More on the '76 PB Purchase

[travis martin]

You'd better be careful! When he sees you sitting in the coach salivating
over the manuals, you ain't a gonna make no swift deal! But it sure is fun,
isn't it?

Best regards,

Travis

- -----Original Message-----
From: Fourtaylor
To: gmcmotorhome
Date: Tuesday, August 24, 1999 9:48 PM
Subject: GMC: More on the '76 PB Purchase

>
>Okay guys thanks for the advice, decide to pursue the less expensive GMC.
I
>went to talk and deal today but the owner had already left for the day.
I
>decided to spend some time with the GMC anyway, one of his employees gave
me
>the keys. I spent about an hour checking things over, reading the manuals
>and taking some pictures. I posted some of the interior pics at:
>
>http://members.aol.com/gmcmotor/gmcin.html
>
>A couple things I noticed and had questions about:
>
>1.) The air bags must leak. When in auto the compressor runs for a while
and
>stops then starts cycling; 30 seconds off 10 seconds approx. It's obvious
it
>needs a fix what should I expect in terms of cost.
>
>2.) I let the faucet run for a couple of minutes until it stopped, I then
>switched on the pump, no more water came. I'm pretty sure there was water
>left in the tank. I couldn't hear the pump either. I'll have the guy
repair
>this.
>
>3.) Spent some more time looking at the engine. Looks good from the top
but
>I'm concerned about all the oil on the oil pan. There doesn't seem to be
any
>oil leaking onto the ground but the oil pan is pretty well covered.
>
>4.) How does the toiled work? (chemical) does it function OK and how does
one
>operate it.
>
>Other nits, the headliner in the cab bows down slightly like it's fallen
away
>from the ceiling, the bottom of the entry door is slightly damaged, the
>bathroom has a small gap around the top near the rear, look like this can
be
>adjusted.
>
>Also a friend looked up the "book" values at the local credit union today,
I
>think for a '76 it was 9-10K wholesale and 12-13K retail, seems like many
are
>going for more.
>
>I'll probably try to get in contact with a mechanic (if I can find one) to
do
>an engine inspection before making an offer.
>
>
>Chris Taylor
>GMC Wanna Be
>Rochester, MN

 

[richard waters]

Chris,
This sure looks like mine did when I got her last year. The plaid seats and
shag carpet kind of grow on you after a while Makes you feel real like
a 70's kind of guy! We will be replacing ours in a few years however.
Richard Waters '76 PB, Troy, MI

> Okay guys thanks for the advice, decide to pursue the less expensive GMC. I
> went to talk and deal today but the owner had already left for the day. I
> decided to spend some time with the GMC anyway, one of his employees gave me
> the keys. I spent about an hour checking things over, reading the manuals
> and taking some pictures. I posted some of the interior pics at:
>
> http://members.aol.com/gmcmotor/gmcin.html
>
> A couple things I noticed and had questions about:
>
> 1.) The air bags must leak. When in auto the compressor runs for a while and
> stops then starts cycling; 30 seconds off 10 seconds approx. It's obvious it
> needs a fix what should I expect in terms of cost.
>
> 2.) I let the faucet run for a couple of minutes until it stopped, I then
> switched on the pump, no more water came. I'm pretty sure there was water
> left in the tank. I couldn't hear the pump either. I'll have the guy repair
> this.
>
> 3.) Spent some more time looking at the engine. Looks good from the top but
> I'm concerned about all the oil on the oil pan. There doesn't seem to be any
> oil leaking onto the ground but the oil pan is pretty well covered.
>
> 4.) How does the toiled work? (chemical) does it function OK and how does one
> operate it.

You have the infamous electric recirculating toilet. A lot of folks love them
and
lots hate them. The way they work is that you put about 3 gallons of water in it
along
with a double dose of holding tank deodorant as an initial charge. Then you use
the toilet. Each time you flush (which is done with a push button on the left
side),
you recirculate the stuff in it until it either fills up (about 7 gallons) or it
smells too much.
If you plan on doing a lot of camping where you are not connected to a sewer or
sewers are few and far they are great. If you can dump your holding tank on a
regular basis, then a standard RV toilet is better in my humble opinion. This
kind
of toilet was an option that cost more when the coach was new.

My wife hated the recirculating toilet. She thought it smelled and she hated the
idea
of using someone else's 23 year old toilet. You'll also notice that the bowl is
black so that
when recirculating that stuff, it's harder to tell what it actually is.

I ended up tearing it out and installed a very nice new toilet with a porcelain
bowl. It
was about $200. I thought it was a cheap way to keep the wife happy.

>
> Other nits, the headliner in the cab bows down slightly like it's fallen away
> from the ceiling, the bottom of the entry door is slightly damaged, the
> bathroom has a small gap around the top near the rear, look like this can be
> adjusted.

A nice upgrade is a new headliner. There are many ways to do that and the folks
on
the GMCnet will be happy to help you decide how to install a new one.

>
>
> Also a friend looked up the "book" values at the local credit union today, I
> think for a '76 it was 9-10K wholesale and 12-13K retail, seems like many are
> going for more.
>
> I'll probably try to get in contact with a mechanic (if I can find one) to do
> an engine inspection before making an offer.
>
> Chris Taylor
> GMC Wanna Be
> Rochester, MN

 

[heinz wittenbecher]

> 3.) Spent some more time looking at the engine. Looks good from the top
but
> I'm concerned about all the oil on the oil pan. There doesn't seem to be
any
> oil leaking onto the ground but the oil pan is pretty well covered.
>

Chris,
just my 2cents from my own experiences.
When I started chasing down leaks as part of changing to synthetic oil we
found that a large mess was caused by a bolt/stud that holds the waterpump.
Even when just slightly loose it mad quite a mess that eventually collected
around the oilpan.

What I really mean is that some 'very' small leaks can make it appear
serious. As part of chasing it we used a UV kit to be sure we had no cracks
anywhere.

As a regular post-flight I now check waterpump bolts, exhaust header bolts
etc.

Unfortunately it'll take some real miles to shake it all out. Even when mine
sits for only a few months the first trip is always not quite as nice as
subsequent ones with shorter 'parked' periods.

Good luck and enjoy

Heinz
'76 Transmode with 260k on the clock. (130 of it since since 1st overhaul).

 

[heinz wittenbecher]

> 3.) Spent some more time looking at the engine. Looks good from the top
but
> I'm concerned about all the oil on the oil pan. There doesn't seem to be
any
> oil leaking onto the ground but the oil pan is pretty well covered.
>

Chris,
just my 2cents from my own experiences.
When I started chasing down leaks as part of changing to synthetic oil we
found that a large mess was caused by a bolt/stud that holds the waterpump.
Even when just slightly loose it mad quite a mess that eventually collected
around the oilpan.

What I really mean is that some 'very' small leaks can make it appear
serious. As part of chasing it we used a UV kit to be sure we had no cracks
anywhere.

As a regular post-flight I now check waterpump bolts, exhaust header bolts
etc.

Unfortunately it'll take some real miles to shake it all out. Even when mine
sits for only a few months the first trip is always not quite as nice as
subsequent ones with shorter 'parked' periods.

Good luck and enjoy

Heinz
'76 Transmode with 260k on the clock. (130 of it since since 1st overhaul).