My 1st 68 panel

[richard2717]

Have been looking for a 67-68 panel for quite a few years. I finally found one. It is a 50 footer for now. It is going to need a lot of lower metal work, mostly bondo now. Plan to strip it down, media blast and start from the ground up. I am very glad to have found this board, I have been able to get a few ideas on what works and what won't. I will be looking for good patch panel stuff in the near future, anyone favor one company over another in terms of fit and quality? Does anyone have any OEM panels?

Truck came with what is supposed to be a low mileage 350 crate (mild cam) and a Muncie 4 speed. All of that will be coming out in favor of my 350 roller motor, turbo 400 and narrowed 9" rear.

[dan42]

Looks like you have a nice start - welcome to the boards from California. I love those old panels. Keep us posted!

[wild4wheels]

Welcome from Sunny AZ! Dig the Panel .. wish I would have never sold mine. You will soon learn .. we have short attention spans, we are are kinda like little kids..we like to look at the pictures. JK You have found the worlds best place for info, parts or advice on these old trucks. Good Luck and again, welcome!

[project 67 sub]

Originally Posted by dan42

Looks like you have a nice start - welcome to the boards from California. I love those old panels. Keep us posted!

x2

[JCD]

I like the grenade on top of that 10 foot shifter..

J.

[special-K]

Hey,welcome from the Maryland Piedmont! Congratulations on finding the '68 Panel to work your wonders with. Most guys I've seen repairing those use long bedsides. If you need to repair the tail light area there are patch panels for that.

[richard2717]

Thanks Guys.
JCD I think i will save that shifter in case I build a rat rod or something. LOL
I am not thinking it is what I want on the pro street look. ;-)

Special -K I actually found this one on Ebay over in Spotsylvania VA but it actually was in Cobb Island MD according to the title. She has her share of cancer but let the rebuilding begin.
Unlike my 79 chevy shortbed rebuild I will be taking plenty of pics. Will most likely sell the 79' to help finance this build.
Richard

[richard2717]

One question, I have been told it has a Muncie 4speed. How do I determine exactly what it is? It is definately a 4 speed and not a granny top loader, but I had a 4 speed in my old 69 chevy that I ended up pulling out in favor of the 3 speed it originally had because the 4 speed was so closely geared. I was told that one was a Saginaw but I don't know the difference in them. I have always been told I should be looking for a "Rock Crusher" Muncie, which I assume would be the M21, but I don't know how to identify it.

Richard

[bobs409]

Yikes! Look at that shifter. Who was the previous owner, "Herman Munster"?

Truck looks clean and straight! Great find.

[406 Q-ship]

Originally Posted by richard2717

One question, I have been told it has a Muncie 4speed. How do I determine exactly what it is? It is definately a 4 speed and not a granny top loader, but I had a 4 speed in my old 69 chevy that I ended up pulling out in favor of the 3 speed it originally had because the 4 speed was so closely geared. I was told that one was a Saginaw but I don't know the difference in them. I have always been told I should be looking for a "Rock Crusher" Muncie, which I assume would be the M21, but I don't know how to identify it.

Richard

Muncies are all aluminum cased, saginaws have cast iron cases. M21 is not the "rock crusher", that would be the M22 with straighter cut gears (they are much noiser than any of the other muncies) The M21 and M22 have the same gear ratios inside and are close ratio (2.20 first gear), they typically need a shorter rear axle ratio to work well (3.73 at least in a car). There is an M20 as well that is the wide ratio version of the muncie (2.52 first gear). The only way to truely tell which muncie one has is to pull the side cover (for the M21 and M22 ID) or to count the 1st gear ratio to tell a M20 from the M21 or M22.

It is easy to get the Borg-Warner T10 mixed up with the Muncie too. T10 have the reverse gear inside the main trans case, where as the Muncie is in the tail housing.

[VA72C10]

Looking forward to the build!

[special-K]

Take a picture of the transmission and let us see. We can at least tell you which brand it is.
I really like the idea of a pro-street panel. So,you mean big meats and all? I think that'll give it a shortened look a bit.
Spotsylvania,huh? Musta come across the river. It's not far from Cobb Island. My girlfriend's from down that way. At least that's what the title said...lol

[richard2717]

It will be a bit before I get started on the tear down.

406, thanks for the info it should help me make up my mind real quick when I determine what transmission it is.

K, as soon as I do get under there I will snap a few and post them.

At the moment though I am doing a complete disassemble on an 07' GMC 1500 classic that was wrecked. I bought it for motor and trans. for my 08' since it only had 29k miles and my 08' just turned 183k. I could not have rebuilt the transmission for what I paid for this whole truck. I am going to part out everything and sell what won't work on my truck(s). Hopefully the money from that will speed up the panel.

I already have a narrowed 9" rear, ladderbar- coil over shock set up & a band new set of Micky Thompson 33x21.5x15 on 15x 15 rims that should work perfect on this project. I also have a premade narrowed frame section I bought years ago from summit that i never used.I always like the idea of the muncie behind the plant but if its not a good one I will most likely slap a TH400 from ATI in it.

Thanks for the kind words guys

[richard2717]

(they are much noiser than any of the other muncies)

Well now, that won't bother me since I have 80" hearing loss but hearing or not I can still feel the horsepower and energy getting ready to take place

[richard2717]

Looking for a smiley and found my 07' gmc LOL

[Street Smart]

Great start! Enjoy!

[john]

Looks pretty nice. Heres a link to classic heartbeat that might be helpful. Wes is rebuilding a panel with alot of rust repair.

http://www.classicheartbeat.com/67_panel_project.htm

[richard2717]

Hey John, thanks for the link. Could not stop until I read it all.

[70cst]

Hey richard2717 ... and Welcome from Ohio. on your purchase. Looks really solid.

[special-K]

Yeah,I was going to tell you about Wes.He's pretty darn pro-active on getting Blazer/Suburban/Panel repair panels developed that are lacking in the market. I don't have either of those vehicles,so not 100% up on what he has.

I'm a gear grabbinin' clutch stompin' fool,but pro-street calls for a built automatic. It's just what is done. You need to hear that auto-shift for the right effect,even if you never hit the track. Just gotta have that hi-stall converter sound to get it right.

[68panelman]

Welcome aboard! Looks like a solid start you got there.

[CG]

I got a bunch of stuff for my panel from Wes, he's a good guy. And it doesnt hurt I can drive down to his place if I need to =)

[57NAPCO]

Nice find!, I dig panels. I have two at the moment, a 1951 one ton long wheel base and a 2011 HHR panel
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[richard2717]

well been busy parting out the 07' sierra to finance part of the panel but did manage to crawl under the panel tonight and take a look at the transmission. Well, no aluminum case so I guess the muncie is out. Oh well, it makes the desicion to take it out that much easier. I may save it for a later project. Can't wait to get started but i am forcing myself not to until I get the last few parts of the 07' removed and out of the way.

[70cst]

Originally Posted by CG

I got a bunch of stuff for my panel from Wes, he's a good guy. And it doesnt hurt I can drive down to his place if I need to =)

WES knows these trucks.Burbs, Panels and WES is a straight shooter