Safety Updates

[geezer#99]

All these posts and no pics!
In, out, under and around and we’ll all know what you’re working with.

And welcome from across the ditch!

[Steeveedee]

It's good that your daughter doesn't run the vehicles hard. MY mom was a real lead foot.

[NGN]

This is good information for my son to read and absorb, it's what I been saying. He's also on this form, he has a 67 short V8 plane jane project truck that needs up dates, he wants it stock. Being sixteen for the last two months, he can't wait to drive, with this prisoner 19 going on, lol, which he calls it,,, hey he actually likes going to school (auto mechanics) doing swapmeets, truck, car shows and other things,
and all being canceled, I can relate, on top of that waiting and finally, hopefully, now scheduled for October to do his mandatory 6 hour driving course, with an instructor, using their car, yesss ��, for $325.00
Lucky for him, if it was me,,,
my parents, I'd still have no license, wife's line. O K, I'm rambling. Good topic, good people.
NGN
Nick

[Camaro Misfit]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

All these posts and no pics!
In, out, under and around and we’ll all know what you’re working with.

And welcome from across the ditch!

It's at my BIL's house which is like 2 hrs from us. We need to get time to get over there and get photos of the truck. But once we do, I'll post them.

[Camaro Misfit]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

It's good that your daughter doesn't run the vehicles hard. MY mom was a real lead foot.

Yeah, she's been behind the wheel of our 5.7L Hemi with the 392 rearend and my Chrysler 300 V6, both of which have more power than this old truck will have. The real kicker will be stopping fast and her following distance.

But I drive a Charger with the 392 (6.4L) engine and the Hellcat brake upgrade and still leave a lot of space to stop. I expect that she'll do the same and leave lots of room simply because she's not use to being right on the bumper of the vehicle in front of her.

[Camaro Misfit]

Finally got a photo from my BIL. My husband is going over there on Saturday to see the truck and start to take inventory of what all he knows it needs. Also found out that my BIL has been driving it once a week to keep it going and has been doing the basic maintenance on it, talk about a great guy.

[gmc684x4]

Very nice looking truck
5 bolt rear end i would say it already has front disc brakes as a guess
Lucky lady has a sweet looking truck for her first ride

I do not have my 1st truck i wrecked it but i do still have my second truck

[garyd1961]

These old trucks are fun to drive and I enjoy driving mine but compared to a modern car with all the new safety features introduced in the last 50 years they are a death trap, especially on the highway running 75 and 80.
Also I personally don't consider an in the cab gas tank a problem but I really don't know if I would want my 16 year old daughter driving with the tank in the cab either.
If it was me I would probably let her drive something a little safer for a couple years while working on the truck.

[weq92f]

Originally Posted by garyd1961

These old trucks are fun to drive and I enjoy driving mine but compared to a modern car with all the new safety features introduced in the last 50 years they are a death trap, especially on the highway running 75 and 80.
Also I personally don't consider an in the cab gas tank a problem but I really don't know if I would want my 16 year old daughter driving with the tank in the cab either.
If it was me I would probably let her drive something a little safer for a couple years while working on the truck.

Oh...I don't know if these trucks are a death trap. Not with a 3 point belt system installed that is...

With some power disc's up front and fresh stock suspension w/roll bars, these old trucks can handle pretty good too which allows a driver to avoid trouble!

Tank doen't need to be in the cab...agreed!


-klb

[akart]

She'll ask you very nicely, listen so precisely and go on and do exactly as she wants.

[Camaro Misfit]

I did find out that my BIL has been driving the truck once a week and maintaining the basic maintenance on the truck, so that's great news for the truck. The hubby and I talked about it last night and this is what's been done and our plans:

Engine: stock 350 4 bolt main engine, last rebuilt in 1988. We will be doing a lot of maintenance and replacing a lot on the engine, but hope to avoid having to have it bored out. We will be changing it from a carbed engine to fuel injection.

Transmission: turbo 350 3 speed, was rebuilt sometime in the 90s. Don't expect it to need to be rebuilt, but if it does we will take care of that too.

Rearend: rebuilt a few times, last time being in the 90s. I guess my FIL had some issues even after the last rebuild. So, we will probably have to address that. If it's the original housing I'd like to keep it and rebuild it yet again with Dana innards this time. If it's not numbers matching then we might look into a Ford rearend.

Brakes: front are already disk, not sure if they were factory or after market. But my husband wants to put in anti-lock brakes in it.

Seat: currently stock, but we want to pull them out and put in split bench or bucket seats with a center console.

Seatbelts: just lap only. Will either move to a 3 point seatbelt or a harness. Need to do more research on that before we decide.

Steering Wheel: might already be a collapsible one, if not, it will get one.

Gas tank: going to look into moving it, need to figure out how dangerous it really is if it stays where it's at.


After all that is addressed then we will look into other things that are less pressing for safety.

[Steeveedee]

Having the gas tank in the cab isn't dangerous, it's been there in probably a few million trucks, and how many have you heard of catching fire in a crash? The saddle tanks outside the frame rails (like I have on my truck) are a common source of fuel for a fire if something starts it. Since I mounted my spare tire inside the bed, I'm considering placing a tank back in that spot. I'm an old man and don't want to lay in the mud to get the spare tire out if I get a flat. If you want to put in EFI, then moving the tank makes sense, because you can get one to put in the spare tire volume that already had the electric fuel pump in it...if that is where you want to put it. I've seen where people get into trouble using the stock tank with an external electric pump.

The threaded holes for shoulder harnesses on your truck, if it only has lap belts, are in the "B" pillar behind the seat, and have plugs in them. Just pop the plugs and install the other point of the seat belt.

If you are considering anti-lock brakes, I recommend getting the diff out of a truck that has this already instead of rebuilding your old diff...again. If you don't have a Dana diff already, you can't retrofit other types of diff parts into it.

[Camaro Misfit]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

Having the gas tank in the cab isn't dangerous, it's been there in probably a few million trucks, and how many have you heard of catching fire in a crash? The saddle tanks outside the frame rails (like I have on my truck) are a common source of fuel for a fire if something starts it. Since I mounted my spare tire inside the bed, I'm considering placing a tank back in that spot. I'm an old man and don't want to lay in the mud to get the spare tire out if I get a flat. If you want to put in EFI, then moving the tank makes sense, because you can get one to put in the spare tire volume that already had the electric fuel pump in it...if that is where you want to put it. I've seen where people get into trouble using the stock tank with an external electric pump.

The threaded holes for shoulder harnesses on your truck, if it only has lap belts, are in the "B" pillar behind the seat, and have plugs in them. Just pop the plugs and install the other point of the seat belt.

If you are considering anti-lock brakes, I recommend getting the diff out of a truck that has this already instead of rebuilding your old diff...again. If you don't have a Dana diff already, you can't retrofit other types of diff parts into it.

Thanks for all the tips! I'll be sure to pass these all on to my husband since he'll be doing a lot of the work himself,

[truckster]

I've been driving, working on, and following these trucks for over 40 years. I'm still waiting to hear anyone document a case of a post-accident fire caused by having the tank in the cab.

[Blue GMC]

For me it wasn't the fire aspect that made me want to move it to the rear it was the fumes in the cab that would randomly pop up and make me think I had a gas leak.

[cj847]

One last item. I am not sure when GM changed from a shaft operated gas pedal to a cable operated one, i think it was between 67 and 70.

Anyway, if you driver's side motor mount fails, it can actually pin the throttle wide open (if you have the old style shaft operated gas pedal) . Not a huge deal if your daughter has her stuff together, but I have witness it happening. Also, based on the amount of maintenance you are planning to do, i doubt it is an issue.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by cj847

One last item. I am not sure when GM changed from a shaft operated gas pedal to a cable operated one, i think it was between 67 and 70.

Anyway, if you driver's side motor mount fails, it can actually pin the throttle wide open (if you have the old style shaft operated gas pedal) . Not a huge deal if your daughter has her stuff together, but I have witness it happening. Also, based on the amount of maintenance you are planning to do, i doubt it is an issue.

I worked for a Chevrolet dealer(s) in that time period, and don't remember if the trucks were in that recall. That said, it is certainly something to consider. I have a solid rod going from the bell crank to the throttle lever on my '70 truck, so maybe I should look into a restraint. Though it's a BBC 402 and maybe I'm safe, it being heavy and all.

[gmc684x4]

The issue is with worn tired soft motor mounts failing if you have good new mounts no issues i have a set of poly mounts for my 72
Stock ones even though low milage are soft and spongy

[Richard]

While it probably will not happen to most. I was young and driving recklessly and rolled a 72, pretty violent. If it were a new truck I think the roof may have collapsed or been torn off. Regarding gas tank relocation- I can say from experience that hanging from the belt upside down in a 72 with gas dripping in the cab is not a good feeling.

[siggyfreud]

Originally Posted by Camaro Misfit

I did find out that my BIL has been driving the truck once a week and maintaining the basic maintenance on the truck, so that's great news for the truck. The hubby and I talked about it last night and this is what's been done and our plans:

Engine: stock 350 4 bolt main engine, last rebuilt in 1988. We will be doing a lot of maintenance and replacing a lot on the engine, but hope to avoid having to have it bored out. We will be changing it from a carbed engine to fuel injection.

Transmission: turbo 350 3 speed, was rebuilt sometime in the 90s. Don't expect it to need to be rebuilt, but if it does we will take care of that too.

Rearend: rebuilt a few times, last time being in the 90s. I guess my FIL had some issues even after the last rebuild. So, we will probably have to address that. If it's the original housing I'd like to keep it and rebuild it yet again with Dana innards this time. If it's not numbers matching then we might look into a Ford rear end.

Brakes: front are already disk, not sure if they were factory or after market. But my husband wants to put in anti-lock brakes in it.

Seat: currently stock, but we want to pull them out and put in split bench or bucket seats with a center console.

Seatbelts: just lap only. Will either move to a 3 point seatbelt or a harness. Need to do more research on that before we decide.

Steering Wheel: might already be a collapsible one, if not, it will get one.

Gas tank: going to look into moving it, need to figure out how dangerous it really is if it stays where it's at.


After all that is addressed then we will look into other things that are less pressing for safety.

Couple of things to consider:

Rearend: Do whatever you want with it, these trucks weren't engine/vin matched like true numbers matching vehicles were. You can tell if it had the right type/size of the engine, but no way of verifying it's the original one.

Seatbelts: Regular 3-points are often safer than many aftermarket harnesses, so do some research before you invest. A 3 point will be an easier install as well, as the truck should already have factory mounting points for it.

Brakes: Adding ABS to it, while possible, will be expensive and extremely custom. You'd likely have to use some sort of standalone ABS from something, fab up wheel speed sensor rings, mounts, etc. While I'd love to take on a project like that, may not be feasible for many. I would, however, recommend upgrading the rears to disk. Not because it'll help it stop that much faster, but because it's easier to dial in the brake bias and prevent rear-lockup when the fronts still have more force before losing traction.

The gas tank in the cab: Some people think it's fine, I disagree. Just because it's made it a million miles doesn't mean it's safe. Crash standards don't allow fuel sources to be mounted directly to the firewall. You know why? Because the firewall is there to prevent fuel sources and fire from entering the cab in the event of a crash (hence the name firewall). So take that one step further and think about the entire fuel source being located IN the cab itself. The likelihood of fuel leaking after a side impact is, in my opinion, high. Doors get crushed, fuel leaks, and it's potentially a matter of seconds or minutes before ignition.

Just my opinions anyways . . .

[truckster]

The safety recall was for the left side motor mount. If yours has been upgraded you don't need to worry about it.

[custom10nut]

Your choice.
If it were MY daughter, then no she’s not drivin it.
My son? Yes with strict limitations.
BTW, my son is the only other individual to EVER drive my truck, since I bought it, 28 years ago.

[Camaro Misfit]

So some updates....The husband remembered incorrectly, the truck is in fact a 72, not a 70.

We went out there on Sunday and she got to start the truck herself and then my husband took her for a spin around the block in it. The engine is going to need some work, might just be a simple tune up, might warrant a partial or full rebuild. The tranny is shifting great and the rearend seems fine. There is an exhaust leak.

Most of the interior is in good shape, though dirty. I'll probably work on cleaning that up this weekend while they work on the engine and do a compression test. I'll include some more photos. And I'll see how I can include some videos.

[Camaro Misfit]

Interior photos...

[Camaro Misfit]

And engine...