My new project truck!

[Low Elco]

Not for nuthin- I know someone with a nice used 67 chrome gmc grille. He could be persuaded to part with it. Neat ol truck!

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Today I took the GMC wiring harness I bought from the salvage yard and went through it with a fine tooth comb. The alternator connectors were all cut off, so I went to the parts store and bought replacements.
I was recently noticing how short the alternator wires were on the wiring harness that I had as a temporary one (off a 67 C10), and I did not want this problem with the new one, so I cut the necessary lengths off the junk harness that came with this truck and spliced them into this new one where someone had cut it at the junkyard. I added those flexible plastic wire protection tube things and installed this into the truck (after removing the 67 C10 wiring harness).
All of the headlights now work (all of them as opposed to only two of them with the C10 harness) but I still have no brake lights or rear lights yet.
And here is more electrical news. The dash lights went out yet again (GRRRRR!!), my hazard lights work perfectly, and all signal lights work for the first time since I owned the truck. The turn signal indicators have not worked in the dash gauge pod yet, so there is still some strange electrical gremlin that I must find. And when I turn on only the front amber lights (one click pull on the light switch) only one of the amber lights comes on. I know that 67s are wired so that the amber lights are NOT on when the headlights are, so I am not sure about this issue. I have a feeling that the long-awaited solution to the no brake/rear lights issue is just around the corner though.

['68OrangeSunshine]

I'm guessing the Dash bulbs burned out. Suddenly being energized after their long peaceful slumber was too much fo them. Old tungsten filiments are like that.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Last night I went outside to check the grounding wire clip for the dash lights. I Dremel-tooled it and the spot where it attaches, then checked the dash lights. Nothing.
So I began looking at the fuse box for the thousandth time, and I focused on a certain fuse that is marked "TAIL STOP". Since my tail lights only worked with Hazard engaged, and the brake lights had never worked, I decided to investigate this yet again.
Even though I had checked/tested this fuse dozens of times, removed it, Dremel-tooled it, and Dremel-tooled the fuse contact clips (with no result), I decided to pull out all the stops.
I grabbed a work lamp, and my Dremel tool, then removed the TAIL STOP fuse for the umpteenth time. I then used that Dremel tool like a chainsaw. I GROUND the living Hell out of those two fuse connector clips, then replaced it into the slot. Well guess what?
The tail lights and brake lights now FINALLY work!!!!!!!! There was some hidden rust on these clips that I could not see that I decimated with the Dremel tool. I had used it gently before, which is why it continued to not function.
But the South Carolina Dremel-Tool Massacre fixed this PITA issue!!!!
And for some reason the dash lights are also working again!!! (not sure for how long though)
Next up: the horn, dome light, and signal indicator lights!

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

I'm guessing the Dash bulbs burned out. Suddenly being energized after their long peaceful slumber was too much fo them. Old tungsten filiments are like that.

That was a good guess, but mine are LED. They started working again, but I do not know for how long.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by HIGHWAY BY THE SEA

That was a good guess, but mine are LED. They started working again, but I do not know for how long.

Hard to know every nuance of a truck 2,000 miles away.
LEDs are their own set of problems. Including polarity. Or at least the Non-Dims I remember.

When I first bought my '71 Jimmy in 1995, the dash was dark and the speedo dead. Only after I replaced all the little 194 bulbs did it come on. Speedo needed a new cable from the dealer. Then it was good.
Except for the gas gauge, but I'll have to drop the heavy duty skid shield on the tank to get to the sender. So I just keep a log of gallons pumped in and miles driven.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

LEDs are their own set of problems. Including polarity. Or at least the Non-Dims I remember.

When I first bought my '71 Jimmy in 1995, the dash was dark and the speedo dead. Only after I replaced all the little 194 bulbs did it come on. Speedo needed a new cable from the dealer. Then it was good.
Except for the gas gauge, but I'll have to drop the heavy duty skid shield on the tank to get to the sender. So I just keep a log of gallons pumped in and miles driven.

I remember gas log days very well! We have all done this I suppose. And I am also thinking that LED lights are a little wonky at times!

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Well, the mystery of the non-working dome light has finally been solved. It was getting no power on the light clips, so I removed it from its place and found that the rodents had made a snack out of the wires behind it!!! Little demons chewed right through it!! I had never checked this end before, so another lesson learned!!!
Next up: Horn, and turn signal indicators!!

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Year-correct 67 passenger vent window successfully installed. The driver side one is next when I figure out the best method to reattach the glass back into its frame.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Today I installed the courtesy light assembly that I bought from a board member several years ago. It was supposed to go on my 68, but here it is in my 67 instead. This works great! This will combine well with the new dome light I just ordered! I want to find the correct LEDs for both lights though.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

I ended up ordering a brand new dome light from Classic Industries. My old one was not fixable due to broken tabs and ratted-out wires. Here it is, and now I will go find the best LED to put into it. It still looks good with the incandescent one, but my 49 year-old eyes require brighter lights at night. This dome light, combined with the courtesy lights both make for a much easier time working on the truck at night.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Bought this NOS rocker panel from a dealership where it sat for 30 years!

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by HIGHWAY BY THE SEA

Bought this NOS rocker panel from a dealership where it sat for 30 years!

Nice score. You wouldn't think Chevy dealers still had any 50-something y.o. parts.
Got a part number? I could try my local dealers.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

Nice score. You wouldn't think Chevy dealers still had any 50-something y.o. parts.
Got a part number? I could try my local dealers.

You would be surprised how many NOS parts I have found for ALL my trucks on some dusty dealership shelf over the years! I found two NOS black door arm rests a while back, but have not bought them (yet).
The part number for this driver-side rocker is 3944881. Good luck with your search.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by HIGHWAY BY THE SEA

You would be surprised how many NOS parts I have found for ALL my trucks on some dusty dealership shelf over the years! I found two NOS black door arm rests a while back, but have not bought them (yet).
The part number for this driver-side rocker is 3944881. Good luck with your search.

Thanks, Brother.
I'll give it a try.
About 15 years ago, from a tip on this forum, I found the Chevy dealer had NOS [or GM-made-after-the-fact] 67 - 72 Hood Hinges and Springs. They were US made and better quality than the LMC repops. The price was unbelievably low. Still have them, as I'm getting the most use out of the originals as I can.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Sheee!!! Just when I find a NOS mint condition driver side rocker panel a friend of mine has ANOTHER one that he wants to sell me!!! Wish it was the passenger side, but I may need it for my 68.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Picked up this beauty today. The seller who I bought it from removed it from a 67 c10 that he bought a racing type hood for.





Found this NOS gas cap (and a bunch more)




These will look great on the GMC!

[rustytruck50]

Score!!!

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

These new slide-on visor replacements from Classic Parts make ALL the difference! My old one was useless. Here is mine with my new Visor Organizer.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Nice visors.
I had no luck pulling the visors from a pair of Med. Blue ones that came off a '72 K/20. I wanted to swap them for the black visors on my '71 K/1500 Jimmy. The Jimmy has been painted Maui Blue [bright blue metallic] by a PO. I like the color change and wanted to match interior items. The Jimmy was originally Copper/Bronze with a black interior.
Blazer [and Jimmy] visors are slightly different from the standard truck type. They have different mounts. You would think that the ''flag'' part would just slide off the wire support but I could get neither set loose. So no interchange.
So my Orange '68 Stepside has blue visors, and my blue '71 GMC Jimmy still has its OEM black visors.
There are worse things to worry about.

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Originally Posted by '68OrangeSunshine

Nice visors.
I had no luck pulling the visors from a pair of Med. Blue ones that came off a '72 K/20. I wanted to swap them for the black visors on my '71 K/1500 Jimmy. The Jimmy has been painted Maui Blue [bright blue metallic] by a PO. I like the color change and wanted to match interior items. The Jimmy was originally Copper/Bronze with a black interior.
Blazer [and Jimmy] visors are slightly different from the standard truck type. They have different mounts. You would think that the ''flag'' part would just slide off the wire support but I could get neither set loose. So no interchange.
So my Orange '68 Stepside has blue visors, and my blue '71 GMC Jimmy still has its OEM black visors.
There are worse things to worry about.

That visor rod got HOT when I was removing it! I read several helpful threads on their removal, and my attempt was successful! I did not use any grease when installing the new black one, and it was not really difficult.

[Stephen717]

I'm gonna subscribe to this thread. Great job so far. I would really like to have mine roadworthy by spring and now that the boss has set me loose with the welder I'm able to finally fix my 67 fenders to get primer on them

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Today I started the 67 and drove it around the neighborhood. It was very obviously skipping cylinders or misfiring somehow. It seemed to get worse as I drove. In fact I was not sure that it would make it back home or not. That truck was losing power like I had never seen it do. Scary!
Here is what I know. When we installed the HEI, we set the timing by using the "screwdriver in spark plug hole #1" trick, but no further tweaking. And I already know that the carb is running very rich (black smoke when running). I wonder if I am experiencing any one of the following:

A) Flooded spark plugs
B) Burned out valve(s)
C) Old worn-out engine

Now I must figure out what to do next...

[68Gold/white]

1. Pull all the plugs, clean them with a wire brush and carb cleaner. Could buy new ones, that's not always needed. Start up see where you are.
Get the timing set, likely around 6-8 advance, remember to plug off vac advance when doing.. see how it runs.
If carb has not been rebuilt. Get a kit. The carburetor shop has great kits, don't skrimp on a kit. 1-573-392-7378 Jon Hardgrove is the owner. He only takes calls on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Engine can be operated even in a less than great state of being. One has to just recognize the signs when it needs attention, which can sometimes be more thatn we want...

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

I have taken the carb to someone that I was recommended to. It will either be rebuilt or replaced by this mechanic. This man had a reputation for being a "carb wizard" in his city of residence.
Because the carb is out, I am getting ready to install the 71-72 gas pedal assembly since this truck has no pedal.
I also need to fix an issue with my intake manifold. It has a broken carb-mount stud that is literally welded in. My replacement intake manifold had all four studs but does not have an anti-oil splash shield under it, so looks like I must find or fabricate one of those. If I had a template I could take it to the metal shop.
I am restoring a Tach/Vac cluster from a used one that I bought.
I also found a rust-free dent-free passenger side front fender that I had sent to me from the same seller in Massachusetts who also sold me the aforementioned TachVac cluster.

Passenger fender

Gas pedal assembly

Tach Vac cluster

Broken intake manifold stud