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Where to buy parts for medium duty old trucks? 1972 GMC 6500

Polymath

Polymath

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The wife and I saw this in an upcoming auction and thought it would be fun to have around if the price was right. Problem is, I can't find a damn thing for brake parts. So where does one go about finding repair parts like a master cylinder for the big trucks like these? Rock Auto, Napa, Autozone, and the like don't even list options for trucks bigger than one-tons.

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Polymath said:
The wife and I saw this in an upcoming auction and thought it would be fun to have around if the price was right. Problem is, I can't find a damn thing for brake parts. So where does one go about finding repair parts like a master cylinder for the big trucks like these? Rock Auto, Napa, Autozone, and the like don't even list options for trucks bigger than one-tons.

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what you are going to have to do is find someone at NAPA, for example, that will take the time to look it up. they may have to use a master catalog to find parts. something like this may be beneficial to looking up parts and then cross referencing https://www.ebay.com/itm/364289537668
 
another thought would be to call your local auto supply and ask for a master cylinder for it. just to see if they can help you out.

@70jimmy works at NAPA and told me that he has to go to the catalogs sometimes to look up parts
 
Medium duty up gets real weird and black hole of info . It is NOT like our trucks at all . If you jump down this rabbit hole good luck .
 
Sounds like maybe more of a white elephant of a toy than anything else. I don't know squat about these bigger machines. Just thought it'd be fun to put some walls on the bed and use it as a trash hauler twice a year, plus any other random excursion for the hell of it. I'll give it some thought but I may pass on this regardless of the price.
 
Parts availability is a decent reason why many of the medium duty trucks get left sitting. They are getting revived some when the chassis or just axles and other parts get swapped under them from either newer medium duty trucks, or think that some use one ton parts to end up with a better ride in a truck that doesn't/can't haul as much after the swap.
And the master cylinder and booster would be swapped as well, once the brakes are decided. Could take some decent fab work for any part of this, and possibly still get to be a challenge with drag link connection or steering box swapping.

I would look into a newer medium duty chassis and work out air ride at all 4 corners. Find a chassis with hydraulic disc brakes and factory sway bars.

My local UHaul dealer has dozens of cab and chassis trucks. Boxes and decals removed. But I am too scared to see about prices, especially since I don't have a use for a complete truck, just an engine, maybe..
 
This little daydream is about over. :lol

The only practical need I have for a truck like this is to build some short walls around the bed and fill it with trash and yard debris so I can make a dump run a few times a year. That and take it for a joy ride once in a while. So it would probably just be a lawn ornament for 360 days a year. I can't say i'm afraid of fabbing up new parts to old trucks but I barely have time to do that kind of work on the blazer. I don't need another time-suck just to keep this thing running. Damned if i'm going to axle-swap it just because I can't find a brake drum anywhere.
 
I hear ya there!!
But my brain can think of projects so easily, but every year it gets more difficult to get anything done, let alone MORE things done..
 
That's how I would up with an '85 suburban to use as a donor for my '85 blazer.
Turns out most of the blazer was in better condition but I might get some mileage out of the motor and trans, so maybe not a total loss.
 
Medium duty is all serial number needed, look up at original mfr parts catalogs.
They could be ordered with so many options there is no way to say this will fit this year c60 or what ever.
I always hated having to find parts for these types,on night shift. No one was open to call. Well Peck Road Ford did have a swing shift parts counter. Dude was so busy was hard to get any timely results
 
Might be able to support it if you have any sort of brake/axle/spring shops in your area. A lot of them end up supporting medium duty stuff because no one else does.


Years ago on another forum I knew a guy with a mid 60’s Chevy C60 or so that was a 4x4. I think it was NAPCO stuff. He and his brother had swapped in a truck big block and SM465 and cut down the frame to about a 8’ or so bed length. Big ass NDT truck tires off a 5 ton or something. Was pretty cool but they had lots of their own land to play on.
 
^^^ this friction material in Los Angeles, now American Moving Parts or AMP. Springs and brakes mainly, but had other stuff or could get it
 
Sounds like it would be a blast to work over as a fun rig, but I can't talk myself into another project like that. I went to the auction today to preview some other things and checked it out anyway. It's pretty nasty overall, plenty of rust, and smells like piss on the inside.
 
I would have a difficult time deciding there. Since I have a '70 and a ' 72 already, stay with the same vintage, or go older and narrower cab...
Glad that I am not going to that auction!!
 
I have a different problem. With a 36" inseam, I legitimately can't drive many of those 40's style cabs. They all look cool as hell but a Miata has better ergonomics. Even the 60's style is a tight fit but they had more leg room and better pedal configurations by then.
 
Polymath said:
I have a different problem. With a 36" inseam, I legitimately can't drive many of those 40's style cabs. They all look cool as hell but a Miata has better ergonomics. Even the 60's style is a tight fit but they had more leg room and better pedal configurations by then.
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I understand that, but I'm only 6' tall. I like the extra cab space of my '90 Jimmy and my '01 when compared to my '70 and '72.
It doesn't stop my dumb brain from going "Oooh! Look at that!!"
 
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