'67 C30 Protecto plate camper conversion

[empi1776]

Really cool. Good luck with it. I had a 1962 I purchased was built just like yours in califronia. I converted to lwb pickup.

[slowcpe]

Originally Posted by nlped

I haven't totally ditched the camper idea yet. My buddy had a brilliant idea...paint the cab orange, put a giant 01 on the doors, name it the General LEE, and take it to Talladega for the Nascar race .

This is what I was thinking the whole time I read the build...well other than the general lee theme. We go to talladega every spring and thought about getting something like this for that and deer season. The person I cohabitate with does not share the same level of excitement as I do. She also does not think, under any circumstances, that something like this would "look cool" sitting in our driveway.

[nlped]

Thanks & welcome to the board!

[Xeen]

This would be a killer flatbed truck, very useful.
Now I want to buy one and convert it to a flatbed, see what you did?

[nlped]

I take full responsibility

I haven't done anything really productive on it this weekend due to the holiday, and I'm outta town. But, I did order new plugs, wires, and cap & rotor button just now from RockAuto.com. So I will get rid of the dead miss when they get here hopefully. I do still have to get the MONSTER gas tank drained so I can get this thing ready to drive around the property. YUCK!!!

[trac209]

Very cool truck,I like the open plan lounge area camper too. Depending on what will give you the most use I guess. But cool project

[nlped]

Originally Posted by trac209

Very cool truck,I like the open plan lounge area camper too. Depending on what will give you the most use I guess. But cool project

I agree. I haven't really committed to anything yet. I'm still.tryin to get it running & MOVING under its own power. That'll be a major deciding factor.

[nlped]

Well...It's running, driving, stopping (sorta ) and the a/c works.

I rerouted the fuel feed line from the existing 2 million gallon fuel tank to the mechanical fuel pump, bypassed the inline holley electric fuel pump for the Pro-Jection, and now it runs from onboard fuel instead of out of the gas can. It holds a constant 8lbs of fuel pressure and idles very well. It holds about 12-14lbs of vacuum at idle, but when I drop it into gear it plummets and tries to die, but I redid a few vacuum lines and that seems to be much better.

The brakes still suck, but I feel like that is due to a bad booster. It feels like manual brakes all the time, and using manual brakes to stop a 10k lb tank with 4-wheel disc brakes and a m/c intended for power assist...they SUCK. But that isn't to tough a fix.

Motor runs GREAT. I swapped out the plugs, cap/rotor button, and plug wires and the dead miss is GONE. I drove it up the road (country road with almost no traffic) and it shifts through all the gears and down shifts when you punch it as it should. I'm really pleased.

Now I have to commit to either gutting the living quarters and redoing, part it, or sell it as is... This is a tough decision. What do you guys think???

[rkn463]

Originally Posted by nlped

Now I have to commit to either gutting the living quarters and redoing, part it, or sell it as is... This is a tough decision. What do you guys think???

Redo it as a camper, there are lots of rollbacks out there!

-Richard

[nlped]

Nevermind, I went back out to check out the brake booster and noticed that the elbow that goes from the vacuum line from the intake into the booster was broken. I had another old booster that this fitting was intact on so I swapped it and BOOM, the power brakes now work and the engine idles even better now that I don't have that massive vacuum leak.

[littlecents]

I really like the lounge idea as well, to me it seems too cool to part out. (that could just be me though)

[BrianStep72]

Ed,

So glad that the project is going well. Keep going, it will be awesome to see you at the 2015 Truck Nats camping in that thing!!

Brian

[aggie91]

I say gut the interior of the camper and redo it! That thing would make a great rod run camper...

[nlped]

I still haven't decided. I stopped trying to sell it because I made a list of pieces/parts and realized what it could be worth. I'm going to start gutting the camper this weekend though.

[nlped]

Started parting it out because the camper was in worse shape than I thought... Lots of wood rot

But the cab is in such great shape, it's a shame it is missing a giant section in the rear/roof area... May use it for patch panels for my GMC?

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=646223

[nlped]

Yeah, my wife is NOT a fan of it sitting in our driveway either.

After further inspection, I've come to the realization that chubby could also be nicknamed Rotten. The infrastructure of the camper is rotted in all four upper corners, around the skylight, the opening that the roof air was in, and the floor under the kitchen and bathroom. So, I'm going to gut the interior, cut the camper into sections, and scrap all the copper plumbing and the aluminum siding, and drag the remaining pieces to the dump.

I'm going to use the doors, cab pieces and core support to repair my '70 GMC, put the motor in Walt with a newly acquired 700r4. I think I'll even put the under dash A/C in Walter to keep the vintage appearance. Then I'll figure out what to do with the remaining chassis.

[flashed]

Sometimes you got to scramble the eggs to make something better .

[nlped]

Originally Posted by flashed

Sometimes you got to scramble the eggs to make something better .

Amen

[flashed]

Im going to keep watching til the end ,maybe I will get my ton going soon.

[67-72C10]

You might be able to find a pull camper that is nice enough and has around the same size as the back of your truck and put it on the truck frame.Something like pictured below.
It is would be sad to see it as parts and not a camper.

Steve

[67-72C10]

And one more picture of a longer one...

Steve

[nlped]

CooperHW,

Do you know which Open Road model yours was? I think mine was a bit shorter than yours... That's why I'm considering just going with a long flatbed vs. your plan of cutting and shortening.

Mine originally was sold to a guy from the Pheonix area in May of '67 and lived there until 2009. It sold to a family in Knoxville TN, which is where I bought it from. I figure that's why mine was rust free. Man it was a PITA to transport home...you can see from my pics that I used a MUCH bigger trailer than the one it sounds like you used

[cooperhw]

Originally Posted by nlped

CooperHW,

Do you know which Open Road model yours was? I think mine was a bit shorter than yours... That's why I'm considering just going with a long flatbed vs. your plan of cutting and shortening.

Mine originally was sold to a guy from the Pheonix area in May of '67 and lived there until 2009. It sold to a family in Knoxville TN, which is where I bought it from. I figure that's why mine was rust free. Man it was a PITA to transport home...you can see from my pics that I used a MUCH bigger trailer than the one it sounds like you used

On my frame there is a spot just rear of the cab where the Open Road company cut the frame in two, inserted an 18" section of frame welded up, than put a piece of fish plate connecting all three. So in short, mine was probably only 18" longer than yours, although, it looks a mile longer. What is your wheelbase?
Man, you did great on the salvage. I would have done that too, except time is my enemy. I live in an HOA subdivision and already have 2 63 GMC's in the backyard. Had to take Homer to my friends house with the promise that "it will be stripped and gone within 30 days". So the race is on. I have one of the 63's for sale so as soon as it goes bye bye, I can haul Homer home. I am sure my wife will love it????????
I have a 6 acre property where my vacation cabin (actually our home town) is located but it's over 3 hour drive so I only haul stuff up there that will be stashed and sitting for a while.
I "like you" am also not sure exactly which direction Homer will eventually go, but with only 61,000 original miles, running, and a new TH400 trans, I could not pass him up. It was like he was calling out to me (long distance) to come save him.

[flashed]

Both of you guys have done a great job on your trucks and I will continue to follow them both.

[nlped]

I don't have any HOA's out here in the middle of nowhere, so I had a little time, but I still didn't really get started until I read your Homer thread and thought to myself, "what a slug I am compared to this guy", so I went to work. I'll measure the wheelbase this afternoon when I get home...