My 1967 Chevy K20 Build Thread

[Chaparralman1974]

Good morning everyone!

My name is Clayton Sikes from Peoria, Arizona, and I recently acquired a 1967 Chevy K20. I have been wanting one for several years now, and when this one popped up on the Facebook marketplace, I went to go check it out. According to the owner, it had spent its entire life in Seligman AZ, and up until recently, it served as a water hauler on a ranch.

For the most part, the truck is complete. It is an original K20 with the Custom options including chrome trim and badging. The truck doesn’t run, but looks to be mostly all there. It is an original 4 speed, with a 327 and the original Rockwell T-221 transfercase. The motor has been replaced at some point, but it is still the 327 that is optioned on the SPID.

My plan is to do a restoration on this truck. I am looking to keep it original and stock for the most part but, I will be swapping out the front axle for something newer with disc brakes, and will be adding power steering, but the end result is that I want to keep the truck original.

I plan to use this thread to document my progress on the build. I started working on it a few weeks ago and have been keeping a journal of my progress, but I also want to document what I am doing here on the forum. I have been a lurker on this forum for some time now and have found a wealth of information, so hopefully I can pay it forward by documenting my progress.

Cheers!
Clay

[Chaparralman1974]

Here is a picture of the SPID in the glove box listing how the truck was optioned.

[Chaparralman1974]

12/21/2022

A big day!! The truck is home! It was so exciting to see it coming down the road! It took a little while for it to get the here as the tow truck had a flat and had to get a tire on the replaced. He did say that as he loaded the truck onto the flatbed, the front driver’s wheel was locking up. That doesn’t look good….but I am too excited to care about it right now. Jerry was a master at moving that tow truck as well! He was able to drop the truck right into the back yard. I did have to solicit my son and my neighbor to assist in moving it up against the fence. We would jack up the bumper with my hilift jack and then push it off so that we could crab it over to the fence. Not the neatest way of doing it, but it worked.

[Chaparralman1974]

12/25/2022
Today while I was frying my Christmas turkey, I decided to see what was going on with the front left wheel. The drums were totally seized up. It was very difficult to get the drum off, and the locking hubs were seized as well. The grease that had been in the hub turned into glue. I was able to finally get the drum off and now I can at least move the truck around. I got my kids to help me push the truck back a few feet so that the turkey frier would not burn it down. LOL

[Chaparralman1974]

12/26/2022
Another big day for the truck! I solicited my kids to help me to get the truck into the garage. We drug it out with the RZR and then were able to push it into the single bay of the garage. I had ordered some wheel dollies so that I can move it around in the garage and jacked it up and put the dollies on. I am very excited to see it in the garage. I spent the next several hours rearranging the garage so that I can begin the disassembly. I finally got a chance to really look at the body, and I cannot believe how straight this thing is!

[Chaparralman1974]

12/28/2022
I decided to pick up a little bolt together trailer from Harbor Freight to use as a bed dolly. This will come in handy as my side yard is gravel and moving anything around out there can be a bit of a challenge. I had to modify the tongue in order to make it long enough to hold the bed, and I added a pneumatic 10” caster to the front to make moving it around and turning it easier as well. I also added two 4x4’s to the rails to have a place to set the bed on.

[too much stuff]

Looks good, keep the pics coming.

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by too much stuff

Looks good, keep the pics coming.

Thank you much! I will be documenting the entire process. :-)


Clay

[Getter-Done]

Nice looking truck

I will follow along.

Here a flip for the SPID

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Nice looking truck

I will follow along.

Here a flip for the SPID

Attachment 2249548

Thanks much! :-)

Clay

[best view]

That’s a special truck congratulations on saving it

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by best view

That’s a special truck congratulations on saving it

Yeah, I am not interested in doing any kind of a resto-mod. I want to preserve this one as best I can. It will be a driver, but it will never get off roaded or anything like that. I am going to keep it as original as possible.


Clay

[May70]

Thats a cool project!

[Chaparralman1974]

Originally Posted by May70

Thats a cool project!

Thanks! I am having fun with it so far!

[Chaparralman1974]

1/20/2023 - 1/21/2023
Frame and Front Axle Cleaning
I had left the front engine crossmember bolted to the frame for the sandblasting operation. The same went for the rear spring mounts at the rear of the frame. At some point, the mounts were removed and gusseted in the back. I imagine that something broke at one point in the trucks’ life and repairs were made. I had looked for replacement mounts, but the ‘67-’68’s seem to have oddball stuff here as well. The mounts are not available in the aftermarket, so I will continue to use these. I did run a flap disk around all of the areas that were missed by the sandblaster (namely the engine crossmember and rear spring mounts), so now the frame is ready for paint. It has been pretty cold here the past 2 weeks, and I need to be above 50 degrees in order for the chassis saver paint to stick, so I will wait for the weather to warm up a bit.
I moved my attention to the new front axle. Basically, I took it all apart for a good cleaning and inspection. As expected, the calipers, rotors, bearings, and likely one of the spindles are toast. The brake backing plates are a little beat up, but nothing that can’t be fixed with a hammer and dolly. The steering knuckles and inner axle ujoints seem to be ok. I will will however be replacing the ujoints for good measure since I am already this far in.
I also did a deep clean on the Spicer HubLoc’s. They look in excellent condition, and with a good cleaning and some fresh grease, should last another 50 years.

[Chaparralman1974]

Here are some more pictures of the front axle work.

[Chaparralman1974]

1/24/2023
Springs Done and New Engine Parts!
I got a call from Dunbar Springs saying that my springs were ready to be picked up. They ended up being more expensive than I was originally quoted, but I think that they turned out ok. I had them completely rebuilt with all new bushings, spring bolts, etc. Additionally, I had them re-arched to 1” over stock to allow for a slightly corrected stance on the truck when all done.
Today I also ended up finding a great deal on a 327 motor. This 327 had been rebuilt, but somehow water got into the motor and messed things up a bit. All in all, the block is in great condition! I am hoping that all the cylinder bores will need is a good honing, but at most I am thinking that it will only have to go .040 over bore. The heads are basically brand new. They are 1.94/1.50 64cc 3947040 castings that are the same as the coveted “Camel Hump” heads. From what I understand, these heads were only used for about 2000 miles and were swapped out in order to provide for a later model serpentine belt setup. They are in excellent condition and are “bolt on ready”. This should save time and money down the road when I get the motor rebuilt.

[rodstored-72]

WOW!! you got alot of progress done! nice job! I will follow along to see a fellow "zonie" get another project on the road too!

[Chaparralman1974]

EDIT on the Spring issue. I called Dunbar and they were very helpful! I explained the situation and they asked me to bring the springs back in to have them redone properly. John apologized, and assured me that this was not normal for their quality. I will get them dropped off and see what happens.


Clay

[GAc10boy]

I'm all in for this one! Keep it coming. That's a super solid truck!

[Chaparralman1974]

2/1/2023
My new Spicer Hub Loc dials just showed up in the mail!! I found these on Ebay and ordered them about a week ago. The original dials were cracked and faded, so I got me a set of these. I think they look awesome! I spent about 20 minutes just staring at them.

[best view]

They look great

[Chaparralman1974]

2/4/2023
Rear Axle and Transmission Crossmember Cleaning
The rear axle itself was not that bad to clean. I have observed that the gear oil that leaks out of the differentials (both front and rear) when combined with dirt and left to bake in the sun for years, turns into a hardened mess that is like concrete! I found that the best way to tackle this is to use lots of oven cleaner and let it soak for at least an hour and then hit it with the pressure washer using a 0 degree tip. This blasts off all of the hardened grime and gets you down to just dirty metal. From there it is an easy operation with an angle grinder with multiple different types of wire wheels. I have decided at this point to stay with the original axle that came with the truck (Eaton HO52) for several reasons. First off, after a lot of thought and consideration, I decided that I don’t want to tackle the spring perches and jounce stops. I can do it, and it isn’t that hard to weld, but it really is just added work that won’t gain me that much. The axle itself is in good condition. The only real reason that I wanted to swap for the 14 bolt axle is so I would have matching 4.10 gear ratios front and rear. The reality is that the 4.57’s will honestly suit me fine for the intended purpose of the truck which is the occasional in town driver and not as a freeway machine. Another reason to stay with the HO52 is for originality. I really do want to keep the truck as original as possible. There is always the possibility that I can find a drop in 4.11 carrier sometime in the future. For now, I will most likely pull the drums and brakes off of the 14 bolt and will graft them onto the HO52. I ordered a set of 1971/72 HO52 hubs off of eBay that are setup for 9/16” studs, so the plan is to use those hubs, install new bearings and seals, and use the drums, hardware, and backing plates off of the 14 bolt in my build. That will give me the best of both worlds….an axle that has a bit more modern brakes, but is otherwise original.
The transmission crossmember was a bit of work compared to the axle. The grease and grime was like granite mixed with concrete! Furthermore, there was rocks, grease, and debris wedged into the different sections of the crossmember. This left me no choice but to grind down the rivets and clean each piece separately. The smaller pieces I let soak in kerosene to soften the grime, and the larger pieces I used extra oven cleaner on. After that, I hit everything with a wire wheel including the original bolts. I think it all turned out fairly well. Next up will be paint, and then I can begin reassembling the rolling chassis.

[72 tigger]

Great truck and progress!

[GAc10boy]

Awesome work! Really looking forward to following along.