Need a little advice....."new" guy.

[Durney]

Looking for a little help with finding a new project. But first a little background, I own a Competition Engine R&D facility and to be quite honest lost my interest in automotive projects years ago as thats what i do for a living. Anyway I stumbled across a 1968 GMC 3/4 ton 4wd sitting for sale a couple months ago and fell in love with the "look" of the truck. I looked at it once and decided it was too butchered for my tastes and passed. (it has since sold). What I will be doing is a 100pt resto. with a powerplant of my own design that will be used daily. I want it to look bone stock right down to the dog dish caps but be fuel effiicient and obviously make MORE than enough power...(thats the easy part).
It will more than likely use an 385" LS1 (I think theres a spare just off the dyno) or a 362" Bowtie with the 4L80E (from a friend at GM's raceshop).


After looking around the net it seems the 3/4 & 1 ton 4wd stuff is harder to find than I thought & now I find myself even looking at a Chevrolet & diff. years.......

Sooo... What I need to know is was there flaws in certain 3/4 ton 4wd's ( axles,suspension & transfer primarily)?

Are the majority of pts. interchangable?

Wheres the best place to find one?

(I do have a real nice 97 Suburban SLT 4wd in partial trade)

thanks guys and i look forward to any answers - SG

[68SWB4x4]

they did not make 1 ton 4x4s in 67-72 but you could easily build one,
most of the 4x4s come with th350s and NP205 tcase (very strong tcase) the rear axles on the 3/4 4x4s are strong, but hard to find parts for....... you can easily swap in a 14 bolt full floater rear end though....... if you want to go the full 1 ton drivetrain route get a th400/np205 setup from a mid 70s/80s 1 ton 4x4 and the dana 60 front from the same truck, but depending on tire size and all it might not be needed

[stllookn]

There are two '67-'68 short wheel base stepside 4x4's within 2 miles of me for sale. They are 1/2 tons. I prefer the chev grille over the GMC but to each his own. One of these is a rust free truck that has been gone through, raised 4 inches and repainted. The other has been raised 4 inches and has seen some off-roading...dents and tree marks. Both would be good starting points one is $2900 the other is $7800 both up for negotiation. Somebody posted a truck on the parts board for about $950 (http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...threadid=19382) that looked really straight...Arizona, I believe. You may have to travel to find exactly what you are looking for and be relatively rust free.

How are your welding skills?

Welcome to the board from Seattle, WA...too many trucks out here and no salt...LMAO!

[stllookn]

Durney, There aren't many Concours d'Elegance guys on the board here so 100 pt restorations don't even hit most radar screens. There a good deal of members here that prefer factory stock over the "Copperhead" or "Circus Wagon" so you will have plenty of company here and a great resource for parts.

Now...tell us more about those R&D Vortec heads and the motor you are going to build.

[Durney]

Thanks ,
I guess i dont need the Killer strength of a front Dana 60 (hmmm ...thats what we used to run in our Super Stockers back in the day) so whatever the 3/4 ton has should suffice.

Welding skills are not a problem as we have full fabrication facilities here also.

I really prefer a standard box to the short box but thanks for the heads up on the others.

I was told by a customer/friend that the transfer of choice was the NP205(?). He's one of the hard core off-road types and says as little as I will be using it off road I'll never hurt it.

[barn9]

I can't remember who it was, but someone had a white 4 X 4 for sale not too long ago. Seems like it was one of the board members from the Dakota's area, or Wyoming, or Iowa maybe. I hate gettin' old and forgetful! There have been a few on ebay also. Keep watching, and keep us posted on the progress, sounds like a good project.

[68SWB4x4]

they have dana 44s in the front, which should be plenty strong if your barely going to offroad it, and you say 100 point resto so i assume your keeping little tires on it..... i dont see you breaking it
he is right about the NP205 and it is a very strong tcase..... earlier 67-72 4x4s (67-69) had a rockwell t221 tcase..... which is strong but....... hard to find parts for
good luck

[Denny]

Welcome to the site Durney Lots of great people here.

[Blue_71]

personally, i wouldnt use anything except a SM420 or SM465 tranny (bulldog first gear) the rear could be either a eaton or a dana 60, eatons are hard to find parts for.. have dana 44s in the front, which are good up to a 35 inch tire.. but with 100 pt resto you wont be going near that big. i like the rockwell, but it has lower output shafts, which is good for what i like (lifted) but NP205 is VERY strong and perfect for anything IMO

[mt Al]

Welcome and excellent choice on the year and the GMC, even though I like the '68 chevy the best.

Even though these style pickups don't come around often, there are more 4x4's in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, etc. than in other states for obvious reasons.

If you are doing a total resto and you're going to spend a lot of coin, here's my 2 cents:

I'd get the nicest bodied '67 - '72 you can find and swap the front clip when you do the resto, its not a huge deal and you can find the parts while you are tearing it down. If you buy a newer one, you'll have the disk breaks and power steering already there, which will most likely not be there if you buy an older one. You also may have the opportunity to get a stock AC cab with tilt, tach, etc. if you buy a newer one.

I look on the web-based classifieds. There are some that are hooked up to hundreds of papers around the country (www.cars.com is one, I think, www.abracat.com is another). Just type in your years and check out the results every morning. Another one is collector car trader on line (anyone have the link?).

You should have a gas with your project, since you've already got all the goodies for the drive train.

Let us know what you find. There are a few awesome 3/4T 4x4 restos around here that look bone stock but have goodies under the hood.

[Durney]

Well again thanks guys...

Thats the root of my question... are ALL 67-72 GM trucks the same frame and control arms?

Isnt the 3/4 ton a gusseted frame? What about leafs?

Keep in mind the 100pt resto thing was somewhat misleading, the body, frame, interior, lines, electrical,wheels etc must be correct but the drivetrain (engine/trans) will be altered.

By the way werent the 3/4 ton wheels wider ? (7" ?)

Oh and there is a TON of potential in the Vortec heads (not just porting) but yes there is a point where an aftermarket set is a better choice economically....remember ( and I have massive experience with most ALL of them ) some aftermarket heads are well .... overblown)

[stllookn]

Durney, I have a small block 400 (stock and needs a rebuild...currently on an engine stand...see avatar) and want to get my truck into the mid to low 12's. Prestage.com says I will need about 550 or so hp at the flywheel. Can I get there...within reason with Vortec heads or am going to have to go after market (AFR?). Thanks

BTW...are you stuck on '68 GMC LWB 4x4...sounds like it, I just want to make sure. There are so many trucks out in this part of the country.

[Durney]

Stillookn,


Please send me your e-mail add. amd I will reply with the shop # as I can better assist you via phone.

As far as the GMC deal... well as I said before I will also accept a Chevy but only certain years... I need to find a site that has photos of all the GMC & Chevy fronts and backs and interiors. Or maybe a book?

Yes the non-stepside is mandatory...they look better as cruisers to me.

[stllookn]

Durney, Email me a mkirby@fastballinc.com. Not sure the best site to see all the front ends...rears are all the same except the lettering on the tailgate. I thought Longjhornmail's Longhorn site had all the different grilles and years. 67-68 have the sloped hood and '69-'72 have the vertical hood. Other than that the grilles change slightly (GMC's had dual headlights) but not much else. Most all the parts are pretty much interchangeable but later models had disc brake options on the front. The sheet metal (fenders, hood and core support) from a '67-'68 is different from the '69-72 but it is an easy switch. You might check out the truck pictures on the home page for this site to get an idea of the different grille looks. Good luck.

[Erl]

Durney,
I bought a 68 3/4 4x4 GMC stepside about 6 months ago on eBay. It has the V6 and not many options, but is bone stock and has almost no rust (bought in Amarillo TX). I gave $2800 and think that was a good price for the condition. All you can do is keep looking and be willing to go pick it up (will fit on a Uhaul car carrier). Not sure of your location, but anything west of the Mississippi is worth considering, because of the rust problems. If you want some pics, let me know.

[Durney]

Thanks ERL,

I have had time to look at the differences now and have -narrowed my interests down. I also will consider the 67-68 Chevys. (very handsome grille) and I assume they are more plentiful?

I fully expect to travel to pick it up and have lots of friends & customers willing to go look at a vehicle if close to them in many states. Thank goodness for digital cameras and the internet also.

[Blazer1970]

Note that '67 - '68 4X4s are going to have the old Rockwell T-221 transfer case (decent case, but hard to find parts for). They will also have a closed knuckle design front axle with drum brakes. If you are going for a 4X4 from these years, I would plan on an axle swap to get an open knuckle disc brake front end.