question about gmc vs chevy

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Oldbear42

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Might be from too many "custom orders" of tequila the night before?

I like GMC more most of the time, but some years, yeah, I think the Chevy grill looks better. I'd recommend not scrapping the old emblems, but I doubt anyone is going to bust you up too much for making it look better in your own eyes.

Kinda funny, I always call myself a "chevy" guy, but I've had 4 GMC's, 3 Chevy trucks (one of them is my motorhome), 2 Chevy cars, 2 Saturns, 1 Toyota and 1 inherited Ford (my wife's truck when we got married). I suppose that's more chevy badges than any other, but more GMC trucks than Chevy trucks.
We own a GMC Yukon, and the only reason I haven't changed it to a Chevy Tahoe (other than it would be money better spent elsewhere) is that I added the "DO IT" decal to the Yukon badge... Yukon Do It!
 

Oldbear42

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Do whatever you like. I put new Z-71 emblems on my truck. I put them where the Silverado emblems would be. My truck was stripped of all the trim and emblems by the PO. I'm thinking of buying a set of Texas Edition emblems and putting them on her. I have a set of Trail Boss decals but haven't put them on yet.
I am also missing most of my emblems and have been looking at the fun fender emblems but the spousal unit keeps vetoing my choices
 

FireTruck1984

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Sacrilege!!
This hurts, why would you want to insult the GMC?. When I was a kid, my mother would dress me in Hand-me-down clothes and the other kids would ridicule..
GMC (GMT) was producing light duty Trucks long before GM purchased Chevrolet in 1918. After the purchase, GM started badging their same trucks with a Chevrolet nameplate, Therefore all Chevrolet pickup trucks are just GMCs wearing their older brother’s clothes. .. Of course this is all in fun, just satire. I love both trucks! ;)

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Ricko1966

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Guys do all kinds of stuff to there trucks,raise them,lower them,engine swap them,custom paint etc.etc. not everyone likes raised trucks,so what,not everyone likes lowered trucks,again so what. What they think should have no affect on what makes you happy with your truck. Paint it purple,TDI Volkswagen swap it and put it on 20 inch daytons,if you want. It's your truck,make it,YOUR TRUCK.
 

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I recently purchased a 1984 GMC Sierra 1500, I know that Squarebodys made by GM are pretty much the same besides the badges and I was wondering if i would be considered "wrong" if i put chevy emblems on my GMC truck, I simply like the bowties and prefer it more, Let me know... thanks
You put Ketchup on your steak?
 

Keith Seymore

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Just what they had on the assembly line as they were all built in same place.
Not exactly.

Front end sheet metal (fenders, hood, rad support) was trimmed out upstairs and conveyed to the final line in sequence from the far recesses of the plant. As a result it was imperative that the operator pay attention to the build sheet and put the emblems on that were called for. If he was in the zone/on autopilot and put a Chevy emblem on (because that was the default) then usually not only was that truck wrong but all the trucks behind it were wrong, too.

Usually it wasn't obvious until everything came together on the final line. You could even have red fenders going on yellow trucks (or messed up two tone fenders going on the correct two tone truck) just to keep the line moving. They would get fixed out back.

K
 

squaredeal91

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Not exactly.

Front end sheet metal (fenders, hood, rad support) was trimmed out upstairs and conveyed to the final line in sequence from the far recesses of the plant. As a result it was imperative that the operator pay attention to the build sheet and put the emblems on that were called for. If he was in the zone/on autopilot and put a Chevy emblem on (because that was the default) then usually not only was that truck wrong but all the trucks behind it were wrong, too.

Usually it wasn't obvious until everything came together on the final line. You could even have red fenders going on yellow trucks (or messed up two tone fenders going on the correct two tone truck) just to keep the line moving. They would get fixed out back.

K
Thank you for the knowledge as always.
 

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Do whatever you prefer. GMC was considered higher level than Chevrolet (Professional grade they call it now). My 85 is a GMC but you can easily do what you prefer as they are similar.
Only in people’s minds. Then and now.
 

Grit dog

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I recently purchased a 1984 GMC Sierra 1500, I know that Squarebodys made by GM are pretty much the same besides the badges and I was wondering if i would be considered "wrong" if i put chevy emblems on my GMC truck, I simply like the bowties and prefer it more, Let me know... thanks
I thought the ‘86 was a Chevy when I bought it. Badges had all been changed to Chebbie. Couple months later I removed the tailgate trim panel to reveal an original tailgate stamped GMC! Then took a closer look at the title and realized I got a “higher level” truck! Lol
 

HotWheelsBurban

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Only in people’s minds. Then and now.
The last time the Chevy and GMC trucks were significantly different was the '67-72 Action Line series. All the GMC trucks had the same grille, with quad headlights, and the Chevys had single headlights on each side (round eye) and 3 different grilles depending on the year. Chevys also had coil springs and long track arms on the rear suspension, with leafs optional. IIRC the GMCs had leafs standard.
The prior generations had more differences, mostly in engines and sheet metal. Back in the late 40s and early 50s, before the venerable Chevy small blocks existed, GMCs were desirable for their larger displacement six cylinder engines, with pressure lubrication instead of the splash lubrication the Chevy Stovebolt six had. These could be made into high performance engines with the speed equipment that was available at the time. Old school rodders and truck guys are still building these engines.....
 

bucket

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The last time the Chevy and GMC trucks were significantly different was the '67-72 Action Line series. All the GMC trucks had the same grille, with quad headlights, and the Chevys had single headlights on each side (round eye) and 3 different grilles depending on the year. Chevys also had coil springs and long track arms on the rear suspension, with leafs optional. IIRC the GMCs had leafs standard.
The prior generations had more differences, mostly in engines and sheet metal. Back in the late 40s and early 50s, before the venerable Chevy small blocks existed, GMCs were desirable for their larger displacement six cylinder engines, with pressure lubrication instead of the splash lubrication the Chevy Stovebolt six had. These could be made into high performance engines with the speed equipment that was available at the time. Old school rodders and truck guys are still building these engines.....

Yep, but as far as the '73-'87 are concerned, it's just grilles and trim. Well, I guess there is a couple exceptions, like the Gentleman Jim, the Beau James and the few years of Indy pace trucks. But other that that, they were complete equals.
 

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