I do love me an old pickup truck, and this one is a gem; I mean a GMC. And not just any old GMC, but a 3/4 ton, 4×4, four-speed manual, hi-low transfer case, with an 8′ Stepside bed and the legendary GMC 60 degree V6. Does it get any better than this?
I’m guessing at its year, as I can’t find any real difference between the ’64, ’65 and ’66 Jimmys. Maybe someone else can. And although these look a lot like their Chevy cousins, back then there was a genuine difference…under the hood.
The legendary GMC V6 resided in these, instead of Chevy sixes and V8s. I covered the story of the GMC V6 in depth here, so I won’t repeat it all here. Unlike the odd-fire Buick 90° V6, this one was a proper 60° design.
It was designed for serious truck work, built beefy and with plenty of cooling capacity to handle the tough loads that the larger trucks placed on it. The one in this pickup is probably a 305 cubic inch version, but displacement went all the way to 478 cubic inches. Oddly, there was even a V8 version with 637 cubic inches, with twin balance shafts to compensate for its uneven-firing and vibrations, due to its 60° block. They were all relatively low-rpm engines, with some versions producing their maximum power below 3000 rpm. The M “Magnum” series that appeared in the mid-sixties had bigger ports and valves, and less constricted exhaust headers, and are the most powerful and desirable of the family.
And there was the really legendary 702 cubic inch “Twin-Six” V-12. Its story is here. It’s essentially two 305 CID V6s, sharing one large block, but using two sets of V6 cylinder heads. It churned out 275 hp at 2400 rpm, and a mighty 630 ft.lbs. of torque at 1600 rpm. It was used in large trucks and fire engines, and became a favorite for stationary pump sets. It essentially knocked the truly legendary Hall-Scott gasoline engines out of those roles, as it was much cheaper and still held up well.
One half of the biggest and gnarliest gasoline truck engine in the land is at the beck and call of this driver, as well as a tough four-speed truck transmission and transfer case. And I’ll bet it doesn’t have power steering.
This one is working up some nice contrasting color patina.
When I was thinking of getting an old pickup almost 30 years ago, I vacillated between a GMC/Chevy or a Ford. But I wasn’t too keen on the fact that GM was still using wood for the beds in their trucks.
It does go bad, especially in our climate. Meanwhile, my Ford’s tough steel bed is still going strong.
There’s only one downside to this truck: it must ride like a bucking bronco. Back then, 4×4 trucks had extra stiff springs on their jacked-up chassis, and this is a 3/4 ton. Even the half-ton 4x4s rode hard. Oh well; nobody’s perfect.
More GMC 60 degree goodness:
CC 1963 GMC V6 Pickup: The Very Model Of A Modern V6 Truck Engine
Nice to see a truck from when they were still work vehicles, not one of todays that can cost as much as some houses in my area. (Northern Ohio) Unfortunately, I don’t see that type of vehicle here often, tin worm ate them up decades ago.
Awesome story! Sweet looking truck. This is my idea of what a truck should be, utilitarian, durable, able to do just about every task that requires a utility truck. That’s not to say that trucks shouldn’t be comfortable. Comfort is important if you’re going to be working from your truck. It’s just that first and foremost, a pickup truck should be utilitarian, rugged, and made for work. Whether that work is construction, brick building, or something more fun, like taking the kids camping, or your family, towing a trailer, etc. That’s something that’s sadly lacking in today’s trucks and SUVs.
Great find Paul! Judging by the front hubs, I would say it has had a axle swap. Might even be disc brakes lurking under there.
Looks to me like they’re just aftermarket free-wheel adapters.
I’m with you, suzulight, those look like the OEM locking hubs GM used on the 3/4’s very late 60’s through sometime in the ’70’s. If it’s has a 71 or later axle, I would expect it has discs.
In any case, what a nice truck! It no doubt lacks the highway manners of a new one, but, hey, it is a truck after all.
Sweeeeeet.
My ex-father in law had a similar truck, with the non-stepside bed. It was called Big & Ugly. It was a nasty old truck, and he decided to paint it, so he took whatever leftover paint he had on the shelf (He painted cars in the garage), mixed it together and wound up with a peanut butter tan color. He shot the whole truck, then called me to come out and help him…he had jacked it up so the wheels were off the ground, and he had me spin the wheels so he could spray them. He got very little overspray on the tires, he was pretty good with a spraygun.
He was an old-school tough guy, and refused to wear a mask or respirator when he painted…he just had furnace filters in a wooden frame that he would put under the partway open garage door, and a box fan pulling air out the back of the garage through another furnace filter…got blue overspray all over his neighbor’s brand new white Dodge workvan once. He even shot a Chevy Nova with Imron once, and as far as I know all he wore was a paper mask.
Great memories…
HaHa, reminds me of the garage where a friend and I painted my 71 Scamp in the early 80s. Only it was a single furnace filter in an open window and an unfiltered exhaust fan. We would have asphyxiated without masks, and the neighborhood must have smelled great.
In the 80s, my BIL’s dad was still running a 60-ish GMC grain truck on the family farm. I got to drive it once, and it’s beefy V6 was a really unique experience. One like this (though only 2wd) was back in a barn after serving as an engine donor for the grain truck.
Didn’t the Jimmy of this era have Hotchkiss drive and rear leaf springs, while Chevrolet used links and coil springs? Or did I get that idea out of brain fade?
Yes .
.
The light duty Chevrolets had the coil springs and trailing arms , you could order them with the regular leaf springs .
.
-Nate
Even the 3/4 ton Chevy with a full-floating rear axle used the coil spring rear suspension, but 4×4’s were leaf all around, Chevy and GMC alike.
The 1960-1962 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks GMC’s had torsion bar IFS and coil spring rear suspension, both shared with Chevrolet. The 1963-1966s shared a coil spring front suspension with Chevy, but went to a leaf spring rear suspension.
Every time I see these GMC V6s, I marvel at how GM was once able to support so many varied engine and transmission designs across its divisions.
Perfect patina.
I’m glad to see it still serving it’s intended purpose.
Great find.
When I was on submarines in Groton, Ct.(66-69), a shipmate of mine had one of these with a large camper on the back. His was green with the wide bed. When we would pull into port he spent his nights in the parking lot which, of course, was an easy walk to the boat. His family was in New Hampshire IIRC so on the weekends he would pull up stakes and drive there. He only slept on the boat when he had duty. I certainly couldn’t have pulled that off with my 66 beetle.
Some memories just jump up at the craziest times. Hadn’t seen one of these is the longest time.
Rocinante Truck Camper
Rocinante is the truck author John Steinbeck drove across the United States in 1960. He recounts the journey in Travels with Charley, a bestseller that initially sold more volumes than any of Steinbeck’s other books and won the 1963 Paperback-of-the-Year Award. Steinbeck chose a truck because it is mobile yet self-contained, and it “is a respectable and respected working instrument.”
The truck Steinbeck commissioned was a new model with a V6 engine, an automatic transmission, and an oversized generator. The camper was provided by the Wolverine Camper Company of Glaswin, Michigan.
http://www.rvhotlinecanada.com/history/rocinante/
I think he meant Gladwin, Mi.
Chunky
dad had a 66 chevy longbox, same shade of blue that I learned to drive on. did that dash shot bring back memories!
Yes, very difficult to identify the year of ’64/’65/’66 G.M.C. light trucks, though one subtle difference on the ’66 is that the ‘G.M.C.’ letters in the grille were squared off.
The V-6 was indeed an interesting and unique engine, though it was overkill in a light truck. From ’66 to ’68 a special version of the 351 Magnum was offered in the light duty line as the 351E, and it made G.M.C.’s the most powerful pickups available until big block V-8’s became available in light trucks.
That’s what I call a truck. A 4wd 3/4-ton 8′ longbed with a V-6 and 4-speed manual, full-floating axles with multi-leaf springs, manual-locking freewheeling hubs. You can’t get any more rugged than that.
Regarding the wood floor vs steel floor. Yes, the wood floor rotted in wet climate, but it can be replaced easily whereas the steel floor will rust. Harder to replace the rusted floor.
I recall the 1967 Chevy/GMC 4wd trucks rode lower than the pre-1967 trucks. I still have a 1967 Chevrolet brochure that showed an illustration of the newly designed 4wd truck to the previous year 4wd and made note how the new truck was lower due to having the transfer case bolted directly to the transmission and used tapered leaf springs.
I recall in a 1968 GMC brochure, the 3/4-ton 4wd with the optional 351 V-6 engine had a max GVW rating of 8100 lbs whereas the same 3/4-ton 4wd with V-8 was rated slightly lower at 7800 lbs.
Years ago my uncle had an old pickup stored in a shed on his farm, and his dogs had eaten the wood bed floor! I did not see it myself, but it is not hard to believe.
You could say the wood floor was a “replaceable wear item.” Not so much for the steel floor.
I’m not typically a Jimmy fan but this is one tough looking truck – I like it.
I remember our Boy Scout Troop bus had a version of this V6 – I was acquainted with V8s and inline sixes – but that was the first V6 I had seen – it fascinated me.
This truck is the perfect ’60’s GM truck. My first truck in high school, was a ’65 C10 283 3 on tree stripper with rotting wood bed. I bought it from dad after he bought his new ’74 Duster 225 3 on tree stripper as it’s replacement. I put extra big rims and tires on it all the way around, along with a smaller diameter aftermarket steering wheel. Took Armstrong steering to a new level. Mine was a 2wd Fleetside, would have been the coolest truck around school if it would have been this GMC instead. It was puke green, along with it’s Duster replacement, but I quickly resprayed it in dark primer. I made the mistake of putting a 4bbl manifold and quadrajet on the tired old 283, it made a nice moan when the secondaries were opened up, but the rings couldn’t hold back the oil and along with the noise, and tiny bit more power, it would now lay down a blue oily smokescreen.
I beat that old truck into the ground, and got stuck more than once driving it in places only a 4wd should go. This GMC would have been perfect, although I probably would have done my best to run it into the ground as well.
Now that is a truck!
My Father had a 62 with that engine…
A serious truck for serious tasks. Likely driven by a Real Man (or perhaps a Real Woman).
Very cool find.
I have a 1964 GMC 3/4 ton with the big block 305 V6. It’s repainted in the original Terrace blue color.
I own one of these truck and despite what you might think it rides beautiful. Better that my 63 2×4
Love the v6