One of the more melancholy aspects of old car ownership is knowing that your classic car (or fleet of them) will eventually be cast to the four winds. That’s not always a bad thing, as getting a car into the right hands is certainly why we’re here, and this one-family-owned 1959 GMC might be just the truck you’ve been looking for. All-Star Barn Finder Curvette spotted it here on craigslist in Seattle, Washington, and although it’s what I’d call a “running project,” it could be used basically as-is while you tend to some of the items on the repair list. The asking price is $9,800.
The seller was kind enough to post a picture of the VIN tag, which in the case of this GMC really doesn’t tell us too much. It’s a “Series 102” model, which simply meant that it is a half-ton pickup with an eight-foot bed. The “P” means it was assembled in Pontiac, which is located in the great state of Michigan, and that also might explain why the GMC’s optional V8 in 1959 was a 336-cubic-inch Pontiac unit (called a GMC in factory literature), which differed from engines in Pontiacs of the same era by having a smaller bore. This truck, however, has the tried-and-true Jimmy six, the 270, which produced 130 gross horsepower and 121 net horsepower in its final go-round. Net peak torque was 233 lb.-ft. at a stump-pulling 1200 rpm.
Even the sales literature hinted at the temporary demise of the inline-six, saying “the trend is to V-Type engines.” Indeed, the 1960 models introduced the 60-degree V6, but I don’t think anyone will be upset by seeing the old 270 under the hood of this one. The seller has done quite a bit of work on the truck (which is said to have 43,000 miles on it): It has new brakes, brake lines, wheel bearings, shocks, distributor cap, rotor, and spark plugs/wires. The radiator looks too clean to have not been dealt with at some point, but that’s just conjecture.
While a three-speed manual on the column was standard, this truck has four-on-the-floor, which would have been an SM420 in 1959. The interior looks like it’s in perfectly usable shape, especially if you plan to use this truck for truck things.
Unfortunately, before that happens, the truck will need a bed. Wooden bed kits appear to be available in the aftermarket, but they are not inexpensive; of course, there are other alternatives if you’re handy. The tool box is sold separately, by the way.
Yes, after 67 years in the same family, this GMC is looking for a new home, and given the popularity of trucks these days, I don’t think it will have a hard time finding one. It represents a few “lasts” for GMC, but yours might be its first new digs in years.
Nice Aaron and Curvette! This truck is a great piece of equipment that with minimal work can be serviceable pickup and fun driver. The price is resonable as well. This is my kind of patina!!!
I have a ’58 stepside. It was in nowhere near as good condition as this one, so this price seems fair to me. I made the bed wood boards and ripped the slots for the bed strips with a table saw. I see this one has the optional heater, mine didn’t even have that, lol. I see one rust hole in a front fender, but thats an easy fix. One funny thing, when I cut all the rusted 1/4″-20 bed strip bolts with a swazall I could smell corn! Weird.
This one reminds me of the truck my dad bought off the neighbor some where around 1979. That one was a 3/4 ton with a 6 and the 3 on the tree. That truck ran very well tho it was probably the lower rear end gears that made it pull hard from a standing start but it was fun for a 17 year old me to drive
Great styling with this era!! Napco time…
Cool old truck. Won’t be here long at this price, it’d be fun to tool around with as is! With a new floor in the bed, of course. Whole lot more appealing than the poor Camaro which is a desirable sample, but too far gone.
Wow, another cool truck from the Northwest corner!
Now, there’s a truck you could drop off at my place, 270 engine and all. This is in good shape and would do just fine with a few finishing touches.
It’s interesting, being a border brat, I used to see these and the Canadian variants that ran Chevy engines. I often wondered why that was done. The body panels and a lot of the chassis components were interchangeable but the engines dared to be different. In a Canadian GMC or Chevy all you could get was a 235 (261 in the larger trucks) but the American GMC used the 270. That difference went back into the early 30s.
If someone phoned the shop and mentioned that their GMC was ailing I would always tune in 270/336, or whatever applied to the year. When they pulled up I still had that in mind. More often than not I even overlooked the model designation and held to my conditioned responses until I opened the hood. Then it was, “Oh, that’s a Canadian truck.” Okay, nothing wrong with it; it’s still made of nuts, bolts and steel pieces. It would still look good on my driveway.
cool project here.
My father had pone of these in the late 60’s he had new fenders put on it and had it painted Forrest green. With a 3 on the tree I learned to go thru all 3 gears in the length of our driveway when I was about 14. I really loved that truck.