Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

Could be one of the seven wonders of the world Lol , I remember a couple of my dads friends that bought Gmc Ten Wheeler dump trucks New 65 and 66 when I was a kid ,
now these are big trucks and they were painted black behind the grill from the factory
As a kid I used to polish on these trucks Every weekend my dad had a 62 Chevy dump truck always like the GMC trucks better , seem to be more of those around in those days

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

Here's a pic of a 60 GMC magazine add, black background and you can see the transiting from light blue to black right below the "G" and "C" letters.

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

The upload failed the first time:lolsmack2:, this should do it!

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

So the problem with pre-production GM photos like the 60 GMC in the above ad is that so many were photographed with all kinds of non-production features GM designers were playing around with at the time - this truck for example does not have the chrome around the windshield, but in production probably would have. Many 1950's and 60's GM pictures show odd-ball paint schemes that never made it to the production line. GMC played with the idea of painting its cabs white like Chevrolet during the late fifties but of course ended up doing its own thing.

My friend in Spokane sent this photo of a GMC grille support off a real production truck that has never been repainted - its exactly like my green 64 was and like Alex' Green truck is. This photo shows all we need to know to know that solid body color is correct for grille support repaints, and if anyone wants to do the Chevy-style Black paint behind them that should be considered correct as well. I do wonder what color Ed Snyders' Dads Suburban had - the body color or Black behind that grille.....

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

Well like I say this is a picture of one that hasn't been repainted and this is not from a friend this is from a truck I took apart never been repainted if you want to come look at it you are more than welcome
And it is from a GMC 6500 series Not a Chevy

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

Pic

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

Here are pics of an original 61 from the sites photo album that the owner contributed as pics of original details for restorations. From what I've researched I will not deny that many trucks just came with the body color rather than black, Yet many trucks also came with the black background, so why did GMC do that? Ed Snyder's green 66 built in Fremont was body colored, the 66 I painted was also a Fremont truck but had the black background, I would think it was some sort of quality control issue. As far as the Chevy style, GMC never painted the white surround in that area.

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

Pic 2

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

My Dad's one ton Suburban, which he bought new and has never been repainted, came from the Pontiac, Michigan, plant with body color behind the grille.

Re: 1962 Gmc dump truck
 

So what we can conclued from all this is you can pretty much do what you want as there will always be someone with info to back up your claim. Painted Black or Body color the choice is yours. Its just a hobby and should be fun, once its no longer fun, its time to find a new hobby.