May 6, 2002

I've been reconsidering my plans. I reserve the right to do this several times each week, though I may not always take the time to write it all down....

My son Stu said something funny this morning. Teri asked if I'd left, and what car I'd driven. He said I'd taken the sub, and she could probably still catch me...

Well maybe she could, but the truth is the old sub has no difficulty maintaining the legal speed limit as I drive to and from work. She would have to drive in a manner I've never seen to catch me in that sub. My friend Bill followed me to work today, just coincidence, we take much the same route and at the same time of day. Today he followed me much the way home too. But anyway, Bill commented that he was surprised at how quickly the sub got away from a traffic light and got going down the road. And I wasn't even in a hurry this morning...

Now why does this matter? Well I was telling Gene Berg last (Sunday) night that, maybe I should slow down the update process, and live with that six for a while. For the mathematically challenged, this 270 cubit inch six is actually bigger than every motor in my stable except my 30 year-old pickup (350 cu inches, 5.7 liters). The van has a 3.4 liter motor, while the sub is 4.5 liters. Teri's car is less than 2 liters. I'm thinking I can live with 4.5 liters if I can improve derivability in other ways.

This 4.5 liters isn't as efficient as the 3.4, and its not working through a well refined automatic, but instead a stiff 4-speed with a granny first. I have a Saginaw 4-speed with an overdrive that should be easy to swap into the sub. The mechanical aspects are supposed to be easy, I'm concerned that the yoke might be different and that I might have trouble getting a shifter that works right. I think I'd rather an automatic, but a car type 4-speed would be a huge improvement.

Anyway, this is what I'm thinking about today.

On another note, I spent some time at Barnes and Noble the other night reading up on the history of Advance Design trucks. One of the books stated that while Chevrolet broke '55 into first and second series, GMC did not have a 'first series' truck. That would mean that my sub, while licensed as a '55 is really a '54. Now the differences between '54 and '55 are so small that it would be very difficult to determine short of looking up the serial number. Tonight I looked up the serial number. GMC does not distinguish between a '54 and a '55 in the serial number. To know which year it really is would require tracking down when it was built, and since model years don't match calendar years, that might not mean much either... Its a safe bet it was built no later than April 15, 1955, because that's the day they started making the Task Force trucks with the new body design.

Now this same book said that all Advance Design trucks used a closed driveline, and that open drivelines were not used until the Task Force trucks of '55 and later. Now the sub has an open driveline. Al's two '54 trucks are both open driveline. So unless the three trucks readily available for my review have all been changed, the book must be wrong. Now for trucks that are more than 40 years old to have been modified is certainly possible, but I think the book is wrong. I didn't buy it because I don't trust it.

The book also said something I found interesting. In '54 and '55 GMC Advance Design trucks a chrome grill came on a Deluxe Model. Now I've already said I don't trust the book, but I like this part, so I'm now believing my sub is a Deluxe. So there Stu. Not only is it faster than you think, but its deluxe too!

While looking up the serial number I discovered that the sub originally had a 248 motor when new. So now I have a new mystery, what year is the motor? The current motor's serial number clearly identifies it as a 270...

Parts

I've acquired an early 70's Chevelle Laguna station wagon for parts. It has a 350/350 power train, which is why I 'bought' it ($1.00, from a different friend Bill). Now I have to work out how to get it home, how to get the motor/trans out, where to store them, and how to get rid of the remains... Any ideas?

I'm thinking seriously of buying a wire-feed welding outfit. However, I know very little about these things, and I'm not sure how to choose the best value. I don't want to spend much, but don't want to spend too little, and end up with something that doesn't do the job. If you know anything about wire-feed welders, please drop me a note. --Steve