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Markeb 1960 GMC updates

Since my last update in January 2009, a lot has changed. I left the work force so my truck retired as well. It remains my daily driver, but now stays pretty close to home. It badly needed a repaint, but with a greatly diminished hobby budget I didn�t have the money or enthusiasm to strip all the lacquer off for a two part urethane finish. To simplify I sprayed it with John Deere Blitz Black enamel. I�m very pleased with the results, and have received more positive feedback with the new paint than all the years with the shiny finish. It�s also enjoyable not having to worry about every little chip or scratch.

Inside I upholstered the firewall in diamond tufting to match the door panels and the area behind the seats, added SoCal �Shoebox� dash knobs which replicate the old 1949 Ford chrome ball knobs. The gearshift knob was switched out to a blue metalflake version, the tach head was updated to one of the new Sun FZ88 replicas. The wrinkle finish was removed from the glove box door, and shot in lacquer with the addition of vintage speed decals.

On the outside, the Gaylord bed cover was removed and vintage style bed rails added. They come in handy for dump runs and hauling cargo, while adding a sense of style.

Here�s a shot after paint, but before the bed rails:

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Here are a couple after the bed rails were installed:

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And here�s a shot wearing rally wheels and snow tires for the winter months:

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And finally a few pics of the interior updates:

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Wow!!! That's very nice, great job.

John

Here are a couple showing the recent addition of dual spotlights, and the wheels painted black:

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With a long road trip coming up, I decided to reinstall the Gaylord hard cover that's been hanging on the garage wall for the last two years. Rather than losing the bed rails, I decided to mount them on the hard cover mostly for cosmetics. Turns out I really didn't need the open bed that much, and it's nice having the secured storage area again.

Instead of using oval head screws I opted to use pan head screws with stainless fender washers coming up from underneath, with chrome acorn nuts on top. They have a machined in flat washer on the bottom which nestles perfectly into the tapered hole in the brackets. They also add a little sparkle and go with all the other bullet shaped objects on the truck.

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Neat ideas. It really looks nice.

Here are some photos of changes to our 1960 GMC since the last update:

The 15x5 front wheels were replaced with 15x7’s, and the Gaylord bed cover was reinstalled. The bed rails were remounted on top of the cover:

[IMG]http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/7/0001ll.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/8449/0002vs.jpg[/IMG]

GM topknot emblems were added to the fog lights, and they were moved forward on the bumper with new brackets:

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The majority of the inner fenders were removed for hot rod styling and ease of access. Raptor bed liner was then sprayed on what was left of the inner fenders and firewall. Here’s a shot before I finished up the wiring on the driver’s side:

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And here’s after the hood hinges and springs were reinstalled:

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Inside a 1962-63 era Moon style externally lighted gauge panel was acquired and installed below the center of the dash. The undersize rim on the VDO vacuum gauge looked puny when mounted next to the Autometer gauges, so a new Autometer vacuum gauge was purchased and installed. I haven’t decided whether to connect the external lights or not. They never worked very well, mainly causing glare on the glass. But I really wanted a panel that carried the lights because I always liked the way they looked.

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Pulling the vintage Covico steering wheel to work on the instrument panel, I discovered it had plenty of nicks, scratches and gouges after nearly half a century of use. I spent four and a half hours restoring the vinyl rim. All the defects were wet sanded out with 400, 600, 1000, and 1500 grit paper. This was followed by 3 polishing steps with Semi-Chrome, and the final finish was brought back to original with 3 additional applications of Mothers Mag Wheel polish. It’s hard to photograph a shine, but I’m amazed how nice it turned out.

[IMG]http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/7394/0010rs.jpg[/IMG]

Retractable lap belts are on the way, along with an Autometer 160 mph speedometer to match the rest of the gauges. Those will be installed within the next week or so, hopefully before the Spokane Goodguys show.

Here are the last couple of upgrades, accomplished today:

The new Autometer speedometer showed up today, along with new retractable lap belts to replace Simpson Racing belts. The belts arrived early and got installed first. Light was pouring in through the garage door and the back window so the 2nd shot is pretty bleached out, but it shows how they mounted. I went for the 70’s style with the starburst metal buckles. It sure is nice not having the big heavy buckles and belts laying all over the floor.

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Tomorrow I’ll calibrate the speedo after I confirm the accuracy of the highway mile markers with our Honda. Although both gauges are the same size, the face and numbers on the Autometer is so much larger it’s much easier to see.

Here’s the last remaining VDO gauge, the old speedo. The only nice feature it offered was thru dial lighting, but it looked washed out and the numbers were too small:

[IMG]http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/152/003iz.jpg[/IMG]

And here’s the new Autometer. One other advantage - my truck now has a 40 mile per hour higher top speed. The speedometer says so! LOL!

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