1975 GMC Glenbrook

[tmsnyder]

Looking good, that bad floor spot would be under the dinette if it's going back in. Those are just lag bolted in. What seats are going back in there?

I think the spot where you have the pvc protecting the threads is for mounting a seat belt. It looks like they used the steel spacer to be able to torque the seat belt properly without crushing the floor.

 

[pvfjr]

Looking good, that bad floor spot would be under the dinette if it's going back in. Those are just lag bolted in. What seats are going back in there?

I think the spot where you have the pvc protecting the threads is for mounting a seat belt. It looks like they used the steel spacer to be able to torque the seat belt properly without crushing the floor.

That's what I figured on both accounts. I didn't want to lose the original mounting points since we're going to go back to the original floor plan. I bought all of @David Guilbault 's old furniture. We're going to reupholster them and install. I really appreciate the original layout, as well as the steel-framed mechanisms they used to put it all together. The only thing we're missing is the table itself.

 

[pvfjr]

Since we laid the floor down in one continuous piece, I've been vacillating about how to mount the seats when the time comes. It's a floating floor, so it isn't supposed to be "pinned down" so to speak. Since this particular LVP is chock-full of glass fiber, maybe it won't feel the need to expand/contract very much (especially since it has such a generous temperature rating). All the same, I think I'd like to leave it free to move.

I don't want to cut out the flooring completely around all the furniture--it wouldn't leave a nice clean look when accessing the storage spaces. Cleaning would be more difficult too. For this reason, I've been considering mounting all the seats/bunks on top of spacers. I could use a hole saw to cut a circular relief hole in the flooring that's concentric with the mounting hole. If this hole was 1/4" bigger than some circular spacer (like a stack of fender washers or something else) than the LVP would have a 1/8" gap all the way around. I'll have to double-check that these relief cuts will stay hidden under the furniture, of course.

Has anyone handled floating floor expansion gaps around furniture differently without cutting it out completely?

 

[tmsnyder]

If you need measurements, I just put flooring in mine and measured the locations of all the seat lag bolt holes before puttying them with wood filler.

 

[pvfjr]

I know I showed the Suzuki toad earlier, and had mentioned wanting to get a Fiat. I ended up getting one anyway. The winning bid was just $1588 with 17k on the clock, though it needed a little fixing up. I spent a few nights this evening setting it up for tow-bar usage as well. I also bought a tow bar. I got the super fancy Roadmaster Blackhawk 2 All Terrain--these retail on eTrailer for $1020, but I lucked out and scored one off Facebook for $100. We're heading out camping with Thor (our 1993 motorhome) here in a few minutes, so we get to try out having a toad with us. I think it'll be pretty convenient. Those Fiats were made to tow too. No steering lock on it, and no concerns with the transmission. Only 2300 lbs too.

 

[pvfjr]

Well the testing of the Fiat toad was a success over Memorial Day. I think the GMC will pull it well. The TBI 454 in our 27' Thor had no issue, and I think the lighter weight 26' GMC with the 455 should be an improvement. The towbar setup was WAY better than previous trips with a tow dolly. I won't be using the dolly again for toads.

 

[JodyPackerfan]

There was one soft spot where the original dinette bench would have bolted down near the door. The rest of the subfloor was solid, and I didn't feel like playing around with all the rivets, sourcing new wood, cutting, installing, etc. I decided to experiment with some wood hardener and high-performance filler. I've got to say, I'm pretty pleased with the results. It's plenty strong enough for these purposes.

View attachment 2913 View attachment 2915

The wife ground down the tops of some carriage bolts just in front of the door that were standing proud of the subfloor for some reason.

View attachment 2919

Afterwards I finished off the floor in the forward dining/sleeping area. There was an intentional hole where a steel spacer sat and the seat was bolted through, so I used a similarly sized piece of PVC to mold the hole into the filler material so I won't lose track of the mounting locations (I'm also not a fan of drilling out holes from underneath).

View attachment 2917 View attachment 2916

Next I'll move rearward through the galley to the back room. First, I'll need to figure out why the floor in the back room is raised with extra foam and plywood. I'd prefer it to be flat all the way back...

I also have to grind the bolt at the door -- actually a couple others as well

 

[LarryW]

We have one of two vehicles at our disposal for towing. A 1991 Honda Civic SI, or a 1996 Geo Tracker. Both weigh about the same with the Honda weighing at 2260lbs and the Tracker at 2460lbs. I prefer the Honda, because it has a softer ride and can easily travel at highway speeds without strain,is relatively quiet inside, and with the hatchback, can carry lots of stuff when towing...though we seldom put a lot in it. The SI model has a bigger engine so has good pep. Being an older car, I don't worry to much about stone or other damage that may come as a result of towing, and it is cheap to insure. If we go out west, we prefer the Tracker with its 4WD and high ground clearance. We have spent many enjoyable hours off road with it. But with its short wheel base and high spring rate it is a rough ride. Also has some pretty tall gears so engine runs at close to 4K rpm at hwy speeds. A noisy highway ride. Just our experience.

 

[pvfjr]

I also have to grind the bolt at the door -- actually a couple others as well

I actually just found another one in the hallway by the bathroom. It's getting ground down tonight, while I figure out how to handle flooring over/around the shower trap well's flange that sticks out into the hall. I might just paint it grey and cut the flooring out around it.

 

[JodyPackerfan]

I actually just found another one in the hallway by the bathroom. It's getting ground down tonight, while I figure out how to handle flooring over/around the shower trap well's flange that sticks out into the hall. I might just paint it grey and cut the flooring out around it.

Please let me know how you end up handling the shower trap problem. I was actually wondering last night what I was going to do about that ha ah

 

[LQQKatJon]

Paul- great stuff.

I am heading to your neck of the woods (Dorena Reservoir) for 4th of July with my two girls who are now 12 and 13. It will be an epic trip.

I remember the early excitement of the girls first few drives in the coach. I have a photo of the car seats on the couch too:

Time flys by!

 

[pvfjr]

Paul- great stuff.

I am heading to your neck of the woods (Dorena Reservoir) for 4th of July with my two girls who are now 12 and 13. It will be an epic trip.

I remember the early excitement of the girls first few drives in the coach. I have a photo of the car seats on the couch too:

Time flys by!

Nice! I'm really looking forward to having my kids spend their childhoods in a GMC as well. Time is definitely flying, so I better get it on the road before it's too late!

So what brings you to Dorena? It's a fine reservoir, but it's kinda "1 in a hundred" around these parts (might pale compared to 10,000). If you're coming from so far away, I'd highly recommend swinging through Crater Lake. You won't regret it. Good luck with the trip!

 

[LQQKatJon]

Nice! I'm really looking forward to having my kids spend their childhoods in a GMC as well. Time is definitely flying, so I better get it on the road before it's too late!

So what brings you to Dorena? It's a fine reservoir, but it's kinda "1 in a hundred" around these parts (might pale compared to 10,000). If you're coming from so far away, I'd highly recommend swinging through Crater Lake. You won't regret it. Good luck with the trip!

I used to live in Silverton. My mom, brother and sister still live in oregon. My brother and I are avid waterskiiers, and he lives in Albany. I try to visit as often as I can, and we used to always do waterski weekends. Baker bay campground is one of our preferred locations. Usually not so crowded.

this year it worked out to rather
Then fly in for a long weekend I am taking a cross country gmc trip. Glacier park on the way out, and yellowstone on the way home.

but for watersports, we like dorena. I used to also spend large amount of
Time on green peter, but I understand the road side campinv there is a thing of the past.

i cant find this scene here in MN, and looking forward to seeing this out the back gmc
Window.

 

[pvfjr]

I used to live in Silverton. My mom, brother and sister still live in oregon. My brother and I are avid waterskiiers, and he lives in Albany. I try to visit as often as I can, and we used to always do waterski weekends. Baker bay campground is one of our preferred locations. Usually not so crowded.

this year it worked out to rather
Then fly in for a long weekend I am taking a cross country gmc trip. Glacier park on the way out, and yellowstone on the way home.

but for watersports, we like dorena. I used to also spend large amount of
Time on green peter, but I understand the road side campinv there is a thing of the past.

i cant find this scene here in MN, and looking forward to seeing this out the back gmc
Window.

Small world! Silverton is very close to me. And we just camped at Green Peter last summer, though the site was disappointingly far from the water. There are sure a lot of great reservoirs around here (apologies to the salmon). We just picked up a boat on Monday, so that might end up getting towed behind the GMC when we do reservoir campouts. I don't know if you've heard of Hills Creek Reservoir outside of Oakridge, but that's where I grew up so we still do a lot of camping there too.

 

[pvfjr]

A little bit of good news: I finally got around to checking out the Quadrajet I found in an Edebrock box the back of the coach. It appears to be of the correct type for my coach, a Rochester with the stamping 7045254. I'm guessing they removed it when it didn't run well on 16 psi of fuel pressure. It appears to be in a rebuilt condition, and is pretty clean on the outside. I'll probably pop the top off and see if the fuel bowl is clean, but I have hopes that it will perform well once I get my intake sorted out.

 

[pvfjr]

The wife and I worked on the windows a little bit last weekend. It seems the glass is factory tinted internally to some degree, but it had TWO additional layers on the inside. In addition to scuffs, scratches, and gouges in the tint from the window latches and other things over the years, one of the layers was becoming variegated and mottled looking. Here's a shot showing the tint half removed on one window. And another shot showing how dark it was when you had two glass panes overlapped while the window is open. The tint was way too dark from the inside, and made it hard to see out. It also made the coach feel more boxed in than it should with such generous glazing. I think in the future I'll look into some low-emissivity tinting for heat-gain improvements, but hope to maintain good transmissivity from the inside looking out.

 

[LQQKatJon]

O

The wife and I worked on the windows a little bit last weekend. It seems the glass is factory tinted internally to some degree, but it had TWO additional layers on the inside. In addition to scuffs, scratches, and gouges in the tint from the window latches and other things over the years, one of the layers was becoming variegated and mottled looking. Here's a shot showing the tint half removed on one window. And another shot showing how dark it was when you had two glass panes overlapped while the window is open. The tint was way too dark from the inside, and made it hard to see out. It also made the coach feel more boxed in than it should with such generous glazing. I think in the future I'll look into some low-emissivity tinting for heat-gain improvements, but hope to maintain good transmissivity from the inside looking out.

View attachment 3184

View attachment 3182

 

[LQQKatJon]

I will try to post a photo of my back window. It is ceramic tint, and has about the maximum heat reducing film I could find.

originally he installed a lighter tint, but said my wife would not be happy. I was like you and did not want to upset the view.

he convinced me that my wife would not care for the light tint.(he would of been right), so he ripped that off and installed the darker “limo” tint.

the looking into the inside from out was significantly darker and looked nice. You cant see inside.

but the difference looking out from the inside between the different tints was not noticeable.

good quality correct tint makes all the difference.

the latch scratches are hard to avoid. I have not yet tinted(actually a person should use the term installed “window film”- because tint is the wrong term these days). The side windows. It is on the to-do list.

i did have tint....I mean window film installed on the windshields.the tinter will not do another... you cant tell it is on as it is virtually clear, but really reduces the hear gain from the windshield.

 

[pvfjr]

I will try to post a photo of my back window. It is ceramic tint, and has about the maximum heat reducing film I could find.

originally he installed a lighter tint, but said my wife would not be happy. I was like you and did not want to upset the view.

he convinced me that my wife would not care for the light tint.(he would of been right), so he ripped that off and installed the darker “limo” tint.

the looking into the inside from out was significantly darker and looked nice. You cant see inside.

but the difference looking out from the inside between the different tints was not noticeable.

good quality correct tint makes all the difference.

the latch scratches are hard to avoid. I have not yet tinted(actually a person should use the term installed “window film”- because tint is the wrong term these days). The side windows. It is on the to-do list.

i did have tint....I mean window film installed on the windshields.the tinter will not do another... you cant tell it is on as it is virtually clear, but really reduces the hear gain from the windshield.

Thanks for the feedback there; that's kind of what I figured. I think the old tint was very aged. It seemed OK from outside, nice and dark, but was terrible for looking through. I'm not concerned with privacy or exterior aesthetics much, but having less heat gain with good interior visibility would be best.

I wonder if I should just get new windshields for this thing. I really don't want to drop $1300 on that right now, but at least I live near Coburg where the windshields come from so I can avoid shipping. Then I could get some good film applied BEFORE installing. It seems like that should make it a lot easier.

 

[pvfjr]

In the back room, I started trying to figure out the uneven subfloor situation so I could finish off the flooring. It seems they tore (not cut) out the subfloor, added a couple layers of EPS foam insulation, then tossed a 1/2" plywood board on top (unattached).
Anyone know how thick the sub floor is supposed to be here in the back of a 1975? The old stuff doesn't have a great clean edge to measure, though I haven't tried yet.