Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines 302 GMC - Resurrection and story about a family RV

Hi all, new member here.

I wanted to say hello, introduce myself, and ask for a little advice on a 302 GMC in a camper that my wife and I are going to be trying to get back on the road in a few weeks.

First an explanation since I'll wager that the 302 never came stock in a motorhome...

My grandfather is still garaging their 1964 Pickwick class A motorhome and is willing to let my wife and I get it back on the road so we can drive it down to our home in North Carolina where we'll do some remodeling and give it the tlc it needs.

As far as I can tell since this is the Ford chassis variant, it originally came with a 300 I6 but that's long gone. At some point a military 302 Jimmy out of a deuce and a half was swapped in and is what is in it now.

I know it's an odd combination and to be honest, I didn't even know the 302 existed.

My grandfather knows of a rear main seal leak and I have a replacement rope gasket on hand to attempt to replace it in the vehicle. I've run across threads here detailing that process and I will reread them before getting started.

I've got the usual list of things like replacing fluids and checking levels but would love any suggestions specific to the 302 about things to check or hard to find (which given the age of that engine I know will be most things...) items I should plan on replacing and try to have on hand before we get there.

I've been trying to get a clear answer on points and other ignition parts, in reference to what fits if the ones in it are bad but haven't found a straight answer...

I'll post the couple shots I have of the engine and (I'm hoping cross posting to another forum is allowed) a link to the thread on the hotrodders site where the initial suggestion to register here was made.

Thanks again for the help and cheers!

EDIT:

Forgot to mention, I have a new electric fuel pump, a Carter unit, because it is currently electric.

I was doing some more searching on here after posting and found a post mentioning that any Chevy / GMC I6 distributor will work, can anyone confirm? I've seen that a few times and the post usually turns into "well sort of but it depends." Just looking to get as much clarity as I can before we get there.







hotrodders forum thread for this project:

https://www.hotrodders.com/threads/resur...7/#post-4796406

Lastly because I think this looks like a really awesome coach and figured you folks might appreciate the vintage style, here are a couple shots of the coach itself:

This sounds like an interesting project. I've been running a 270 GMC in my pickup since the mud '70s. Same as a 302 with a smaller bore. Yours being military raises a question about the distributer. The sealed military unit is quite different from the civilian one. The civilian distributer is the same as 235 &261 Chevy sixes. The military plugs and wires were different too. It is likely that this was changed when the engine was installed.

Our O'Reilly store here has plugs, wires, points, condenser, cap & rotor in stock. Wires should be long enough for the GMC. Ypo would have to order a rebuilt distributer but they have it. Ir the rear main won't leak more than a quart or two in the 600 mile trip I wouldn't change it now.

Though I'm GMC guy in your case I'd find a later injected 300 Ford L6 and transmission ('94-'96). Check these out. They produce lots of low end torque and with the proper gearing you would anyways be in the torque range the engine likes. You don't really need an engine that produces it's torque at an rpm that you won't reaching. It might fit the engine bay better than a V8. Then there's always a Cummins?

LINK

That photo of the front looks like it came right out of the movie "Cars".

Thanks for the info! I suspect that some of the stuff you mentioned was changed when it was installed / while it was in use years ago but I'll look into it and post some pictures of what I find when we get there.

I was thinking the exact same thing about the rear seal... A few drips, 600 miles, I think we're okay. If it's pouring out it's a different story obviously. I don't know how big the tank is on this RV but I'm guessing we'll be stopping quite a few times for fuel.

I'll look into the late model Ford engine you referenced. The future powertrain is still up in the air so anything worth looking into is... well, worth looking into.

-hotrod

haha... I didn't even realize that but you're right...

The 302 is a great truck engine and can be made better. A problem you may have on most of these sites is the main focus in on Hot Rod/race engines. They are different from truck engines. The difference would be in the head and the cam. You will know by the time you get home if you want to keep the 302. I'm sure there is a better transmission for this rig. Adapting it to the GMC might be a whole other project. I'm not sure.
Another site to check is Stovebolt lots of truck stuff there. Chevy mostly but quite a bit on GMC.

STOVEBOLT

I love the CARS connection. I hope you don't have to deal with the snooty RV Parks with their new only rules, no class and no classics.

My gut says that I'm going to want something more modern for the engine and trans and that the 302 will hopefully go to someone's awesome hotrod project. Like you said, I may be in love with the thing as is by the time we get here but if we're going to take it on a few of the trips we have planned, sourcing parts for such a vintage engine on the road is really not something that sounds fun...

My biggest concern right now is safely (for me and the engine/trans) driving it home so we can get started. I'd hate to kill the 302 and get stranded though I do gather they're pretty stout.

The Cars movies thing cracks me up, I never even saw the similarities.

Funny story, my wife and I spent the past 9 months in our 1996 Class A driving across the country and looking for our new home which we have found. As far as the age thing is concerned it seemed like the policies about "the 10 year rule" (which we didn't meet either) would feel the same about a "50 or 60 year rule" haha...

For the most part that rule seemed to be either set in stone, or dependent on pictures showing that the RV was in good repair and well maintained.

I'm genuinely excited to book our first trip and when the person on the phone asks about make and model getting to say: "um... yes, it's a 1964 Pickwick Traveliner, Class A" and enjoying that few seconds of silence while they try and figure out what that is...

I'm actually going to look into that... Being a hydra-matic right now I'm curious what bolts up... I know (or think I know) that the Powerglide thru I believe the modern 4L60E/4L80E should bolt up to the same stuff but this era, late 50's into the 60's, seems to have some unique exceptions to that rule.

EDIT - Misspelled "hydra-matic"...

One thing you can bet on is that it has been done and with the electronic kits the E series are not the problem they were a few years ago. We put a GM TBI on my 270 as a demo several years ago. Mostly a junk yard setup. Now there are several kits that would work on the 302.

I have a civilian 302 with a Hydra-Matic. The engine is frozen and I can not get them apart. I really haven't tried too hard. I do know that the blocks were factory mated to the housing that the trans mounted to. I don't know how that compares to the later automatics. The torque converter is a totally different animal. Two piece withs a big cork gasket and a million bolts. Some GMC cranks had 4 bolts and some had 6. Hot riders sometimes drilled the 4 bolt cranks to 8. You will probably have to build or modify a modern flex plate to hook up a modern torque converter. The old hydros built right are bullet proof but you will want an OD of some sort for today's driving. Gear Vender?

oof... If this were somehow the original engine / trans package I would feel more inclined to try and find a way to run it long term. As it stands I think I'd end up sinking enough money into building whats there up right as I would just swapping something modern. I've priced gear vendors stuff for my Nova since I don't have OD either on that and it always ends in sticker shock...

I understand That. Most of us who run the older engines do it because we want to not because it is the "best" choice. Several years ago I made a 4,000 mile in one week trip in my '53 pickup.(Northern Nevada-Southern California,-Central Texas and back) Under the seat along with tools was a water pump, distributer, belts, some gaskets and some other things I didn't think I'd find in a store. On a similar trip my son and I lost the OD solenoid on his '54 Studebaker. (4.27 rear end) It was one of the parts we didn't have stashed in the spare tire compartment. So though I have made many roadside repairs, some serious fixes, they only become great adventures when you get it all home. As a former parts counterman I can tell you it will only get worse as demand for older parts decreases and the $$$$ per square foot of floor space goes up.

I still think I'd give the big Ford six a serious look. My second would be the 7.3 International turbo diesel V8 from a 1994 Ford F350. Bullet proof and no electronics.