1966 GMC ¾ Ton Pickup

It’s the mid 1960’s and pickups continue to emerge from being only workers on farms or for businesses. With more disposable family income, American’s were showing an interest in extras that had been more-related to the family car.

Truck manufacturers noted this trend as options (installed at the factory) and accessories (installed by the dealers) were selling better than ever before. More pickup buyers were wanting their truck for weekend errands rather than it being parked behind the barn or store until Monday morning. A more dressed up pickup, that could also haul merchandise, was often sold. Suddenly it was not unusual to see a pickup on a church parking lot on Sunday morning.

This month’s feature truck is a good example of a gradual change in the buying public. Build some pickups for work and appearance all in one package. A little “Flash” is sometimes worth the extra cost!

Take a long look at this 1966 GMC series 1500 owned by Diane, David, and son Connor Miller in Warren, Indiana. Its ¾ ton rating allows extra loading capacity and is also an attention getter at the shopping mall.

The Millers’ 1966 GMC’s were to many, the last year for this proud line of stand-alone pickups to carry this marque. It did not share so many items with their Chevrolet cousin that made GMC different.

GMC’s had their own visible dash with separate instruments, hood, grille with dual headlights, tailgate with its own stamping, and hub caps with the famous three letters.

Dash, Instruments, and New Seat Covering, GMC Only

It has a true truck only, 305 cubic inch V-6 engine developed just for GMC in the mid 1950’s and introduced in 1960. This was their own V-6 that quickly gained a reputation as a “muscle monster” that could pull most anything. There was no comparison with Chevrolet’s lighter inline six cylinder, a car engine but modified with solid value lifters.

The two brands finally merged most in 1967 (the V-6 was made an option through 1970). By 1973 it was mostly “badge engineering” that would tell them as different entities.

All trucks and cars have their own individual history and in most cases the details are quickly lost after it is sold to the second owner. However, the known past of this 1966 GMC “begins” with the second owner. It is the want-to-be unknown “almost” first owner that has left a mystery as to why it was ordered a little different than most all mid 1960’s ¾ GMC’s.

Now the investigation begins! We suspect these special extras were requested because the “almost” first owner had a large new “Pickup Camper”! These had gained so much popularity in the 1960’s. This GMC and matching camper would be a very attractive pair for the person’s retirement or??

When ordering this GMC, color was very important. It and the camper must look as if they were made as a pair. All would be a show stopper in traffic, not to mention the looks it would create when first driving into a campground. See below on the yellow color and how it made the sale for the John Koestner GMC Dealership.

This feature truck’s options show it was probably for pleasure driving and certainly not working needs. This list of options below tell why this opinion is probably correct.

Of interest is the extra cost 10 leaf rear springs. (This was about two leafs over a standard ¾ ton pickup)

The new future owner did not order the optional 4-speed transmission. This was on almost all working ¾ tons. This pickup came from the factory with a column shift 3-speed transmission. It was more convenient for a middle passenger, but certainly was made less sellable when it was on a used truck lot.

No radio! Strange but this would be like many conservative retired persons in the 1960’s. No hole in the fender for an antenna.

The accessory rear step bumper (sometimes for a pulling trailer) would be some protection from a rear end “bump”. This would be especially true if the camper was sitting slightly behind its edge.

The split rim wheels were standard on the 8 bolt ¾ ton pickup and could carry a heavier weight capacity on the six ply bias tires.

Probably one of the most difficult projects in the Miller’s renovation was finding, one by one, the correct restorable ¾ ton hub caps. In most ¾ ton’s life, their hauling ability was the most important. Missing hub caps were rarely a concern with a second owner.

The intended buyer made this special truck order through the dealer John Koestner GMC in Kalamazoo, MI. Its abundance of different options shows the buyer had specific plans for his future new GMC.

BIG SURPRISE!

The buyer did not take delivery when the truck arrived in late 1965! We shall probably never know what created such a surprise change in his direction. No doubt all the deposit money was all forfeited.

WHAT NOW?

This unusual appointed GMC must now be placed on display at the Koestner GMC Truck Dealership. This was certainly not their plans. It required a year to find an owner! This was only because this dealer’s son, Paul (owning a nearby Pontiac-Cadillac dealership in Wabash, IN.) found a buyer looking for just such an unusual pickup.

This first retail owner was Clay DeVault from nearby Roann, IN. Clay drove this attention getting GMC for 2 ½ years, and then it was traded to Steve Denny Buick/Oldsmobile also in Wabash, IN. As luck would have it, this once very difficult to sell GMC was soon discovered by a local couple, Edna and David Cox. To Edna, it was love at first sight. SHE HAD TO HAVE IT. She bonded to this yellow GMC quickly. Edna loved driving it, and probably the attention it created, for the remainder of her driving years. At that time, in the late 1990’s she placed it back in the couple’s home garage with 62,910 miles on the odometer. There it sat, not started, for so many years. It had been Edna’s for over 44 years!

ANOTHER SURPRISE!

As Edna was getting older and unable to drive, she still tried to take care of her yellow pickup. No doubt it helped keep good memories alive. It was later discovered from the horizontal trim to the bottom of the doors, cab, and bed-sides, there had been a re-paint!

Edna had bought latex house paint in the exact yellow color and had painted these lower sections to slow some surface rust she noticed. True devotion!

The GMC was finally passed to the Cox’s lifelong friend, Steve Denny, the owner of the GM dealership that had sold it to her so many years ago.

Because of the long storage period, the pickup needed: a brake system overhaul, fuel system cleanup, carb. rebuilding, major tune-up, and of course a battery. This was all done at Steve Denny’s repair shop and also included the set of tires and tubes it has today; 7.50 x 16 “bias-ply” on the original lock ring 8 bolt wheels.

Steve kept Edna’s pickup for 3 ½ years, probably for sentimental reasons, but also the strange options and color made it difficult to find it a new home to working class buyers.

NEXT OWNER

Kim Foster, a local lady saw the GMC at the dealership. After several close-up viewings, it began to stay in her mind. SHE HAD TO HAVE IT. The Steve Denny Dealership sold it to her July 2016. Oops, it appears she did not have a place to keep it. Kim talked her boyfriend into keeping it outside of his barn. Ain’t love grand!

LET’S SWITCH GEARS

Now enters the Miller family; David, Diane, and son Connor. Before the Millers were married, Diane sold a 1995 GMC to David while she was a sales person at another GM dealership in Fort Wayne, IN. After their marriage in 1998, David bought two more GMC’s from that dealership.

This was always a newer GMC family until the “vintage truck bug” hit. David purchased a 1970 GMC ¾ ton as a family project for him and his son Connor. As this older truck enthusiasm continued to increase, they first saw our feature yellow and white GMC parked at the Steve Denny’s Dealership mentioned above. A real attention getter for Diane! It had license plates attached so she didn’t peruse the thought of owning it. It then dropped out of sight, probably because Kim had bought it.

Surprise, later in 2016 it was spotted outside that same local barn about 5 miles from the Miller’s home. This time it really got Diane’s attention. SHE HAD TO HAVE IT. However, the boyfriend said it was not for sale. It required several months of negotiations to make it Diane’s GMC.

Diane is now the truck’s third female owner. It is referred to as “Edna” to honor the lady that had owned it so many years as part of her family.

LET THE RENOVATION BEGIN!

Diane has upgraded it about to how it was when Edna owned it. Not a ground up restoration, just a clean attractive upgrade as it was for many years. New two-tone paint, of course, that makes it what it was!

Seat, upholstery were all there, but very tired. A specialty company in Oregon had the same new material that was on the GMC over 55 years ago. That completes the inside preservation. Only the seat cushions look brand new.

The bed floor was so deteriorated, something had to be done. David could not resist stained White Oak and mirror polished stainless bed strips. It just had to happen when the bed was surrounded with the newly painted interior sides.

THE COLOR GOT THE SALE!

As mentioned above it was very important for the person that ordered the pickup to get the exact yellow color. We feel sure it was to match his camper or the one he was also ordering. It was probably the big factor why GMC got the order from this “almost” owner. They could offer a large array of special order colors to commercial companies that required an exact shade to match their logo. This photo shows the GMC sample booklet of “Special Paint Colors”. GMC was not going to lose a sale because of a shortness of required colors!