Quote:
Originally Posted by MrTucker
My wife's great-grandfather bought the truck brand new in '53 and it's been in the family ever since.
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If I had a story like that to tell about my Hydra-Matic I'd restore it myself. Mine I bought for $500 from a guy who gave up restoring it after five or ten years of getting very little done. Mine is going to be a hot rod.
I'm not the guy who rebuilds GMC sixes so I don't know many of the details you're after. If no one here offers more help try the forums at OldGMCTrucks.com. You may be able to find the Hydra-Matic and crankshaft details with a couple quick searches.
While the 228 cost more than a 235 to rebuild it isn't bad. If the part of Colorado its been stored in is dry the motor and transmission may be fine with the addition of lubricants. I'd at least try to run them before assuming they need major work.
Faced with your dilemna I'd probably look for one of the bigger GMC motors. The 270 and 302 make more power and are more desirable than your 228 or the next motor, the 248. Its not hard to make a 270 or 302 look just like a 228 so only the most knowledgeable would ever know you'd changed it.
Building one of those motors will take more work and more money than a cheap small block or even cheap 235. But if you are thinking performance crate motor that budget should more than build a big GMC.
The challenge with the Hydra-Matic is finding someone who knows how to do them. I know a couple of guys who have had them done over the last couple of decades. In each case they found an old guy who had done them back when they were common. Guys who did transmissions in the 50's and 60's and who are still willing to work are getting rare...
That doesn't mean it can't be done, nor does it mean you can't do it yourself, its just a little more challenging.
My grandfather had a '41 Chevy 1-ton truck. If I knew where that truck was today I'd be chasing it hard and wanting to restore it. I suspect that truck has made more than one trip east as scrap by now, since he sold it in the 70's and though he never admitted it to me, I think he sold it as scrap.
Even if the in-law nature of your relationship to this truck's history doesn't move you to restore it, the rarity and first of its type nature should at least make you consider carefully before going too far from original.
I say all of that knowing if it were my truck I'd do whatever I wanted and would not care too much what you thought. Its your truck make sure what you do with it satisfies you.