The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Brought my BIG BOLT home

Got my big girl home today.It is a 61 gmc,I thought he said it was a 64.Had a interesting drive home.I was goin down the road about 35 mph cuase the switch for the rear end is broke so its stuck in low for now,anyway the whole front end of the truck starts shakin like crazy.Did it to me twice.Whats up with that??I got a good right side door with good glass.The door on it wont shut and is held with a bunjee cord as you can see in the pics.Also got a good switch for the axle and a gas pedal and brake pedal cover.I think it has the wrong hood on it,tell me what ya think.Like I said the drive home was interesting.Everything rattlin on the gravel road and everything growlin on the paved road.Had fun though.Took my 9 year old son for a ride around the block and he loved it.Here is a pic of the two big uns .And some more pictures.

looks like fun.

Is that a V6 I see?
What size, 351, 401, or?

The shake in the front end was probably worn out king pins, tie rod ends, drag link ends, and possibly the steering gear too.

I have an old Chevy car, 1928, that does that, go over a bump in the road and the whole front end shakes until you get the car stopped and start over.

Grigg

those heavy duty springs you'll feel every bump empty. looks like they just used whatever was at hand to keep it going. good news is it runs nd it stops so you are starting ahead of a lot of folks here. will be watching with interest

Not sure of the size of the motor but its a v-6.Everything in it works,even the heater and wipers.The original turn signal even works.Just gotta fix the shake in the front end and the 2 speed switch and its good to go.

Congrads Walt. Fine looking bolt there.

Walt,

That is a Chevy Hood from a '62 to '66. Also if the door you got was from the '64 1/2 ton you had mentioned in the other post, it will not fit. Only doors from '60 to '63 will work on your truck.

Check the engine numbers on the pad on the front of the engine and it will tell you what size V-6 you have.

Also sometimes when a car or truck is running down the road fine and you hit a bump and it won't stop shimmying, it can also be the pitman arm.

Keep us posted.

Checked the door before I took it off and its the same.I must have misunderstood the guy when he told me the year.I guess I need to study up on the body styles.I think I'm gonna get the other door and hood off that other truck.Will the hood fit off a 1/2 ton?

Glad to see that you were able to drive her home.
I wish mine was able to just hold air in the tires when I picked it up.
Have fun with that Great truck.

All '60 to '66 Hoods will interchange (conventional type), but there are at least 2 different types of hood latches. They should interchange too, but I never proved it on one.

An original '61 Hood is the "Cats Eye" type. I believe you can see some pictures of all the different hoods at Jolly's GMC site.

Thanks for the info.Huntin parts is half the fun,right?

Looked alover the engine and just found numbers on the intake behind the carb.Had to scrape the grease off to find the firing order also.The numbers I found are,2377025AR SCC 3-7-1961.

Good looking truck, it has character.

John

Well DUH!!!The engine info is on the door of the glove box.It says its a 305A.

Walt,

The glove box door will give a whole lot of info, but there is still an engine number on the front of the block to verify it is a 305A. I can't remember the exact location, but if it's like a small block Chevy, it will be at the bottom front side of the passenger side head, on a pad, on the block itself. I believe Jolly has a picture of the location on his site.

I did notice that one of the motor mount bolts was newer than the others and the rubber spacer looks kinda like a piece of conveyer belt.The spacers werent cut to fit perfect.Bear with me guys..I'll keep lookin for the number.Sure do appreciate the help.I aint much of a mechanic.Just swapped a few motors and tranny's,done some brakes,never really dug inside a motor.I work on my own stuff if I can and if it aint got a brain in it.So if I ask some off the wall questions now ya know.

Nice truck. Definitely wrong hood if it's a '61. The correct hood looks like it has big eyebrows in the turn signal area. And the engine number if I remember correctly is in front of the right cylinder head or passenger side head on a flat surface. Good luck with it!

Looked at jolly's gmc and found where the number is,but mine has no number in that spot.There is a place for it but no numbers.Is there supposed to be a tag there or are the numbers stamped in it?

Shouldnt this truck have motor mounts on the side of the block?The only one I see is below the crank bolted to the cross member.I can see a place for a mount on the side of the block but its not there.

OK here are some more engine pics.This is the right side of the engine and here is the mount under the crank .Here is another shot. It looks like it should have a mount just under the exhuast mainfold toward the front of the block.Its got the holes for it.Let me know what ya think.
Walt

The numbers are stamped into the block. Take a clean rag with some kind of degreaser and clean the pad good. Some are more lightly stamped than others.

Walt,

I don't have a V-6 here for reference but I do recall that the type of mount you have to be correct. I'm sure others will be jumping in with more info.