This 1929 GMC truck that was parked for 80 years has a surprise under the hood
- This GMC truck dates back to 1929
- It spent more than 80 years parked up before it was rescued
- Incredibly, after all that time, the engine still turned over
Published on Sep 10, 2024 at 7:44 AM (UTC+4)
by Claire Reid
Last updated on Sep 10, 2024 at 4:03 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Tom Wood
A GMC truck that had been parked for more than 80 years shocked car enthusiasts when its engine turned over without any problems.
Back in the 1920s, GMCs main focus was on hard-working trucks and haulers for private buyers.
Although that era is now largely forgotten – and most of the vehicles produced are long gone – a two-ton 1929 example was uncovered decades later.
In a startling display of craftmanship and reliability, the engine turned over.
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The 1929 GMC truck had certainly seen better days
The truck had been off the road since 1940 but was discovered by the team from Jennings Motor Sports, who decided to see if they could get it up and running again.
With more than 80 years passing since it was parked, the truck was – understandably – in pretty poor shape.
The engine hood was so rusted that it refused to stay in place, and to say the bodywork was ‘weathered’ would be putting it mildly.
Not only that but moving it from the place it had spent the last eight decades resulted in more damage.
The truck’s wooden components were pretty much entirely destroyed when the team removed it from the woods.
However, fortunately – and incredibly – the truck’s frame and front end survived and were all in one-piece.
Pretty amazing, right?
The original engine turned over freely
Even more incredibly, the GMC’s original 5.1-liter (310 cubic-inch) inline-six engine – that is almost 100 years old, don’t forget – turned freely.
The team set to work giving the old six-cylinder its first dose of TLC in decades – performing an oil change, fitting new spark plugs, and giving it all a bit of a clean and spruce up.
At this point, the team decided to see if the truck would run and – wonders of wonders – it actually fired up.
As you might expect, the joy was short-lived – the truck was chucking out smoke and oil like there’s no tomorrow, and – let’s be honest – it’s going to take more than a quick clean-up to get it road-worthy again.
But there’s life in the old motor, and with the right expertise, time, and effort, who knows where this almost-antique could end up?
Claire Reid is a journalist who hails from the UK but is now living in New Zealand. She began her career after graduating with a degree in Journalism from Liverpool John Moore’s University and has more than a decade of experience, writing for both local newspapers and national news sites. Across her career she's covered a wide variety of topics, including celebrity, cryptocurrency, politics, true crime and just about everything in between.
