# gmc 6000 opinions



## gilraine (May 3, 2009)

I am looking at buying a 78 GMC 6000.. I am trading about 10 hours labor for it and am needing opinions on them... it runs drives and dumps. does anyone know the GVWR, or even an idea.. It does not have air brakes.. Gas v-8 4 speed.. things to look out for, expirences, anything would be helpful.. thanks... I need a slightly bigger truck than grampas f-350 for taking all the junk off my property.. there is about 40 cars, 1 ancient tractor and a bunch wood.. I'll be using it to deliver firewood this fall and farm work later..thanks


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## HUSKYMAN (May 7, 2009)

My GMC 7000 has a GVWR of 28000, so I would guess that a 6000 would be 24000. The good thing is under 26k the driver does not have to have a CDL. 

It should have no problem moving cars around


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## Meadow Beaver (May 7, 2009)

Whats it got under the hood?


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## gilraine (May 7, 2009)

MMFaller39 said:


> Whats it got under the hood?



she says a 350 that was replaced in 2005, supposedly has the paperwork for it...it 250 miles from me


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## outdoorlivin247 (May 7, 2009)

Lets see...10 hours labor for a working 2 ton dump truck...:monkey:

If I have to guess it has a 465 four speed and a 2 speed rear, probably 6.50 or 7.17 ratio...The GVW could be anywhere from 20,000 to 26,000...


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## gilraine (May 7, 2009)

outdoorlivin247 said:


> Lets see...10 hours labor for a working 2 ton dump truck...:monkey:
> 
> If I have to guess it has a 465 four speed and a 2 speed rear, probably 6.50 or 7.17 ratio...The GVW could be anywhere from 20,000 to 26,000...



hubby is in the hospital, they are in there 70's.. he broke his back,, she has said they are selling there little hobby farm and moving to florida.. I have known them most of my life, its not stolen, if thats what you are insinuating..


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## TDunk (May 7, 2009)

I have an '83 with the same set-up. GVW is just a hair over 24000. 350 and the four speed is ok, when empty. With out a two speed the truck will be about worthless when loaded up heavy. The one thing i will say is i would replace all the brake lines and hoses before you do any hauling. Those hydra-boost systems pump alot of pressure threw those 1/4" lines, so even if the line looks in decent/ok shape, it might blow when hauling a load. The other thing is make sure the brake adjusters are free and adjusted up. When those big drum brakes are out of adjustment they can take up alot of pedal travel. There a simple truck, not a whole lot to go wrong.


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## outdoorlivin247 (May 7, 2009)

gilraine said:


> hubby is in the hospital, they are in there 70's.. he broke his back,, she has said they are selling there little hobby farm and moving to florida.. I have known them most of my life, its not stolen, if thats what you are insinuating..



I was just saying why are you here and not picking up your new truck...


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## gilraine (May 7, 2009)

outdoorlivin247 said:


> I was just saying why are you here and not picking up your new truck...



oh, sorry.. been a long week for us here.... my girlfriend and her kids are sick, I'm at home nursing a cracked rib.. banner week for sure.. It's not going anywhere soon and the weather is too wet to do the work I need to for them..


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## gilraine (Jun 13, 2009)

finallly got it home..according to the tag on the door it 6.17 gears and a spicer 2 speed rear.top speed empty is about 65, but it works well.. according to the paperwork for the motor, its a 320 HP 350 and I need more engine.. already looking around for either a big block or a MD diesel.. this truck is begging for a cummins and a 6 speed..


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## TDunk (Jun 13, 2009)

gilraine said:


> finallly got it home..according to the tag on the door it 6.17 gears and a spicer 2 speed rear.top speed empty is about 65, but it works well.. according to the paperwork for the motor, its a 320 HP 350 and I need more engine.. already looking around for either a big block or a MD diesel.. this truck is begging for a cummins and a 6 speed..



Go with a diesel. I found a DT 466 and a 5 speed that i'm debating on putting in mine. If you go with a big block your going to be drinking fuel and working it pretty hard. A diesel on the other hand would be alot easier on fuel and better suited for what your doing.


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## gilraine (Jun 15, 2009)

TDunk said:


> Go with a diesel. I found a DT 466 and a 5 speed that i'm debating on putting in mine. If you go with a big block your going to be drinking fuel and working it pretty hard. A diesel on the other hand would be alot easier on fuel and better suited for what your doing.



If i'm gonna spend the 3K for a MD diesel and a new trans, I will buy a different truck to put in.. this one is not worth that..I have a line on a free 454 core that would really help it out..6-800 dollars is far more agreeable than 3K.


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## TDunk (Jun 15, 2009)

gilraine said:


> If i'm gonna spend the 3K for a MD diesel and a new trans, I will buy a different truck to put in.. this one is not worth that..I have a line on a free 454 core that would really help it out..6-800 dollars is far more agreeable than 3K.



I thought you were talking about a used engine. My bad. Yeah, i'd have to agree that putting new in that truck wouldn't be worth it.


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## gilraine (Jun 15, 2009)

TDunk said:


> I thought you were talking about a used engine. My bad. Yeah, i'd have to agree that putting new in that truck wouldn't be worth it.



even used a MD diesel and trans runs 3k here..the 454 I can keep the same transmission..


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## TDunk (Jun 15, 2009)

gilraine said:


> even used a MD diesel and trans runs 3k here..the 454 I can keep the same transmission..



If your truck is like mine (witch it probably is) it has one motor mount on the front of the engine and then the other two mounts are on either side of the tranny bell housing. No big deal, the engine will drop right in, but you need to find a different front motor mount to fit the big block. The bolt patterns are different on the big and small blocks for the front motor mount. That's why i was either going to make a 383 or completely change and put a diesel in. Good luck.


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## gilraine (Jun 15, 2009)

TDunk said:


> If your truck is like mine (witch it probably is) it has one motor mount on the front of the engine and then the other two mounts are on either side of the tranny bell housing. No big deal, the engine will drop right in, but you need to find a different front motor mount to fit the big block. The bolt patterns are different on the big and small blocks for the front motor mount. That's why i was either going to make a 383 or completely change and put a diesel in. Good luck.



I've got a miller 210, I can fab one up if needed..


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## 380LGR (Jun 21, 2009)

I have 2 78 79 Chevy bruins with 6-53 automatics that run excellent and shift good. They have PTOs on them they were single axle fuel trucks. Let me know if you are interested the Bruin should be very similar to yours.


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## gilraine (Jun 26, 2009)

380LGR said:


> I have 2 78 79 Chevy bruins with 6-53 automatics that run excellent and shift good. They have PTOs on them they were single axle fuel trucks. Let me know if you are interested the Bruin should be very similar to yours.



mines a medium duty, isn't the Bruin a larger truck?


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## 380LGR (Jun 26, 2009)

The bruin is a 34000 gvw truck yours would fly with a 6-53 and would be excellent on fuel.


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## defensiblespace (Jul 21, 2012)

I know this is an old post. I just bought a 74 GMC 6000. Crazy story how I acquired it. Anyway, it has a bunch of stuff wrong with it. I have it up for sale. gmc dump truck
If it doesn't sell, I will probably put some work into it and turn it into a chip truck. I'm curious how the truck worked out for the initial poster of this thread. Did you drop a new engine into it and if so what kind. Mine has a 454, but still feels like it could use some more hp.


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