Vintage pickups have continued to grow in popularity in recent years, and there seems to be an equal split between people who undertake a complete restoration of them, and those who like to maintain the aged look. This GMC 100 Short Bed will offer its new owner the option of going either way with it. It looks like a solid project vehicle that is located in Houma, Louisiana and is listed for sale here on eBay.
Apart from this dent in the corner of the hood, the body of the pickup looks quite straight and clear of major rust, except for a small amount in the floor. The timber in the bed is beyond help and will need replacing. The red wheels and nicely polished hubcaps look just right for the vehicle. I recently saw one of these in similar condition. The owner had left the truck’s exterior pretty much as this one is but had given it a coat of clear. They had also fitted a nicely polished timber bed, and the contrast looked absolutely fantastic.
Under the hood is anything but standard. The original engine and transmission have made way for a 400ci V8 and a TH-350 transmission. The transmission has recently been overhauled, and the engine wears a set of headers and power steering. The owner says that the engine runs strongly and that the transmission shifts really well. That combination would certainly make this pickup a great tow vehicle.
The interior could certainly be used as it is, but I would probably want to tidy it up a bit. There’s a hole cut into the dash where it appears that an aftermarket stereo has been fitted, and there are speakers fitted into both doors. While the rest of the dash is complete, the surrounds on the gauges look tired and could benefit from a refresh. Having said that, it wouldn’t take a lot of work to make the interior really shine, and it would once again create a nice contrast to the exterior if you were going to leave the outside pretty much as-is.
This GMC Pickup shows a lot of potential and is a blank canvas just waiting for someone to weave their own magic on it. They continue to achieve some healthy prices, and while there has been some bidding on the vehicle, it hasn’t gone particularly high, and the reserve hasn’t been met. There is also a BIN option of $8,500 for the GMC, and even at that price, it seems like a pretty decent buy.
Overall, a nice truck for a restoration. The 400 engine is OK although I sure wouldn’t use it to tow much. We had several of them come through the shop with wiped out bottom ends. Of course they were primarily in 4×4 applications that were usually rode hard and put away wet. I’ve got a ’79 400 with 330K miles and it came through the war just fine. If I got this truck I’d probably pull the 400 and keep it for a spare for my 4×4 and adapt a 350. Two things I’d get rid of would be the headers (useless heat generators) and the carburetor. A set of cast manifolds with dual exhausts are all you need and I can make a Quadrajet do anything I need it to do. Fix whatever the body needs, paint it, replace the bed floor and put it to work. Lots of good times down the road with that…
Nice truck-fix the bed– a local sawmill could saw up the boards for you. Friend of mine had good luck aging the boards with a bernz o matic if you leave as is. Good looking Jimmy. Good luck to the new owner!!
Cheers
GPC
Sorry. Crazy money for an modified………,neigh…..abused ’65 shorty. Never understood the utility of a shorty. Great is you want to bag and lower it and run cut outs but otherwise useless…..imho…and thats all it is I know but when you compare it to whats available not very desirable.
Houma is down in Cajun country so hold on to your wallet….:) They’ll see you coming.
I agree that shortys are useless. I used to ride to work in a shorty Ford back in the 70s. What a ruff ride! They sorta teeter back and forth if they don’t have long wheel bases.
I wouldn’t go on to say that short beds are useless. A lot of people consider them to be much more desirable than long beds. Also short beds sell 5 times faster and the value of truck is substantially higher. It’s like a 2 door vs a 4 door
Yep,short boxes are useless,except that they add 50 to 100 % to the value of your truck !