1972 Shop Truck Build (with some extra goodies)

[OneOffStroker]

I've been lusting over this particular '72 Shortbed for nearly a decade. A guy who lives around the corner from me owned it and whenever I saw him while walking my dog, I'd ask him if he was ready to sell it to me. As anticipated, I got the "No. I'm gonna fix it up one day" response, so I'd keep walking the pooch and wait for the next time.

As luck would have it, around April of 2021, there was a knock on my door one afternoon, and it was that 'ol fella! He told me that he was selling his house and moving, and he came to the realization that he was probably never going to actually make the time to rebuild the truck and wanted to know if I was still interested. So I stopped by to actually look at it for the first time ever besides a moving glance, and we came to an agreement on price. The original engine was pulled out and on a stand in the garage, as well as a lot of other tidbits for the truck.

I had a ready-to-run 350 from a previous project that ended up with a Blueprint crate engine, as well as a bunch of extra little pieces left over from my old '69 Suburban that I built years and years ago. (link in signature) I also had a new EFI setup in a box in the attic, and a decent 5-speed manual transmission that I knew I could fit with relative ease.

I needed a full-size truck to haul project cars around (I have 13 project cars, lol), and this is the perfect platform for what I have planned. I've been using my '98 Toyota 4Runner for hauling, and while it did the job, it was on the 'light duty' side of things...and I sold it to my ex early this year anyway...so I had to build this truck with some quickness.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow when I'm able to get them from my phone to my computer, as well as a link to a walkaround video from the first days after I got the truck to my shop. I'll update every now and then until I can get caught up to where it is now. She's not quite done, but very very close to being the daily driver Shop Truck that I need in my life!

Stay tuned. Thanks!

[72Teeroy]

Thanks for sharing cannot wait to see it

[OneOffStroker]

So here is the truck the day I flat-towed it to my shop with a bumper mounted tow bar that I borrowed from a buddy. The tow bar was set up to tow Ford Rangers and Bronco II's so I needed to fab up some brackets and stuff to make it work with the C-10. It was sketchy all the way, but only about 5 miles to my shop, so I went for it.

As you can see, it certainly looks like it's been sitting for nearly a decade or more. I know that in the nine years I've been in the neighborhood, it hadn't been worked on, and I don't know how long it was before I moved that he yanked out the engine and it began to sit.

But it's OK. It is in my hands now, so lets get to work!

[OneOffStroker]

Let's take a quick look at a few of the biggest areas on concern to me:

The doors are pretty bad, with rust at the forward edge of the window frame and the bottoms of the doors pretty much gone to rust worms. The skins are OK, but not great. Rockers and cab corners are due for replacement, as are a few of the cab supports underneath.

My biggest concern is the rust hole under the drip rail. I didn't know much about the 'fix' for this when I bought the truck, but have looked into it since, and it looks like a HUGE job to do it right...so that's probably not going to happen any time soon.

As the title states, this is being built to be my Shop Truck, so it's going to get beat on a little bit hauling trailers, tools, and junkyard runs. I'm best off keeping it in patina and just fixing enough that I don't get wet while driving. Maybe in the future I'll fix it up a lot better, but for now I need to focus on getting it running and driving!

[OneOffStroker]

If you want a bit more visuals, feel free to check out the first video of the 1972 Shop Truck build on my YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/uLOoTay3_oA

In the video, I do a walkaround of the truck to show the good and the bad. After the walkaround, I briefly cover what direction I want to go with the build, and then I get right into the teardown and end up pretty much where the picture below shows.

You can get stuck in a YouTube loop and watch all the videos that are out and see the truck get almost fully built right now...or you can follow along a step at a time here in this thread.

[OneOffStroker]

So, I have to tell you that I did not document this build very well with pictures. However, I did a fair job of getting it all on video, so here is part 2 of the build on my YouTube: https://youtu.be/pgApVB4frTs

In the video, I get all the front suspension removed from the truck and get started on the massive cleanup job to remove the ~50 years of built up oil, dirt, and grime.

It ends up basically like this: (I spy another classic Chevy in the pic...what's her story???)

[bwl101]

Glad to hear another one is rescued from certain doom! Keep us updated with pics! Love to see these getting put back in the road, been working on getting my grandfather's truck back on the road after it sat in a family member's back yard for 10 years!

[OneOffStroker]

Weekly update time! Check out video #3: https://youtu.be/LLEOOcOlYgE

In the video, I do a rust 'patch' on the cowl seam. Not a replacement at all, but some mitigation to get me by for a while. I also show a great little upgrade to my parts washer (Harbor Freight) that I highly recommend if you have a few extra bucks, and hate the pathetic flow of the included pump that comes with those ~$100 parts washers.

Then I move on to cleaning and painting the front suspension components, as well as ball joint replacement on both upper and lower control arms. It's all pretty easy DIY stuff that you can do in your home garage. (if you don't have a small press, then maybe a buddy's garage. lol)

I don't have any pics from this timeframe, so you'll have to watch the video.

[May70]

Are you back to working on your truck? If you're still on AD I have no idea how you have time for it all, at least I didn't. Im sure its also hard having a work space away from home.

I'm about an hour up the road from you and also doing the YouTube deal. My truck is a full on restoration with a lot of changes so its a lot of time involved. Im building mine to also be my project hauler. In a lot of ways I wish I had the approach of a shop truck but im too much of a perfectionist. That's kind of how mine started but the 292 was slam wore out and she was ate up. I think I first disassembled my truck in oct 19.

Maybe if I ever finish my truck we can cruise.

[OneOffStroker]

Originally Posted by May70

Are you back to working on your truck? If you're still on AD I have no idea how you have time for it all, at least I didn't. Im sure its also hard having a work space away from home.

I'm about an hour up the road from you and also doing the YouTube deal. My truck is a full on restoration with a lot of changes so its a lot of time involved. Im building mine to also be my project hauler. In a lot of ways I wish I had the approach of a shop truck but im too much of a perfectionist. That's kind of how mine started but the 292 was slam wore out and she was ate up. I think I first disassembled my truck in oct 19.

Maybe if I ever finish my truck we can cruise.

I just read through your whole thread. Excellent work! I'm sure I'll end up replacing the rockers, cab corners, and a-pillar lowers in mine, but I'm in no hurry to do any of that. I have literally a dozen other project cars that need my time more than the C-10 does. lol

I'm not exactly back to working on the truck again, just starting this thread and updating it roughly once a week using my videos and what pictures I actually have from when I was building it last year. I worked on it May-June and the whole month of October. I actually am still AD, and I had those couple months free between PCS, so I spent all my time working on the truck. Things have slowed to a stop currently, but I see some more free time coming my way soon, and I'll get the truck fully buttoned up and ready to cruise. Then I'll turn my attention back to my '72 Datsun 620 pickup. I need to finish making the entire floor from scratch and get it back on the frame. The Datsun has been at least 10x more popular on my YouTube channel than the C-10, so it has to come back ASAP.

[OneOffStroker]

WEEKLY UPDATE! Please take a few minutes (10m13s to be exact) and check out video #4: https://youtu.be/DbSNSA_jFfE

In the video, I use an easy old trick to clean the patina from the firewall, then prep it for some clearcoat. I also paint the cowl area and then get the framerails prepped for paint, and it ends up looking like this:

[OneOffStroker]

Weeky Update #5, with the link to the video about rebuilding the front suspension: https://youtu.be/yynYPwiUYrA

In the video, I reinstall all the parts seen below and show how to rebuild a caliper, pack and install wheel bearings, and install custom front shock mounts for lowered trucks. I also show off a little bit of my zinc plating station by turning new silver hardware into new gold hardware for good looks.

[OneOffStroker]

WEEKLY UPDATE #6! Video Part six here: https://youtu.be/XCm4kClfmyM

In this episode, I add a low-profile mount for my sway bar, select an engine from my pile of engines, pull out a transmission to use, mock them both in the engine bay, and do some custom fabrication to get the crossmember modified to easily hold the transmission in place. I hope you all check it out!

[OneOffStroker]

Weekly Update #7!

In the video below, I install the flywheel and clutch, showing some good clutch alignment tips, then I show how I turned my stock in-cab fuel tank into a reliable fuel injection capable tank in the easiest (and safe) way that met my needs until I do a rear mounted tank. I'm sure that a lot of you guys can use some of the tips and tricks for your own builds. It's covers a lot of information on fuel systems in general, so it's worth a watch.

Video: https://youtu.be/dfuBHSGWjrI