The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Looking for info on 1966 GMC with factory bucket s

I have a 1966 GMC 3/4 ton with factory buckets in it. Someone at a local dealership said that he thought that it was a Sport Custom Cab package offered on a limited basis in '66. Has anyone heard of this? If so how limited was it and what is the estimated remianing number of these trucks?

Thanks for any info that you may have.


Boone

I don't think true buckets were available until '67 on trucks, but they might be the Bostrom seat option.

I have a 66 1/2-ton Fenderside that came with bucket seats. It also has the 351 V-6, TH-400, PS, PB, AC (no longer complete), Spicer 60 rear axle and Custom trim. Seems like the original owner ordered it with ever option that was available. The buckets are the same was the ones available in 67-68, some guys refer to them as "Buddy Buckets". I didn't know they were available in 66 until I saw them in this truck. Seems to be a pretty rare option for 66.

Bob

Hey guys, pics would be nice, I never knew they had that option in 66 either but live and learn.

I will see if I can get some pics posted for you Rob. It was a shock to me also. It could be that if I can find the actual date of manufacture that it is a '66 1/2 which might allow for the '67 seat option. It is kind of strange in that unlike Bob's truck, this one has very little in options. It has no PS, PB, AC or anything like that. It has the Custom Cab chrome grill, bumper and side trim.

Boone,
Are you completely sure they are original equipment? Just about all of these old trucks pick up add-ons along the way and some can be hard to tell.

In a lot of cases, if something truly seems to be an oddity then chances are it's not correct -- no matter how much it looks correct.

John

I am not totally sure, John. I have crawled all over it and if it is an after the fact deal, it is a good one using original mounting. The only other thing is that I am only the second owner and it was an old farmer that had it originally that has since passed away. He had it as a farm truck and didn't strike me as the type that would change the seats but like you said, one can never tell. I had the guy at Westfall GMC in KMCO tell me that it was a limited run of approximately 3000 of the 1/2 tons and 2000 of the 3/4 and that he thought that there was only about 100 left running. I have been unable to verify that and he has since left the dealership. When I called back over there I got youngsters mostly that probably haven't even seen a '66. LOL I am beginning to think that as you all have said that it was either a special order or someone changed it but did a good job of it.

It's been my experience that farmers are typically more of a "function over form" sort. If it's got factory-looking mounting holes, only one set of mounting holes, brackets that look like they were made for the floor and fit perfectly, I'd say it's very possible they were a rare factory option.
What's the original rubber floor mat like? Does it extend all the way between the bucket seats and go to the gas tank? Or does it stop half way and leave bare sheetmetal between the seats?
Does it have a buddy seat in the center?

-Brad

Brad,
It does have the 'buddy seat' with the storage compartment under it. Everything looks as you say in that the brackets definitely are made for the single set of mounting holes. Everything appears to be factory installed. I have tried to get info from GM but have hit a lot of stonewalls due to its age.

In 1966 there were 3 seat options available for trucks. They were Bostrom seat - code no. A55
Folding auxilliary seat - code no.A57
Third seat - code no.A59 which was probably the buddy buckets.

Thanks for the seat codes. This gives me more to go on.