17 and Buying a Truck! '72 C20 4X4

[catch2otwo]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

WoW ! Lighten up a bit ! He's 17 and this is a dream project !. Let him run with it at least for a while !! Just because it's something you may consider to hard or to expensive for you to consider let the kid have his dream and stop bashing his "find " i rebuild trucks way worse than what he is considering so just back off and encourage his dream !Just because you may not have what it takes to start from scratch maybe he does !

No one is bashing his future project. People here are just making sure he has a realistic expectation of whats to come. He seemed green so more experienced members are giving him advice on what to look for an what kind of effort it will take to fix it. The last thing anyone here wants to see is OP get discouraged and sell.

[72chevyk10]

as someone who got my truck when i was 17 i absolutely wouldnt get one of these trucks as a daily driver ever again. UNLESS you (or your folks) get it when you are like 12 and build it up correctly with nice parts and fix the rust. my rig was a nightmare for the first 3 years or so and now ive got to where its only broken once every 3 months or so. i wont trade this truck for anything but i will never get another one

[oldertruckfan]

buy it . it's a learning thing. you'll hate yourself later if you don't. 4 speed , NP205, and dana's will part out for a return on the money you spend.

[Vintage Windmills]

Originally Posted by oldertruckfan

buy it . it's a learning thing. you'll hate yourself later if you don't. 4 speed , NP205, and dana's will part out for a return on the money you spend.

This truck is a combo of at least 2 trucks. As others have said, it looks like a T221, and probably a SM420 in front of it, maybe hooked to a closed knuckle D44 front (although the OEM spicer lockouts look like 70+). That said, if the frame is good, it would still part out for enough to get that $800 back and a little more. I personally wouldn't mind a spare T221 and SM420 laying around. They are good units and guys are looking for parts for them, especially the coupler. Just a little hard to find parts for but a T221 is damn near bulletproof from what I've read.

In addition to the rust mentioned, the firewall lip above the engine may be rusted through.

[Omaha68C10]

I would say go for it! Yeah, it is rusty but its an old truck and cheap. It would be a good project for a young person to learn on. You can always do a body swap in the future!

[Cam-Shaft]

Wow, thanks guys! It's been good for me to hear to hear the good bad and ugly so I know what I am in for. I was always taught to value to input of others, so thanks everyone!

I look forward to the continued input and advice. I have written down most of you comments on my to do list, I look forward to starting on it

[57taskforce]

The biggest thing to remember on any project is have fun. If your not having fun and learning along the way than either something is wrong or this hobby isn't for you. Also just be patient, often times these old hunks of junk dont cooperate when we want them too. My best advice for build planning is what I do. I take a composition notebook and first off name the truck on the front of it. Then write down the vision you have your truck, parts,tools and supplies needed to accomplish this. I've found when building my trucks that this ensures I stay focused in my build and things turn out the way I plan. A build without a plan is a sure path to failure. Update your composition book as you accomplish pieces of your plan. Mine are full of checklists from parts needed to phases of the build. If your organized and make good plans and build around those plans you won't fail. That goes for life in general for the most part.

[dmartin1]

i am 21 currently, but when i was younger like 15 or so, i was in your same boat.

despite every family member(all chevy truck hot rod gear heads) telling me the truck was a complete crap,and money pit, i bought my first truck. 1978 k20 4x4

dam thing looked to be drug from the bottom of the river here. it was disgusting.i thought it was amazing when i bought it,but as i look back now i have no idea what i was thinking.

i drove it before fixing/restoring it for a year as a sophmore in highschool. the engine had so much blow-by it seeped from the edges of the hood and i always thought it was on fire, it leaked so much oil it was pour over my exhaust and fumigate the inside of the cab.liquid oil was actually starting to accumulate on the floor pan lol.

every single ody part was creases, dents and rot. cab bushings were so gone when i hit a bump i could feel the cab bounce up and down, interior was a sin to even look at.my windshield wiper switch shot sparks and burnt up when touched. lights never worked.





ANYWAY- by middle of junior year/beginning of senior year me and my dad had put new body parts,wiring,all new interior pieces(lots of quality junkyard finds) all budget. rebuilt/sealed axels yada yada yada. new engine.

the truck i now 90% restored sits on 40's with a 355 sbc, and is really nice.i love it. go for it dude just be safe

[dmartin1]

cam-shaft, i will post you some before(when dragging home) and in process pics i have of the truck as some inspiration later

[blue 72 gmc 4x4]

It still looks better than mine even with all the rot! If anything you have a 4x4 frame if the body is completely shot. That was my thought on mine. 2wd long beds are easy to come by for a good body. At least here in AZ....Good luck with it!

[Cam-Shaft]

Sweet! Thanks guys, thank you so much for the encouragement and advice!

dmartin1 : Looking forward to the pics!

blue 72 GMC 4X4: Thats what I'm thinking, a solid frame that I can work off of at the least

[benner]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

AWWW , Go for it your only 17 and have your whole life ahead of you , No mortgage ,No wife,No kids , No real bills , No rent , if nothing else it's a cheap education don't listen to nay sayers , GO HAVE FUN ! You have nothing but time to rebuild it !

Camshaft, I totally agree with Grumpy...Go for it!

[benner]

Originally Posted by blue 72 gmc 4x4

It still looks better than mine even with all the rot! If anything you have a 4x4 frame if the body is completely shot. That was my thought on mine. 2wd long beds are easy to come by for a good body. At least here in AZ....Good luck with it!

blue72jimmy, You and all of our brethren have inspired me to start a thread somethin' like this" What's the best lookin' pickup's front (business) end?" A Jimmy or Chevy?...Part Two: What Year? A '67, '68 or '69, etc. Would this be fun and could turn Ugly?

How do you start a thread?
A Newby...

[farmallboy15]

I would agree to go for it! But I would keep my eye out for a better cab... I'm 20 and this was my first project truck. I've restored tractors since my freshman year of high school and this was A TON more work and money than expected (~$20,000 and I didn't rebuild the trans or engine yet) and I didn't have nearly the rust that you do... With that being said I absolutely love my 70 and drive it about every sunny day during the summer but would not want it as a daily driver. Here are some before and afters..

[Sicklajoie]

^^^ Nice GMC!

[Mike C]

Originally Posted by MARKDTN

That is partially right. 327 was introduced in 1962 as a small journal like all 283s. In 1968 the large journal 327 was introduced. The last year for a 327 in a pickup was 1968. The last year for a 327 in a Camaro or Corvette was 1968. The Impala did seem to carry over to 1969 at least part year. I can find no application for a 327 in the bigger than C30 trucks past 1968 either. So really 1968 was the last year with any volume.

1969 Camaro, maybe Nova as well, the base motor was a 327 until January of 1969 when it switched to the 307. 68 was last year for filler in the manifold, 69 would have had mandatory PCV at that point. I would think light duty trucks followed that pattern. The '69 short step in my driveway doesn't have the filler in the manifold.

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by Mike C

1969 Camaro, maybe Nova as well, the base motor was a 327 until January of 1969 when it switched to the 307. 68 was last year for filler in the manifold, 69 would have had mandatory PCV at that point. I would think light duty trucks followed that pattern. The '69 short step in my driveway doesn't have the filler in the manifold.

OK, I was wrong on 69 Camaro. I have learned a bit in the last week that I didn't know before. Here is what I now know about 327s.

1967 was the last year for small journal 327 (and 283). In 1968 model year the large journal 327 was introduced. It did away with the road draft tube provision at the back of the block. 327 was available in 1968 in:
Trucks
Camaro
Chevelle/Malibu
Corvette
Impala/Caprice/etc.
Nova

1968 was the last year for 327 in trucks, Nova, Chevelle, and Corvette

In 1969 the 327 was only available in Camaro and Impala/Caprice etc. From what I can tell it was only a partial year, perhaps until January of 1969. I can find no records of 327 availability in 1969 Nova, Chevelle, Corvette, or trucks. I base this on info from places like oldride.com, the GM heritage center online docs, mortec.com, and similar sites.

As far as the oil fill, you can definitely get a through manifold oil fill with PCV. See:
http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/sh...d/292837/pid//

These could be used with the script valve covers with no provision for holes.
I can't speak to 1969 usage of this, but I had a 68 Impala 327 with oil fill through intake and a breather valve cover on 1 side and a pcv valve cover on the other like:
http://www.scottlewisonline.com/imag..._ss_mint_3.jpg

1969 may have replaced the intake oil fill with valve cover fill. I don't know.

Again, I see no evidence of a factory 4-bolt 327. Lots of urban legends, but no verifiable facts. They are easy to build and I am sure many have been with a 4-bolt 350 block and the correct crankshaft.

Hopefully this will put this to bed. Besides, who builds a 327 anymore that is not in a full restoration? Lot of people with large journal 327s in those 68s and early 69s turned them into 355s at rebuild time with a 350 crank and new pistons in their freshly bored block. Same rods, balancer, flexplate/flywheel, etc. If the VIN and engine codes are machined off the pad you can't visually tell a 350 from a 327 (or 302 for that matter) anyway because they all use 4" bore blocks-which is what my original reply in this post was intended to show.