1972 SWB Build

[beaterku]

In an effort to clean up the previous thread I created and broken links, I decided to start a proper build thread. Progress is slow as I have a 3 year old and a newborn at home while working 50-60hr weeks. It will get there someday…
I have been quietly lurking the boards and gathering information for my truck over the last year. I have only posted a few times. I thought I would share my truck and the slow progress. My wife and I had been on the hunt for a 67-72 SWB for several years. She was a little more open to years as her grandpa had a 57 LWB on the farm. We looked at every truck that came across craigslist and word of mount, and never could find exactly what we were looking for. They were either more projects that I wanted to take on or too much money. I found one in Fort Worth that was a really solid truck but after much thought, I decided it was a little more work than I wanted at that point. So we pressed on, looking on and off for another year. A buddy of mine from DFW called up and said a buddy of his is looking to sell his 72. He sent over the pictures and I made a call to see what the truck was all about. I decided to take a chance and hopped on a plane that weekend...
A few beers later at my first crawfish boil, I owned it. It’s a 72 Custom Deluxe. Fairly low optioned, with the factory leaf option. A great starting point.

[beaterku]

About a month later, it finally made it home. Trying to find a transport during auction season proved to be tough. We took it to its first car show in my wife's home town. It got a lot of attention but no awards. Neither my wife, nor myself had entered a car into a car show before. It was quite relaxing talking to like minded people.

We took it to a couple of cruise ins and it was fun hearing all of the stories people had about trucks when they were kids. We entered it into my home town car show and won best of show. Not a bad deal at all.

[beaterku]

Next up, I decided to start taking care of some of the things that had been bothering me. First up was the steering wheel and dash pad. Both were no bueno. The PO has painted the dash pad white. It looked pretty bad and was in pretty bad shape so I picked up a new black one. I also swapped out the non-functioning AM radio for a Retrosound Zuma (I am not a huge fan of this unit, but it does the job.) Also removed the janky ratchet shifter and went back to column shift and put in a new replica wood wheel.

[beaterku]

I then parked it for the winter and didn't get a chance to really touch it at all. After a ton of research here on the board and scouring the internet, I finally decided on a set of wheels. I went with American Racing Torq Thurst II's in 18x9 5"BS all around. 265/50/18 Nitto tires. I installed a set of 2” drop shackles in the rear to help level it out a bit. The stance is not too shabby now.

[beaterku]

My next project was to tackle the wiring. It has been sliced and diced 6 ways till Sunday. I picked up an AAW kit from Laid Back Creations and started the process . I stripped all of the wiring out of the truck. I am also putting an ACC carpet in, which led to fixing a trans hump that someone had butchered, stripping the sound deadening that someone had installed at some point, installing dynamat and installing insulation on the firewall. It was a bit of a can of worms situation.

Doesn't look too bad, but looks can be deceiving... "Patches" removed. The PO had crudely attached a couple sheets of galvanized sheet metal to cover the holes.

[beaterku]

Bought a high hump from my local C10 parts guys Bob, Patched the hole, and Coated in Chassis Saver. I also put some Dynamat down.

[Pushrodjr]

True American truck. Absolutely beautiful.

[stevenfromtexas]

Originally Posted by beaterku

I also swapped out the non-functioning AM radio for a Retrosound Zuma (I am not a huge fan of this unit, but it does the job.)

may i ask what you're not too happy about with your radio. i have the hermosa unit and so far i like it. just curious if there are quirks i should look for down the road

[beaterku]

Originally Posted by stevenfromtexas

may i ask what you're not too happy about with your radio. i have the hermosa unit and so far i like it. just curious if there are quirks i should look for down the road

It is not a bad radio, don't get me wrong. For what it cost, I am not really that impressed. The screen is too dim, even on it's brightest setting, the rotary shafts work fine and then huge jumps (always fun when turning up the volume) and clunky interface. Like I say, for the money, I expect a little more refinement.

[stevenfromtexas]

i gotcha...thank you for the reply

[Hart_Rod]

Nice write up!

[68Gold/white]

No such thing as too many ground connections....

[MMcMasters]

You have a beautiful truck and I love what you have planned for it with the drivetrain and brakes!

[beaterku]

Thanks everyone! This has been a fun project so far. Looking forward to more progress.

[Farm Shop]

Beautiful truck. Keep up the good work.

[Low Elco]

Nice write up! I dig the truck, bring it to the All Truck Nats and hang with us! Always a good time. It's like a family reunion, weekend after Labor Day.

http://www.alltrucknats.com/

[beaterku]

Thanks! I've missed the all truck nationals the last 3 years due to the Shawnee show being on Sunday. I may come up on Saturday and check it out.

[beaterku]

A little update. I finally installed my new wing windows that I bought from Roger. He also helped me out swapping my chipped passenger side window. While it was apart I thoroughly cleaned and greased the door latch and window regulator and replaced a few broken rollers. I also replaced the window felts with a set from Precision. All in all, it went back together pretty nicely. I am not a big fan of the Precision seals. The first set has the clips placed way too high and once of the rubbers looked like it had been cut with a rusty pair of scissors. The second set was cut nice, but the driver side rubber is a hair too short. They do their job, but I would most likely go another route next time. Also adjusted the rear channels on both. No more rattling glass. The seals are so tight that the rubber binds a little when rolling up the window. I suspect this will break in with more use.

I've also started working on cleaning up the trailing arms for my leaf to spring conversion. 45 years of grease, rust and grime to clean off.

Getting there, slowly but surely.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice truck and I like what you have planned for it! I have precision seal sin my 72 and I never have been happy with the wiper seals either.

[Low Elco]

Coming along nicely! How did you find the AAW harness experience? Worth the extra dough?

[beaterku]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very nice truck and I like what you have planned for it! I have precision seal sin my 72 and I never have been happy with the wiper seals either.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Originally Posted by Low Elco

Coming along nicely! How did you find the AAW harness experience? Worth the extra dough?

Worth every penny. If you do it, make sure you use to proper crimpers. It's nice having an electrical system that works.

[68Gold/white]

So, what is your reasoning for converting to rear coil springs???
I probably wouldn't change them...that's just my opinion...
Just wondering....
The soil DO ride nice!!!

[beaterku]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

So, what is your reasoning for converting to rear coil springs???
I probably wouldn't change them...that's just my opinion...
Just wondering....
The soil DO ride nice!!!

Ride Quality and so that can install the Streetgrip kit.

[BugzC10]

Originally Posted by beaterku

Ride Quality and so that can install the Streetgrip kit.

What will be your ride height end up being with the Streegrip kit?

[beaterku]

Originally Posted by BugzC10

What will be your ride height end up being with the Streegrip kit?

I think I read somewhere it is like a 4/5 drop, but don't quote me on that.