"The Peach" 1967 GMC Short Stepside

[Matt Man]

Picked up a new truck, 67 gmc short bed stepside, came from Georgia hence the name "The Peach"

Inline 250 Straight six (2500 miles on it)
Three on the tree, new clutch and seals
Dana 44 rear end with 3.54 gears open rear end
6 lug truck, leaf springs in the back
Manual drum brakes and manual steering (Yikes the brakes are scary)

Truck is relatively straight, it looks like a older restoration, has some rust issues but nothing worse than what I saw locally, plan is to give it power disk brakes, power steering conversion and new paint, and let my mom drive it. I'm more of a squarebody guy so this will be a new learning curve for me, but I am excited that I don't have to smog this truck, and have a 2wd stepper!

Pictures:






I have already done a few things to it such as: Re tuned the Carb was running VERY rich before, adjusted both doors so no more slamming is required, adjusted the hood to close better, cleaned out the interior, and adjusted the brakes and wheel bearings. This thing is scary to stop, so first order of business is to put power disk brakes on immediately, power steering then its off to paint and body, will be repainted the same color. The engine and transmission run excellent. Not too excited about finding out it had rear leaf springs...but I saw some lowering leaf springs (the truck will receive a mild drop).

Will keep this thread updates, and will take more pictures soon.

[flashed]

Very nice ,where in Ga did you find it ?

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by flashed

Very nice ,where in Ga did you find it ?

My uncle found it in Brunswick Georgia and was able to look at it for me.

Here are some engine pictures:

[deejaaa1]

that looks sweet already. gonna be killer when done.

[rusty76]

Cool truck. I like it.

[Matt Man]

Crap, I just realized that this is in the suburban and panel section.

[68panelman]

Very nice truck, just as I like em!

[LockDoc]

Originally Posted by Matt Man

Crap, I just realized that this is in the suburban and panel section.

I will move it for you.

LockDoc

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by LockDoc

I will move it for you.

LockDoc

Thank you.

[Matt Man]

Any suggestions for a good quality power disk brake kit?

[Matt Man]

Alright I finally got it registered about a month ago(what a disaster!) and I have just been driving it around to get a feel for it and see what really needs to be replaced/upgraded. So today I decided to pull the front clip off to replace the rusty core support and some other pieces.

Here is what it looked like before since photobucket nerfed the pictures.



I will clean and paint the frame before I re assemble everything.

[Matt Man]

Alrighty its been a while since I have updated this build thread. A ton of things have happened since I bought this thing in March. My mother unfortunately got sick and is only working part time now, so the funds are minimal at the moment. However, I have new bedsides, cross sills and all new hardware to bolt the bed on....properly. The front clip is reassembled with the new core support and inner fenders. I also put the new passenger door on as well as the tailgate. I have ordered the disc brake conversion and will install as soon as I receive it. Also Mom wants a automatic instead of the three on the tree.

Honestly, this truck is in need of a lot more attention than I initially thought. The bed cross sills are angle iron and the driver front frame horn is bent. Also the bed does not sit on the truck straight and leans down on the drivers side...so I am praying that when I reassemble the bed with the new parts that it sits on the frame square and the frame is not tweaked. I need to get the bed parts, disc brake conversion and power steering done because we are moving by Summer.

[Matt Man]

So I got the bed removed today, im going to pull the add a leafs out of the spring pack and put drop shackles while I have it off. I have new bedsides, bed strips and hardware. Nothing was tight on this lol.

Pics:






All done:



My 81 in the background


New door as well

[hewittca]

Making some great progress. I love to see someone meticulously going through and fixing things that weren't done quite right in the past. When you say new bedsides, do you mean fleetsides, or wide sides I should say since it's a GMC? If not, I guess I never knew they make new stepsides. You don't really see that many people putting new stepsides on. Usually it's swapped to a fleetside if it goes that far.

[Matt Man]

Got the new bedsides on as well as the new cross braces I had to stop because of Christmas stuff, but I just need to install the rest of the wood outer fenders etc. The frame is nice and square and the bed only needs little adjustments to make it perfect. Will get back on this thing on Tuesday, then I will get started on the disc brakes.

Pulled the add a leafs and overload springs out to lower it some and ride better.



I also cleaned the frame up and painted it and cut the exhaust tip off



So what I did was assemble the bedsides, front panel and rear cross sill together picked it up and put it on the frame.




Overall, I am very pleased with the fit and finish of the aftermarket panels so far just had to open up some holes slightly. Does anyone know where I can get drop shackles for this thing?

[Katrina/10]

New bed sides look great! The old ones didn't look too bad in the pictures.

[Matt Man]

Originally Posted by Katrina/10

New bed sides look great! The old ones didn't look too bad in the pictures.

Thanks! The old one do look good in pictures but the tops were bent, tons of bondo in the stake pocket corners, rust pitting all over and to top it off you could surf down the sides of them lol.

[68Gold/white]

Look'n good!!!

I'm not an expert concerning what brand of disc conversion parts to buy, but just wanted to make sure you knew some companies make a 6 lug conversion kit that allows you to keep the 6 lug rear brakes.

Something to ask about when purchasing brake kit, is whether or not you will be able to retain your stock wheels after conversion. A lot of wheels will not clear the caliper on disc brake applications...

Carry On!!!

[Matt Man]

So I got the rest of the bed finished and I also got the power disc brake conversion done...that was a nightmare so I didn't take any progress pictures. I ended up replacing all the front suspension components while I had it apart. Next up is the power steering conversion. Here are some pictures of the finished power disk brakes, I also had to get new wheels for it.






I ended up replacing all the brake lines on the truck since they did not look to healthy. I also had to get a double flare tool and get new fittings to fit the master cylinder, then I ran out of space to route them nicely so that will have to do for now. Also I put new shocks, as well as 2.5" drop spindles and a 1.5" drop spring for the front. I promise I will take some pictures of the truck all finished up once I get the power steering done.

Here is the kit from CPP suspension seems nice so far lets hope it goes better than the disk brake conversion.

[rustytruck50]

Real good looking truck! Tuned in

[Matt Man]

OK so I did some more things and finally took some pictures. I got the CPP power steering done, install went smoothly no problems. I also converted the trans to a floor shift, I plan on installing a M20 4 speed trans in the future with a big block as well

So after I dropped the front 4" I knew I had to buy some rear lowering leaf springs because the shackles and removed leafs were not cutting it. I ordered them from Western Chassis and they "claim" they are 3" drop. Well, I installed them and sure enough it lifted the truck 1"......fantastic. I really REALLY am starting to dislike the gmc rear leaf springs haha. I might just end up doing a flip kit but I don't know yet. Let me know if you think my truck is dropped 5" in the back, I doubt it. Also got new wheels and tires.





Hurst shifter:


Power Steering:

[sduckworth13]

It definitely doesn’t look like a 5 inch drop, maybe 2 inches from factory height though. A flip kit lowers it 7 inches. I used a two piece Porterbuilt c-notch on my 67 GMC and used stock front shocks for the rear. I do like the stance though it looks great!

[sduckworth13]

Here is a picture of my GMC which had the flip kit on it. This is a 4 1/2 front and flip kit rear which lowered it 7 inches.

[rustytruck50]

Great wheel & tire choice!

[Dieselwrencher]

You have that truck looking pretty sweet now. Can you make a new rear shackle/hanger to get the drop you want to achieve?