Classic carMuscle carOld CarTruck

The Reasons Why A 1950s GMC F370 Truck Has A Pontiac V8.

This is a classic General Motors truck, a 1950s GMC F370 Stub-Nose truck.


This machine is sadly just rotting away, but under the hood is a Pontiac V8 engine. This is certainly not something you would expect to see on this truck!

An Interesting Relic Of A Truck


The GMC F370 trucks, were all built between 1955 and 1959, and were officially known as the GMC Blue Chip series. The fact it is a short nose, or a low-cab forward if it was a Dodge, already makes this an unusual and intriguing truck.

Then there are some Cadillac design traits within the truck, such as the inverted dagmars on the front guard, the bustle hood and the general lighting design. It is a six-wheel truck too, something very useful, and the short stub nose meant you could easily get access to the engine via the side fenders.

A Pontiac V8 Under The Hood


The real curiosity with this truck though is its engine. The 336 ci Pontiac V8 engine. Why is a Pontiac V8 in here? Simply put, it’s because V8 engines had just become available for heavy-duty trucks, and GMC used Pontiac V8s for their own trucks. And the specification tag in the dashboard indicates that this is a 336 V8 engine, the first-generation of Pontiac V8.

And in 1963, Magnante tells us, this same engine was, in fact, installed into the Pontiac Tempest, which was also the final year for the Tempest. Weirdly, General Motors had a 330 ci limit on V8 engines at the time, so in the Tempest the emblem read 326 instead of 336.

An Unusual Link To The Pontiac Tempest​​​​​​​


Essentially, the 326 engine had a 3.75 inch bore, but the 336 had a 3.78 inch bore.

But it had the same 3.75 inch stroke as the 326 V8, so it was the same basic engine, but according to GM’s own policy, it was 10 cubic inches too big. An interesting little trinket then as to how that engine ended up inside the Tempest.

​​​​​​​Sadly, this particular one is incredibly rusty, so it looks like this junkyard is where it will see out the rest of its days.

Tags

Related Articles

3 Comments

  1. Hey! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do
    you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
    My website looks weird when viewing from my iphone4. I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able
    to correct this issue. If you have any suggestions, please
    share. With thanks!

  2. I think this is among the most significant info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But want to remark on few general things, The website style is ideal, the articles is really excellent : D. Good job, cheers|

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
Close
Close