1972 chevy k20

[kamwil05]

Alright so I have this 1972 chevy k20 that i was given for my birthday and after having it for about 5 months it got rear ended, the bed is pretty well ruined and the frame is possibly bent. I would like to fix this truck and get it back on the road, but I dont know what i should do, throw a flatbed on it? maybe find a used bed? I want to do something really cool to this truck maybe make it an offroad truck? I dunno I need some ideas! thanks!

[special-K]

Welcome to the site! Where is Filmore? Just gauging your chances of finding a decent bed for reasonable money. You could build a flatbed. I've seen some cool off road versions. You could build a box like a Stepside bed and either bolt on Stepside fenders or fab some from steel

Here are a few. I know Yukon Jack owns the last one. Not sure on the others:

[kamwil05]

hey thanks for the reply! Fillmore is a small town in Utah! I have looked at doin a flatbed and i kinda like the way they look! do you think that would be the best option for me?

[Ol Blue K20]

Show us some pics....

[special-K]

Could be cheapest,unless you can grab a decent bed from a pic-n-pull. I asked where Fillmore is to get an idea on what part of the country you're in and your chances for finding a good used bed. Utah is vast,but if you're near any good pic-n-pulls there's a good chance of finding a good used bed. The cost of all new sheet metal is a couple few thousand. The cost of the flatbed depends a lot on size and design. Steel ain't cheap but that's your whole cost,other than welding supplies,if you do it yourself. Might find a bigger flatbed you can cut down and save on steel

[Vintage Windmills]

Like Tim says I would think you're odds of finding a decent used bed are pretty good out west where you are.

One more thing:

[kamwil05]

Alright so i have located a flatbed for $120 bucks or a 71 bed for $175 which one is gonna be the best for my truck?

[Ol Blue K20]

Need pics to make an assessment

[kamwil05]

Ok guys Sorry for not getting back with you for such a long time. So I decided to get rid of the idea to just replace the bed. I found a 1984 chevy that has a 1991 cummins in it with a 5 speed manual tranny,when they did the conversion they just put the cab and bed on the dodges frame. so this truck has a few things that needs to be fixed, 2nd gear is pretty well gone and it needs a new starter, they are asking 2,000 dollars for it. Is this a good deal? and also how hard would it be to swap cabs with my 72?

[57taskforce]

After having done a cab swap on my 57, I would suggest it as a last resort. It's pretty labor intensive and requires time and good fab skills to pull off correctly. My truck came out really good but I doubt I'll ever do it again.

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by kamwil05

Ok guys Sorry for not getting back with you for such a long time. So I decided to get rid of the idea to just replace the bed. I found a 1984 chevy that has a 1991 cummins in it with a 5 speed manual tranny,when they did the conversion they just put the cab and bed on the dodges frame. so this truck has a few things that needs to be fixed, 2nd gear is pretty well gone and it needs a new starter, they are asking 2,000 dollars for it. Is this a good deal? and also how hard would it be to swap cabs with my 72?

Yes that's a good deal, especially if 91.5 or newer with intercooler. Getrag setup with np205 and dana 60 together are worth that. I would rather have the chevy frame with the dodge driveline but you can't go wrong buying it even for parts

[kamwil05]

Originally Posted by Vintage Windmills

Yes that's a good deal, especially if 91.5 or newer with intercooler. Getrag setup with np205 and dana 60 together are worth that. I would rather have the chevy frame with the dodge driveline but you can't go wrong buying it even for parts

thanks for the info! i was thinking it was a pretty good deal! but the only downside is its not intercooled, is that still a good deal?

[kamwil05]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

After having done a cab swap on my 57, I would suggest it as a last resort. It's pretty labor intensive and requires time and good fab skills to pull off correctly. My truck came out really good but I doubt I'll ever do it again.

Hey thanks for the reply! just out of curiosity what is the hardest part about doing a cab swap?

[57taskforce]

Making the cab mounts/core support mounts the correct height and placing them in the correct places on the frame so the front sheet metal lines up to the cab and centers the body side to side and level on the frame. I started with the cab resting on 4x4 blocks of wood on the frame them moved it around till it was positioned so the front fenders lined up to the wheels and everything was level and centered. Then fabbed the cab mounts out of steel plate. After the cab and front clip were mounted I mounted the bed. The other thing you'll have to likely deal with is the wheel base being wrong, which means moving the axle or lengthening or shortening the frame... It's a lot of work.