'69 GMC Build Thread.

[samwise68]

well. i picked this little gem up a couple weeks ago. a friday night i received a phone call from a friend of mine, asking what year my chevy truck was, to which i replied a '69.

he went on to say something along the lines of, "well, i have a '69 GMC here, with a 307, and a 3 speed on the column...100 bucks and it's yours."

apparently, his neighbor asked my friend if he knew anyone who'd want to buy the '69 for a hundred dollars. he instantly thought of me.

so, saturday morning, we struck a deal.

the story goes that Jerry Wilcox bought the truck new in May, 1969, in Middletown, Ohio. then moved to Rhinelander, Wisconsin. which is where i live. he then sold the truck to Mr. Luber's dad, who then gave the truck to Mr. Luber, whom i bought it from. it includes all the original paper work, and it was driven to my house, down the highway. shhh...haha.

here's before.





















It's just a '69 gmc halfton, with a 307, 3 spd, and 3.07 gears out back. hoping to make a nice little cruiser outta it, something that won't kill on gas and all that jazz. so, here goes nothing...

[samwise68]

first order of business was to remove the home brewed sign that was put in by the original owner, stating "Wilcox Sheetmetal".

so, out it came.



then came the patch panel, donated from a spare semi-solid bed side that was laying around. and...welding.



then, there was just rust to take care of. so. out it came.



and in went the new metal. yayyy fluxcore welding.

and thats about it for the driver side bedside. aside from a few minor dents, it's just about all taken care of.

[samwise68]

driver side after patches.

now. on to the passenger side!!


you may not be able to see it, but there was a big ugly dent/crease in the sheet metal, in front of the wheel well. and, this was after i got it out, using hammer and dollys, a dent puller, and when things got bad...a 3 pound ballpeen and part of a leaf spring. i never said this was going to be by the book...


and more rust to deal with...ick.


and out it came...


and in some new went! it needs another small chunk. but, yes.

note the sweet Buick hub caps i put on it. i know,

thats where i stopped for today. and..will pick up when i have time throughout the week.

hopefully i can get the passenger side roughed out, so i can DA it down, and get it pulled before i order my rockers and cab corners, and go from there...

yup.

[Palf70Step]

So someone else was whacking and welding today too. Nice work on the patches.

Very nice truck for the price!

[GREASEMONKEY72]

sweet deal man, some nice work youre doing there

[samwise68]

thanks for the nice words guys.

i'm pretty happy about the overall condition of the truck for the price. i mean, any vehicle that runs, goes, stops, etc for 100...can't really knock on it.

i know most of the stuff i'm going to be doing to this isn't exactley by the book, or up to par of most of the other guys on this board. but hey. it's a truck. and to have a fully functional truck, for under a grand, which is basically what i'm shooting for...hell. i'm happy.

so. more updates coming soon!
as soon as i get some more welding wire...gah.

-Sam.

[samwise68]

yup. more rust.



and where it came from.



and what went in it's place.






anddddd rust. perhaps "Heavy Patina"?



and the patch.

took that damn topper off, and i'll reserve that for times i need storage..or...something? meh. aluminum prices are up.





and just because i like firewall numbers.



and thats about it for now. if you noticed in the background, the ol' Farmall is hooked up to the haybine. so. haying is right around the corner, which hopefully won't limit my truck progress, but most likely will. heh.

well, tell me what you think!

any comments are welcome, as well as suggestions.

thanks.

-Sam.

[Shyguy]

You sure got a great deal when you bought the truck.

I too believe a truck is a truck. My goal for my '71 Chevy is to make a reliable daily driver that can be used to haul things around here on the farm and supplies from town.

Looks like you are making great progress.

Keep the pictures coming.

Danny - SEMO

[Longhorn Man]

sweet deal. I was in middletown last month, down close to Cinci in case you were wondering.

[samwise68]

ooo. so thats where abouts it is.

i'm kinda wondering why Mr. Wilcox would move up here to Rhinelander....but, atleast now i know where it came from. Thanks Andy.

[Longhorn Man]

20 or so miles north of Cinci on I-75... my grandfather grew up there too.

[samwise68]

I wonder if your grandfather remembers London' Sales and Service, on 404 N. Verity Parkway...? lol.

gotta love "Important Truck Papers".

or, if he knew where abouts Forest Glen Drive was. since apparently that where Gerald Wilcox lived.

-shrug-.

still some cool irony as it is.

[samwise68]

got a bit more welded up tonight.

some more rust on the fender arch that i didn't like.
you can see it here, to the left of the patch.



so out it came.


and the patch goeth inneth.


weld weld weld.


remember. you're not burning through. you're simply testing the temperature resistance of the sheet metals integral structure regarding intensity.


and thats about it for today. i just have to play connect the dots on the spot welds, and that about does it.

then i plan on stripping it with the DA, pulling it off, flipping it over, and welding up a few spots that i didn't feel like doing on my back.

then some form of treatment to the underside of the bed and the panels, to try to atleast slow down the rust. hah. not in Wisconsin...

but. thats it. stay tuned for more semi-mediocre repairs.

-Sam.

[samwise68]

update!

i haven't done much of..well...anything as of late.

last week was spent working on the daily driver, and ending up replacing a head gasket. yayy head gaskets!
silly little Plymouth. haha.

and then saturday was a music show, so needless to say i didn't get much done this weekend.

so. this week you may ask?

pulling the bed.
and finishing that up.

and waiting on my cab corners and rocker panels, etc, to arrive.

and thats where it stands at the moment.

more and better updates are headed your way!
stay tuned!

-Sam.

[Longhorn Man]

Originally Posted by samwise68

I wonder if your grandfather remembers London' Sales and Service, on 404 N. Verity Parkway...? lol.

gotta love "Important Truck Papers".

or, if he knew where abouts Forest Glen Drive was. since apparently that where Gerald Wilcox lived.

-shrug-.

still some cool irony as it is.

I missed all this.
My grandfather died on my 18th B-day, 15 years ago. Don't say sorry to hear... no one misses him. he wouldn't remember anyone or anyplace from there anyways since he was drunk from his 15th birthday till the day he died.

Keep us updated on the truck, and if you are in middletown, go to the huge swap meet/flea market. (I wish i remember exactly where it was) Lots and lots of vendors, and all kinds of neat stuff there.

[samwise68]

Andy, i will definitely check out the swap meet in Middletown if i ever get down around those parts.

and regarding your grandfather...well...i dig the fact you tell it like it is. rad man, just rad.
lol.

-Sam.

[Longhorn Man]

you can see it from I75 IIRC... it'smore of a flea market now that I think about it. I picked up about 7 hot wheels trucks, a few of them hard to find.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

What the hell is hanging outta the dash ? Looks like the rest of the truck is comming along nicely....

[Longhorn Man]

I see a CB radio where the stereo goes, and a traler brake controller by your left knee as sitting in the drivers seat.

[samwise68]

unfortunately...it's not a CB. it's just a radio. WHY someone would put that in the dash...i dunno. it kinda worked when i got it. but...still. luckily i have some extra dashes, pending on if i want a dummy AM in the dash, or just a normal CD player.


and you're correct about the trailer brake controller. they have it rigged up pretty...umm...well. i'll point it out in a pic. haha.



to the right of the brake booster are 3 springs stretched out on a board attached to the firewall. wires are hooked to them. i don't know what they do. but. it's for the trailer brake booster, atleast thats what we've concluded.

o. and take note of the brake line running above the booster, across the top of the firewall.

yeah. thats not for the brake booster. thats just for the brakes. heh...

i've got some fixin' to do....

-Sam.

[samwise68]

okee, got some done today.

pulled the bed off, flipped it over, and stuck it in the garage so i can finish up the underside.





then, i threw some primer at the two '67 fenders i had repaired last year.







i'm kinda concerned about only have markers on the bed, since i'l be using the smooth fenders. i could either just ignore, and enjoy the damn truck, or screw the reflectors onto the fenders. kinda half-assed. but, effective to a point, i suppose. i just know i don't want to shave the back, or graft in the front...

any ideas?

oh.

and i also snatched a 7 hole dash from my dad's old '68 C20, so i can keep track of oil pressure, voltage, and temp., along with vaccuum, since he installed the gauge.





and thats about it. tomorrow the cutting and welding and other such nonsense begins.

stay tuned!

-Sam.

[Longhorn Man]

You know that you can't just plug the 7 hole panel in place of the 3 hole right? you WILL burn the fuel guage and nothing will wirk right.
TRUST ME!!!

[samwise68]

oooo.

NOW i know. hahah.

i'll have to grab the harness out of the donor then.

LoL, man, that would've been quite a shock.

thanks for that Andy!

[Longhorn Man]

no problem... I learned the hard way. My buddy laughed hystericly... falling down into the dirt, (Alcohol might have been involved) when the needle on my fuel guage did a couple laps before a small puff of smoke escaped the center of it and it never moved again.
GMC Paul' site has directions on it on how to rewire the plug so you don't have to go and rewire the whole truck... may wanna check it out.
Someone here has the link... I lost it a long time ago.

[engineerdad]

Originally Posted by samwise68

unfortunately...it's not a CB. it's just a radio. WHY someone would put that in the dash...i dunno. it kinda worked when i got it. but...still. luckily i have some extra dashes, pending on if i want a dummy AM in the dash, or just a normal CD player.


and you're correct about the trailer brake controller. they have it rigged up pretty...umm...well. i'll point it out in a pic. haha.



to the right of the brake booster are 3 springs stretched out on a board attached to the firewall. wires are hooked to them. i don't know what they do. but. it's for the trailer brake booster, atleast thats what we've concluded.

o. and take note of the brake line running above the booster, across the top of the firewall.

yeah. thats not for the brake booster. thats just for the brakes. heh...

i've got some fixin' to do....

-Sam.

That spring arrangement is for an electric anti-sway for the trailer - works through the brake circuit. I've got a similar one on my '71 that's been there since it was new. I haven't found anthing that explains how it works, but I know that's what it's for. Mine has a shunt across the resistor to adjust just how much it actuates or at what point it actuates.

engineerdad