1972 K20 Custom Deluxe "Bruce"

[Graham57a]

Just as most of my truck stories start out, "We bought this truck to fix up and flip for a profit, now my wife and I are getting attached and likely wont be selling it for a while."

Here is the back story: My buddy Ken (52Napco) put me on to this truck back in January. I think he bought the truck out of Oregon and had it shipped to SC, after it got to the east coast it exchanged hands a few different times and the guy who had the truck was ready to sell. I drove down to SC one evening after work and checked the truck out in person. We struck a deal and I drove it home.

When cleaning the truck out I found a business card for a tree cutting service in Sacramento, CA which would make sense since it has a Fremont indication on the SPID. So my best guess is it was born and raised in Northern CA, at some point made it to Oregon and then obviously to to the east coast. I also know that the truck had an over the cab camper shell for most of its life which would explain the bed rail "patina". At some point the truck was repainted, the seat cover was replaced, and someone put a tach dash and an am/fm radio in the truck (all not factory to the truck).

My plan is to return the truck to a factory appearance while making some slight modifications / upgrades along the way.

[Graham57a]

How about some pics. Here are the first few I got before seeing the truck in person

[DeadheadNM]

Looks really nice. Post more pics when poss. I'd appreciate some pics when poss of the OEM routing for the aux tank fuel lines if intact.

[Graham57a]

The main reason I wanted this thing was how solid it is. The only rust I found on the truck was the pass side rocker panel

[Graham57a]

Knowing this truck came from Oregon I had to find an Oregon dealership keychain so I turned to eBay and ended up with this. Once my wife got ahold of it the name stuck

[Graham57a]

First on my list of changes was the wheels. Fortunately the truck came with a set of 16x8 steelies so I had them blasted, painted with rustoleum, and mounted on the truck

[Graham57a]

Before and after the steelies. I ended up going with 285/75/16s for the tires. They barely clear the front fender but so far I haven’t had any rubbing

[Graham57a]

Then hubcaps

[Graham57a]

One of the “factory” appearing changes that I wanted to make was the addition of lower trim. I know it’s wood grain and not black which isn’t correct for a custom deluxe but it’s what I had and I really like the wood / blue look. I’ve only done the drivers side so far but I think it’s definitely the right move

[Graham57a]

Next on the list was rust repair. I cut her open and used a spot sand blaster to kill the heavy surface rust. Then I soaked everything in ospho overnight

[Graham57a]

More rust repair

[Graham57a]

Rust all fixed

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Graham57a

One of the “factory” appearing changes that I wanted to make was the addition of lower trim. I know it’s wood grain and not black which isn’t correct for a custom deluxe but it’s what I had and I really like the wood / blue look. I’ve only done the drivers side so far but I think it’s definitely the right move

Love the trucks with upper and lower trim. Someone can correct me but I believe all lower trim in 72 came in woodgrain. Do no care for woodgrain myself. I am putting the satin black lower trim on my 72 custom deluxe. The trim I removed was woodgrain.

[Graham57a]

Probably the best part about this truck is how well it drives. It has tons of power, the steering is tight, all of the lights and accessories work perfectly, it starts right up and idles perfectly. I’ve had it for 3 months now and I’ve put almost 2,000 miles on it. Here are a few photos

[Graham57a]

And finally, yesterday’s project. I had a local paint store scan the front fender and mix up some color matched paint for me. I blended some spots and completely repainted others. I’m gonna let it cure for about a week and then I’ll cut and buff the entire truck to blend it all in. It’s hard to tell comparing the old dry paint next to the new wet paint but the color is almost perfect. Should work pretty well, anything will be better then the old primer spots

[Graham57a]

Here’s a good example of how it will blend. I hit the tape line with 1,500 grit to blend it back and then polishing compound on the buffer. Before and after

[52napco]

Ooh I forgot to mention the am\FM and tach dash didn't go with it
I'll swing by this weekend.������

[Richard]

Paint touch up looks good.

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by DeadheadNM

Looks really nice. Post more pics when poss. I'd appreciate some pics when poss of the OEM routing for the aux tank fuel lines if intact.

No problem. I’m guessing not all of this is factory but the clamps may help give you clues

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by 52napco

Ooh I forgot to mention the am\FM and tach dash didn't go with it
I'll swing by this weekend.������

You’ll have to go by the local pawn shop. How do you think I paid for the new tires?!?

[cornerstone]

Your blend job is great! I presume you used a single stage paint? What are your ultimate plans for this truck? Since its such a solid driver as is if it were mine I'd be hard pressed to tear it apart... Beautiful collection of GM's Andrew.

[DeadheadNM]

That was quick. Big thanks for the photos. Is the rock shield there to protect the tank selection valve?

Great work. Excellent addition to the herd and good to see it used as intended. Lower molding looks good.

[Graham57a]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Your blend job is great! I presume you used a single stage paint? What are your ultimate plans for this truck? Since its such a solid driver as is if it were mine I'd be hard pressed to tear it apart... Beautiful collection of GM's Andrew.

Thank you sir. Yes I am using single stage paint. I want to make it a nice driver, not perfect but looks really good from 10-15’ away. I don’t think I will ever take it off the frame, if it gets too nice I’ll be afraid to use it as a truck lol. I may sell it down the road but I usually have more luck selling trucks when they aren’t for sale and I don’t want to sell them haha.

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by Graham57a

I may sell it down the road but I usually have more luck selling trucks when they aren’t for sale and I don’t want to sell them haha.

Ain't that the truth... some kind of additional allure when something is "not for sale"... I see it all the time in my line of work... If something on the sales floor has been sitting and has reached "dog" status, I'll put a big "Sale Pending" sign on it and set it at the front of the store. Suddenly everyone has to have it.

[674wd]

It does look solid but when you take that rocker off you will probably find the outer floor edge is bad too. You can get an outer floor replacement strip from Classic Industries that runs from the toe board to the rear of the cab. I would cut it out and replace it. The floor piece is formed just as the floor is from the factory, it has the back inside of the rocker attached to it.Take lots of pictures of everything as you take it apart to show where its welded, how it fits together, ect.