| [GMCnet] Addicted already :( or maybe just infatuated [message #344340] |
Tue, 18 June 2019 23:00  |
Stu Rasmussen
Messages: 130
Registered: January 2019
Location: Silverton, OR
Karma:
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Senior Member |
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As you know, I am a recent arrival here in the GMC asylum.
I acquired a mechanically decent but internally gutted '74 Eleganza II
earlier this year with the expectation of making the interior "mine".
Rewire, re-plumb, re-jigger, re-furnish and generally 're'.
Found this group, smelled the coffee and settled in for a spell.
But I kept looking on eBay and Craigslist at other options. GMC's do not
show up frequently, but they are there.
Having a mostly-complete coach could accelerate the course of my
affliction and eventual cure.
And the last couple of weeks there have been two GMCs in the Portland
Oregon Craigslist orbit that caught my eye.
The first one was a 1977 Birchhaven about a 40-minute drive from me.
The guy that had it was a long-time wrencher who, after refreshing the
motor and doing some other items decided RV'ing was not going to be his
'thing'.
I saw his Craigslist ad two weeks ago and showed up bright and early on
the first sale day with cash in hand and I liked what I saw but also,
over the same weekend, found another one ('77 Royale) available a 3-hour
drive away.
I passed on the 23' on the first viewing but had a lovely conversation
with the guy selling it - his main business is restoring and
refurbishing industrial machinery - primarily forklifts. And his shop is
to die for. I was green with envy. And he collects vintage cars. Some
very nice iron scattered around his workplace.
I figured his 23' would sell in a day or so. $6.5 K for a coach with a
new motor seemed like it would move fast. Only big problems were a
broken rear window and damaged black tank. And there was the other GMC;
farther away but less money.
So, I called the other guy and chatted a while. I backed off and sat on
it for a while, the CL ad stayed up so I drove 3 hours to look at the
Royale. Complete interior, damaged black tank, fogged windshields and
the driver's side windshield had a crack horizontally through the
sight-lines (hence my query recently about glass replacement). There
were other miscellaneous problems and an overall dinginess to the
interior that was hard to overlook.
You can see this one at
But the road test was problematic. The guy had purchased it with the
idea of restoring (where have i heard those lyrics before?) and had
started out by putting new tires and aluminum wheels on it so I felt
safe traveling at speed on the road. Good start.
But when he went to start it up I cringed. The choke had been
disconnected so the starting ritual was spraying about a gallon of ether
down the carburetor and then crank it up, revving to about 18,000 RPM
before any oil had a chance to circulate. Not the way I treat a machine
that I hope will be a good friend. Made me nervous about the longevity
of the unit - i.e. would it even make it 3 hours down the road to my home?
So, I let the whole issue fester for another week, and the nearby GMC
stayed on craigslist. It really should have sold in two days, tops.
So, this morning I checked CL again and it was still listed so I took a
drive for a second look.
When I arrived - uh oh - the GMC was not out displayed where I saw it
before. A bit of simultaneous disappointment and relief - I didn't have
to make a decision, it was already sold and gone. Whew!
But, when I drove in to the shop area , there it was, peeking its tail
out of a service bay. But then another disappointment - there was
someone else looking at it! We chatted a bit, I explained what little I
knew about GMCs and our relationship became quite cordial. But, after
considering what he wanted and what was there - the other lookie-loo
went away.
So, I gave it a going over a second time, looking for bigger warts and
pimples. Actually, pretty decent mechanically, cosmetics need a refresh.
Broken back window, broken black tank, most everything else just a bit
of spit and polish. And it was 'cute'. I made an offer. He countered. We
wrestled. He won.
So now I have two GMC's.
The woman I live with thinks there's space at our home for only one of
them - and I have to concur as giving in on this issue will lubricate
the path for making space for a shop building next year with enough room
to work on a GMC out of the weather.
But, at the moment, as an owner of 2 of the GMC beasties, I am
officially a 'collector'. I hope to revert to 'aficionado' soon.
Pray for me
Stu Rasmussen W7QJ
Silverton, Oregon
'74 gutted Eleganza II
'77 Birchhaven
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Stu Rasmussen W7QJ
Silverton, OR
'77 Birchaven
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