Why on earth did we buy a 1976 GMC Palm Beach? We’ve been asking ourselves that since we got it, and we still aren’t sure. What we are sure of is it’s awesome and it’s a fantastic (if not overwhelming) project.
We own a Butcher Block Countertop company (www.WalnutWoodWorks.com) by day and like to tinker/build/renovate by night. I (Justin) have been building motorcycles for the past few years as a hobby and grew up with tools in my hands. Kathleen is learning as we go and so far there hasn’t been a thing she couldn’t master.
We didn’t need a Motorhome, hell we didn’t even know we wanted a motorhome. A good friend of mine and I were BSing around the table one day and started joking about him living in a camper, so I popped on the trusty Craigslist and started looking. When I happened across a GMC I stopped and at that moment the search was on. I had to have one. A few thousand miles and a few wasted trips later we came home with a 1976 Palm Beach in really good shape. New air bags, alcoas, nice seats, 52,000 Original Miles (documented, not 152,000 or 252,000 etc!). She needed a a paint job, an interior remodel and that was going to be that.
Quick. Easy. Cheap. Fun.
Little did we know, quick easy and cheap were not part of the equation.
Great site, thanks for sharing all your experience. Are you currently selling the Touch-N-seal closed form system? I am interested in adding the additional insulation to my coach while I redo the entire interior.
I’m not they weren’t willing to offer any reasonable wholesale price break, essentially it was cheaper on Ebay than they would sell it wholesale.
Though I do still recommend it.
If you can give me any help, info as to where you found parts for the project, used mostly! Thanks, Steve
Great words of wisdom here. I’m currently looking at a few 23’s and the picture of the rear suspension alone was worth my time here. Looking forward to checking up on your progress!
Awesome website! I’m interested in most vehicles of the 1970s. Among my favourite RVs of the 70s are the FMC Motorhome, the Dodge Travco 270, and last, but not least, the GMC Motorhome.