1966 GMC Truck Project

[gimmy 64]

as far as wireing goes for gauges i used the wiring diagram that is on here somewhere. it's for chevy but it worked. i used dolphin gauges they are not real expensive and look good.

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by gimmy 64

as far as wireing goes for gauges i used the wiring diagram that is on here somewhere. it's for chevy but it worked. i used dolphin gauges they are not real expensive and look good.

Gimmy, thanks for the reply. I looked at dolphin gauges and they do look nice, however the whole wiring seemed a bit daunting to me so I decided to use the old gauges with a wooden dash/bezel. Will upload images shortly.
Thanks again.

[russellmalcolm]

Ok, worked on the dash this weekend. Got the wood cut out and prepared, then the glass (it was a bit of a test due to the different levels of the gauge faces), and then got everything mounted together. I also could not find any front G M C letter for the grille... so more wood!

[russellmalcolm]

Here is the final assembly

[piratexpress1369a]

Originally Posted by russellmalcolm

Here is the final assembly
Attachment 985255

that is sharp ..where did you get the steering wheel from ..i'm looking for that same one

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by piratexpress1369a

that is sharp ..where did you get the steering wheel from ..i'm looking for that same one

Thanks for the comment. The steering wheel was on the truck when I bought it, but I have seen some similar ones on e-bay, you may want to look there. Hope that helps.

Like your panel truck, how is the build coming along?!
Cheers

[66gmc250]

i like the wood work!!! cant wait to see the letters for the grille !

[piratexpress1369a]

Originally Posted by russellmalcolm

Thanks for the comment. The steering wheel was on the truck when I bought it, but I have seen some similar ones on e-bay, you may want to look there. Hope that helps.

Like your panel truck, how is the build coming along?!
Cheers

my build will be slow as molasses in january ..i'll check out ebay for a cool steering wheel

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by 66gmc250

i like the wood work!!! cant wait to see the letters for the grille !

Thanks. Keep checking back, hope to have the letters on the grille in the coming weeks.
cheers.

[MOTOIMPAIRED]

Nice job on the wood work, gonna be unique and thats good..

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by MOTOIMPAIRED

Nice job on the wood work, gonna be unique and thats good..

Thanks. Yes, it should be unique, and I am really looking forward to getting the work done and the truck on the road soon.
cheers.

[woodscavenger]

Nice wood skills. I would have been tempted to laminate some plywood with an exotic wood burl like redwood burl or maple burl but that is the long lost woodworker in me.....

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by woodscavenger

Nice wood skills. I would have been tempted to laminate some plywood with an exotic wood burl like redwood burl or maple burl but that is the long lost woodworker in me.....

Great moniker!!!
Yeah, that would be a great way to go with some really nice redwood! This time I kept it simple and reused the old oak wood from the bed, still have plenty of planks left for future projects! thanks for the post.
cheers.

[russellmalcolm]

I found that the gas fumes were coming into the cab due to a cracked filler hose (thanks markeb01), so I decided to tackle the job today. Here are some pics of what I did.


Tank in truck


Cab without tank


Tank


Cracked hose


Touch up paint in cab

[russellmalcolm]

Ok, worked on the tank today, got the hose attached, but had trouble getting the tank to fit correctly with the hose. Needed more room to work with, so decided to cut out a section of the cab. Should not be noticeable, as it is covered with the cab lining, but may need to weld the piece back in.

Anyhow, my boy's helped me as usual and we got it back in successfully.

[russellmalcolm]

My parts from classic parts arrived, so they will find there way into the truck over the next couple of days.

old and new

[piratexpress1369a]

Originally Posted by russellmalcolm

My parts from classic parts arrived, so they will find there way into the truck over the next couple of days.

old and new

Attachment 987883

Attachment 987884

looks like the new mirror is smaller..

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by piratexpress1369a

looks like the new mirror is smaller..

Yeah, this photo does give it that impression. Actually they are the same size, looks that way because of the angle at which I took the pic.
Cheers

[JRANGER]

nice work

[kieth]

Nice Truck, love to see old gmcs in process. I have a 66, here is what my dash looked like after we finished it. Kieth




how it looked http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...5370&k=qBsq92W


how it looked after: http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...5370&k=qBsq92W

it is a stock dash with stock gauges, just jazzed up a little. Kieth

Keep up the good work.

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by kieth

Nice Truck, love to see old gmcs in process. I have a 66, here is what my dash looked like after we finished it. Kieth




how it looked http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...5370&k=qBsq92W


how it looked after: http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...5370&k=qBsq92W

it is a stock dash with stock gauges, just jazzed up a little. Kieth

Keep up the good work.

Kieth, your truck is amazing! My wife and I were going through your pics, and talking about what we can do with mine next, just hope mine will look that good one day. Outstanding work and love that final color!

I need to ask you about your front grille. I was going to have my chromed but ended up only getting the front bumper done. I like what you did with yours and the color, what is that?

Thanks.
russell

[luvbowties]

Originally Posted by russellmalcolm

Ok, here are the new pics of the dash with the wood. Will give the wood another coat of poly. Now, need to find a good affordable set of gauges, still wanting any help with how to go about the wiring... anyone with any links and/or diagrams for doing the gauge wiring is much appreciated.
cheers.

Attachment 978689

Attachment 978690

Attachment 978691

Each gauge basically takes 2 wires. Six gauges X 2 wires = 12 wires, max. Keep it simple:many gauges can take a common ground...thus less than 12 wires total. Buy(on Ebay?) several spools of different color, 14 gauge wire(probably 16ga would suffice). Have lots left over, but color-coding cannot be beat. You can also buy (on Ebay) plug-in block-clusters for wiring--2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16-terminal male-to-female blocks--nice to make dash easily unpluggable and removable.....and easy to re-plug and reinstall.

BTW: nice job on the seat, bed and on the dash-start!

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by JRANGER

nice work

Thanks! Like what your doing with your truck and house!
cheers.

[kieth]

Originally Posted by russellmalcolm

Thanks! Like what your doing with your truck and house!
cheers.

I painted the grille the same medium fawn metalic as the interior, just did not have the paint mixed flat. I painted the gmc letters in the center to match the truck color. The green is the standard dietzler light green but instead of having the color mixed normally we replaced the white with metalic silver and the solid yellow with transparent yellow. We did a white sealer then overlaid 3 coats of base green then 3 coats of polyurethane clear. It took a lot of base coat, but it is relatively inexpensive. Thanks for the compliments but it surely is not perfect, we know every flaw in the truck but I have put 6,000 miles on it since getting it back together and we really have a lot of fun with it. Yours looks great just keep plugging away. Kieth

[russellmalcolm]

Originally Posted by kieth

I painted the grille the same medium fawn metalic as the interior, just did not have the paint mixed flat. I painted the gmc letters in the center to match the truck color. The green is the standard dietzler light green but instead of having the color mixed normally we replaced the white with metalic silver and the solid yellow with transparent yellow. We did a white sealer then overlaid 3 coats of base green then 3 coats of polyurethane clear. It took a lot of base coat, but it is relatively inexpensive. Thanks for the compliments but it surely is not perfect, we know every flaw in the truck but I have put 6,000 miles on it since getting it back together and we really have a lot of fun with it. Yours looks great just keep plugging away. Kieth

Thanks Kieth, I am picking up the grille tomorrow along with the newly chromed front bumper. I will hammer out the dent in the grille and then get it ready for painting, will try to match the color you used as it looks really good. Thanks for the comments and the support.
russell