"72 GMC Wideside" Quasi Build Thread

[TrucknAndy]

Due to recent unforeseen events I decided to start a build thread. I bought the truck about a year ago as a 2nd vehicle for me to get to and from work, and the wife could have her car to take the kids to and from school, and such. This is my first classic vehicle so this is your noob disclaimer. I know I overpaid for the truck, but it was one of those I had to have it moments us men get. In any case she has never been much to look at, "good from afar, but far from good" she ran well and that was all great...Until recently. And this is how I ended up with a build thread.

I did the brakes (new everything with the exception of the booster, and intermediate brake lines) and some other minor electrical repairs. Recently, I started having an oil pressure issue. Losing pressure even with acceleration...noob mistake # 1. Check all fluids REGULARLY...old motors seem to seep at the seams here and there unless its a fresh rebuild, new motor, and most importantly done properly. Oil change solved the problem PO(s) did nothing proper with this truck. Did everything the cheapest way, and seemingly with the whatever he had laying around.

To save the everyone the pain of continuing to bore you all with an endless story you/we have heard before we will skip to yesterday. Hop in the truck to head to work (fuel guage is broken, but knew I need to get gas on my way to work), pump gas twice (per this old trucks starting procedure), turn ignition to on, push starter button, and fires right up. Pull away, and it seems she isn't accelerating normally (popping noise with a bogging feeling)...made it less than a block, and she dies. Out of gas, as the guage is broken and I have been unable to repair it yet I double check with a length of hose (bone dry). I have the wife pick me up to get some fuel, filled her up a little, no start.

-This happened once when I coasted on fumes into the gas station. Fortunately there was a mechanic in the adjacent pump who added some fuel to the bowls and she fired right up.

I repeated this procedure with no success. Had a coworker tow me home. I am assuming she is flooded out (was able to remove one spark plug and it was wet on the tip and smelled super gassy. My plan was to remove/check all 8 plugs and allow it to dry over night, and leave the air cleaner off. Sadly, the headers don't allow access to all the plugs, and the exhaust is welded to the the headers. All I was able to do was pull one truck, and attempt to crank to check for spark seemed to be a good spark. I know the fuel is getting there as in my attempts to get her to turn over fuel was leaking out the carb body at the rear linkage points. Let it sit overnight all be it with the plugs still in the engine. Still no start...

So, on to the build part, now that Ive bored everyone to death. My wife loathes the truck, but would rather spend the money on getting it to a more dependable state than spend a lot more money on another vehicle. Just seems very counter productive to her/us. The kids will be out of school in a week so I will be able to use her car most everyday, and work on the truck in my free time over the summer.

I know this all sounds backwards and strange going from talking about a seemingly flooded engine, but it seems anything you touch on this truck has had something done improperly to it. As it applies to this situation when inspecting the carb yesterday (Ede 1406 electric choke) I found that the choke plate had been zip tied full open. It did run fine like this, but when trying to diagnose a problem it makes you wonder what else might have been done to this carb, and if letting the sparks dry doesn't get me on the road further diagnosis of the fuel settings may be difficult. So, unless I receive or find a solution to get this girl going again I am planning to by a new 1406 that I know hasn't been tampered with to learn on, and get this girl running right.

This carb is sitting on top of what I believe is a late 70's 350. Having run the numbers I know its a harder nickel block, with a 4 bolt. I was told it has a mild cam (po) type (unknown). It is fired by an old delco remy HEI.

I have already purchased an AAW classic update (all the wiring is botched, and the fuse block looks like a grave site). So, this will be going in this summer, and if it is seemed a smart move to start with a fresh carb, and a quality ignition system, wires, and plugs. If money allows after the previous I want to end up with an exhaust system that either A) allows access to the plugs while installed, or B) Can be removed without dropping the exhaust.

Sorry for the long winded thread, and I know the first portion could have been posted in the engine section, but it all sort of lead into a long term build, and hoped to have everything centrally located in one place as I plug along on the truck.

I am hoping for some advice how to solve the present problem(s), and/or on my plans for summer upgrades. I'll post a pic of the PO's handy work on the choke later.

Some pics.

Thanks,
Andy





The mess under the hood.