Pics/Story of my new daily driver...

[72Cheyenne454]

Went to the Pomona Swap meet this past Sunday looking for a left front fender for my ‘72 Chevy Short bed/fleetside project. Well, I came home with a fender… but it has a ’72 GMC truck attached to it. I told myself walking into the show… don’t go look at the trucks for sale… stay the course… I’m here for a fender and a few other things... don’t get distracted… the trucks are always overpriced and need to much work… it’s a waste of time.
So, I’m on my way to the first isle (6am) and happen to take a look over to the show/sale side of the swap meet on my left and see a really clean ¾ ton GMC for sale. I believe it was the white wheels and original hubcaps that caught my eye. This truck was three rows back… but I had to go take a look at it. I’ve been looking for a clean 67 – 72 driver, but everything I’ve found recently is way over priced and would need too much work for what I was looking for… I already have one project, I don’t need another. So I thought what the heck… I’ll go take a look, it may be "the one”.
The truck is a 1972 GMC 2500 Sierra Grande. Turns out it’s a two owner truck, the current owner has owned it for the past 17 years. He bought it in 1990 from an older man who lived across the street from him in So Cal. The current owner said the truck had 62,000 miles on it when he bought it in 1990. It has a 106,000 on it now. Several years ago, he pulled the original 402 Big Block and dropped in a 454 that he had rebuilt. He put an Edelbrock intake on it (painted it orange), new Edelbrock quadrajet, Doug Thorley Tri Y headers, dual 3” exhaust with Magna Flow mufflers, HEI etc. He also had the rear (D60) rebuilt because he wanted 3.70’s instead of the original 4.10 gears.
My biggest concern when buying one of these trucks is rust. I’ve owned and restored a number of these trucks so I know where to look to find rust. I laid underneath this truck… crawled all over, pulled the carpet up etc, but could not find a trace of rust or any signs of rust repair. Honest truth, it’s amazing. The owner said he repainted it in the mid 90’s (this is the only repaint) and it had no rust. He pulled all the trim, glass and interior when it was painted and also integrated gas doors in the bed sides for the saddle tanks. Overall, it’s a fairly decent job. The hood and top of the fenders is faded, so I plan on getting them repainted here shortly. He said up until the last few years, it had spent most of its parked life indoors. The truck was originally medium olive green with a white top. When he repainted it in the mid 90’s, he went with a lighter green/silver metallic with an off white roof with a touch of pearl in it. Got to say I like. It was painted inside and out - inside the fenders, top side of firewall, jambs, all interior etc.
The truck has the following factory options - Big Block, TH400, Tilt, Tach, AC, PS PDB, Dual batteries, leaf spring rear and a Cargo light. The inside of the bed is almost perfect (couple small dings), the tailgate is straight, it has a hidden hitch behind the rear bumper, new tires, all the lower trim has been replaced, some of the exterior emblems were replaced, new four row radiator and powder coated wheels. After looking the truck over, I had to have it. I made a deal with the owner after talking with him for about 30 minutes for $6,000. He was asking $6,500, but said he would take $6,000, no less. I did not even hesitate on the price. I feel the truck is well worth the 6k and I did not want to insult him by offering him any less for it. He had brought the truck to the show on a trailer behind his newer D-Max Chevy (which by the way is why he was selling the GMC – the new D-Max replaced the GMC). So once we made the deal, he loaded up the truck and delivered it to my house in San Diego – what a nice guy.
I would have slept in it the first night if my wife would have let me. I love it… check out some pics of it below and let me know what you guys think of it. Also, a few of the emblems are not on the truck, but he gave them to me. I plan on putting them on once I get some new clips. He also gave me the original radio, stainless camper mirrors, new gage cluster lens with the markings for a vacuum gage and an original vacuum gage that he never got around to installing. In addition, the truck runs great, sounds great, the tranny works perfectly, goes straight down the road and no rattles or squeaks. A little detailing and it will be an even nicer truck.
One last thing… I purchased a used Gear Vendor OD all set up for a TH400 yesterday from a friend who pulled it out of his motor home (sold his motor home and the new owner did not want the OD for the additional $1,000 he wanted for it– go figure). Anyway, I plan on installing the unit in the GMC over the next week or two, should make for a nice freeway cruiser.
[ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH]