New Guy, Old Truck
 

I had long dreamed of gettign this truck. It was my grandfathers truck who was the original owner. He passed away about 5 years ago and since then the truck just sat at my grandmas house. Well last weekend, out of the blue I walk out and find it on a trailer. Of course I kind of lost it for a bit. The next morning I was up early going through things. I found a wealth of little treasures.

My uncle (who gave up the truck for me), said the engine had a bad nock last time he started it 2 years ago. So I fired up the engine just long enough to go from the street into my drive. About 1 truck length later and I blew a rod. So the first course of action is a new engine.

It has pretty much everything original except: THe stereo (it does has an 8 track player). The seat is in great shape, not rips etc. Here are some pictures:

The paint was redone once, hence the non original cab top.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/elks/Chevy2.jpg

The wounded 350. I am going to have the High School Auto Class/Teacher do the rebuild which means no labor cost and more upgrades.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...hevyengine.jpg

Here is the build slip in glove box. (No paper under seat though. I have a few questions on this. Like what was the 7.50-16.0 High thing? Also, What were the below eye line mirrors? I am thinkiing my grandpa changed those out to a wide set for the camper.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...s/Makeinfo.jpg

I also have hte original title. The original Laon papers, Owners book, warranty paper, etc. It has the original split rims with shiny hub caps (They are a little dented etc.)
Here is the rst problems I face. The drivers side door/floor board. This is the worst of the 2 areas on thh truck. How hard is that to fix? How costly will it be to get it done right? ANd also around the storage box on passenger side.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...erSideRust.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...sengerside.jpg

Both Door trims are in about the same shape. Can they be restored?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/elks/Door.jpg

The dash area... Can the cracks on the pad be fixed with out redoing the whole dash? I have teeth marks on on the dash from when I was teething as a little kid. The first real marks on the interior to My grandpas truck.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/elks/Dash.jpg

Also was the second gas tank a dealer or a factory option? THere is one behind the seat and a spot for on under the bed. The one under the bed was taken out because it always leaked.

At any rate thanks for looking. I am hoping to get started on this build over the summer. I have jeeps to build until then have a summer trip to moab.

If you would like to see pics of the title, warranty, etc. let me know.


P.S. The activation time killed me I was wanting to share this with you asap. So far I have read on tihis sight for about 3 hours in the last 2 days.

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome to the board. There is a ton of knowledge here that will really be handy when you dig into your "new" truck.

Congrats on getting your grandpa's ride!! Very nicely equipped truck. It will be a blast to cruise down the road thinking about your younger days when it's running again.

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome from Texas...you have a nice project there.....it is a highlander edition truck...nice to see that it's still in the family.

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome and congrats! It's great that your truck will be kept in the family and that you will be taking good care of her and fixing the stuff that needs attention. That's a very nice truck! And you have found the very best forum for these trucks... lots of info and great support available here. Oh, click here http://67-72chevytrucks.com/Chevyear.html to decode your VIN.

7.50-16 is the tire size -- 6PR = 6 ply rated tires. High might mean high pressure? The mirrors are the stock below-eyeline mirrors, meaning you can see over them -- as opposed to west-coast style mirrors similar to this.
http://www.awdirect.com/product_imag...stCoastMir.JPG

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Hi, welcome! The rust shouldn't be to much to repair, provided theirs not a lot more in places you can't see but I've seen some members here work miracles. Your's doesn't look bad at all. The door panels can be restored but I would say the dash pad will have to be replaced but there not so expensive. You have a nice starting point that truck looks good and it belonged to you're grand father, cool. Don't get in a hurry don't lose you're vision and find a place out of the weather to park it.
:welcome2:

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome from Wa. A great place for ideas and knowledge. I say restore it as a tribute to gramps. A warm and fuzzy thing from childhood you can never replace............

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

:welcome2: to the board from Mid-MO!!!

You'll find this place to become your second home. There's tons of information, friends, parts, .... and so much more.

Great looking truck!

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome Rob,
You will find a wealth of information here and also a bunch of folks who care about their trucks as much as you do. The mirrors are the optional below eye line mirrors and I don't see the auxiliary tank listed on the SPID, so it must have been installed at the dealership. Does it list it on any of the original paperwork by chance? Check this sites board vendors, one of them can get you a new dash pad at a reasonable price.

Jeff

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome, very fortunate to inherit a nice c 20 survivor. A high percentage of 3/4 ton trucks in this era were bought as recreational vehicles to haul a camper and were ordered with nice options. Enjoy the benefits of having a beefy vehicle that can haul a real load. I will answer what " high" means on your glove box decal. The tires were ordered with highway tread instead of traction tread.

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Yeah, welcome from the Heart of Arkansas! Nice story. Wish I had something with a history that was MY history. That really adds to the story. Hopefully, what I have now will be that to my sons and grandsons. At least, they'll have a story to tell after I'm gone.

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome from UT.

Mine is a similar story, and I can tell you that truck means more to me than anything else in my driveway.

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome to the board! Nice truck!

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Great story! Nice truck too!! Have you looked under the seat cover to see if it still has the original "Orange Plaid" inserts in the seat?

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

You mean this I am assumming. Yeah I looked, just checked the edges then covered it back up by seat cover.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v488/elks/Seat.jpg

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Yep, Thats it! I think there a cool looking seat! Great colors you have too!

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Congrats from Kansas on your acquisition! I have grandpa's truck as well; you can't beat memories. It's the one vehicle that I know will always be in the fleet.

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

congrats, your grandfather had a beautiful truck and now you do, there are alot of very nice hard to find options on your truck that will make it stand out from others, take care of her and im sure your grandfather will be proud of the way u want to restore it

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Congrats on your "new"truck.

Re: New Guy, Old Truck
 

Welcome from Maryland. That is a very nice truck you have as well as some memories. I would keep it forever.

Ray