Bringing My Grandad's Truck Back To Life

[jfallon83]

Hey everyone. I've been a member here for a very long time and have gotten a lot of great info over the years from this forum. I haven't posted a lot and I figured it was time to change that.

I'd like for you to meet Pop's Truck. It's a 1967 swb that my Granddad (Pop) bought brand new in 1967. My mom and her two sisters learned to drive in it, as did I. Unfortunately while I was learning to drive in it, it became apparent that the brakes were in terrible condition. Because of this, it was parked in their backyard in 2001 with intent of fixing them soon, but it didn't move for many years.

In 2014, I finally convinced my Granddad to let me have the truck. I mostly deal with Jeeps and circle track cars and he had seen what I had done to these (it hasn't been pretty) and was not very willing to turn it over to me, fearing that the truck would turn into an abomination. I pledged that everything I did to the truck would be tasteful and he finally agreed.

Last year, I put new suspension from CCP on the truck, lowering it slightly. I also converted the front brakes to discs from a 1983 C10. The new master cylinder with proportioning valve is currently in the mail and will be installed within the next few weeks. The exhaust was completely rusted out, so I will be replacing it as well, and figured that I might as well throw a set of long tube headers from Flowtech on it. These were installed last December.

The truck originally had a 283, which blew up a little over 100,000 miles into the trucks life in 1983. At the time, it was still Pop's daily driver and he managed to trade an old trailer for decent 350, which still resides in the truck. Last night, I got it to crank for the first time since 2001. See the video below. It still has the open headers, so it's loud and popping a little. As soon as the brakes are finished and the shifter linkage re-installed (it was removed for some reason before I got the truck), I hope to be able to drive it around a little. I've also included some photos of it after it was washed off a little (I read the FAQ on posting pictures but if these don't show up, let me know and I will try again).

Youtube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soGqHcRjQ0A

I'm very excited to have started bringing this truck back to life. It will be a slow, but hopefully steady project. I will post here regularly to keep everyone updated and have no doubt that I will be asking a lot of questions as I go.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1429645957

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1429645957

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1429645957

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1429645957