SOMEDAY has arrived - 67 Custmer Camper

[GMCPerson]

I bought this 1967 Custom Camper over 10 years ago. The body seemed to be in good condition (for Michigan) and with a 327/400 I thought it was an excellent deal for $400.00. I had 3 other 67-72 trucks in the past and really liked them so I had grand plans to bring this one back to it’s original luster. The truck came with a salvage title due to an accident the original owner’s brother had. The front clip was from a 1968 Chevy. For some reason I could not get the holes in the radiator support to line up with holes in the frame but I was able to drive the truck home. I had to empty out the bed since the prior owner had taken the camper apart and just left the remains in the bed. With the bed empty, I was happy to see that there were no rust holes in the steel floor.

I parked the truck in the field since my garage was full. It sat for two years. I then got married and changed jobs so I had to move. My new house did not have a garage so I had to get one built. That process took over 2 years (I was livid with my builder). While the garage was being built, the truck sat in my work parking lot since the new wife and the new subdivision both had rules about parking cars outside. Luckily it was a big parking lot and I moved the truck every once in a while so it did not look abandoned.

As soon as I had purchased the truck, I was amazed how many people stopped by and offered to buy it. Some people were even nice enough to offer to “haul it away for free”! I do not know how many times I said “It is not for sale - I am going to fix it up SOMEDAY”. A few people actually got pretty rude when I told them this. Did they think that calling me names was going to change my mind? Well to all of those people - SOMEDAY has arrived!

We are now to the time that I purchased a digital camera. All of the prior pictures from my original camera still have not been developed so here is the final half of my project.

[GMCPerson]

In the middle of the body work

[GMCPerson]

I found out that the frame was bent which is why the radiator support would never line up. I was disappointed since this frame was in good condition and even had most of the undercoating still on it. I decided it was cheaper to buy a different frame than to straighten this one. I ended up purchasing 1972 camper special frame from a local board member. The truck now has disc brakes!

[GMCPerson]

forgot pictures

[GMCPerson]

I wirebrushed, and used abrasive discs to remove the surface rust from the frame. I then applied Eastwood’s Rust Converter to stop the corrosion. Finally I overcoated with spray can undercoating.

I also had to buy new brake lines. The ones that came with the frame were rusted through in many places. A quick trip to Inline Tube and I had my lines. I was very happy with the quality and fit of the steel lines. I was glad they were local and I could drive to the shop so that the rear line did not have to be rolled up and mailed. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the installation. I was just to excited to have these wonderful shiny lines on my truck. Unfortunately the front brake hoses from Inline were to short so I had to order another set from LMC. Inline did not think their hoses were to short and they chose not to reimburse me.

[GMCPerson]

Now it is time to move the cab to the new frame. The cherry picker under the roof on the cab worked so much better that lifting with chains from the floorpan as I had done before. It was an easy one person job. Thanks to all of those threads showing this method.

[GMCPerson]

Front clip on. The radiator support mounting holes now line up and the front cab can be bolted down!

[GMCPerson]

Time to prime the cab

[GMCPerson]

Over the years, the truck has been many different colors in my mind. I always kept coming back to this combination of Cashmere (gold) upper and Pewter (grey) lower. I first saw a 2002 Chevy truck with these colors and really liked them. When it came time to paint, I happed to have just finished a Cashmere 2004 Grand Prix and a Pewter 2002 Silverado. With the left over paint, I painted one fender and decided that I really liked the color combination. I am very happy with my decision although my wife thinks it should have been red. She thinks everything should be red though – just look at all of the clothes in her closet!

Cab and fenders in color

[GMCPerson]

The bed was one of the biggest jobs. It had been hit in the side and had dented the outer panel. A prior owner had tried to repair the damage and had so much Bondo in it that it had cracked. I took off the old Bondo and pried, hammered, and pulled the quarter back into shape as good as I could. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the dent out and the Bondo was still thicker than I liked. Luckily, I gave up on that portion and moved to something else. I say luckily because I got reinvigorated to fix the box side correctly. I purchased a bed side out of Texas and was going to weld up the marker lamp hole. However, the original bed side was very solid and I hated to waste it. I was able to find the front bed half at a swap meet and decided to see if I could weld the outer skin on the original side. Here you see what I cut off 16, 17 and here is the patch welded in 18. I am much happier with this repair than with trying to pull the dent better and now I have an “extra” bedside for some future project. The bed floor was dented and I spent at least 20 hours straightening it. I was tempted to put a spray on bed liner in to hide the imperfections but decided that it looked better painted.

[GMCPerson]

Here is the bed all primed and ready for paint.

[GMCPerson]

The interior was redone. Between EBay and the Board, I found all of the correct 67 knobs. The correct lighter element came from a swap meet. I was able to find a seat cover on EBay. I installed it on the seat and proceeded to put a ½ inch long tear in the middle of it when I put the seat aside to be installed later. I was so mad at myself that day. The $10.00 vinyl repair kit I bought worked really well. Unfortunately, I was unable to match the color very well but it did not matter since I ended up dying the interior. The dash pad, door trim, and sunvisors were faded and discolored so I decided to dye the complete interior. I used SEM brand spray can dye and was really happy with the results. I found carpet that matched the color pretty well. The interior was originally fawn color. It is now pewter and my 2 tone exterior theme is carried into the interior. I have some of the correct color seat belt material but I can not get the retractor covers off the belts mounted on the floor. I do plan to refurbish the seat belts at some point in the future. I think I will also repaint the steering column also.

[GMCPerson]

Even though little work had been done on the truck for almost 8 years, it was always on my mind. I gathered many parts for it during that time. I found out that the Custom Camper Emblems are almost nonexistent. I purchased a few used ones that were in okay condition and I planned to get them rechromed. I really wanted new ones. After 8 years scouring the country, I finally found a pair on EBay and purchased them. Finding them after all those years of looking was the highlight of this project.

[GMCPerson]

The engine is the original 327 which has been bored 0.30”. It has late model 350 heads installed and I have added HEI.

[GMCPerson]

I collected the lower body chrome over the years. Most is NOS. In the end I was not able to find the cab corners, upper tailgate sections, upper cab molding and one door molding. Those parts were purchased from Mar-K. Some of the trim had been in the wrappers for many years and is a little discolored. Some fine steel wool and a little buffing corrected that concern.

Here are pictures of the truck as it stands right now.

[GMCPerson]

I still need to find stainless steel dog dish hubcaps for it. I found out that the late 80s hubcaps the truck came with no longer fit. When I tried to install them on the rear, I could not pop them on. The wheels were the ones that came on the truck when I bought it so I knew they were not the culprit. Well it turns out that the center of the axle on the 72 truck sticks out further than the one on the 67 truck. I dented one of my caps before I figured it out. I did not realize this until recently so I have not spent much time looking for them.

The truck did not run right when I first started it up. There was obviously a vacuum leak because it would not idle. I tried everything I could think of and I could not get it running. I finally gave up and took it to the local repair shop. They used smoke to find out that the carb base gasket I had used was not the correct one. $2.00 in parts and $150.00 in labor and it runs great now!

The steering input shaft is leaking really bad. I need to put a new seal in. I hope it is easy to do because the seal is $10.00 and a rebuilt gear is about $150.00. The rest of my gear does not leak and there is no slack in it.

After all of the time and effort I have put into this truck you may think I will keep it for ever. This is not the case. As soon as I get the minor bugs worked out of it, it will be for sale! I actually really enjoy working on my projects more than driving them. The theory is that once I sell a vehicle, the money goes into the next project. Unfortunately, it never seems to work out that way. The money goes into bills and I am right back where I started - slowly buying parts for the next project.

Hopefully you have enjoyed the story. I am sorry it was so wordy. By the way, I plan to buy a new camera which will be dedicated to the garage so I hope to have more/better pictures for the next project. I may even set the date correctly this time. Paul

[bucket]

awesome truck! i love them stock.

[BACKYARD88]

That's clean. Kudos on the resto job!

[allgmcs]

The truck looks good. I enjoyed the photo documentation as well. Like you, I enjoy the resto journey more than the result.

[Captain Knievel]

This was great to read. Thanks for putting it all together.

[stllookn]

Great truck and nice job! I love the small back window '67's. I have had that same brain fade on 3/4 t. rear wheels with the hubcaps...LOL...only, once I realized that I had dented the cap,..I made it fit with a BFH!!!!!

[Chevyholic]

Congrats and great job!! Love the 67's!!

[customcamper72]

nice truck!

[Sport/Truck]

Nice job and great story!
s/t

[Bus Ted Knuckle]

That is a sweet truck. Congrats! Great job!