Newbie thinking about diving into a '65 GMC 1000

[MusicMan70]

That's a Beautiful Shot; Nicely framed.

[TJ's Chevy]

Wish Crustine's white paint job was that nice. lol

[Classic v6 GMC's]

Nice truck and nice find on the mirrors, they really match the truck!!

[Praxiss454]

Thanks guys, the truck and paint job is good from afar but far from good. Also found a fair bit of body filler on my passenger door when installing the mirrors. I had to reach into the door to retrieve a bolt that I dropped. :-/

[bj383ss]

Just read through your thread. You have done a great job with your truck.

Only advice I can offer is if you don't know how to do something you can always learn. I went down the same path as you with my truck "at first". Got it running and driveable. But it was just too far gone in my opinion and needed everything fixed.

So I took off down the full frame off resto adventure and 3 years later I am getting ready to start then engine back up again since July of 2013. As far as the bodywork goes I had no prior experience other than watching my dad. I just jumped in and watch a lot of youtube videos and guys on google when researching. I have made a lot of mistakes and then learned how to fix those mistakes.

TCPGlobal.com has good prices on paint and bodywork supplies and also Amazon does as well. There is a guy on Garage Journal Forum McCartney Paint and Custom. That man can do anything with metal. Also look up a member from this forum goes by "Boat" on youtube. I think his handle is gibson63. He did all his bodywork at home in his garage. Good luck with your truck and look forward to your updates.

Bret

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by bj383ss

Just read through your thread. You have done a great job with your truck.

Only advice I can offer is if you don't know how to do something you can always learn. I went down the same path as you with my truck "at first". Got it running and driveable. But it was just too far gone in my opinion and needed everything fixed.

So I took off down the full frame off resto adventure and 3 years later I am getting ready to start then engine back up again since July of 2013. As far as the bodywork goes I had no prior experience other than watching my dad. I just jumped in and watch a lot of youtube videos and guys on google when researching. I have made a lot of mistakes and then learned how to fix those mistakes.

TCPGlobal.com has good prices on paint and bodywork supplies and also Amazon does as well. There is a guy on Garage Journal Forum McCartney Paint and Custom. That man can do anything with metal. Also look up a member from this forum goes by "Boat" on youtube. I think his handle is gibson63. He did all his bodywork at home in his garage. Good luck with your truck and look forward to your updates.

Bret

Thanks, I would like to one day take it down to the frame but for now I am lacking the time, money, work space, and understanding wife for that to happen. Aside from the passenger door, the body really is in pretty good shape, it would be an excellent candidate for a frame-off resto in my novice opinion. More likely I will get it functional and just sorta pick projects over time.

I hammered out some dents in the driver door this weekend and did a really **** job of it so now I have a bunch of tiny hammer marks that I have to figure out how to deal with. I didn't notice the tiny dents as I was going but in full sun and the right angle they are pretty obvious. I also took a few passes w/ a table saw at making a bed board, and I think that will turn out okay. We'll see if I end up reusing the original metal strips or getting replacements. I would like to keep the originals and just clean em up, or maybe even leave them looking a bit crusty.

[Praxiss454]

Popped a couple of bed strips off today, and put the fasteners in a cup of vinegar to de-rust over night, along w/ the front 4 bed-to-frame bolts. The reason for taking them off was to test fit the bed wood I cut. I'm going to have to re-cut it but I can at least use this piece for testing/fitting the cuts. Several folks have recommended just buying new bed strips and a bolt kit but I am optimistic I can reuse these and make them look decent again with a little bit of elbow grease.

[jaybirdpete]

Sweet truck! In a little worse shape than when I got mine two years ago. I'm in Santa Rosa, so I'm pretty close to you! If you have any questions, just let me know!

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by jaybirdpete

Sweet truck! In a little worse shape than when I got mine two years ago. I'm in Santa Rosa, so I'm pretty close to you! If you have any questions, just let me know!

Cool, always good to know a couple of local-ish people familiar w/ this era of truck, since I know next to nothing about em and am learning as I go. Got a pic of your truck or a build thread going?

[Praxiss454]

Been a while since I have update this thread. Didn't do a ton to the truck over the winter. Now that the days are a bit longer and the weather is nicer, I've made a bit more progress.

Found a guy w/ a spare steering box, so I swapped that out to try to clean up the slop in my steering. Also installed a new rag joint at that time. It feels tighter but the true test will be when I get it out on the road.

Right now the valve cover is off and I'm cleaning it up to re-paint. The rest of the engine is kind of a mess w/ grease and I don't see myself pulling it to clean it properly, so it is going to look funny w/ a couple of clean pieces and a couple of dirty pieces. Will post an update when it's done. Using this opportunity to also replace the grommets on the PCV and breather tube, which, in combination w/ replacing the valve cover gasket, should greatly reduce the messiness in the engine.

Speaking of, does anyone know what color the sealed oil filler cap is supposed to be? I gather that because I have a breather tube running to the air filter, I should not use a vented oil cap.

Once this is done, I should have things buttoned up from a running "good enough" perspective, in that it should start, run, steer, and stop well. In the near future I need to decide on what I'm going to do for the bed. Leaning toward getting a kit, but I almost don't want to do that until I either replace the left fender, or at least figure out how to pull out the big dent that looks like it was caused by backing into something hard and having the bumper push forward.

The other big thing I need to do from a driving stand point is probably replace the passenger side door entirely, and while it's off do some sheet metal repair on the frame around the door. Looks like the truck was moderately t-boned on that side at one point, it's not too bad but enough that there's a slight buckle in the kick plate.

[jbgroby]

No, the factory tack looks like this, as well as the factory clock.

Originally Posted by 65 GMC

Just noticed the tach in the dash, is it factory?

[Praxiss454]

Over the past couple of weeks I've painted and repainted this damn valve cover. It's not perfect but I'm finally going to call it "good enough", as it will be far and away the nicest part of my engine.

Used Duplicolor Chrysler Red Engine Enamel, I believe it's DE1632.

Now I gotta let it cure for a while, then try to fit in the grommets. Hopefully they're the right size, and I can get everything buttoned up.

[nail pounder]

Looking good!

[Praxiss454]

Okay guys. I have a bit of a dilemma. My bed wood was rotted out so I removed it, and I now have a truck w/ no bed in it. I am tempted to order a pre-cut kit from mar-k or somewhere, but I'm not sure it makes sense yet.

I have a lot of problems w/ one of my side panels of my bed. Should I repair/replace the side panel before spending any time on replacing the bed wood?

Here is the extent of the side panel damage.

[Praxiss454]

Got the green light to order bed wood, still wondering if I should wait til after I can fix the sheet metal. Not totally sure how everything hooks together.

[nail pounder]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Got the green light to order bed wood, still wondering if I should wait til after I can fix the sheet metal. Not totally sure how everything hooks together.

You should be able to pull that dent before or after the wood is installed. What's your goal for the truck? I'm no body man but I'd say whack it from the back side and see what happens. Ive had decent luck with a cheap hammer and dollie set, a rachet strap, 2 x 4 & a floor jack, depending on the application .

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by nail pounder

You should be able to pull that dent before or after the wood is installed. What's your goal for the truck? I'm no body man but I'd say whack it from the back side and see what happens. Ive had decent luck with a cheap hammer and dollie set, a rachet strap, 2 x 4 & a floor jack, depending on the application .

Some day I might do a frame off resto but for now my goal is to get it functional and decent looking, keeping it as true to original as possible. I just don't have a welder nor the skill to patch in my own panel or replace the whole fender. I also don't have a ton of money to spend right now, so if I have a few hundred to spend I'd prefer to spend it on making the bed functional vs fixing the side panel.

Regarding the big dent, it almost looks like I need to pull backward on the tail light piece to help unkink things. Not quite sure how to accomplish that. I do have a winch that I could hook up to something.

[nail pounder]

Lack of money is the source of ingenuity, or something like that. Pull your lights(tail & reverse?) And see what you see. Maybe a slide hammer? Or from the back. Not my area of expertise but I always figure that the worst thing I will do is make it a little better.

[Praxiss454]

Yeah I'll give that a try. My winch isn't supposed to be used to apply constant force like pulling against a fixed object or suspending an object, so I probably need to borrow a come-along from someone. I'd like to do that, apply pulling force on the back corner, and then try to hammer out the big dent.

But also good to know I don't necessarily have to fix the bed side before putting in bed wood.

[Praxiss454]

Got my original AM radio hooked up and working today, along w/ the OEM antenna I picked up from a buddy. Also cut out all the bed cross members and wheel tubs in anticipation for my Mar-K bed wood kit, scheduled to arrive next week.

Screwed up my paint job on the valve cover, so stripping it and starting over. I had about 9 coats on it, each time screwing something up. Figure best to just start over and do it right the first time (crosses fingers).

[shp4man]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Got my original AM radio hooked up and working today, along w/ the OEM antenna I picked up from a buddy. Also cut out all the bed cross members and wheel tubs in anticipation for my Mar-K bed wood kit, scheduled to arrive next week.

Screwed up my paint job on the valve cover, so stripping it and starting over. I had about 9 coats on it, each time screwing something up. Figure best to just start over and do it right the first time (crosses fingers).

Can you get KFI? If yes, then be proud!

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by shp4man

Can you get KFI? If yes, then be proud!

I'll take my Tecsun handheld out there tonight and verify what I get. That OEM antenna extends out damn near 5 feet tall it seems.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by shp4man

Can you get KFI? If yes, then be proud!

Yep, tuned in and listened to a traffic report on KFI. 400 miles away, not bad. Now if only I could pick up WJR 760 from my hometown of Detroit I'd be set.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by Praxiss454

Hi all,
Lurked here for a bit, and figured I should register. A bit about me: always done my own maintenance, and have done some tuneups on naturally aspirated motorcycle engines, but have never taken on any kind of project like a 50+ yr old truck.

I'm considering buying a 1965 GMC pickup from a colleague who acquired it as part of an estate and doesn't know much about the history. According to the VIN, it is a 1965 GMC 1000 with an inline engine (guessing a 230?) with the 115" wheelbase, built in Fremont, CA and a GVW <6000 lbs.

From the pics it looks like the interior is in rough shape, but the body appears to be in pretty good shape. The door jamb is a red/orange color, but the exterior of the truck is white so I'm guessing it was repainted at least once. I have not actually seen the truck in person yet, going out there this weekend. My purpose for this truck would be just a hobby truck to tinker with, fix up a bit, and turn into a daily driver around town or to the beach. Nothing too fancy, and not a full restoration.

Here's what I know:
1. all 4 tires are flat and won't hold air
2. appears to be missing ignition cylinder, which was possibly replaced with a push button start. Also no battery
3. colleague says seals around the glass are in decent shape
4. no major rust holes visible inside or out but hasn't been scrutinized
5. It was registered up until 2012, when it was then registered as non-operating
6. Registration has been updated by current owner and is up to date (non-op)

Here's what I don't know:
1. When was the last time it started up?
2. Is the engine seized up?
3. Is the transmission functional?

Questions I'm hoping folks on this board can answer:
1. Do you see any glaring red flags from the images I've posted?
2. Are there any obvious modifications or other non-standard things about this truck? (e.g. does the engine look right, the bed look right?)
3. Specifically, are the grill and the tail fender of the truck stock?
4. What do you think it's worth, given the knowns and unknowns? Would you call me crazy if I paid $500? $1000? $1500? etc

Thanks all for reading, and looking forward to hearing your responses and getting to know ya.

I would have easily paid $1500 for it.

[Praxiss454]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

I would have easily paid $1500 for it.

Yeah I ended up around there for initial purchase but the expenses keep piling up!