Any real difference between 'GMC' and 'CHEV' name cargo vans ??

Are there any differences mechanically or body wise between the two ? Thanks.

Reply to
dave
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Not really. Just the grilles and emblems. Interior trim levels may be different depending on what options are ordered but other than that they are the same. The model split was in 96. Parts from 79-95 are mostly the same except for the headlights and trim. From 96 and up they are different. 79-95 were all unibody and the 96 and up are back to body on frame.

Reply to
Sunset

from day one to the present the drive line on gmc and chev vehicles are identical. I understand there are some minor differences in the body and interior.

Reply to
Elbert

Whoa Nelly!

I owned both a 1988 and a 1995 Chevy C1500 pick up in their due time and I can assure you with complete confidence that neither of these vehicles were a unibody design. Both were body-on-frame completely. The body style and construction varied little from 1988 through 1998 with the exception of changes in the front grille and headlights throughout the years, improvements and changes in the motors, and a major interior revamp in 1995.

In fact, both the Chevy and GMC sister trucks were body-on-frame all the way back to 1979 and before. To the best of my knowledge GM never built a light-duty truck that was completely unibody with the exception of some of the later minivans, but I'm a snob enough not to consider those as "real" trucks! Even the single-body designs like the Avalance, Suburban, Tahoe, etc. all have full frames.

Cheers - J>> Are there any differences mechanically or body wise between the two ? >> Thanks.

Reply to
Jonathan

He was talking about the vans, not the pickups.

Reply to
Mike Levy

Greetings,

Pick-ups and vans in that era shared common chassis, suspensions and drive trains. There was a redesign of the sheet metal for the full size vans in

1996 to a slightly larger, more "aero" look which at the time I thought was several years overdue, but both pre-96 and post-96 full size vans all had frames.

So what cargo vans did GM produce under either the Chevy or GMC nameplates that were unibody between 1979 and 1995? All of their half, three-quarter and one-ton cargo vans were body-on-frame, as were the smaller Astro/Safari's. The minivans that GM produced like the Lumina APV, Olds Silhouette, etc. weren't "cargo vans" (and obviously didn't date back to

1979), although they were unibody, and the larger box vans (bread trucks and delivery trucks and such) were all body-on-frame as there is no benefit to making something that big a unibody design.

Cheers - Jonathan

Reply to
Jonathan

The only Uni-Body GM Pick up's made to date sold in the north america to the best of my knowledge: The Corviar based 'Greenbrier' pick ups. The South America ONLY Chevette Pick up. In South America the chevette was also produced as a station wagon, and production lasted untill 1993.

Ford in the last 50's or erly 60's had a Unibody pick up. This truck had no devision between cab and bed.

From 1909 to current 2005 All GMC & Chevy pick up's Including El-Camino's and GMC Sprints have been Body on Frame.

The 1979 trucks are the same chassis line from 1973 to 1991. In 1988 All old style trucks being produced switch from C/K chassis codes to R/V chassis codes. R for 2WD v for 4WD. 1 ton trucks didn't switch to the newer body style untill 1989. Cab and Chassis untill 1991. Full Size Blazers and Suburbans untill 1990/1991. Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

In full size vans the body line goes from 1969 to 1995. Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

All chevy 1969 to 1995 G-10, G-20, & G-30 , as well as the 1969 to 1995 GMC Vandura G-15, G-25, G-35's are all UNI-Body Vans. The only Non-Unibody Units are units made as Cab & chassis. Even then some Cab & Chassis vans were Uni-Body. All the Uni-Body vans have a removible front Sub Frame. This Includes All 4WD & AWD Vans. Even Solid front axle vans. Yes they did make for 3 years IFS 4WD full size vans. Around 3,000 total.

All Astro/Safari Vans (including AWD Vans) from 1985 to Current (2005) are Uni-Body. They have a Front Removible Sub-Frame. Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

vehicles were

I know of one of the Chevette P/Us that migrated here. Kind of an ugly looking thing but it seemed to work OK.

Yup the Econoline P/U. Came with a straight six and was a two seat P/U with the engine in the middle of the seats.

Reply to
Steve W.

Wrong. In the 1950's, they were different. The GMC was a premium truck. Today they are the same.

Reply to
Lynn

Wow. I have only seen pictures of them. As hard as it might be to believe. I actually like Chevettes. Before you say much, you don't know a Chevette untill you run one on a dirt track, or down a old dirt & gravel fire road. Not to mention for being "disposible" cars they were simple to repair, and there were a few factory parts you could swap to increase perfromance.

Although I must say it's GM's austrilian arm that makes the truck I really want. The Holden Ute SS. Basically a modern day Elky with a LS1 & a 6 speed.

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I forgot about those. There was also a F100 Uni-Body truck. Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

so what did the premium truck of the 50's have that the Chevy did not also have? as far as engine / drive line?

Reply to
Elbert

america

chevette

My BIL had a couple Chevettes and ran them till they dropped. I know of a couple still running around. They were just too small for me. He loved them though.

That is a nice rig. Wonder how many hoops it would have to go through to get imported?

Reply to
Steve W.

The GMC 6-71 Roots style Blower. 6 Cylinders 71 Cubic Inches of compressed air/fuel mixture.

This is where the the ratings for Roots style blowers orginally came from. They work rather well for something orginally invented to provide breatrhible air down mine shafts. Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

The lay out for the cabin space in a chevette isn't done very well. Makes them feel smaller then they are. A Geo Metro is a small car then a Chevette. I had a 86 Chevette 2dr and a 1991 Metro 2dr at the same time, back in 2000. Both $100 cars. The Metro was more comfertible to sit in, and im tall and a bit on the heavy side. I ended up selling the Chevette to a buddy who made it in to a derby car. Atleast it died a good death. :)

That Im not sure of. I know to ship cars to Austrialia costs around $6,000 to $9,000. Probably would have to make it meet us safety standards, convert it to left side drive, do emissions controls.

I keep wishing GM would do it. Bring us Back the Ekly. Would be a more practial vehicle then the SSR. Especially since they also have a "Crewman SS" version that's a 4 door.

GM basically did something like that with the new GTO's, which they sell over there as Holdens, and have a 4 door version there as well. Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

Oh, things like Pontiac engines with pressure lubrication instead of Chevy engines with splash lube. Longer frames for the bigger engine. HydraMatic 4 speed automatic transmissions instead of 2 speed PoweGlides. Quad headlights instead of two. There is much to learn so why not do a Google search on the subject?

Reply to
Lynn

I stand corrected. I don't know what the magic year cutoff was when as I see from other postings where apparently GMC had its own specific engines / transmissions. My comments were directed to the pickup market (I did not write that in my above post, but that's what I was referring to) , and my comments may be wrong there too. I do know that in the 1/2 3/4 and 1 ton trucks going back a few decades there has been the same engines and drive line for the Chevy and gmc trucks.

Reply to
Elbert

Chevette

through to

Yeah the SSR is another "Never Was" . Would be more fun to keep it as RHD though. Would be more fun that way... Be like the RHD Cherokee a friend of mine ordered when she was with the post office. She still has it and it is a blast to drive and watch folks look stunned when you go by. Only real problem is toll booths and drive through places. Although she got around that by backing through McDonalds...

Reply to
Steve W.

I drove a right hand drive DJ-5 Jeep. Didn't care for the right hand drive set up. I have seen a few subaru RHD stationwagons around. Some not being used for mail routes as well.

There are a few drive thru's in this area that RHD would be handy for. Why with the majority of US vehicles being LHD they are set up that way, I never will understand. Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

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