Defining moment(s) where you fell in love with 67-72's

[plowro8]

When I was a kid, my dad had a 71 work truck... just a beater. It was nothing special back in the 80's when I was a kid, but I still remember it because it was really loud and always smelled like gas.

Anyway, here recently, before I bought my 72, I was searching for a 73-87 square body to purchase. Don't get me wrong, I love the square bodies, but I came across the 72 I eventually bought and something clicked. I remembered dad's truck, but as I really starting looking at the 67-72's I realized that there couldn't possibly be a more beautiful, flawless body design for a truck. Before my purchase these trucks wouldn't really turn my head, and I have surely seen a lot of them over the years (I am 40 now), but now I can spot one from 6 miles away. And when I see one, I always make an attempt to go look at it up close, no matter what condition it is in. I am very thankful for this forum and all the advice from my fellows, and so glad there are so many of us out there keeping these beauties running for the generations to come.

[Killer Bee]

growing up on a farm, didn't need to own a truck myself, drove an oldsmobile

first year in the .mil was in training, second year overseas desert storm, third year first measurable amount of time in real world..

shipmate had this 68 350 3ott for sale and I really liked the style and how much fun it was to drive..

huge fan ever since

[Willys_MB]

I always liked old Chevys growing up, but I never thought I'd own one. Then I moved out to the country and needed a pickup for doing work around the house.

I found mine on Craigslist for $1,500 and called the guy. I met at his house about an hour from where I live and bought it, still a little unsure. Once I got it home and fixed the brakes, connected the alternator to the battery, and filled all the fluids up I knew I would never let it go. I loved working on it so much more than any other car I've ever worked on, even helping my dad out with his WWII jeeps. It's so easy to work on and I love having a cool utility truck to drive around town to get building supplies. Now I just have to get it painted!

[Wrenchbender Ret]

I found out how much I loved my 70 Stepside after I sold it. I kick myself every time I think about it.
george

[67ChevyRedneck]

Grandpa's 1972 Yellow Ochre with white top C30 dually with dump stake bed.

I spent uncountable hours riding around in, or loading/unloading that truck for at least 12/13 years.

[StingRay]

In 1969 when Dad brought home the GMC Sierra Grande 920 Longhorn Custom Camper. It was my first vehicle. Wish I still had it. I was stupid to let it go in 78 when I was 17. It only had 70,000 on it and only had two winters on it. Totally rust free.

[weq92f]

In about '86, my second vehicle ( first 4 wheel vehicle ) was a 1968 swb step. Spent my last two years of HS and the next 4 years including my first three of University in this truck as a daily driver. Lots of time was spent behind the wheel of that truck with friends and family throughout very high times and some of the best days of my early life. When I let it go, I remember the excitement of the guy that bought it and my immediate regret.

So many moments with that truck that keep me here. A select few: first love affair with a woman in that cab!, learned to wrench, gained an appreciation for things mechanical, it got me out of many a jam, so much fun to drive!

-klb

[Greasey Harley]

Seriously, The first time I saw (or at least noticed) a 2wd short bed.
So, like 7th grade. Maybe 1990ish.
I used to go ga-ga over the step sides, 'till the first time I saw a slammed short wide, about 1994ish.
Been all about the fleet sides, ever since.

[96blazr]

It's been a Life long lover affair with trucks for me. My First vehicle was a 71 Ranchero and my second was a 76 SS El Camino (Some folks won't/don't consider Rancheros and El Caminos trucks, but they've never owned one.) and my third was 1986 C10 LWB, but none of these have struck a chord in me as much as the 1968 SWB Trucks. And 67-72 trucks period.

My Uncle Lester had a 66 SWB on his Farm and my Sister and I used to ride in the back to go get his herd for feeding time. Chevy trucks have been a part of my life as far as I can remember, so it's been a natural process, but again, as I got older and I got a chance to really look at a 68 did it dawn on me how much their design was "Ground Breaking" and beautiful it is.

But my "Most defining moment" came in the fall of 2002 when I saw this truck for sale in Southern Illinois at Country Classic Cars.com. It was Love (Lust) at First site!! I HAD TO HAVE IT!! And I made it happen.
Don't get me wrong, I like 67's and 69's thru 72 and I love all Trucks, but for me there's only one...……..This One

[72 tigger]

When my uncle pulled in our drive with his new 72 GMC 2500, it caught my eye (I was 6). About a year later my dad bought a 70 C20, which I learned to drive in at 8- been hooked ever since

[plowro8]

Originally Posted by 96blazr

It's been a Life long lover affair with trucks for me. My First vehicle was a 71 Ranchero and my second was a 76 SS El Camino (Some folks won't/don't consider Rancheros and El Caminos trucks, but they've never owned one.) and my third was 1986 C10 LWB, but none of these have struck a chord in me as much as the 1968 SWB Trucks. And 67-72 trucks period.

My Uncle Lester had a 66 SWB on his Farm and my Sister and I used to ride in the back to go get his herd for feeding time. Chevy trucks have been a part of my life as far as I can remember, so it's been a natural process, but again, as I got older and I got a chance to really look at a 68 did it dawn on me how much their design was "Ground Breaking" and beautiful it is.

But my "Most defining moment" came in the fall of 2002 when I saw this truck for sale in Southern Illinois at Country Classic Cars.com. It was Love (Lust) at First site!! I HAD TO HAVE IT!! And I made it happen.
Don't get me wrong, I like 67's and 69's thru 72 and I love all Trucks, but for me there's only one...……..This One

Must admit, that is one helluva sweet rig right there!

[96blazr]

Originally Posted by plowro8

Must admit, that is one helluva sweet rig right there!

Thank you Sir.

[Deer_hunter_088]

I was a Lil kid and got a Tonka toy 72 k10 as a birthday present. Said I'd own one ever since. And I do. Like 10 years later lol

[special-K]

I remember when the '67 came out with a whole new look. I fell in love with the look from the first time I saw a picture in an ad before ever seeing one in person. I was into building car models at the time and distinctly remember loving the change. The Camaro had just come out and I saw the similarities in the new modern styling, more sloped, smooth, and aerodynamic. I was a big fan of Chevys and GMCs of the prior design as it was. Those were made between my ages of 5 and 11, so as long as I could tell one truck from another. I build model kits starting with big window '63s. When the '67 kit came out I was all over it at 12. The body style hung around through my second year of driving and was just what a Chevy truck was until the '73 came out. Those were cool but I didn't like the change and felt the '72 was for me. In '73 I saw a '72 trade-in at the Chevy dealer when a friend was buying a '66 Impala sport coupe and bought it. I really liked old Chevy trucks and I liked 67-72s as the newer trucks that were still cool yet as modern in function as anything since... all the way up till I bought my first house in '87.

[plowro8]

Originally Posted by special-K

I remember when the '67 came out with a whole new look. I fell in love with the look from the first time I saw a picture in an ad before ever seeing one in person. I was into building car models at the time and distinctly remember loving the change. The Camaro had just come out and I saw the similarities in the new modern styling, more sloped, smooth, and aerodynamic. I was a big fan of Chevys and GMCs of the prior design as it was. Those were made between my ages of 5 and 11, so as long as I could tell one truck from another. I build model kits starting with big window '63s. When the '67 kit came out I was all over it at 12. The body style hung around through my second year of driving and was just what a Chevy truck was until the '73 came out. Those were cool but I didn't like the change and felt the '72 was for me. In '73 I saw a '72 trade-in at the Chevy dealer when a friend was buying a '66 Impala sport coupe and bought it. I really liked old Chevy trucks and I liked 67-72s as the newer trucks that were still cool yet as modern in function as anything since... all the way up till I bought my first house in '87.

Speaking of models, I had dozens of them when I was a kid... painted every piece! Nowadays it seems like I don't see them in the stores anywhere.

[special-K]

Yeah, little by little store pushed model kits out to make room for throw away toys that off no creative outlet or skill development. Hobby stores, that are left, will have them and they will order you anything offered. With the popularity of these trucks there is a company reissuing the kits. I used to get my kits at the hardware store.

I loved building my first 67-72s in 1/25 scale plastic years ago I set out to find all the kits again. I'm a nostalgic fool

[Larry Weaver]

I remember Pops having a 72 C10, inline 6, 3 on tree, bought it new. We had a new single axle camper too. One weekend camping,the old man was half in the bag and Mom said she wanted a camper with a real bed.Pops said he will buy a fifth wheel camper if she got the truck to haul it.Next after noon my uncle(car dealer) brought a bright orange camper special ,loaded. to the house and took moms 68 Chevelle in trade! Pops was a bit upset and surprised he had to go 5th wheel shopping so soon!!All early in 73.

[plowro8]

Originally Posted by special-K

Yeah, little by little store pushed model kits out to make room for throw away toys that off no creative outlet or skill development. Hobby stores, that are left, will have them and they will order you anything offered. With the popularity of these trucks there is a company reissuing the kits. I used to get my kits at the hardware store.

I loved building my first 67-72s in 1/25 scale plastic years ago I set out to find all the kits again. I'm a nostalgic fool

Hey Special-K,

If you know where I can find a 72 model, please let me know. I found one (like the one in your pic - yellow and white) on ebay, but it is a bid only deal. I want to get my hands on a 72 and make it to match my truck.

Thanks
Ryan

[Threerun]

Fell in love with them in High School back in the early/mid 80's. Couldn't afford them though.

My first car wasn't bad- a 1975 Toyota Celica GT. Too bad rust ate it away, lol. Burned oil, always started, always ran. Kinda sucked not having sheetmetal around you though, lol.

[GCncsuHD]

I can't say there was a "moment" but more so a singular truck.

Of course there is my 67 that I own now, that my great grandfather bought brand new. I have a few memories of tooling around the farm with him in it, learning to shift 3 on the tree.

But the true first experience that I guess hooked me on the style was my dad's 68 C30 flatbed dually. Faded blue/rusty cab, beat up steel flatbed, farm truck. I remember as a very small child calling it "Fire Department" all the time because he always seemed to drive it down the road to the local volunteer fire department (same one where my 78 K30 came from) and sometimes I would get to ride along. Even though it was blue, I guess the cab lights on the roof reminded me of the fire trucks too.

I haven't thought about that truck in a long time, but ironically I did yesterday. He sold it back in the 90s when I was a kid to a family member, when he passed it went to a guy down the road. I had to send my wife to get her Suburban inspected yesterday, and happened to think that guy works at that shop as a mechanic. I need to see if he still has it, I know it was in rough shape, but I'd love to have it back if nothing else, as a farm beater again like it was 30 years ago when I was a kid.

[Adam1971]

In high school, about 1992. A buddy had a 71 SWB fleetside. Blue on white, lowered just enough, and with glass packs so it sounded nasty. I loved it. I thought it was the most beautiful truck I’d ever seen and watching him smoke mustangs and Camaros on the weekends made me love it even more.

20 years later and I’m driving home from work one day and there’s a 71 just like my buddies (except ochre instead of blue) sitting in a front yard with a for sale sign on it. I stopped and spoke with the owner about it but was on the fence until he started her up. It loped just right and it was like I could feel it in my chest. I bickered with him a bit but I knew I was leaving with that truck no matter what. I still love owning it and drive it every week.

[Doug's68SS]

I graduated in 76 driving a 69 Chevelle, Dad drove Dodges and always had a truck. learned to drive in a 70 Dodge. got married in 81 and my Father-in-law drove a Ford truck that got totalled the next year. his brother was taking him to look at a truck in a pasture behind a barn of a place he leased for cattle and there it was a 68 C10 LWB 396 been setting a couple of years. my father-in law passed on it and i bought it for $350. I went through the motor with rings, bearings and a valve job. drove it for about 10 years and then parked it for another 10 years. So I had a buddy give me a SWB frame and now I am tring to get it re-assembled. it has turned into a complete frame off with all rust and damage being reworked and modified. it has been a lot of fun along the way and has lots of memories. I guess one of my kids will end up with it one day. but in the mean time I will enjoy it to the fullest.

[RustyBucket]

A friend of mine worked for the phone company & painted cars in his back yard shop. Sprayed a VW bug for $300 and ended up with a '68 C-20 CST long bed for payment. This was around 1980. The truck was low miles, scruffy but not beat or rusty. 327/400 turbo, pb, ps, non working A/C. I paid $300 and drove it for at least 10yrs. Drove it to work, pulled the boat/car trailer/camper, hauled trash, construction stuff, loaned it to everybody else to use..... Great, practical, cheap, trouble free, I couldn't help but love it. In 10 years pretty much all it got was 2 sets of plugs, an HEI dist., a water pump, a brake job, changed a hanger bearing and swapped the quadrajet(leaking floatbowl) & manifold for a 2brl. rochester. Eventually I bought a '79 short Silverado & swapped the crappy Olds based diesel out for a pretty stout 455 gas Olds engine. '79 had A/C so I sold my '68 to a neighbor that owned a roofing company. He had it painted & lettered to mach his roofing trucks and drove it to estimate jobs. I liked the '67's when they were new and was kinda disappointed when the '73's came out.

[landarts]

I remember it fifty years ago in the farm field with my grandpa, I was seven at the time and helping on the farm in the summers. He said get in its about time you learn to drive so you can help me. He put it into granny gear and told me to turn the key when I want to go and turn the key off when I wanted to stop, with out using the clutch or touching the gas pedal. Spent several hours that day doing that while grandpa loaded hay bales into the back of truck and on the trailer. After I got a little older, like 9 I could reach the pedals so I started learning how to shift. I was allowed to drive to cousins house to go play after chores on the farm were done, it was like a few miles away all on dirt roads.

I also remember at the end of the week on the farm my grandpa would have me pull the truck onto the front lawn and he would open both doors and hose it out with garden hose to get all the dirt, mud and manure out of the cab. I always thought that was kinda strange, but it was a working truck and that 's how it was done.

Still to this day when I drive down the road in my 67 I remember back to those times with grandpa.

[weim55]

'71 Custom Deluxe 10. Blue and white two tone with upper and lower moldings, 350, automatic trans, power steering and brakes, AM radio. My Dad brought this home in 1973. Our family of 9 was bare bones in everything always, including vehicles, so for my Dad to bring home this 'fancy' truck was a bit of a shock. I can still remember the first time I rode in it, all the new things I had never experienced before : my dad turning the steering wheel with ONE (!) finger, an AUTOMATIC (!) transmission, a RADIO (!), SEAT BELTS (!). DISC BRAKES(!) ( I didn't really know what they were exactly, but I heard somewhere that race cars had 'em...) . The interior still smelled new! We went to fill her up with gas and my dad let me pump the fuel, a guy came up to us and remarked: " mister, that's sure a sharp looking truck you got there !"

With the new addition to the family came a new passion, I learned and took note of all Chevy trucks I would see on the road at the time. None seemed nicer to me than those sharp two tone '71 and '72s. The new '73s just didn't do it for me.

I was not yet of driving age but two of my brothers were.
Through them, I became exposed to V8 horsepower for the first time. What an eye-opener that was! Even that stock 350 would easily do burnouts off stop signs and sounded magnificent with the air cleaner lid flipped! Did many many miles riding in the bed of the truck with four or five of my siblings, no big deal in those days.

Something a lot of younger people here might not realize is just how modern and fancy these trucks were compared to their predecessors. The options on that truck sound like no big deal today but that was one loaded vehicle at the time. I sometimes chuckle a bit at all the work people do to upgrade everything from A-to-Z, when in optimal stock form these trucks run and drive very well even in 2018.

I've gone on to own several Chevy trucks of all series '48 and up myself, but the '67 - 72s still stand as the best of the breed in my book.

And that Hawaiian blue and white '71 is still my absolute favorite .......

Steve weim55 Colorado