|
Browse by Tags
All Tags » Down On The Street » Gmc ( RSS)
-
|
While Alameda has a pretty nice beach on its Bay side (though with waves best measured in inches rather than feet), I haven't really been checking for interesting cars parked along the shoreline. That's because the section of the island near the San Francisco Bay is mostly landfill dating from the 1950s, which means the residents in the area tend to have garages for their collectible rides. However, you still see the occasional work truck parked in front of one of the big Polynesian-themed apartment buildings along the shore, and thus I was able to shoot this 40-year-old 3/4-ton survivor. As you can see, Alameda is quite close to downtown San Francisco; as the crow flies, it's about five miles away. If you're not a crow and decide to drive your truck over there, however, it feels like about 100 hellish bumper-to-bumper miles. Fortunately, there's a ferry from Alameda to SF, and they sell beer on board. In '68, you shelled out $2,541 for a base GMC 2500 pickup, versus...
|
-
|
It's becoming sort of a Monday DOTS tradition to look at one of Alameda's many old trucks, so we'll continue the string with another vintage offering from The General. Since everyone liked the battle-scarred '65 GMC , we'll dial the time machine back an additional decade and look at its older brother. This is another one of those vehicles that thwarts my attempts to determine its exact model year (trucks and old German cars are the toughest); I've narrowed it down to the 1951-1953 range, but we'll need you GMC experts' input if we want to be more precise. This old truck has been a fixture in Alameda's East End for a helluva long time. And, since polls are fun, we can all vote on whether we like this truck better than the shiny '50 Ford we saw recently; this GMC lives just around the corner from the Ford. So, once you're done with the gallery, make your vote count! If it had a radio, this truck would be the ideal vehicle for tuning in some Hank...
|
-
|
Since we had the Do Pickups Belong On DOTS vote (in which the overwhelming response was " Hail yes!"), I've been trying to avoid a situation in which machinery made by The General totally dominates the DOTS truck entries. However, the reality is that I find several old GMCs or Chevrolets for every old Ford, Dodge, or Japanese truck (and yes, International Harvester fans, I'm doing my best to find a Scout). That's OK with me, since I'm a big fan of the styling of 60s GM pickups, but I'll do my best to ensure that other brands are represented here. Disclaimer over, now let's look at today's truck! Using all my Jalopnik superpowers, I am able to narrow the model year of this truck down to the 1964-66 range. Thus, the arbitrary selection of 1965 in the headline; as always, those of you who can give us a more specific year, please do. Of course, parts transplants from other trucks may have resulted in a FrankenGMC for which identification is impossible....
|
-
|
Since 94% of the readers who voted on the Do Post-1955 Pickups Belong On DOTS? poll answered in the affirmative, I went right out and shot the first such truck I could find. I didn't have to go far, because Alameda is chock-full of 60s and 70s pickups; this '71 GMC is just the first of many you'll see here (and don't worry, Ford, Mopar, and Japanese pickup fans- you'll see plenty of stuff not made by The General). The 1500 was the GMC-branded 1/2-ton pickup, pretty much the same thing as the Chevy C10. The orange-and-blue paint job, no doubt applied with rattle-cans on a jobsite back in '91, looks pretty good on this truck. I've always thought a pickup truck should be ready for you to toss a big old paint-spattered ladder into the bed from 10 feet away, and you shouldn't care if it puts a dent in something. No goddamn crew cab, leather upholstery, or 10-speaker stereo here. As for cup holders, you just let the coffee spill on the floor! Now I need to go listen to some Merle Haggard. But...
|
|
|
|