New member - Just picked up 69 GMC 1500 long bed one owner number matching

[pclausen]

I picked it up because the price was real good (few hundred dollars) and I just wanted the 350 engine, intake and quad carb for my '70 dump truck,, but it appears to be all original, so maybe I should keep/restore it?

Here is the title from 69 that the seller gave me:



Glove box decal (2nd column just about worn off):



Hasn't been in the road for the last 29 years:



Here she is:





34k?



Original tires?



VIN:



Engine. Nope, it has not been run lately.



Came with the original cabs:



Pulling engine:



So after pulling the engine, I found that it has the following numbers:

3932386 Block 68-70 300/350hp
3932454 Heads 68-69 307/350 1.72/1.50 76cc 300hp heads
3927184 Intake 69 300/350hp truck, vette

So it does appear to be all original. Btw, its a 3 speed on the tree and has a "Custom" emblem by each door.

Like I said, I picked this up to steal the engine and my original plan was to take the rest to the scrap yard and collect the ~$400 they would give me, making the engine free to me.

But after realizing this is all original, maybe I should keep and restore? I'm not a welder or body worker by trade, but I do everything mechanical on cars and tractors for the last 20 years, and maybe this will be the excuse to purchase a welder. I already have a 24 cfm compressor and sand blaster. Here is a pic of my man cave working on another gm: (RIP )



So is this truck worth keeping? Or should I just steal the engine for my 70' dump truck?

Here she is btw:

[truckster]

Just my opinion here: there are a lot of donors for 350 motors that are less worthy of being saved. I'd either keep and restore it or sell it intact.

[pclausen]

Good advice. Will give it some thought for sure.

So this is by no means "rare"?

[SCHRUMGMC]

I would keep it intact.IF I ever had one I wanted to sell, I would never part it out

[Eddie H.]

If it were a highly optioned truck, or had been in the family and had sentimental value, I would probably keep it and restore it, but on that one, you will probably uncover a lot of rust repair needed when you start taking it apart. You could easily part it out and get more than your initial investment back, then scrap the rest.
That's just what I would do. It's your truck.

[Longhorn 70]

looks like it has almost a full tank of gas too...

[alsriv2]

Welcome from Maryland!

Each person has their own opinion as to what is best for themselves. While your truck is not "rare" it is a low optioned, one owner truck, that would be a very good candidate for restoration if you have an interest and time for that sort of thing. You can always use the engine for your other truck and put this one away until you decide what to do.

Another thing you could do is part the truck out. Become a subscribing member and offer the parts to the board members. You might be able to make more than what the scrap yard will offer you.

[GASoline71]

"Numbers matching" only matters with Corvettes and Chevelles.

It's a truck... Yard the engine out and do what you will.

The heads with those smaller 307 valves... wouldn't be "300hp" heads. I've never seen heads with hp ratings on them.

Gary

[pclausen]

Appreciate the suggestions! I think for now I'm going to take the bench seat out along with the gauge cluster as my '70 truck only has the base cluster. And a few other pieces that the '70 could use. Then clean it up and set it aside until I decide what to do with it. Time is something I don't have a lot of right now, but it would be a fun project down the road. I have read a lot of the restoration threads here, and seen some amazing results that are inspiring me to do something like that one day. I already have a sand blaster and 24 cfm 7.5HP compressor to back it up, but no welding equipment or skill in that department, but from everything I've seen here, that is pretty much a mandatory skill to work on these truck!