67 C20 Long Step: "Slow Silver"

[Shaky]

THE TRUCK:

I wanted a 67-72 truck in decent shape. I only had one requirement: it must have the small back window. So that severely limited the pool to chose from.

I spent a lot of time drooling over the west coast tin, but couldn't figure out an economical way to get it back east. Finally, on eBay, I saw a 67 C20 that looked good and it was in Tennessee.

Big straight six, SM420 4-speed, and no trim (which is just a rust hider around here). The original hub caps and split wheels suggested that it hadn't been messed with much. The brush guard sealed the deal.

[Shaky]

THE TRIP:

A trip from CT to TN is nothing right? After all, I was going with Frank who drove his 67 C10 to the Grand Canyon and back when he had a week off. We took it to the top of Alaska too. Frank was the only one stupid...er..."adventurous" enough to go on this trip.

We loaded (and I mean LOADED) my 68 Biscayne with tools, jacks, jack stands, and parts and slid through NYC before everyone woke up. Here's a pic in VA. The poor Biscuit had an encounter with a deer shortly before this.

The deer lost.

[Shaky]

We got down to Knoxville and met the woman who was selling the truck. It was her father's and she was settling his estate. Originally it was a PA truck.

The paint wasn't original and there was something going on with some cracking on the top of the cab, but otherwise the body looked good. The gentleman had put some funky air horns under the hood, and there was a complicated system of angle iron and duct tape holding down the air cleaner.

We changed the oil, plugs, and checked the other fluids. Took a quick spin around town and got ready to go.

[Shaky]

Well, we got to the outskirts of Knoxville and the carb started stuttering. It was about this time that I started questioning my sanity for embarking on this trip. Frank's was even more in question since he wasn't even getting a truck out of the deal.

Another few miles and it smoothed out. Must have passed a piece of somethin' through a jet. Kinda like a kidney stone.

Frank had a lap top and cell phone wireless back in the Biscuit. A snow storm was following us. I had bald 10-ply retreads on the truck. We kept moving.

The woman explained to us that this was "not a highway truck". I don't think she questioned our sanity - she knew we were out there. The 4.10s in the rear definitely eliminated the need to worry about speeding tickets - unless they get issued for going too slow.

I don't think this truck spent a lot of time at higher rpm because somewhere in VA the vibrations went up. We later found out that the harmonic balancer had slipped the outer ring. This meant that there were only certain ranges where the engine was happy.

We made it just ahead of the storm and with no more problems. Lucky, lucky..

The truck spent the next couple of years being used for work and play. It got an HEI and a 68 Monojet.

[68 short step]

keep it comeing, nice find

[barthmonster]

That is nice !! I never knew the long-steps came as a C20 (3/4 ton ?). Mine is a C-10 and I'm looking at making it a 4x4 for my son.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by barthmonster

That is nice !! I never knew the long-steps came as a C20 (3/4 ton ?). Mine is a C-10 and I'm looking at making it a 4x4 for my son.

Straight from the factory. Here's the option list:

[Shaky]

THE PROJECT:

Okay - I didn't want to rip the whole thing down to every nut and bolt like I usually do. The plan was to do it in stages and limit the down time.

Sorry folks, this isn't going to be a radical build with big blocks, Z'd frames, air bags, and 22's. I love seeing that stuff here, but I just wanted something that looks good, is easy to wrench on, and I won't cry about if I drive it in the rain.

Stage 1: Rebuild rear control arms. (Done)
Stage 2: Fix big dent in cab. (Done)
Stage 3: Paint. (In progress)
Stage 4: Fix differential. (I need an Eaton center section!)
Stage 5: Gear Vendors overdrive.

I was inspired by this truck's paint job and also some of the other silver trucks I saw here:

[Shaky]

First the rear control arms. They had that rust in the middle that we're all familiar with. Maybe I should have just bought the aftermarket boxed arms, but they are pricey and these weren't quite bad enough to toss.

The 3/4 ton arms have plates on top and bottom to stiffen them. I knew there was plenty of rust underneath them, so I drilled the rivets. I cleaned up the bare arms as good as I could.

Then it was time to make some replacement parts and bolt them on. I coated everything with Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer and then gloss black. There's also roofing tar under the plates to fill gap that runs along the middle of the arms.

I told you this wasn't a high-end build!

Good thing I did this since the U-bolts had rusted waaaay down where they go through the rear. The panhard rod got new bushings and the arms got polyurethane bushings in the forward end.

[Shaky]

Time for the first surprise. There was some spider web cracking on top of the cab and you could see a little denting inside the cab. I figured it was just bondo, but after a little hammer and chisel time it appears that someone filled it with two-part epoxy or somethin'.

It was time for .

Body work is my least favorite thing to do. Rick down the street runs his own body shop out of his garage attached to his house and turns out some art work from a tiny shop.

He looked at the dent and said it would be easier to replace the outer sheet metal than try to pound or pull it out. Luckily, and I mean very luckily, my brothers are into 67-72s and there was a donor 67 GMC small window available.

Out comes the sawzall and then it was spot weld drillin' time. Ugh. No wonder Rick had me do it.

[thirdstreettito]

Looks good so far! Keep em comin!

[Spray-Bomb]

Sweet !!!

Reminds me of my old 67 GMC Kilroy

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by Spray-Bomb

Sweet !!!

Reminds me of my old 67 GMC Kilroy

Nice! I would've liked to have the spare on the side, but I want to keep the project moving...

[Shaky]

Now - into the gunk. Can anyone tell me how you do a front end alignment on this first pic?

I'm going to add a sway bar, so I started hacking a little at the lower control arm to find the holes. There's a combination of rubberized under coating, oil, grease, and dog hair that requires a chisel to remove. I think the dog hair is the secret. It makes it stronger than most aerospace composites.

[Shaky]

The cab floor looks good. There's just one quarter sized hole near the kick panel. The lower part of the fenders still have factory paint on them and no rust! The rockers are all there, but the supports near the cab mounts are gone. Can't figure it.

[Shaky]

Here's the trans tunnel removed. Jeep guys: you can look at my last-year-only integrated back-up light SM420, but don't touch.

[68 short step]

nice story/build.....i think he aimed for dogs crossing the road

[LEEVON]

I always wondered what the inside of a cab looked like. Hey I bet if you took the truck to the track after scraping all that crud off you'd drop a full second

Gonna be nice, I can see the vision.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by LEEVON

I always wondered what the inside of a cab looked like. Hey I bet if you took the truck to the track after scraping all that crud off you'd drop a full second

I was starting to wonder why mine didn't come with the factory floor air conditioning.

[Shaky]

As one of my brothers says: "Everything takes longer than it takes (and cost more too)." Memorial Day weekend vacation, yard work, and work work have put hurtin' on project time.

Anyway, today was wash day. Dave loaned me his 5 hp pressure washer and it did a good job taking off the first layer of crud.

I'd love to know what the original owner slathered everything with, the hood hinges looked brand new after washing.

[Shaky]

Now for a speed bump. I ordered up a front sway bar kit from ECE because my truck didn't come from the factory with one, and I didn't want to spend the time looking for the parts separately. It comes with genuine GM frame brackets. Good, right? Wrong.

The holes are drilled through the radius and the sharp edges could be used for shaving. Extra work time.

The rest of the kit is good stuff - powder coated bar, cad plated hardware, and urethane bushings. Maybe I won't drag the door handles so much after this is installed...

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by 68 short step

nice story/build.....i think he aimed for dogs crossing the road

I can see him now!

Actually, I think it was his dog since the hair is everywhere.

[barthmonster]

love the build. What's an sm420 ? My son's '67 6-cyl 4-speed might be the same one ? Valueable ?

[Shaky]

An SM420 is a heavy-duty four-speed that came in trucks. 1967 was the last year and the only year with an integral back up light switch. After '67 trucks got the SM465. "420" and "465" refer to torque ratings.

These transmissions have a "granny" first gear, in the case of the 420 it's 7:1. This is why the Jeep crowd likes these. They are very short, reliable, and have a rock crawler first gear. An SM420 weighs around 140 pounds () so be aware that these are not fast-shifting performance transmissions. A 465 goes somewhere around 185 pounds.

Although the SM420 and SM465 were made by Muncie, they are very different than the M20, M21, and M22 car-type 4-speed transmissions. If your 1/2 ton truck is used for cruising and not heavy-duty hauling, these may be a better option.

The link below is a good source of info. Check out the Knowledge section:

http://www.novak-adapt.com/

Here's what I want to end up with for my truck. An SM420 with a Gear Vendors overdrive behind it:

[Spray-Bomb]

Bumpity bump