Difference between a '65 Chevy van and the '65 GMC Van?

Can anyone tell me the difference between the '65 GMC and '65 Chevy Vans? Body Style? Engine?

The one I'm looking at is a GMC w/ auto transmission, in-line 6.

Thanks

No difference in them. They were both made by General Motors and one was cheaper than the other one. I think that the GMC was thr cheaper of the two.

2nd gens are the same, they are carbon copies of each other.

rfergnes wrote:Can anyone tell me the difference between the '65 GMC and '65 Chevy Vans? Body Style? Engine?

The one I'm looking at is a GMC w/ auto transmission, in-line 6.

Thanks

Differences: Emblems, horn button, vin plate, data plate. GMC has no holes for 'chevrolet' script in rear doors.

The GMC vans seem to be a little rarer than the Chevrolet vans!

Maby I am wrong or correct me..!!!.. But I always thought GMC was a better built truck...I have 2 trucks that were made in Canada my 1975 van & my 2003 pickup...

HandiVanMan wrote:The GMC vans seem to be a little rarer than the Chevrolet vans!

I do see a "LOT" less early GMC van's than I see Chevy van's and I am searching every day for them..!!!..

Virtually identical except as noted by KK.  GMC were sold at separate truck dealers in all the same versions as the Chevy models.  Back in that day, urban legend said that GMC trucks were built better and in general, were heavier duty that comparible Chevy models, but that was all hype to keep the GMC division profitable, IMHO, they were the same unless you were buying a COE dump truck, but the light duty stuff, vans, pickups and El Caminos/Diablos were the same, every book I've read says the same....

I would say "Myth Solved" they are the same except the badges,,emblems...and in some case grills,,,..."Good Call"..Kooky Krispy..!!!..

HandiVanMan wrote:http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC_%28automobile%29

This paragraph from this article link sums it up nicely:
Starting in 1920, GMC and Chevrolet trucks are virtually identical except for the grilles and nameplates, though their differences have varied over the years. Chevrolet trucks were marketed towards private ownership, while GMC was focused towards commercial uses. New Chevrolet vehicles are sold exclusively at Chevrolet dealerships, GMC light trucks have recently been made available to Buick and Cadillac dealerships with previous Pontiac and Oldsmobile dealerships also having similar arrangements, and separate franchises exist for medium and light-duty commercial models as well. This crossover allowed GM dealers that did not sell Chevrolets to offer full lineups of both cars and trucks by offering GMC's trucks alongside "non-truck" divisions. Between 1962 and 1972, most GMC vehicles were equipped with quad-headlights, while their Chevrolet clones were equipped with dual-headlights. In 1973, with GM’s introduction of the new "rounded line" series trucks, GMC and Chevrolet trucks became even more similar, ending production of GMC’s quad-headlight models, and setting the standard for the Chevrolet/GMC line of trucks for over thirty years. During this period, the companies' sister models (Silverado/Sierra, Blazer/Jimmy, Tahoe/Yukon, etc.) shared everything except for trims and prices. GM has recently begun a divergence in design between the two lines with the 2007 model Silverados and Sierras, which have some differences in sheet metal and style.[citation needed]

Although they didn't make a quad headlight version of the vans! Its funny though because one would think that 95% of the vans were marketed towards commercial ownership regardless of nameplate, except for the few full window/seat models....

I have often thought that the GMC versions of our vans should have had four headlights, like the GMC pickups. This discussion encouraged me to finally mock one up. It works really well on the 2nd Gen! I used a photo of Harry's 70 Chevy van:


(click to see larger image)

I took the headlight bezels from the 60-66 GMC pickup grill and flipped them--put the left on the right and the right on the left. Same with the blinkers. (We know GM liked to borrow from the older trucks to find parts for their vans.) Now that I've seen it this way, I think I like it better than the regular way! Kind of classy, like the 60's Firebirds vs Camaros.

Okay, now who's going to do this to their van in real life?! (Of course I was able to cheat and make everything fit just right in Photoshop.) I want to try a 1st Gen next, but that will be trickier...

Cool idea Rich! Gives it some extra character.

I like it a lot it gives the 2nd Gen's a better look how doable is it..???..I think it would look good on the Econo's also.. .

I saw several of these GMC truck grills for sale at the Big 3 swap meet last month. It would have been nice to borrow one and hold it up to a 2nd Gen to see well the headlight sections would line up.

To do this you'd have to do some patching where the actual grill part was cut away from the headlight section. And, as you can see here, you'd have to patch the grill where the stock blinkers were removed.



Here's the stock blinkers moved inward so they're not covered by the extra headlights. I don't like it as much.  



I also tried putting the GMC blinkers up above the headlights, like they are on the pickup, but that looked wrong. Like eyebrows!

That looks "Really" good..!!!..Sure would be nice if we could get a metal fab guy to make up some of the duel head-lite grill inserts for the 2nd gen's.. I bet they would sell the heck out of them..!!!.. ..VANagain can you post a picture with the front of two 2nd gens parked side by side one with a stock set up and one with the duel headlite set up for comparison....Just for kicks... It gives the 2nd gens a whole different look..

Don't forget the stock headlights are 7" in diameter and the GMC pickup lights are 5 3/4" in diameter. They may not fit as well as photoshop makes them fit.

That's why I posted that see-thru close-up, so you can see I did factor in the difference in headlight sizes. At first I started out by just adding a copy of the original headlights before I remembered that the quads are always the smaller ones.

To actually do this, you would have to be willing to cut up the grill and a bit of where the headlight mounts. And as I'm sure you all know, that grill is part of the whole nose, not a removable piece.

It was a nice thought ...I did not consider the size of the headlights from a single to a duel set up or think about the heater box on the right side inside either...I know the grill is not removable on a 1st gen.. I was just not sure on the 2nd gen's the way its painted you would think the white part was removable... I think it gives the 2nd gen's a tougher/meaner  look since the headlines are mounted so low on them. ..Doesn't hurt to dream tho.. ...

I think it's a great look. Would be sharp. The key factor is the outside diameter of the GMC bezel. It would have to be almost exact to the bars on the Chevy grill for it all to line up right. When I first looked at this post your first picture, the ghost picture was just a black X. I didn't see it. It shows now. I'd like to try this. Too bad I don't have any sec gens still here. I think it could be done. I had a 67 Handi Van that would have been perfect for this.

VANagain wrote:I have often thought that the GMC versions of our vans should have had four headlights, like the GMC pickups. This discussion encouraged me to finally mock one up. It works really well on the 2nd Gen! I used a photo of Harry's 70 Chevy van:


(click to see larger image)

I took the headlight bezels from the 60-66 GMC pickup grill and flipped them--put the left on the right and the right on the left. Same with the blinkers. (We know GM liked to borrow from the older trucks to find parts for their vans.) Now that I've seen it this way, I think I like it better than the regular way! Kind of classy, like the 60's Firebirds vs Camaros.

Okay, now who's going to do this to their van in real life?! (Of course I was able to cheat and make everything fit just right in Photoshop.) I want to try a 1st Gen next, but that will be trickier...

Wow. This looks great. That second headlight adds a ton of character to the Second Gen which I've always felt lacked the charm of the first gen headlights. Never loved the lower placement of the headlights comparatively. The double headlights really give it a powerful look.

Now, we need to find a GMC grill to measure. I was thinking, there must be a Chevy/GMC web site like our van forum. We could post on their forum, asking for some specific measurements. Mainly, the height of the headlight section.

There are many new styles of 7" headlights with turn signals built-in too. No need to relocate original blinkers.

http://www.headwinds.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=headwinds01&Product_Code=8-9722LEDWTAP&Category_Code=

Here is a site that u might find useful:
http://6066gmcguy.com/
http://6066gmcguy.com/forum