1970 GMC C30 Answer to planned obolesence

[AL King]

I was sitting on the side of the highway, waiting for a tow truck to take my 03 E-350 off the road, for the 3rd time in a month. And I had some time to think about some of the better trucks I have owned. It seems that most of the breakdowns are caused by electronics and rust. If I buy an older truck to get away from the electronics then there is the rust issue. Also I need a 1 ton to haul stuff. The older V8s' don't get good mileage and the older trucks' didn't have diesels. So I'm thinking one of the better trucks I had was an 88 F 350 with a Navistar 444 CID indirect injection diesel. Strong engine really simple, has a mechanical fuel pump and got reasonable economy. ( it too rusted away)
I had a 1970 C30 longbase dually stored away as a future project, so I decided to restore it. It only had 22816 original miles but was a 250 CID 6 cyl with a4 speed standard. The original rear end was a 5:13 it probably wouldn't go faster than about 50 wound out.
I stripped the truck completely apart. Then sandblasted the frame and coated it with an underwater marine epoxy. Then sandblasted and epoxy coated every single part as it went back together. I scrapped 6 other trucks for parts donors.
The engine is a factory rebuilt I found in a 1992 E -350 ambulance. The tranny is a ZF S6 six speed from a 2001 F350. It was a special project just to mate the two. The front K frame is from an 89 GMC R 3500 with heavy duty F42 suspension option. The rear end is 4:10 from the same R3500. Rear springs are 15000 Lb.
The body is mostly repro parts because there are just not many of these trucks left up here. I used VDO instruments and other wise the truck looks original inside.
This diesel has a huge amount of torque compared to the original engines. It will pull away in 3rd gear if you pop the clutch at an idle.
There were a lot of custom made parts such as engine mounts and driveshafts. I don't even know how many hours, but I do know it will outlast me. So it's my last truck and a little protest against the planned obsolesence in new trucks.

[Tx Firefighter]

Great truck !

I never dreamed I'd see an IDI stuffer into one of these trucks.

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks great

[71meangreenc10]

This is going to be swwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttt.........

Smitty

[keith cservak]

What ever happened to this truck would love to see it finished.
Keith.

[AL King]

I finished it with a 12 Ft. Galvanized flatbed with ash decking. I runs well, it can carry 3500 Lb. and run safely at 70 MPH. Gets about 17-18 miles per U.S. Gal.
I run it all year round and the epoxy really did a good job at controlling rust. Our Ontario highways are awfully hard on vehicles because of the salt. Haven't had to call a tow truck yet and have put about 50,000 miles on it so far.
I figure it has so far saved more in depreciation than it would cost to buy a new truck.
The ZF S-6 is a really good match for this engine and frame.

[keith cservak]

Originally Posted by AL King

I finished it with a 12 Ft. Galvanized flatbed with ash decking. I runs well, it can carry 3500 Lb. and run safely at 70 MPH. Gets about 17-18 miles per U.S. Gal.
I run it all year round and the epoxy really did a good job at controlling rust. Our Ontario highways are awfully hard on vehicles because of the salt. Haven't had to call a tow truck yet and have put about 50,000 miles on it so far.
I figure it has so far saved more in depreciation than it would cost to buy a new truck.
The ZF S-6 is a really good match for this engine and frame.

Thank you that turned out fantastic do you have more pics of it the engine compartment or the bed build any you have would be great.
Thanks Keith.

[dirtwork]

Nice Truck!!

[trac209]

Wow now that's a workhorse to be proud of! I'd take that over a new plastic truck any day of the week in any climate too

[junksaver]

Nice Truck. I would love to see more pictures of it.

[AL King]

Sorry I didn't reply sooner. I seldom come on this website any more. I have lots of pictures taken during the frame off restoration. I would be glad to offer any help that I can if someone else wants to put one of these diesels into their truck. My only caution is that it is really noisy. The whole truck shakes when it idles. But it gets good mileage, pulls heavy loads well. It also really moves out it will do well over a ton with no effort. I suspect it would hit 120 MPH if you had the nerve or stupidity.