72 one owner C20 project
 

Hello everyone i have just happened to pick up a 72 C 20 4X4, 4 Speed 350. originally a cab and chassis with a reading work body. But luck was with me the Owner was in PA having the Bed installed when a new 72 truck was brought in to be converted to a work body. He bought the new body off the truck for $700 and crated it. i bought it with the truck and now i need to make the decision of should i make the truck a Faux Cheynne or remove the chrome from the bed and keep it just a C20, 64,000 original miles its a 8 out of 10. just happy it will look great beside my 73 corvette Attachment 2192293

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Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Welcome! That's a nice truck

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Thanks CW just trying to keep it real on the C20, my Corvette is anything but stock so i wanted to stay inside the lines.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Cool truck. Would love to pick up a 4x4 utility

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Well lowered the bed onto dolly's today to make it mobile. When we removed it from where it was stored for 23+ years there was a box marked NOS chevy C20 tailgate behind it with an extra set of cab corners and rockers, they are in real good shape i guess the owner had plans to make it a show truck. But now i am one step closer.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Ya that's a very truck. Welcome to the forum.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Looks like a really nice bed. I’m curious about the bed wood. Was it replaced recently?

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

No that bed was purchased in 1972 at the Reading work bed factory when he was there having a bed put on the C20, Another guy drove that black truck into the factory to have a work bed put on his truck and my friend purchased the bed for $700, and had it crated and it was kept inside a climate controlled warehouse until i pulled it out last week, it has 2 scratches on the driver's side fender lip and some dust. There are markings from where it was bolted down to the original truck and that's all the damage that is on the bed. Not refinished all original just like the tail gate i have it has a date on the label we removed from Dec of 72 with a Note simply saying Tail gate for 72 C20 Chevy. The owner's wife has been looking through some old papers she claims she has the original window sticker and the original sales doc's along with the first plate issued. Under the hood it has an old-style A/C compressor hooked to a switch that engaged the clutch then if goes through a dryer and into a tank with a regulator that cuts the compressor when 120 psi is reached. Two air outlets one under the passenger side of the seat the other was in the work body from right toolbox. Also a nifty 89 Track player with FM a few other owner mods, One was the 8,000 Lb Waren winch that i removed.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Nice truck!

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Well i found a local C20 i was able to look at the bed mounts and get some measurements from to attach the bed, I also picked up one new mirror mount to fix an item or two. ordering new bumpers and door exterior door handles. found all the window chrome that was packed away, its like hunting for easter eggs !

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

well started painting the back of the cab so we can mount the new bed to the chassis and move forward, i have ordered a fuel tank relocation kit i am keeping the fuel filler in the original location welding a tube to turn as it passes through the bottom of the floor toward the new tank location, also ordered a blazer smaller steering wheel, a new set of front and rear bumpers, new bed bolts and several other items i am replacing !!Attachment 2193546

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Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

K20= 3/4 Ton 4x4

Nice truck!!

BTW, Paint it back to Black!!

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

I am going with a black & white paint job white in the center :metal:

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

One step closer to putting her back together !

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

very nice .she'll be a knock out.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Thanks guys it's a work in progress it is my retirement job we have a shop and build and restore boats and classic cars. This one caught my eye much like my Corvette just another chevy that needs love, Can't wait for SEMA this year its always an amazing trip. here are the latest pics waiting on the correct bed bolts and the blazer fuel tank and some other items, Installing a C3 corvette steering wheel can't make up my mind on the seat. its a 4 speed i don't know if i want to keep the bench seat or go with late model buckets and a custom console or go with some period buckets and a 80's blazer console. Any ideas or photos of your projects are welcomed.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Welcome! I hope you can start up a build thread to show the progress. Lots of cool photos already and interesting story. I'm no expert on these, but I'm pretty sure the wood was painted body color from the factory. So I'm guessing somebody got a hold of that early on and put a clear finish on it. Going to be a beautiful truck.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

yes sir,very nice truck and it would have had a body color painted wood floor from factory as does my one owner C-20. a very nice touch, i've already heard from my Chief Financial Officer(my wife) how i need to do that to my truck?we'll see.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

I thought they all came with a painted floor, the original owner cant remember what he did only his wife remembers him buying the bed from another C20 owner that was having a Reading work body installed at the factory, either way i looks like it will be a tough thing to keep looking good here in SE North Carolina with the sun humidity and the random rain.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

I have looked all over for the trim for the cab, doors and fenders upper and lower with the wood grain, i can't find one company that sells it all if anyone has a source, please share it. i would love to purchase it all at one place rather that ordering it from 4 different companies.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Cool to see the additional pics. What's the little thing under the radio that says quartz on it? Is it like an old school add-on amplifier? Looks like you might have gen 1 Kraco in there. Cool.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

That is a old school quartz clock LOL. i guess he wanted to know what time it was when he was changing his 8 Track and scanning his Kraco FM tuner :metal:

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Hey guys and girls found all the exterior trim i needed today at LMC truck, it was not cheap but they had all the pieces i needed for the cab and tailgate only , Big thumbs up to customer service and getting the order together, Classic parts of America shipped my tank relocator, tailgate hinges, and latch kit for the tail gate, i am still waiting on the shipping confirmation on my Tuff Country 6" lift kit, Mickey Thompson Baja tires and rims are waiting in the garage.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Well after removing the spare tire mount and a few old muffler hangers i installed the tank i didn't use the tank straps i mounted it like my Mustang tank edge mounted and a rear flange mount. ran new hard line and rubber connector lines at the tank and at the hard line from the original frame connector.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Super nice K20! Thanks for sharing progress pics.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Well today was finish the new fuel tank install and removed the old tank and bench seat. The tank looks way to new and in great shape to be original but its done its relocated, Problem #1 the tank fill is in the bed i can live with that but to have enough space to make the fill and tank connect i had to cut down the neck of the tank and cut down the fill neck, still it was so close i put a piece of aluminum diamond plate under it to give me a tiny more space, tank works, fuel gauge works and reads correctly. After power washing the cab i removed the original steering wheel and replaced it with a new unit. tracking my carpet my buckets seats and the Blazer console in hopes it will come soon. Plans are to make a box the size of the fuel tank as a dual use area storage and subs on each end to help with the tunes. thanks for looking everyone and good luck on your builds.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Good work and nice details. I thought it'd be interesting to cut open the original tank and use it for storage. Like cut the top two-thirds of the front side of it off, and then the bottom third could contain items that you store in there. Kind of heavy for a storage box I suppose, but probably wouldn't weigh much more than something made out of MDF. Seems like maybe you should start a build thread if you haven't already. So other folks can see what you're doing. Never mind if you already have.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

i did see some photos where a guy took his tank and made it a Sub box, i am sure the acoustics are not as good as a MDF box but then again it bolts back in place !!

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

well before the carpet i wanted to build my seat risers and do all my drilling and welding inside the truck. So today was seat day

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

seats and risers

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Those seats look good. Interesting about using the tank as a sub box. Seems it would need a lot of dampening.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

installed the carpet seats and blazer console, i am still thinking about a thin sub box for the rear that would hold the amp also, On our boat i use a blue tooth unit that plugs directly into the amp i am leaning that way so i dont need to tamper with the original radio,

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Great project

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Today was the day to remove all the old springs hangers and shocks, Most were original i ended up only cutting 2 all the others cam around to my way of thinking with 150PSI and the impact, So all is removed and ready for the lift kit, the only item i am waiting to remove is the steering arm i want to have everything on and the wheels on and everything straight before i pull it and replace it,

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

putting springs that are arched like these are were a Job ! but it worked and i only need to extend my front brake lines, to make it 100% safe.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

well bumper came with original style brackets; The problem was when they put a work body on the truck the welded plate steel 1/4" over the rear frame rails and a piece of C channel. This made none of the brackets fit or be even close to i used a set of boat stands sat the bumper on there raised it until it was as close as the factory specs said, Then started cutting and welding the brakets in place as there was way to much metal to drill. once the bumper was feeling 100% i realized they had sent no tag bracket with all the other stuff, i has some light stainless that we used to build the interior panels on a car left over so i made my own tag mount and life goes on.

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

I may have missed it but where did you get the seats from? Those look awesome!

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Looks great how much did you lift it

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

Seats are for a 72 Blazer By ProCar, 80-1400 i called about 15 places before someone said yes we have a set in stock. i ask in stock you can touch them not order them. She said yes i bought them had them 3 days later, built my own seat brackets to get the correct seat height to match the original bench, the Console is also a 72 Blazer stock item. the lift is a 6" lift but i questioned the guy at Pro comp as the part numbers are the same as a 8" lift. i was told they had been given static due to the true height of what the lift was giving so the new part numbers were the old 8" lift. Odd but to give you a reference the fender lip from the garage floor front and rear of the truck is 49".

Re: 72 one owner C20 project
 

What caught my eye are the head rests! Very nice.