70' GMC "Walter"

[skyjgmc]

I've got mad paint skills!!


This is kind of what I'm going for. With d rings and lights too!

[skyjgmc]

Any thoughts on the bumper design critiques and what not? Not sure if I should cut the front lower portion of the fender off and wrap the bumper around to follow the lines above similar to the way this guy cut his.

or just hug the fender real tight as I sweep around towards the tire. I personally like the idea of cutting the fender and keeping the bumper flush with the outside of the fender, it'll give it more clearance and get rid of a spot for moisture to form and set at the bottom and rust out the fender. I don't mind cutting up these fenders since I will most likely change them out when we restore this truck.

[swamp rat]

If your stock fenders at not rusted out then i'd consider buying aftermarket and cutting the cups off of them being as your planning a restore in the future.

You kinda answered your own question, you like the idea/look. I think it looks pretty clean too but I cant bring myself to do it

[swamp rat]

I have considered having bumpers made up for my truck too, there is a guy about 1 hour away that was advertising making custom made bumpers but man they were pricy.

[skyjgmc]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I have considered having bumpers made up for my truck too, there is a guy about 1 hour away that was advertising making custom made bumpers but man they were pricy.

I have a plasma cutter and am a certified welder if you send me a pic of what you like I could make you something. not trying to promote my business, but I know what you mean these custom bumpers can be $$$$

[skyjgmc]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

If your stock fenders at not rusted out then i'd consider buying aftermarket and cutting the cups off of them being as your planning a restore in the future.

You kinda answered your own question, you like the idea/look. I think it looks pretty clean too but I cant bring myself to do it

my stock fenders are trashed, have repairable rust at the back portion near the door passenger one is pretty straight but the drivers side has a nasty crease in the curve on the wheel well and I don't think I could pull it and make it look right so if I do cutting it will be on these fenders.

[skyjgmc]

I may have just gotten real lucky... won't know for a few months though.... I was driving through town and I noticed a 72 gmc Sierra grande sitting at a auto repair shop and wouldn't you know it the box is the same faded red color I'm looking for the shop truck... so I stopped in and inquired about the truck turns out it's the owners truck haha...Anyways we get to talking and he he says " the funny thing is that I just bought a parts truck with a good cab and box so I'm going to be swapping that cab and box off soon".... he's not sure he wants to split up the box and cab but I offered him a trade for my green box and some cash thrown his way for a colored matched box. I left him my name and number and hope he calls me back if so the shop truck will come together quicker than I thought.

[swamp rat]

Man that would be great if it all comes thru for you, I'll keep it hebumpr offer in check for now, who knows, maybe down the road?

[skyjgmc]

Well did some more work on the bumper. cut the cups off the fenders and it amazingly went well I think it kind of looks cool without them on, gives it a sinister mean look. Sadly I can't post any pictures since my photobucket account took a crap and won't let me sign in. I don't know what to do I've tried the "I forgot my password" and it's says it sent a email with instructions on how to change it... I created that account over ten years ago and I think it sending it to an email I no longer use or have. Anyone know how to recover without the email?? I can't get into it with my "password" which has worked for all these years. I am at lose I've got 10 years with of memories on that account most of which the photos are saved on an eternal drive but on there they are organized into albums it would take me years to sort through it all. Not to mention all my jeep pics and my build thread over on Jeepforum for my jeep.
help!?

[skyjgmc]

So photobucket is back up and my password miraculously works again. Anyway made good use of the extremely warm weather today and pulled the motor out of the van... I officially hate pulling motors out of vans there is no room to lift. good thing I have no intention of keeping the van body it now has a nice bow to the cowl below the window

[swamp rat]

We both had accounts with Webshots, they sold out or shut down, but unfortunately our accounts were deleted before we had a chance to move our pictures to our computers or another hosting site and lost all of our pic's, whatever you do i'd recommend keeping a keep a back up at home.... Well maybe you already know that now..

[skyjgmc]

Well don't know if I got a good deal or not but maybe. Lol. I found a color matched bed for the orange shop truck. I Went and looked at it today and it's in pretty bad shape (BUT NO RUST) so I almost passed on it but when I asked the guy what he wanted for it he said "$50 bucks sound good?" I thought for a minute then said "deal" and we shook on it. I figured what the heck the greyish blue color on it is someone's spray bomb paint that rubs right off to reveal the orange underneath. It's got some funky ass eyebolts bolted through the bedside that looks to be some sort of slide in camper tie down. So the plan is scrap everything but the bedsides and practice on them for cutting it down to a short bed, so sadly I will have to take my 12" and 8" out where he cut the eyebolt tie downs in and then zuece em back together..... ah what did I just get myself into? Oh well I only wasted $50 right?

[69gmcc10]

$50 sounds like a good deal to me and It will give you plenty of practice at body work

[skyjgmc]

Originally Posted by 69gmcc10

$50 sounds like a good deal to me and It will give you plenty of practice at body work

Yea that was my thinking behind the whole thing too! It was a nice sunny warm day ( by Montana standards ) I finally got my rollers mounted up

so I can push it into the garage and as soon as I can find a transmission I'll be swapping the vortec into it. Did I mention I wished I hadn't sold that 4l80e hahahha. I'd even take a decent turbo 350 or 400 if the price was right. I'm itching to get this thing on the road.
I haven't went and picked up the orange box yet it was a raining real bad the day we scheduled to go pick it up so it's looking like this weekend again unless we get more rain that guys yard is super muddy when it rains and getting down to the box would be a mud bog. Did I mention I may have a line on a complete shortbox reddish/orange off a 71 gmc!! Yep the guy wants to think on his price for a bit.. what's a good price I should offer? I'm a cheap skate so a few hundo sounds good to me but what would be a "reasonable" offer for a shortbox in fair shape with gate and I think it's a steel floor couldn't see the floor he had all his spare radiators sitting in it.

[skyjgmc]

ok so I know this is unrelated to Walter but the orange truck I"ve now dubbed "Orange peel" is coming along I have yet to find me a decent 4l80e auto transmission but the other day a local gmc enthusiast had an ad for a free 250 straight six along with the 3 on the tree manaul transmission out of his 68 67 gmc I got to thinking an said aw what the hell their free might as well. so I snagged up those items from him and am kind of considering converting the 3 spd to floor shift and putting that behind my vortec motor and sticking with manual all the way.. my concern is I've never had the 3 spd before dont know if it would be good on the highway and cruising around town?. this truck will strictly be a putz'n around truck no long trips but just hope in it and go to town run some errands and come home. Im trying to put this together with minimal $$ but not make a ton of mistakes along the way that I'll end of having to correct later... maybe I should start a build thread over in the 2 wheel section but figured I'd start here first and get some opinions....... stupid idea dont even do it, or Meh! might work!! whats your thoughts??

[swamp rat]

There are a lot of 6 banger enthusiasts here, a number of nice rebuilds, something to consider. I have no idea if the 3 speed will mate up to a modern engine, I'd try and figure out the tranny and rear gear ratios and tire size then plug it into an on line calculator to find engine rpm, it's at least a starting point, I think the trans gearing may be fine but possibly a change in rear axle gearing would be a quick fix if nessasary.

[69gmcc10]

With the 3 speed it would be fine to putt around town in, but the distance between gears is large. Do you know if it is a saginaw or muncie? They have different first gear ratios and even then there is some variation. I personally think it would be fine for putting around if you had some 3.05 gears in the rear, if you don't I have a set to sell you, cheap. But you would be much happier with a 4 speed auto for town driving and highway.

If you have 3.56 gears in the back at 65 mph you are going to be turning about 2750 rpm and 70 would be 3000 rpm. 3.73 or 4.11 would be even worse.

If you have a 3.05 rear 65 mph is 2500 rpm, 70 is 2800 rpm and 60 is 2200 rpm.

Remember nothing is free, you will pay for it some how. With the 3 speed you will be sitting on a not as thin wallet, rowing through gears in town wishing you were drinking coffee as your mileage suffers a bit, as will your hearing and the hearing of everyone else if you even think about leaving city limits and drive it at highway speed as you broadcast aggression out two exhaust pipes the entire way, even if you are not in a hurry. With a 4l80e you will glide through town or down the highway or even on the interstate with your butt firmly resting on the seat (not as much $$ in wallet) with coffee in hand nodding to the passers by waving at you in your cool old truck as you drive in confidence knowing you have the proper gear for every possible situation. Both appeal to me for very different reasons.

[skyjgmc]

Originally Posted by 69gmcc10

With the 3 speed it would be fine to putt around town in, but the distance between gears is large. Do you know if it is a saginaw or muncie? They have different first gear ratios and even then there is some variation. I personally think it would be fine for putting around if you had some 3.05 gears in the rear, if you don't I have a set to sell you, cheap. But you would be much happier with a 4 speed auto for town driving and highway.

If you have 3.56 gears in the back at 65 mph you are going to be turning about 2750 rpm and 70 would be 3000 rpm. 3.73 or 4.11 would be even worse.

If you have a 3.05 rear 65 mph is 2500 rpm, 70 is 2800 rpm and 60 is 2200 rpm.

Remember nothing is free, you will pay for it some how. With the 3 speed you will be sitting on a not as thin wallet, rowing through gears in town wishing you were drinking coffee as your mileage suffers a bit, as will your hearing and the hearing of everyone else if you even think about leaving city limits and drive it at highway speed as you broadcast aggression out two exhaust pipes the entire way, even if you are not in a hurry. With a 4l80e you will glide through town or down the highway or even on the interstate with your butt firmly resting on the seat (not as much $$ in wallet) with coffee in hand nodding to the passers by waving at you in your cool old truck as you drive in confidence knowing you have the proper gear for every possible situation. Both appeal to me for very different reasons.

Well when you put it like that it!!! Maybe I should just convert it to tesla power so I can plug it in while I run in to get my unicorn expresso and muffin,. Bwahaha!!! I'm not completely sold on the whole 3 spd plan just yet I don't know why but I have a thing for manuals maybe it's my adhd and I have to always be doing something, but then again burnouts are way easier whilst sipping on an expresso with my pinky up than trying to three leg it and risk blowing a ujoint. Ahhh decisions decisions...

[69gmcc10]

Originally Posted by skyjgmc

Maybe I should just convert it to tesla power so I can plug it in while I run in to get my unicorn expresso and muffin,. Bwahaha!!!

Now you are talking! anything with a ludicrous mode has my vote!!!!!

[skyjgmc]

So it looks like both trucks will be getting some love. I located a good running 350 motor and 4.11 axles that cone attached to a 77 gmc jimmy for Walter to get it through the summer and camping season then I got super lucky with a color matched box for orange peel I was selling some extra 20" wheels I had and the guy buying them from me noticed my truck and he said " I think I actually have a colored matched box back at my house that's in ok shape". So we cruised over to his place and sure enough he's got a 70 chevy with an orange box on it when I asked what he wants for it he said "straight trade for your green box". So now orange peel will be all one color.


The junk yard guy I was getting the orange box from a few weeks ago kept flaking out on me and saying he was busy when I would call to set up a time and then he completely stopped returning my phone calls all together. so this worked out for the better.
This box is rust free, but has a wow wee in it above the driverside tire but other than that it's pretty straight. We plan on swapping boxes in a few weeks after I get the 350 into Walter. Once I get the box I'll start a thread over in 2 wheel section for Orange peel where I'll attempt my luck at making the box a shortbed using a few different tricks I learned on the forum.

[skyjgmc]

Well been super busy working on projects and building a car hauler. I Did pick up another project truck this one's a 96 1/2 ton with a 5.7, nv3500 5 spd manual and a blown up rear 10 bolt. It runs and drives, the Moron PO ( I mean that in the nicest way this guy is a complete f* tard) just screwed with the ring and pinion and didn't set it up properly then didnt tighten anything down which sent a bolt flying through the diff cover. I traded a dirt bike I got for $100 for it. So it's my Benji truck it cost me more in registration and title work.
New truck.

Walter pulling his motor donor to the recyclers on the trailer I built. still need some fenders but it's a fully functional 20ft car hauler with 4ft dove tail.

During the build of the trailer with my YJ testing out its functionality. And my 6 yr old he's very helpful.

[swamp rat]

I'd trade a $100 dirt bike for that truck too!

[skyjgmc]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I'd trade a $100 dirt bike for that truck too!

Lol yeah its turning out to be worth every hundo I spent. I traded what was left of that work van for a rear axle for the truck, so I'm not out any money there . 2nd gear in the trans is shot and the science experiment he had growing in the cab of the truck I think I may have it neutralized now. To top it all off this douche has a warrant for his arrest! felony burglery, good thing the title is legit and in my name now. Im finding out its not worth rebuilding the trans none of my local trans shops actually rebuild them anymore they just core them and buy a reman unit so they only make money on installing them, so since i will pull it and install no one really wants to do business with me. Did find a cool guy at inland in Zoo town that would rebuild it for me but then it's just a nv3500 still. I do have a line on an NV4500 to replace it with. Soooo I'm going today to pickup another donor motor for Walter since I built that trailer I keep finding all kinds of trucks to haul home. my wife is going to kill me.

[skyjgmc]

So I picked up another chevy small block today and may have hit the jackpot was told it runs good but unsure of anything else. I got it home wrote down the casting number 3932386 and the engine code from the front of the block it reads VI127HH so everything tells me it's either a 1965 327 365 hp motor or a 350 300 hp motor out of a Corvette. How can I know for sure which one it is without the cars and original transmission since it's got a turbo 350 4x4 behind it now. I have yet to get the number off the heads but how can I make sure. I know for a fact I got the engine code and casting numbers correct but how can I make sure whether it's the 350 or 327. Hope it's the 365 HP shp/ MT... right now it's go a 2 bbl carb on it so i can't tell what to do next help would be great since I cant make sense of what the I is for in the VI on the engine code I know V Stands for the Flint plant but the "I" keeps messing with me. 127 should mean Jan 27th right ? The suffix HH tells me it's corvette so what next?
Engine code VI127HH


**edit** ok so after some more research because my motor does not have the partial vin stamped on the block next to the engine code it's got to be a 69 which is the 300 hp 350, right?

[69gmcc10]

Cant help you with the engine, sorry. Did you try Greg's trans here in zootown? I ran into a similar situation with my transfer case, shops only wanted to order a reman and put it in. Greg was more than happy to save me $700 by pulling the t-case blow it apart, finding only the clutches were bad, replacing them and throwing it back in. I like the work they do and Greg is a 67-72 truck guy as well, has several in his yard.

Nice trailer! You have plans of replacing those 55 mph mobile home hubs for a conventional hub, or are you just gonna run them? lots of people leave them and I have never heard of anyone getting the ticket, but anything is possible.