My 67 c20 Panel truck

[67c20panel]

Picked this up for 800 bucks on craigslist. Figured ya'll would like to see it, and hopefully help me answer some questions. Seeing as it's a C20 and from what I gathered kinda rare only 940 build I believe, I'd like to keep it a C20 so that brings up wheel choice. What I'm looking at now is the 2003> Dodge 17 steel wheel which Chevy center caps or the 17.5 rims that I have(I realize this greatly limits tire choice) Then convert to disc with the C20 lowering spindles. I'd like to keep the stock 250 six and back it up with either a 200r4 or 700r4.

So questions: Which axle is that I thought it was dana 60 but it doesn't look like my fords 60? What hubcaps originally came on the 17.5 rims? How hard is it to put a removable backseat into a panel? Has anybody put a finished interior into this vintage and maybe have pictures?

[prairewolf]

Welcome to the board. ..... Cool Panel.

[dan42]

Wow, you stole that thing! Very nice purchase - it looks like a true survivor.

[68,69 K20]

Welcome, that is a really solid looking panel, great buy!!

[capev86]

Nice Truck....

I have a 72 Suburban 3/4 ton and love it! My truck has the factory front disc brakes and it stops great....i would suggest you do the swap on yours. as for lowering, just do the spindles in the front and leave the back alone. its a panel truck and a 3/4 ton.....why would you want to make a lowrider out of it? i like having some ground clearace (still lower than a 4x4) and my burb has a slight rake front to rear which is good for trailer towing, but i plan to put the HD option rear springs on it so i can pull big box trailers and whatever other heavy stuff needs moving on occassion without any chance of rear end droop....i hate that look. leveling a truck is neither practical nor aesthetically pleasing in my eyes. i bought my truck use as a truck as well grace car shows.

i got classic perfrormance products sway bars for my burb (front bar is installed) and that goes a long way towards making it handle like a modern truck.....one of the best upgrades you can make. for wheels....just get some trim rings and acorn lugs. i kinda like the 90's chevy 8 lug wheels with trim rings and bowtie center caps and the aluminum rims on the 2000+ 8 lug trucks are really sharp....but cost prohibitive. i'd suggest you get a fresh coat of paint on there before you worry too much about "bling".

as for seating.....get 2 80's burb third row or blazer rear bench seats and find a way to adapt the floor brackets into your truck or fabricate something up. the cushions are nearly idental in size to the back seats from our era trucks, so you can adapt upholstery kits. the floor is flat rather than drop down in the middle row, so you need a seat that comes out completely. plus, the 80's seat backs fold for easier removal and that combined that it is narrower than a standard 2nd row bench, people would be able to get past it to the third row. with your bucket seats in the front, you could conceivably have an 8 passenger truck that can double as a moving van.

i want to do this with my burb to add a third row seat as it is the factory 6 passenger with wide 2nd row bench. i will just have to paint the frame and arms to match the upholstery (lmc truck sells rear seat upholstery to match my stock interior). the arm rests 9and ashtrays) themselves are nearly identical between my 72 burb and my dad's 87 burb, just the arm rest framework is more streamlined on the newer seat. best of luck to you and your panel truck!

[leddzepp]

I think your rear end is an Eaton. My C/20 has the Dana 60, and you are right, they look a lot different.

[67c20panel]

Wow I'd never heard of a Eaton rear end in one these trucks, I'll have to look into that. Rare option or just what they did in 67? As for the lowrider, I figure as long as it can handle the GVW that it could stock i'd be happy. I still plan to have a rake even when lowered. I'm not really looking to bling the truck out as much as get a set of tires on it that are street legal. Sway bars are on the list in the future. Thanks for all the info on the seats though I know a guy who has a third row bench out of a late 80's suburban. So anybody know anything about hubcaps for the 17.5" rims?

[capev86]

yes....Corporate (Eaton) HO52 10 bolt. as for gearing....4.10's came on many v8 automatic equipped trucks, 4.57 was standard (i want to swap to 4.10) and 5.13 was normally in the bad boy 1 ton version...the HO72 (7200 pound rated). i don't want to change to a dana, as i like design features of the corp axle. it has bolt in axles like the 14 bolt full floater on later gm trucks and the guts come out as a unit like on a ford 9 inch....think quick change rear axle.....be good for rock crawling or off roading and then drive home at the end of the dayat reasonable highway speeds!

[67c20panel]

So with the Eaton there's no option for lower then a 4.10 gear? I'd like to go 3.73 the 250 and an overdrive to try and make as economic a daily driver as I could. So what would swap in that I could get that ratio from?

[leddzepp]

I have heard that Eaton parts are hard to come by.
I think they were used on our 3/4 ton trucks from 67-70, and the Dana 60 was used in 71-72....but don't quote me on that.

[vectorit]

Cool deal on a sweet panel!

Yes, that is an Eaton.

If you want to monkey with it by changing gears, and customizing I'd recomend swaping it for a Dana.

I have an Eaton in my K20 burb, and it is currently a PITA to get parts for.
Though mine being a K20, it has the more obsolete 12" brakes. Yours being a 2 wheeler will have 11" brakes, and you will have no problem getting brake parts for it. Heck I am learning that there is a disc brake conversion out there for the 11" design, so that is something you have going for you. But as for taller gear ratio's, you will have a very limited if none selection to go to.

[capev86]

dana 60 generally came in the big block trucks and featured a 3.54 axle. what trans does your panel have? my burb has a saginaw 3 on the tree manual and i want to run the OD unit that fits this trans as well as swap to a 4.10 axle. that way i will still be able to tow big loads (what you want a 3/4 ton for anyway) AND drive comfortably on the highway at 60mph. right now i don't generally take it above 50 on a long distance trip. if my truck had come originally with an auto, i would have used the 700-r4 i have sitting around. but i didn't want to follow the pack and swap out that funky 3OT for an auto like everyone else. you don't see them any more. its fun having a stick that is placed up out of the way like an automatic and the kids these days are none the wiser upon first look! plus, its gonna be totally funny having a bad boy 406sbc in front of that trans.

[Wood Booger]

Excellent buy!

[Long Roof]

looks like a real nice truck. Have fun with it.

[67c20panel]

It has the Saginaw three on the tree right now. I'm one of those kids thats never driven the three on the tree so I'm really tempted to keep it for a bit just to see what that's like. I'd be curious to know what rearend ratio I have when I finally get it into the garage I'll have to find it out.

[pritch]

Welcome to the world of Panels!

I had a '68 Burb parts donor that had 17.5 wheels on it (ordered that way-I have the build sheet). There were only a couple hubcaps with it, IIRC, and they were trashed so I tossed them, but they didn't seem all that unusual-just typical dog-dish hubcaps. I don't know if they were a different size, though.

[Joesjunk]

Wow, very clean looking panel!!

[shaneschevys]

Thats a nice panel!

[Steven B]

Welcome to the world of panels. Looks great. My 68 will soon be on a 4x4 frame with 72 3/4 ton running gear. By the way, you don't see too many 4x4 77-79 Supercabs either(in the back ground).

[67c20panel]

Yeah the supercab is THE truck I've wanted since I was old enough to know what a truck was. Second owner, pretty sweet deal has hp Dana 60 front. My personal opinion is Fords for liftin. Chevys for street trucks.

[67c20panel]

So I've been thinking about what motor to put in the panel. I'm sure the six would be fine but there's just something about the sound of a V8. So I'm curious on suggestions on any but a 350 or 454, everybody has one yes I know they can be built to do anything for cheaper then you can be build any other motor. My current thought is a tall block 366 backed with an od transmission. So what other odd ball gm v8's that might be cool to put in this truck that I can bolt in or close to

[Steven B]

Mark(livrat) has put in a 500 caddy motor in his truck.

[capev86]

the small block will fit much better, be more economical and still give you more power than a 250. if you really need to save gas but want mountain moving low end power.....a big boy straight 6 would be a way to go......292, etc. the trailblazer has an I6 instead of a V6 like on the older s10's because they are more economical and have better low end power. that could be a very unique route....and you'd have fuel injection and better meet modern standards for air pollution, etc. an allison 5 or 6 speed auto behind it would make things really sweet. i already have my 406sbc and i plan to pull really big trailers, so the v8 is right for me. but the 4.10 gear (calling a guy about that soon) will make around town driving better and an overdrive will allow easy highway cruising (provided i keep to 60-65 for good mpg).

[67c20panel]

I know that a SBC would be the best v8 route for ease and economy, but to me with the truck being as uncommon as it is I'd like to have an uncommon motor, not just pop the hood and go oh look another 350. Big six would be cool if I could pull high teens low 20's with a six and an overdrive(dreaming probably) I'd think about going that route, but with a v8 only a couple mpg behind the six I'd rather have the sound.

The Caddy would be kinda cool paired up with a build 200r4, how hard is it to find those motors anymore? What does it really take to put one in.

Oh and what happened to the search function that used to be there, making harder to look into things?

[scotto0609]

Any updates?