which will hopefully help you out.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=295546

All you will need to do for the emergency brake is to drill the hole in the proper spot for the cable to come through file it square, then aquire the rest of the cable parts, (a clamp and bolt which holds the cable to the pedal assembly, and a roll pin to attach the cable end), yes the pedal assembly should be bolted to the top side of the dash bottom..

Hopefully that was not too confusing??

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

It made perfect sense. Thanks for responding.

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

Are there any suggestions for the steering column?

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

The steering intermediate shaft has what is call a trunion bearing, it normally is not a severly worn item.. you could remove the shaft, pull off the snap ring and dissasemble and inspect.. more than likely it just needs a cleaning and new grease..
From the picture of your steering column it appears that the shaft is off center at the bottom, it most likely just needs a new lower bearing..
also is there a spring behind the big flat washer on the steering shaft? it is hard to see in the picture, it holds the lower bearing into the column

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

Pulling up an older thread. I'm hoping the very knowledgable LIVRAT will chime in. WOuld it be a huge hassle to direct me to the correct parts needed to for the emergency cable situation. I need to fix that head ache.

Last: my cab is AC equipped, I want to get rid of it and install the heater box, will it be plug and play with the inner/outer boxes, control unit, and cables? Or will there be holes in the firewall left uncovered?

Thanks guys and sorry I make this difficult, I just really want to get this thing rolling again!

Thank you again for your replies.

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

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It appears to me that you need a '67-'68 style emergency brake handle that bolts up under the dash, just to the left of the steering column. You would have to re-route the cable through the stock hole for it to mate up to the handle. This is one of those things that fit into the "you have to be there to see what is going on" catagory, to be able to give any sound advice...

The holes in the firewall are different between AC and non-AC. I've never tried it but I would think it would be tough to do...

LockDoc

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

I just really don't want the pull-handle style E-brake. I would like to fit the 71-72 style back in. I guess I will just hunt!

Thanks for the reply

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

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No problem. I'm sure it is do-able and I think I have seen some posts on it but it's been a while.

LockDoc

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

Here are a couple of pictures of what you are missing. A clamp, nut and bolt and a roll pin.. hopefully that will help you out. (sorry for the bad pics.. they were taken in the dark with a flashlight for quidence)

Assuming the rest of the emergency brake system under the truck is all intact, all that you would need to do is mount your existing pedal assembly to the firewall and dash, drill a hole in the proper spot for the cable to come through, aquire the missing pieces and mount the cable to the pedal.

On the AC to non AC heater conversion.. the firewalls holes are different, it is quite a task to do it properly, (cutting and welding) I have seen a non AC heater assembly bolted on an unmodified AC firewall but do not know if it worked well.

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

Heres a thread on rebuilding ther steering, donno if yours is worn out and needs replaced or not.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=420406

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

Ok guys, I'm going to rebuild my steering column. If you look in the 5th picture in the 1st post you will see that the lower bearing is hanging out. All the bearings are actually gone. I'm going to order them from classicheartbeat.com

My question is: Is the lower bearing held in by a snap ring? If so, I'll need to find one.

THanks

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

any help?

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

The lower bearing in held in place by a large spring. It goes just behind the big flat washer.

Re: A couple of Q's about my '71 GMC
 

I have not gone from A/C to heater, but I have done it the other way round. The openings in the firewall are different, but it's not a difficult mod. You will have a couple of extra holes where the heater hoses came out - with A/C the heater is inside the cab, and with heater only the heater core is in front of the firewall. You can see the difference in this picture. The paper pattern is what I needed for A/C, so your truck should look like that now. The large opening towards the center of the truck is the same, but the other large opening needs to be changed, and part of it will have to be blocked off, I think, because the heater box will not cover it. Hope this helps.

Richard