New stuff is cool but old stuff is cooler

[RiverDave]

So much want..

1973 GMC Motorhome, Palm Beach Edition
Built from 1973-1978. The motorhome had a front-wheel-drive transaxle, which GM called the Unitized Power Package, originally used in the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado with an Oldsmobile 455 cu in (7.5 L) V8 from the Toronado. In mid-1977 the engine was downsized to a 403 cu in (6.6 L) V8. (At the time, the Buick Riviera, which shared most of the same components, and used the same E-body platform, as the Toronado and Eldorado until its 1977 downsizing, was still using the conventional rear-wheel-drive layout.) Both used the GM-designated Turbo-Hydramatic 425 automatic transmission, with a wide roller chain drive to connect the output of the longitudinally-oriented engine to the transmission. The final drive was connected directly to the transmission, and power was fed to the front wheels using half-shafts, one of which ran under the front portion of the engine. The engine was fueled with regular gasoline stored in two 25-US-gallon (95 L) tanks.
everyone

 

[Romans9]

Those have a cult following.
I know where a clean one is at if you are interested.

 

[RiverDave]

Those have a cult following.
I know where a clean one is at if you are interested.

No I gotta stick with the new stuff unfortunately.. but I love looking at these and others..

RD

 

[jetboatperformance]

Those Toronado power train/transaxles were a hatefull PITA

 

[575cat]

they were close but not , wheel bearings were bigger , ball joints were different and , I remember working on those they would beet the hell out of front end,s , also building exhaust for them , oh and the air ride for the rear what a mess .

 

[Tank]

They do a run here in Ventura once a year with all of those. They are old school cool for sure.

Avacado / baby shit green appliances and green plaid?! Where do I sign up!?!

 

[77charger]

But not allowed in the “resort parks” because it’s older than 10 years.

 

[JL95]

There used to be a yard full of them in pomona/montclair you could see from the metrolink.

The one that GKFinishline did was pretty neat. rip

 

[n2otoofast4u]

Brings the work "JUNK" to a whole new level!!!

 

[DaveH]

its the urban assault vehicle!

 

[dread Pirate]

They do a run here in Ventura once a year with all of those. They are old school cool for sure.

Avacado / baby shit green appliances and green plaid?! Where do I sign up!?!

They come through here too.

On another note. They may have been the test subject for DEF.

GMC Made a Motorhome That Pumped Sewage Through Its Exhaust on Purpose

The classic 1973 GMC Motorhome had a gross, little-known option that let it spray sewage out the exhaust as you drove.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Captain Dan]

455 CI motor with (2) 25 gallon tanks? With any appreciable gradient, you might have your foot to the floor and need to research spacing of fuel stops before hitting the road.

 

[Rajobigguy]

With a few modern upgrades/retrofits those are pretty bad ass campers. Everything that was a shortcoming on them has a fix for it today. They can be great for a couple or maybe a couple with 1or two small kids but anything more than that and they start feeling pretty small. Of course the other downside that has been mentioned is that many resorts don’t allow older vehicles.

 

[jetboatperformance]

Plus Because of the "venerable" Olds 455 (and its inherent oiling issues) They went thru engines faster than 21 Tahiti day cruiser with a Jacuzzi YJ (driven by a 16 year old) . Same basic engine simply used s different style oil pan which still wasnt enough capacity

 

[ChiliPepperGarage]

Always like these but would want to do something like this to one (with diesel power):

 

[Romans9]

Always like these but would want to do something like this to one (with diesel power):

View attachment 1413290

That’s what I’m talking about Knee Grow………

 

[TonyFanelli]

Always like these but would want to do something like this to one (with diesel power):

View attachment 1413290

That's badass!

 

[jetboatperformance]

Toronado story (thread jack) When I was a Kid I worked for Olds Cadillac dealer , was sent to Bakersfield on a dealer trade to Get a Black on Black on black beautiful new Tornado , took my Buddys Girl for company anyhow we got a 12 Pack and coming down the steep ass Hill before the James Dean memorial I pegged the speedo around 120 140 ... Oh the crazy shit we used to do ....

 

[LazyLavey]

When I was in high school I worked at a motorhome dealer. We sold those and Revcons and some cheesy tin sided units.

The GMC was sure bitchen

 

[Sharky]

Actually a very nice MH for its era. Drove and handled like a big Park Avenue Buick. Put the Dodge M300 & 400 Chassis and Chevy P32 chassis to shame.

The rear suspension was air controlled with an optical sensor for ride height. Repaired several back in the day for air leaks. Plain old 1/4 plastic air lines (lots of them) and brass fittings with ferrules.

Those are what normally leaked.

Replaced a lot of dry rotted fuel lines between the two fuel tanks as well.

 

[LazyLavey]

The GMC stopped real well but the Revcon was a bitch to stop.. Interesting that they both were FWD....

 

[C-2]

That's the fact, Jack!

 

[callbob]

Spatula treatment?

 

[CLdrinker]

But not allowed in the “resort parks” because it’s older than 10 years.

Group of them were at Paradise by the sea last year.

 

[sprintcvx]

I remember a show where Counts Kustoms redid one of those?

 

[Rajobigguy]

But not allowed in the “resort parks” because it’s older than 10 years.

Most parks will make an exception if you call in advance and explain that it is a fully restored classic. They will probably ask you to submit pics. It can be a pain but usually they will agree if the rig is in exceptional condition.

 

[thedan]

Went to Glamis with an old timer who had sold his due to his wife wanting a newer RV. He was pissed because he said the old one was great driving in the sand and he didn’t think he could get it stuck in the washes. Don’t know how true that story was, but he swore by it.

 

[Gelcoater]

Those Toronado power train/transaxles were a hatefull PITA

Went to HS and still good friends with a guy that had a 66 Toronado, he was brought home from the hospital in it after he was born.
Thing was a hoot, and nicknamed “The Beast”

So much want..

1973 GMC Motorhome, Palm Beach Edition
Built from 1973-1978. The motorhome had a front-wheel-drive transaxle, which GM called the Unitized Power Package, originally used in the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado with an Oldsmobile 455 cu in (7.5 L) V8 from the Toronado. In mid-1977 the engine was downsized to a 403 cu in (6.6 L) V8. (At the time, the Buick Riviera, which shared most of the same components, and used the same E-body platform, as the Toronado and Eldorado until its 1977 downsizing, was still using the conventional rear-wheel-drive layout.) Both used the GM-designated Turbo-Hydramatic 425 automatic transmission, with a wide roller chain drive to connect the output of the longitudinally-oriented engine to the transmission. The final drive was connected directly to the transmission, and power was fed to the front wheels using half-shafts, one of which ran under the front portion of the engine. The engine was fueled with regular gasoline stored in two 25-US-gallon (95 L) tanks.
everyone

View attachment 1413271 View attachment 1413272 View attachment 1413273 View attachment 1413274 View attachment 1413275 View attachment 1413276

Years ago after my wife’s mom passed away my FIL marries a gal that had one of these.
Not quite as nice as the one in your post but not in bad shape.
They used it, put some money into a few things and traveled quite a bit in it for a time.
Biggest complaint about it was it was Very! thirsty

 

[RogerThat99]

I had a restored one of these GMC Moho's camped near me recently. I liked them as a kid. Then the movie Stripes came out. LOL

 

[oldschool]

I agree with this thread.

 

[ChrisV]

Always like these but would want to do something like this to one (with diesel power):

View attachment 1413290

The wiring is nuts in that rig. Was geeking out over the build.

 

[Eliminator21vdrive]

That's the fact, Jack!

Boom shakalaka boom shakalaka

 

[bonesfab]

Army Training ,SIr.

 

[Bigbore500r]

So much want..

1973 GMC Motorhome, Palm Beach Edition
Built from 1973-1978. The motorhome had a front-wheel-drive transaxle, which GM called the Unitized Power Package, originally used in the Oldsmobile Toronado and Cadillac Eldorado with an Oldsmobile 455 cu in (7.5 L) V8 from the Toronado. In mid-1977 the engine was downsized to a 403 cu in (6.6 L) V8. (At the time, the Buick Riviera, which shared most of the same components, and used the same E-body platform, as the Toronado and Eldorado until its 1977 downsizing, was still using the conventional rear-wheel-drive layout.) Both used the GM-designated Turbo-Hydramatic 425 automatic transmission, with a wide roller chain drive to connect the output of the longitudinally-oriented engine to the transmission. The final drive was connected directly to the transmission, and power was fed to the front wheels using half-shafts, one of which ran under the front portion of the engine. The engine was fueled with regular gasoline stored in two 25-US-gallon (95 L) tanks.
everyone

View attachment 1413271 View attachment 1413272 View attachment 1413273 View attachment 1413274 View attachment 1413275 View attachment 1413276

 

[lbhsbz]

My Dad has one...his is a '78 w/ the 403 olds engine. Its cool, but it's a pain in the ass. Very few people work on em.

He went to a rally a few months ago at Puddingstone lake...along with a vintage trailer rally. It was cool.

There's another rally coming up in Buellton in a couple months if you wanna check out some real nice ones.

 

[EmpirE231]

Old stuff is cool!

I bought this off my neighbor to use as yard art... but now I want to get it running just to putt it around

 

[FROGMAN524]

My grandfather had one of those 70s GMCs with the Olds 455. He blew the motor coming back from Yosemite I think and had to rebuild it, of course, being an engineer for Lockheed Martin, he rebuilt it with some extra pep. After he died, my grandmother sold it cheap, and I never saw it again unfortunately.

 

[River Runnin]

No I gotta stick with the new stuff unfortunately.. but I love looking at these and others..

RD

Just a little green with envy!?

 

[That Guy]

A few years back there was a meet up with a huge group of these in the Havasu Marina parking lot. Not sure if it is an annual event or not, but I kicked myself that we didn't stop and take a look. Some were completely restored and looked awesome.

 

[OCMerrill]

My Grandparents had a Revcon which is on that same platform. Airbags and all.

Looked exactly like this one. I dont recall he ever complained about reliability. They traveled the Alaskan highway once in it.

 

[JDKRXW]

Old stuff is cool!

I bought this off my neighbor to use as yard art... but now I want to get it running just to putt it around

View attachment 1413701 View attachment 1413702

No reason why that shouldnt be running - the most expensive part of them are the rear tires - and those ones look good.

 

[bocco]

At one time I had 71 Eldo convertible. One of the front wheel bearings went out and spun in the front hub. The bearings are not servicable, I had pull both steering knuckles and took them to a guy in Fremont, CA. He specialized in restoring those Mohos. He pressed out the old bearings then he added Zirk fittings before pressing in the new bearings so they could be greased.

The cool part of his story was that he upgraded his moho to a 540 Cad motor instead of the oldsmobile. Said it was much more fun to drive.

 

[EmpirE231]

No reason why that should be running - the most expensive part of them are the rear tires - and those ones look good.

Was told it blew a head gasket and then parked for 10 years... Oil still looks good, so hopefully just a head gasket, plugs and a new battery will do it. Just need to find the time to do it one day.

 

[76sanger]

Reminds of one of the greatest and stupidest movies ever......Stripes! Because, THATS THE FACT JACK!

 

[SoCalDave]

My uncle had a 73 that he and his wife took all over North America. His youngest son still has it.

 

[lbhsbz]

My Grandparents had a Revcon which is on that same platform. Airbags and all.

Looked exactly like this one. I dont recall he ever complained about reliability. They traveled the Alaskan highway once in it.


View attachment 1413760

Revcons used the same olds toronado/Cadillac Eldorado drivetrain until they quit making it in 78 or 79, then Revcon went to a 454/TH400 w/ a transfer case using on the front output and some sort of front axle....that's when the problems started, because there's not a really a good way to do that.

 

[Boat211]

I rode in one of those from California to Akron Ohio and back in 1979 for Soap Box Derby.

 

[Morehart]

 

[Morehart]

Always thought the revcon was bad ass

 

[Morehart]