GMTruckGuy74

Congrats on the truck purchase. You're long search is finally over! Many happy motoring miles with your Colorado.

Any tips or advise to clean an engine bay? I haven't done it in years (10+), and both the G6 and Envoy are in need of an engine cleaning.

I definitely understand your points. Earlier in the spring I looked at a larger '57 Chevy dump truck that was for sale locally, but it was a total basketcase (not even the emblems on the truck were worth saving). From the tiny two pictures provided in that '56 GMC posting, I can see that on the passenger door, the lower portion looks to be consumed by rust, and the fenders look to have some rust problems too. I can only imagine what else has been consumed by rust, but a lot of those parts are being reproduced right now. My problem would be needing a shop to do that work, as I have no skills in body repair. The ad states that the engine has been worked on and it runs, so that is a good thing. I've been looking for a '55-'57 GMC that is "all there" and in decent shape. This way I could store it to prevent further deterioriation, start buying the parts needed, and work on the truck a little at a time as I can afford. I think this GMC is not the right one for me, but I don't want to pass up on it until I know for sure (at least see it in person).

I don't know if it would need that much to make it nice, but I agree with you that it could be a money pit and I want to make sure I know exactly what I'd be getting myself involved with before making a purchase. The fact that it's $300 is what is motivating me to consider it. I'd much rather have a '55-'57 GMC 100 stepside pickup (or if I hit the lottery, a '55-'57 Suburban Carrier pickup), but can I really pass up this deal if it's not a total basketcase? I did e-mail the seller, asking for additional information and pictures. We'll see if he sends them, and soon.

DF, the Fleetwood needed to be my daily driver, whereas something like this GMC would be my "toy" and would be restored over time. The Fleetwood was a great car, but needed someone with the knowledge of mechanics and the resources to make the needed repairs - two things I didn't have to make that car a daily driver for me. It was an emoional purchase that I 'thought' would be a good car for me. I have yet to buy this GMC, as I will be sure to not make the same mistakes I did with the Fleetwood.

You and your phantom projects I agree that someone will end up with it for the profit potential of the usable parts. The main reason I'm considering it is for the selling price; $300 shouldn't be that hard to come up with. I agree, I'd hate to see it scrapped. I'm not intertested in owning a classic dump truck, but a stakebody that could be used for parade duty would be cool. I'd still rather have a pickup though, at least it could fit inside my own garage Thanks for the offer, and I may take you up on it if (A) I buy the truck, and (B) my initial storage plan doesn't work out. Plan A includes me asking my neighbor if I can store it on his grandparent's blueberry farm about 10 miles away from where we live (he runs the farm). My next issue to tackle is that I don't want the dump body at all and would need to get it removed and than scrapped. Ultimately, I could see me turning this: ...into something like this: (with a stakebed)

Here are some that I found on another forum I visit (oldgmctrucks.com):

The "Recycling Center" I've posted about in the recent past, including a '55 Pontiac, now has this '57 Pontiac Star Chief Convertible parked in the lot:

http://southjersey.craigslist.org/cto/1922136019.html I need to find $300 quick - it's super close to where I live - and a place to park this thing (my HOA would kill me for parking this on the street!!). Its not the 100-series pickup I want, but for $300 it could be a cool classic GMC to own. How difficult would it be to get rid of the dump bed and related equipment? I could see making this a stake-bodied truck.

Soylent Green... It's made from the best stuff on Earth - PEOPLE! SAmedei - as soon as I saw this topic, I immediately thought of Soylent Green (which I just borrowed <DVD> from my library this past weekend!.

Boy, you've had quite a few vehicles this past decade!! The Acura is not my cup of tea, but I'm glad you are enjoying it and found something you like. Best of luck with it and many happy motoring miles! BTW, what did and didn't you like about the '11 Buick Regal?

Very nice, and I like the gray/gray color combination too. Too bad I don't have the $3k available to purchase this, as I really like the '91 & '92 Caprice Classic and LTZ models of this generation. If you check it out z28luvr, take pictures and post them here for us to enjoy

I agree. To make it more stock-like, I too would have kept the El Camino's rear bumper with taillights. At first glance I was like "those look like S-10/Sonoma taillights", and seeing the parts-bin list on the windshield confirmed that. Still, it is definitely a cool phantom vehicle and I've never seen one with the '78 LeMans nose.

I was thinking of you Saturday, missing out on this show because of your previously schedule trip. It was a gorgeous day for a Pontiac show (or any car show for that matter). My sentiments exactly, and I actually told the wife that same comment when she asked which Pontiac was my favorite at the show I'm glad you enjoyed them. Though I (okay, the wife!) have a Pontiac G6, which one of the SVGTO members told me to enter in next year's show, I wished I had a classic Pontiac of my own to show off like that. There were a few more G8 GTs than what I included, I just tried to keep within a managable amount for the post here. Ultimately, my favorite was the 1986 Grand Prix LE, and it really makes me want to get the white '87 LE I posted about last year One bad thing I will comment on about this show is that the main sponsor is the Jones Buick <Pontiac> GMC dealership. As such, they had two of their current vehicles on display, both Buicks (Regal & LaCrosse), that were not drawing a crowd from the Pontiac faithful. My instinct was that it was a slap in the face to Pontiac owners, since GM kept Buick alive in North America (due to the popularity of the brand in China) over Pontiac. I know 99% of the Pontiac owners there probably could care less since there weren't a ton of new Pontiacs on display, but to me who did purchase new Pontiacs and would have loved to continue doing so I thought it was in bad taste. Like I said while I was there only a few people walked up and looked them over, but why not bring the '11 Regal and a GMC Terrain to balance out what the dealership offers (Buicks & GMCs)? Other than that and no vendors besides one food vendor, the show was awesome and I enjoyed seeing a varity of Pontiacs. I will say I enjoyed this show much better than the all-Pontiac show that High Performance Pontiac magazine hosts at Old Bridge Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ (too many Firebirds & GTOs, and racers for the dragstrip, vs. the amount of showcars on display).

Talk about phantom vehicles... I saw this out of the corner of my eye soon after I started walking the show field. I waitied patiently as it drew a large crowd around it. I've read about these phantom Pontiacs in both Pontiac Enthusiast and High Performance Pontiac magazines, but never had the chance to see one in person. This one is called Safari Sport (I know Camino will enjoy these pics ): And the GM parts-bin list used to make this phantom vehicle a reality:

More... (I love his personalized plate!) Finish with the model kit contest entries: One more post, devoted to one specific Pontiac that was never made...

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Pictures are from last weekend's Susquehanna Valley GTO (SVGTO) club's 2010 All Pontiac Show, held at Amos Herr Park in Landisville (Lancaster), PA. Thanks to ocnblu for encouraging me to attend the show, it definitely was a worthwhile trip. Enjoy!!

Saw my first 2011 GMC Sierra 2500 HD pickup yesterday (8/12), a regular cab 4WD longbed model: Was behind a new 2011 Buick Regal CXL in silver after leaving the Philadelphia Zoo today too.

Thanks for the uodate and info on the tires. I will definitely check out these Michelins in the fall for my Envoy.

This is reason #1 for me not wanting to buy a Chevrolet. This happened to me too with my 2004 Malibu LT Sedan - the driver seat frame broken and in order to fix it the seat had to be removed from the car. I understand they are heavy, but come on! Get an extra tech and have some help with it. They damaged my sill plate too and did some other damage that was not repairable. I used them (Bob Maguire Chevrolet in Bordentown, NJ) for both routine service and warranty service on my GM vehicles at the time, but that quickly ended. So far the Buick Pontiac GMC dealerships I've been using the past five years have offered me much better service than any Chevrolet dealer had (this includes Reedman Chevrolet in Langhorne, PA). Sorry to hear about your damage and subsequent displeasure with your selling Chevrolet dealer. If GM wants to make Chevrolet their main selling brand now, then GM has some work cut out for them with making Chevrolet service departments dependable and reliable places for their customers to want to go to.

So, how are the Michelin LTX M/S2 tires performing for you now that you've racked up some miles on them? I know I'm a bug about them, asking for your input back in May. Looking at the Envoy's tires the other day, I'm thinking a new set will be definitely needed before years end. I've always liked Goodyear tires, but I'd give Michelin a shot (especially since a neighbor-friend swears by Michelins on his cars) since GY's can be expensive.