My neglected 72
 

My dad picked this truck up for me when I was 13. I drove it through my junior year of high school until I blew a head gasket and the engine we replaced it with. 2 years later I joined the navy and the truck sat at my parents house while I squirreled away some money to build an engine and transmission for it. I got it back on the road again and used it as my daily driver until I was deployed. While my dad was driving the truck from San Diego to Northern California the freshly built 700r4 gave out. The “great shop” that built the transmission rebuilt it under warranty and I paid to have them rebuild the transfer case at the same time. They kept the truck for 6 months, didn’t touch the transfer case, and “blew up” the rear end on a test drive. I got the truck towed back to me in San Diego and built a rear end while I was waiting on the truck and installed it when the truck got to my house. Excited to be reunited with my truck after a long deployment I was disappointed to find out the transmission was left untouched for 6 months and was completely inoperable. After this the truck has sat and kinda been picked apart for other projects and left neglected until I game up with a decision on what to do with it. As the years have gone by my hobbies have changed but my passion for exploring the mountains and difficult trails has only grown. Many won’t like the direction I’m taking a classic and say I’m ruining it, but at the end of the day it’s my truck, it’s been part of my life for almost 19 years now and will be with me until I die. At that point it will be my kids problem to deal with me ruining it. Last February I sold my duramax and started funding a big budget build on this old truck. Last month I finally got the last of the parts I have been waiting to come in on back order.
Here’s the build plan.
Dana 60 front arb locker Yukon chromo axles and super joints. Yukon hubs.
14 full float arb locker
40x13.5r17 nitro trail grapplers on method beadlocks
14 in travel king coilovers with ORD 4 link
14 in travel king smooth body with custom 63 in leafs (may link later)
West Texas steering box and redneck ram hydraulic assist
ORD cross over steering.
Ruff stuff 7/8 heim high steer
Built 350 with Holley sniper efi
Nv4500 with np203/205 doubler
Tom woods drive shafts
Internal roll cage with prp suspension seats.
Vintage air
Dakota digital cruise control
Raptor lined paint
Custom built bumpers

Re: My neglected 72
 

Here’s some pictures from being neglected back to being love and back to neglect.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Thank you for your service truck is in good shape I think it’s going to be bad @ss truck keep us posted on the process.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Went to ruff stuff Black Friday and picked up the tie rod and hemis. Also got the hydraulic assist in from West Texas Offroad. Some other parts that I’ve started collecting for the build this summer.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Took a couple of days off the other week and made some pretty good progress. Front clip and bed removed. Had the carriage bolts spin in the bed and didn’t have help coming until the weekend. I tacked the carriage bolt to the bed and got the nuts off the bottom. Then I used a cherry picker to lift the bed and pull it out of the way.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Thanks, I’ll keep posting results of the build. All my big money stuff besides tires and wheels I have bought and received. If all goes as planned I’ll be hitting the trails and driving it to the carpool by late June.

Re: My neglected 72
 

With the front clip out of the way I was able to start removing the old suspension and getting the link brackets from Offroad Designed tacked in place. The drivers side jigged it self in good using that spring perch and bolts from the Dana 60 diff housing. The drivers side took quite a bit of time to get tacked in at the same angle as the passenger side. After a little swearing and some taps with a mini sledge I got the two link brackets tacked in place within 0.05 degrees.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Thank u for your service nice truck

Re: My neglected 72
 

I didn't see what trans you are going with?

Re: My neglected 72
 

Early nv4500 with advanced adaptors bellhousing and np203/205 doubler

Re: My neglected 72
 

Thank you

Re: My neglected 72
 

Got a couple hours in on it tonight. Need to get some more drill bits and an air hammer so I can get all these old rivets off. Hopefully will have the frame side link mounts installed tomorrow. Then I can start working on the new steering and pan hard bar.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Thank you

Re: My neglected 72
 

Off Road Design frame link mount is the same mount for 67 to 72 4x4 that they sell for their square bodies. Finally got the body mount removed to find non of the wholes lined up. I was going to drill new holes in the link bracket but decided against it. I got the link bracket tacked in place and will weld the body mount in place after everything gets cycled. I think the cab may have to come off tomorrow as just unbolting one side and lifting the cab made for some interesting words while trying to remove the top rivets.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Very cool build and nice truck! I wouldn't call it ruined. Build it how you want it and enjoy it! Also, thanks for your service!

Re: My neglected 72
 

Having the front clip removed made changing the steering box with West Texas Offroad box super easy. Got off road design crossover steering installed and realized the high steer from ruff stuff specialties will interfere with the pan hard bar. I’ll have a Dana 60 drivers side high steer arm for sale soon.

Re: My neglected 72
 

After getting the steering in last night, it was time to get the suspension set to full bump. This was a lot harder than anticipated due to the weight and and noting to keep it from rolling. After dropping a dana60 a few times and some redneck ingenuity with some ratchet straps I finally the axle pretty close to where I wanted it. Taking the longest of all the link measurements I cut the links and tacked in rock jock Johnny joints. Now all 4 links are cut and installed and the axle sits right where I want it.

Re: My neglected 72
 

I understand the truck connection to your dad. Another thanks for serving us. Great you are making progress. You are somewhat going the route I am with my build. Looks great. I know how much work it is. I am in the midst of finalizing my front four link, check out my build if you would like. Getting parts seems to take some time fir me. Why using heims on steering? Is this a competition rig? IME they require lots of maintenance and may only last a few thousand miles on a driver. Am ditching the Heim on at least one end of the ORD trac bar myself. An x cut in head of rivet and hitting with long stroke air hammer has rivets out quickly as I have found out.

Re: My neglected 72
 

First and foremost...THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE..freedom is not free.
I like your build plans, especially since I'm an old rockcrawler from back in the
day.. it's your truck so do whatever you like..I've included a pic from "back in the day" when I won the world Supercrawl in Farmington NM

Re: My neglected 72
 

Richard, I took your advice and borrowed a better air hammer from my father in law and it made all the difference in the world removing these old rivets. I was going back and forth on using heims or TRE on the steering and got a killer deal on heims. I may just use the bigger heims I got for replacements on the track bar and still go TRE on the steering.

52napco Thank you. I’ve done a few jeeps and Toyota wheeling rigs and found I really enjoy crawling so I figured I might as well build my favorite truck to go do my favorite activities. Farmington is on my bucket list.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Had to do a little bit of rework as I moved the axle too far forward and was getting the track bar and coil bound up together. Now that those clear I’ve started cutting the shock hoops. Axle to frame and shock height are set at ride height. I’m going to have to run brake lines and power steering lines a little different. Shock is going to be very close to master cylinder to get the 3 degrees needed for shock placement.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Awesome truck! The truck is going to be great when its done! My dad bought me a 1972 K20 as my first truck when I was 14. Sadly we did not keep it and moved onto other various projects. Its the one vehicle that I have had over the years that I wish I would have kept! Good for you for keeping the truck around through all that BS, making it your own is the best decision a guy can make.

Re: My neglected 72
 

A good air hammer makes all the difference in the world. The shock pic reminds me of the one in my thread, lol. Not trying to tell what to do on your build. Are you planning to trim fenders? From what I have found in my build I am thinking that running 40's at your highest travel position will require quite a bit of fender trim. A lot more than I did. Might want to throw a fender on and at least measure before finalizing bumps and shock hoops. Am setting my hoops up to pretty much bottom out shocks at full bump with tires not hitting, axle flat or articulated. I see no reason to leave shock travel unavailable.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Yes I plan to trim a lot off the fenders. Probably fallow the factory arch and take 4 inches off if needed Im also willing to narrow the front clip at the radiator support a few inches on each side. My goal is to keep the truck as low as possible to allow full wheel travel with 40s.

Re: My neglected 72
 

After a long Saturday I got the shock hoops cut and tacked in and the shocks mounted. I’ll be working on the tie in today. I haven’t ordered my tires yet so I’m going to barrow my buddies spare and get the suspension cycled.

Re: My neglected 72
 

If I end up having to move the towers in more I’ll have to switch to hydro boost to get more clearance in board. There’s worst things than hydroboost, but the vacuum booster has done just fine with this engine and I figure why tax the power steering system even more. On the passenger side I was only able to get the clearance by removing the factory heater box. I’ll be running vintage air that has a flush mount on the firewall

Re: My neglected 72
 

I have a few cars I really regret getting rid of. My 71 k20 is on the top of that list. When I was in high school I almost traded my 72 for a samurai, because gas was $5 a gallon in California, but my dad blew the motor up in it before I met up with the guy. Never thought blowing a motor up would a saving grace. I think my dad felt bad and traded me a good running 79 Camaro for the truck. I drove the Camaro until I joined the navy and decided I wanted to build the truck and not deal with smog stuff so I traded him back. I spent what was a small fortune for me and decided I would never get it back out of the truck and made my decision then I’ll keep this truck for ever.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Side by side comparison of the 40s next to the 37s on my 4runner

Re: My neglected 72
 

Turns out when some one decides to paint their truck camouflage they also get great ideas on attaching bumpers and hitches. Tons of extra holes and cracks on the back of the frame. Some one even used a torch to drill the holes for the trailer hitch. There was also some issues using bolts in general it looks like numerous bumpers were just welded on.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Nice to see the progress. Will be chopping up and bending the ORD hoops quite a bit to make them fit with the oem A/C box myself. Bummer you are so far away. Think the Deavers I have on my truck now that were used for mock up would be perfect for your truck. Will be removing and swapping them out for the custom ones I had Deaver make for me.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Been a while since I posted an update. I’ve been getting a a lot of work done on the truck lately.

Borrowed a pair of 40s from a friend to check clearances. My main concern was tire to shock and tire to fire wall under full compression. Not really concerned with fender clearance at this point because I’m planning on trimming them a lot anyway. Everything cleared but I think I will be running about an inch more backspacing when I order wheels to give me a little more clearance at full bump and turn.

Re: My neglected 72
 

With the suspension set in place I was ready to get it ready to send off the frame to get welded. I can weld decent but for something as important as the front suspension I decided it’s best to leave it in the hands of a professional. Early this year I traded a pretty beat up 81 Camaro to the owner of a local fabrication shop for some welding work on this truck. I brought it to him a few days ago to cash in on the trade.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Been a few weeks since I’ve worked on the 72, I picked up a few side jobs and started a bathroom remodel, while the truck was getting welded. Now it’s done and back at the shop. Hopefully I’ll finish up these other jobs this weekend and get back to work on the truck.

Re: My neglected 72
 

Looking good! Plan to have all my structural finish welding done by a professional myself. Been waiting on a couple of small parts so I can move forward. Did you get the shocks and springs through ORD? Curious what spring rate was decided on. At this time I have 250lb over 250lb for an initial 125lb spring rate. IDK, the rate seems to light even with my aluminum block.

Re: My neglected 72
 

I got the transfer case heaved up on to the work bench. Began disassembling so I can get it off to the machine shop. I already have the 203 range box I’ll be using torn down. I’m going to have the machine shop drill the face of the 203 so it can be mounted to the nv4500. I am also having them bore out the input shaft bearing hole on the case so I can run the stronger 32 spline input. I’ll be installing ORD modified shift rails and triple stick shifter.