big v6 question

[carl609]

when I got my truck, 67 gmc 1/2 ton, it had the big v6, 305 I believe. I know these were common to these trucks. what are they worth? I put mine on ebay and got $100 for it. I was happy at the time, but knowing they are getting pretty rare, I don't know. Could I have got more? It was a runner, and I sold it complete, carb to pan, with the adapter to a th400. man that thing had a lot of torque. It weighed 910lbs. I have to lower my truck more because the small block only weighs about 550. the guy payed almost $700 to have it shipped truck freight. I almost drove it down to cali, i would have made money if I did.

[rwgregory]

Strange folks like me would pay $100.00 for a complete 305 V-6 in a heartbeat. I've seen complete runners go for 3 and 4 times that locally. It's a
bit of a nitch market but there are people like me that think they are the
coolest truck engine ever made...

[Fred T]

Price depends on where you are and being able to find a buyer. $100 was about scrap value, but it's better than letting it get cut up.

The 305 was the smallest of the truck V-6s. The 351 was a far better engine and was used in a lot of 2 ton trucks. I put a lot of miles on 351s and the big brother 478. For more info http://www.6066gmcguy.org/305V6.htm

[farside847]

that twin 6 page on that site is a trip.... V12!

[shelby987]

I have only driven one of these trucks, but it was the 351....while not a high reving engine.....it was in my opinion...AWESOME.....the guy selling the truck still has it sitting in his driveway with a 4sale sign on it.........my next truck will be a tow vehicle, and I think I will be in the market for a 3/4t or 1t GMC 2wd with one of these V6's.....I just like the idea of telling people its a 351 and the look of disgust when they ask why I would put a Furd engine in a GMC!
But like RWgregory said....its a nich market.....look at his sig....you can tell he is sitting in that nich and I am half way there myself!

[Bob B.]

Great engines. I wouldn't think of swapping mine for a big or small block Chevy. It uses lots of fuel, it doesn't like to rev. with the stock Stromberg carburetor, and it's heavy. But, the torque is incredible and I don't think you will fand a more durable gas engine. Because of the shape of the valve covers, some ask why I put a 409 in my GMC!

[CPNEJR]

these 351's sound like an awesome engine for a truck that you would use to tow or hauls stuff with.i think that if i got a truck to use to work with i would use this engine

[Fred T]

They are a good engine for hauling. Real torquemonsters. The biggest problem with them was the design of the crankshaft. It was big and heavy and unbalanced. The engine does not like running at high rpm for extended distances. They also designed the engine to accelerate slowly.

Business owners liked the trucks at first. They were sold on the economy and power of the V6. But after being driven by employees that wanted to go fast, the engines didn't last. I worked lumber yards in the early 70s and GMC was the truck of choice. But we put a few rods through the block. One place I drove for had a 478 in a 10 ton truck that was geared to 62 mph. It was sold to them as a road truck. At 100,000 miles I dropped a rod. That was the 4th engine and they sold the truck.

We had better success with the 351 magnum in the 2 ton trucks. They were the best engine of the design. Took the higher revs better, but not as good as the sbc. One of the 2 tons had the 5 speed overdrive with a 2 speed rear. I don't know for certain how fast she would run, I didn't have enough guts to run it over 90.

[Bob B.]

You been around! The 478 was externally balanced, and as I remember, and it had a vibration damper. The 305, 351, and 401 didn't use a damper at all, they just had a hub for the crank pulley. None of these things like to rev., but you could hurt a 478 by spinning it too fast. You had to be careful downshifting on a grade that you didn't spin them too fast. The larger V-6's had an elaborate hydraulic governor that ran off of the oil pump to shut them down if they went too fast.