73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks > Crew Cabs

The Monstrucktus

(1/3) > >>

Ascinder:
Hi everyone, I recently picked up this behemoth and am looking for info on modernizing and repairing some minor issues.

timthescarrd:
Welcome from NV,  I saw that on craigslist awhile back, Congrats on getting it!

The body is a crewcab 73-87 but I believe the stuff underneath is a newer GMC TopKick or 6500.  Either way, looks like a fun truck

LTZ C20:
Holy moly! Welcome from central California. I envy you, that is a sweet monster! More pics and info please?

FlatBlack77:
good golly that thing is a beast and a half!

Ascinder:

--- Quote from: timthescarrd on April 12, 2016, 09:43:49 AM ---Welcome from NV,  I saw that on craigslist awhile back, Congrats on getting it!

The body is a crewcab 73-87 but I believe the stuff underneath is a newer GMC TopKick or 6500.  Either way, looks like a fun truck

--- End quote ---

Thanks! I stumbled across it completely on accident on craigslist. I was looking for a pintle hitch receiver and it came up in the search. The clutch brake is totally out of adjustment on it so taking it back from Placerville to Reno was no picnic.

The body had the VIN information removed by CA when they issued the new reconstructed CA VIN so I have no idea what year it is. Based on some "Service Parts Identification" tags found in the glovebox, the lower half was a 1988 C7000 which is a Topkick. It's running the 10.4L CAT 3208 Turbodiesel and an Eaton Roadranger RT-6610 10 speed tranny. It runs airbrakes rated at 26-33,000 lbs. which stop it very, very ,very well. the tires come in at about 43" high. 


--- Quote from: LTZ C20 on April 12, 2016, 09:48:16 AM ---Holy moly! Welcome from central California. I envy you, that is a sweet monster! More pics and info please?

--- End quote ---

Thanks!
     Well, no A/C(yet), no stereo(yet), the wipers are anemic at best and have no intermittent setting and no auto stow feature. The steering wheel looks way too small to me, so it is in line to be replaced with a more size appropriate unit along with a tilt(and hopefully telescoping) steering column.
     It is very bumpy to ride in due to the thick springpacks. I would love to move over to air-ride, but haven't found any good resources to determine cost and complexity. I don't think I would be able to run air ride seats(like on semi's) because the cab just doesn't have enough vertical room for them. I am looking into some threads on here where people have replaced the seats with Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban seats.
     It is not annoyingly loud except for a very pervasive air intrusion noise coming from the drivers side A-pillar/window area at freeway speeds. I have felt around there and have not been able to isolate it yet.
     The bedliner could stand to be relined and I would love to add a hydraulic liftgate or even a cross frame crane. I had to hump a dozen 80 lb. bags of concrete up into the tailgate(about chin height and I'm 6 ft.) and it was less than fun.
     I am playing around with making the bed removable and mounting an air operated sliding 5th wheel to the frame. It this setup, I would mount a kingpin to the bed structure and use intermodal container lockdowns to secure it. I plan on ultimately using it to pull a smaller semi trailer when I move up to Montana in a few years. Once there it will be used as my work site truck while I build my house.
     Despite it's enormous size, it will(just barely) fit within the limits of a full size parking spot. I used to drive semi's for UPS, and it uses the same tranny we ran there and the ride height is similar, so it is pretty easy for me to maneuver around. My wife however is 4'10" and want's a shot at driving it, so this should be interesting.
     I have a lot of plans for it, but unfortunately, I am a bit of a project girl, so it may take some time to get around to everything. I work in Afghanistan on a rotational basis, so I am only home every 3 months, but when I am, it is for a month straight. On the plus side, my job is super easy, so I have a tons of lead time to plan out and acquire parts for builds. 














--- Quote from: FlatBlack77 on April 12, 2016, 10:27:54 PM ---good golly that thing is a beast and a half!

--- End quote ---

Yes it is! I took it to Lowe's to grab some supplies and it took me half an hour just to get across the parking lot. Everyone wanted to stop and check it out and ask about it. I regularly get people giving me thumbs ups driving down the highway or wanting me to honk the air horn. It's fun. More importantly, the kiddo loves it. She always wants to take daddy's big white truck everywhere(to my wife's dismay, lol).

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page