GMCDAC's GMCs
 

I have held off posting anything to speak of about my GMCs since I don't currently have a 60-66, but a 60 GMC Burb is why I have the addiction and someday I will own a truck from this era again!

Our first GMC was the '60 Suburban in my avatar and the first pic. That's Mom with it Christmas day, 1963, 50 years ago.

In 1971 Mom bought a 1970 K5 GMC Jimmy which I now have and it is my primary project. Mom drove it until 2001. That's the second pic Mom and the Jimmy in 1977.

In 1979 my wife and I bought a 1972 C2500 and we still are using it to this day. 3rd pic was from that year, and the 4th pic is 2012.

When Mom passed away in 2009 it was too hard to work on the Jimmy so a co-worker gave me a '55 GMC that was destined for the crusher and that gave me a project to do until I could face the Jimmy again. 5th pic is the '55 in 2009 the day I got it, and the 6th pic was taken last September.

I did have a very ugly but great running '62 K2500 GMC from 2006-2007 but had to sell it when Mom's health began to fail. Needed the cash for her. That was when I joined Jolley's yahoo site and never lost interest but lurked since I had to sell that truck.

Here's some pics. Hope it's ok with everyone to post this.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

I can't imagine that anyone on this forum would object to a post like yours, Doug, especially with those photos. I love seeing old photos like those. I had hundreds of old GMC photos posted on the now-defunct Webshots site. If I ever get energetic enough, I'll post some of them to our new forum here.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Thanks for sharing the history and photos DAC; I love looking at vintage pics like these.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Thank-you Ed! I wish I had more pre-1972 pics but we lost everything in a flood, including that pic of Mom with the '60 Burb but the pic was found in a field along with some other stuff of ours. She wrote on the back "found week after June 9 1972 Flood".

I lost a lot of pics when Webshots went down too, including the ones of the '62 GMC I had. Fortunately I had posted them in an album on the '60-66 Yahoo site and was able to get them back even though they were a little smaller before they disappeared there too. I would dig seeing your old GMC pics. I have posted a few I have in the GMC's in history thread on this site.

You are welcome Funky61, history behind just about anything is interesting to me, especially if it is family related. It shouldn't bother me but not knowing any background about my '55 really bothers me sometimes. You would think I would get over it-LOL!

Here are a few more.

pic 1 is a pic of me about the time I got my first drivers license with the Jimmy winter-spring 1972. This is a flood damaged pic also.

pic 2 is Mom with the Jimmy in 1980.

pic 3 is our '72 1980 in Scottsbluff, NE where we built the '70 Monte Carlo remains into a stock car.

pic 4 The '72 with another stock car chassis in the box, 1983.

pic 5 The '72 after helping to pack in a very muddy race track in 1981.

pic 6 The '72 again also 1983, my sign shop truck.

Hope you all like them.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Doug this is great stuff. Keep it coming. We all have a reason for loving this stuff. BLC .

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

It's more than "OK" to post stuff like this. We're to worship God, love people, and use things. Your "things" had to sit a'spell because of your love for mom. Sounds to me like you have priorities worked out just fine.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Hi Barry, good to see you posting again! Thanks, I don't want to be too overbearing with this stuff, but those are the best pics I have from the past days of our trucks. I have a few more but I will give it a break for a couple days.

The support is very much appreciated Fyrboy! (I have an old "Fyr Fyter" extinguisher hanging in my shop and your spelling reminded me--LOL!)
Yeah I probably get too hung up on the "things" but as the memory fades, the material stuff helps keep some of the people who have passed alive in a way for me. Mom had a pretty turbulent life and still managed to do an awesome job of being a Mom and a Grandma.

Thanks everyone---DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Dac that's a great bunch of photos. What's in the background on the 3rd pic? A volcano? I'd like to see more of that 55 too as you put it together.

For the if its ok remark, this forum is called "Other Rides and Projects Chevy, Dodge, F*rd, or refinishing cabinets? Share your progress or start a build thread and track let members follow along!"

The "track let" part is probably a messup but to me it looks like anyone that doesnt like it can pound sand. Heck I posted about a wood splitter in my thread. Let the pics roll and share the history! I'll read every one of em!

:champagne:

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Hello Pepsi, nice to hear from you and thanks! Yeah I know the title of the this part of the forum, but the word "Other" kinda had me in a grey area since I don't have a 60-66 GMC. That makes these trucks my "Only" projects for now. My wife complains that I take things too literally but I just try to respect the rules----

I was definitely a fan of the woodsplitter thread and would like to see it after you touched up the paint and all.

The object in the background of that 3rd pic is Devil's Tower, Wyoming. It was formed by volcanic activity. One of my sisters was a historian at that national park for a few years and the pic was taken when we helped her move there. You are probably too young to know the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" from the later 1970's starring Richard Dreyfus. A lot of that movie was filmed on location there and the climax of the movie was all at that location with a lot of at the time very high tech animation and graphics.

I'm not really working on the '55 much right now, just driving the heck out of it. There was a lot of blood sweat and tears getting it running and many doubts wether all the time was worth it. It was a pretty cheap build so far and I have an awful lot of pictures getting it to be a good, reliable driver.

Between keeping the kids vehicles running ok and my job, the '70 Jimmy is getting most of my attention and available finances right now and I need to keep that focus.

Thanks again everyone---DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

These are the pics I rescued from the 60-66 yahoo site before they vanished when webshots bit the dust of the '62 GMC K2500. I had to sell it in July 2007. It had a Chevy cab and hood stuck on it at one time, maybe the whole box too. A guy in Gillette, WY bought it that already had a '66 Chevy K20 that he had rebuilt and hot rodded up the 292 I-6 in it. He wanted this one as his project to build for his young son and give to him when he was old enough to drive. He should be darn near that age by now! He was definitely keeping the 305E V-6 as he wanted both GM six variations. He also intended on putting it back GMC on the outside as parts became available.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

That's what gave me the idea for my license tag. Let it lapse in '95. I omitted the "E" because I didn't want it to all appear as one word, & NC allows 8 characters max. Enjoyed watching folks decipher it as I looked at them in my mirror. Their expression was even more-appreciated if they had to think about it a while.:headscratch::ahhhh::cheers:


To view some links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Maybe you should introduce yourself with a new topic?

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Ha! That's a pretty cool plate! I bet a lot of folks were baffled. Here's my extinguisher.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

It finally got above freezing here so when I got home from work I fired up a couple old GMCs. The '55 usually gets to be in the shop but I have a friends racecar in there so it is out in the cold too!

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Just now seeing this!
...good stuff.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Thank-you sir!

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Those poor babies! you need to toss that junky ol' racecar out in the snow and warm them up good! :lolsmack:

I really dig that 55. I'd like to see those build pics you have when you feel like it. I might start one as a project once I finish Cecilia as a "modernize" style build like the one on "Last Man Standing". I can't see messing up my GMC, but an old chevy from the 50's I can probably get over modernizing.

Great trucks! You're a lucky man!:yeeuh::yeeuh:

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Yeah-LOL the racecar needs to go! I am lettering it so it better stay inside till I'm done, hopefully by tomorrow evening, maybe Monday.

Glad you like the '55. When I get the racecar outa here I will try to start the thread but it probably won't be liked too well, the GMC 248 six was replaced with a mid sixties Chevy 230 long before I got the truck. Other than that it is about all the modernization that one got besides the tires and a CD player, and that was only because someone hacked the radio hole in the dash.

I'm glad you don't want to mess up Cecilia and the road you travel with her suits me fine! It has to be a blast for you all going through all the trials of gettin' an old GMC roadworthy! I think these GMCs have a better story to tell when some of their past is preserved even if you don't know it's past like me with the '55.

You hit the nail on the head with modernizing a Chevy, I have heard that the post WWII production numbers were about 4 or 5 Chevys to 1 GMC clear up to 1972 and maybe even after that. If I hot rodded a Chevy pickup I bet it would end up with a GMC grill and tailgate on it though!-LOL!

Later---DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Been too busy to post but that "junky ol' racecar"--LOL was finished a week ago. The owner couldn't come get it due to a family health issue. He was able to come get it Friday night and the '55 came right in after sweeping the shop floor. Had a couple more inches of snow Saturday and 3 or 4 Monday night! Our first blizzard this winter was October 4th with 31 inches---enuff is enuff already!

Here's that racecar I lettered then maybe I can do a brief rundown on the '55 in the next few days.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Hey all, I don't know if this will be of interest, but I have had to build a set of heads recently for my '72 GMC (SBC sorry!) and I never really liked my old valve spring compressor. I remembered seeing pics of one that someone built out af a c-clamp years ago and decided to copy that idea. I had an 8" clamp and a 1/2" pipe coupling. Holes were ground in both sides of the coupling and then it was tack welded to the stationary end of the clamp. It worked real well and there is plenty of room to install the seal and retainers through the holes in the coupling. Here are a few pics.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Hi everyone! I don't know what the heck I have gotten myself into now but here are some pics of our "new" monstrosity. My Uncle-In-Law called last night and said he had a free slide-in cabover camper that he didn't want to scrap but he felt it had no value otherwise. They had recently purchased a pull-behind so they could get up in it easier. I knew this camper and that it was in great condition for being from the early '70s BUT I don't have a truck to come get it on a 3 hour round trip right now. My '72 is still undergoing repairs. He said he only wanted to unload it one last time as they had been all over the country with it this summer so they even delivered it today.

Yeah, it is SO big that it has an extra axle on it so a 3/4 ton truck can handle it.

Got a ton of original paperwork too but have not been able to go through it all yet.

Well, be prepared------

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

That's pretty cool. I love the born free logo.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Thanks, Barry, those logos are plastic and all 4 of them are perfect. There is a lot of work to do besides getting the truck running so most of the camper work will probably happen next year.

It has electric brakes, some extra wiring and a GMC specific bumper I have to build before it can be loaded. It came off a later model Dodge truck. Uncle Jim said the camper is free but you gotta build your own bumper! It uses a ball to "boomer" it to the truck along with some heavy "sockets" that act as guides for mounting tubes.

This is the bumper from the Dodge.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Hi everyone, earlier this week a friend of mine, the person I got my '55 GMC from, gave me this under dash tissue box holder with the condition that I put it in the '55. Well yeah I told him but my condition was that the bowtie had to go in favor of a GMC logo! He agreed so I un-bowtied it and made GMC stickers to make it look right tonight. I had the old vinyl cutter running anyway to make some other stickers so while it was on I built these up and made a couple. I probably won't get a chance to install it until next weekend. I'm hoping to FINALLY fire up the '72 Monday and get it out of the shop for awhile.

This logo was a '47-early '55 one but it seems that when needing a round logo GMC still used this one from '55-'59 also.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Looks great, I have one as well but it's period correct and generic

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

If you go to DAC's place, there is a building in the back, actually at the end of the driveway. Inside the building is a couple GMC's under construction and many other vehicular cool things to look at. BUT....off to one side there is a door. If you are lucky enough to get invited to go through that door, you will find a magic kingdom inside that room. And there within lies the ingenious technology and creative manipulation that produces all these cool things. It is a talent that even Payton Manning would envy!

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Awesome thread and neat job on the tissue dispenser.

DAC you have some mad skills... :thumbsup:

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Thank-you sir! I would love to see a pic of yours! This one is supposed to be from the '50s or early 60's and it looks that old but sure don't know.

Bob, I read this earlier today and I am still speechless or maybe typeless??-LOL! Thank-you for the compliments, dang--getting choked up again. Ok, got it back together. Payton is a football player, right? I am going to put the pic of us here to get even. Thanks for that visit and I wish we lived closer!

I really appreciate this comment too John and welcome to the site! I'm die hard GMC guy and when Jeannie was able to take Jolly's yahoo deal and get a real forum going in early 2013, I had to be on it! The most educational site for what I do with GMC's!

Here's me and "Foley" early this summer.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

I had the front painted to match the interior.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

I love it! Perfect match with the "V" in it since you have the V-6! Thanks for posting it! Would also like to see it painted?

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Great artwork Dac! Where does the tissue thing mount in the 55? Under the dash?
Man I wish I knew you did vinyl work sooner. I have a PDF to send you that might be handy for when you get a 60-66 again.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Hey Fetch, thank-you. Yeah it mounts under dash with that bracket on the left top. That bracket has a pivot that allows the housing to be swung out when a tissue is needed or a new box needs to be put in it. If I have any luck, which I seem to have a shortage of lately, I will get pics of it installed this weekend. Soon as I can move the '72 out of here I have to clean the shop up and bring my daughters '95 Toyota in and put a timing belt and water pump in it. She is going to Colorado with my wife Thursday 'till Sunday so it has to happen now while she don't need the car! I hate working on imports, but the car was free so have to be thankful for that, and just help her take care of it until she can afford something better. Heck of a way to spend a week of vacation from work.

Anyway I got to babbling! If you would like to send that .pdf that would be too cool! I don't care if it is something I need now or not, especially GMC oriented anything! Maybe I could help someone else. I don't have a digital printer. I do this stuff with a 23 year old vinyl cutter. Probably one of the last American made ones. 2 layers of vinyl to make what I posted. I'm pretty sure I mentioned somewhere on this forum that to make the bowtie hubcaps on the '72 appear to be GMC that the same thing was done to them. Chevy ones were all I could afford to buy, and no GMC ones found locally at all, for 16" rims.

I think you have my email, when you sent me the info about Velocity channel.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

I don't have it or I'm too dumb to find it. Can you pm me?

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Dang my memory sucks. Maybe it was pm's, not emails. I'll send it to you in a PM shortly.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

I think you have my email, when you sent me the info about Velocity channel.

DAC[/QUOTE]

Speaking of the Velocity Channel, for all you out there who have access to it, be sure and watch (and/or record) the two hour special on "*******' Rides" tonight. They're restoring a Futurliner. If you don't know what a Futurliner is, see

To view some links or images in this forum your post count must be 1 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Maybe you should introduce yourself with a new topic?

.

Looks like Yahoo turned the proper name of the show into *******! Oh well, I tried.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

HA, thanks for trying and the link, Ed! Sometimes these censors are kinda irritating but it seems they are a necessary evil! Don't know the show as we can't get Velocity here even if we were able to buy another worthless cable bundle with a couple hundred stations that we don't want, just to get one!

Fetch was trying to help me stream the Velocity show "Americarna" on the computer as I would love to watch it. My antique computer won't allow me to get it done unfortunately.

A couple years ago there was an un-restored Futureliner for sale for for less than a half a million if I remember correctly. Wonder if it was that one. I don't know if anyone here cares that they were actually a GMC designed by Harley Earl. They were built to represent all GM makes. Anyway, that would be a fun show to see also!

The '72 ran on it's own this afternoon and was able to go out and see the light of day for the first time since the end of May, and I was able to clean up the work bay some. There's still some tuning and new mufflers to do but it seems to run real well. There was a lot of doubts since this was a super tight budget but MAYBE all the work paid off ok.

Yeah it's a small block but please understand that we traded my wife's first car (which I bought her for a High School grad present) in on this truck. I bought the car, a '66 Plymouth Valient, 2 door post from the same Uncle that gave us that big ol' camper recently! We traded the car (plus $2400 bucks I think) for this truck in 1979. Ahh, more boring history. Here's a couple pics from today.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Thanks Doug for posting the history and pictures and your experiences that's what makes this forum #1 to me and I'm sure others feel the same way here....Vernski:thumbsup:

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

I too agree, Vernski. I always enjoy reading about other members and their truck histories.

Doug -- what's the status of your '70 Jimmy? I've told you a little bit before about the '72 Jimmy I used to own. One of my memories is of driving it from St. Louis to Idaho Falls, Idaho, in 1976 for a job change. I flat-towed a '71 Toyota Corolla behind it and had to juggle the steering wheel back and forth the whole way to keep everything in line. I'm sure the short wheelbases of both vehicles and the short tow bar didn't help. The Corolla was a cool little car -- two door coupe with A/C, four speed, and a little hemi-head four under the hood. For some reason, out of the 60 or so vehicles we've owned, it was the only one we ever gave a name to -- Roscoe.

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

You are welcome, Vernski, and thank-you for your supporting comments! This forum is most definitely my favorite also. It is so nice to go somewhere that talks GMC that is an up to date style forum! Thanks Jeannie!

Thank-you so much also, Ed! These comments mean a lot to me. I can't remember If I missed pics of your Jimmy or not, but I would dig seeing it. The Corolla probably was a great commuter and I have heard that they had pretty darn good power with the little hemi! Mom ended up with the Jimmy when it was less than a year old for reasons you are describing about towing. A person bought it new to pull a camper and when he was urged not to use a short wheel-base vehicle for such a purpose, he put it up for sale. Fortunately Mom worked at the same department at Ellsworth A.F.B. as this guy and did what it took to buy it! She had no plans to tow with it and I don't either.

I did not get to work on the Jimmy this summer at all due to this project trying to get the '72 running well again, and minor issues with the wife and kids rides here and there too. Hopefully a lot of hours can be spent on it this winter after the last two chores on kids rides.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Hi everyone, got all of the needed summer work on the daughter's Camry done tonite, had to order an upper engine mount last Friday and was able to pick it up today and put it in when she got home from work. Pulled the '55 in and hung the tissue dispenser.

I know, it is in need of a polish and CLR on the chrome along with a paint job but that will be a good project for a cold winter day which will be here soon enough. Oh yeah buying a box of kleenex for it may be a good idea too! I go on-call at work tomorrow so I can't spend much time in the shop for a week.

Looks like it will still be useable with the cup holder I built for the drives when my wife is riding along---or driving! Pictures bring out that I have slopped coffee all over it. Guess I better go clean the windows since it has set outside for a long time and maybe wipe off the cup holder too---LOL!. I just want to remind anyone interested that this truck is my 80% daily driver so it shows it. The other 20% is a 1991 GMC Sonoma right now.

Next project I have to finish for it is windshield washers which I started building before I got on the '72 last summer.

Also waiting for a carb kit that should be here Friday for the '72. That Q-jet has a vaccum leak on the drivers side primary barrel. Gonna rebuild the Holley 4160 that was flooding I had on it when I tore the upper end off the engine a few months ago.

DAC

Re: GMCDAC's GMCs
 

Hello Folks, I learned a little about tissue boxes this week. Did y'all notice 4 or 5 years ago rolls of toilet paper suddenly got about an inch narrower? And the price didn't go down, buy the way---Anyway I bought a box of kleenex for the '55 and them boxes must be about an inch shorter from when these tissue dispensers were designed too! They don't fit worth a darn, but there ain't much can be done about corporate greed I guess.

Got it in there but it may fall out at any time:-(=

I stated a few times earlier in this thread that there would be more posts about the trials we went through to get the '55 on the road. Here goes an attempt and I hope it will be informative.

Mom passed away in 2009 and I found it too hard to work on her Jimmy so I was moping around work with no truck project. A co-worker showed up at with this '55 GMC that came out of a field on a relative's property a couple months after she died. It was gonna get scrapped or given to me he said. I could not let scrapping happen so it was time to figure out how to make this truck run just for the fun of it and not worry a whole lot about making everything perfect. Right away I decided that an old ugly truck is fine, I just wanted it to run well, and stop well for now and not spend a bunch of money that I would need for the Jimmy.

It had no title but the co-worker assured me that they would get one. This was August, 2009.

Here's more pics from the day I got it, non-running, destroyed radiator, exhaust manifold, and just not looking like much potential.

DAC