A grandpa’s camper truck resurrection

[68mg]

Great project, just subscribed. I picked up a 69 C20 last year and working through some of the same things, but going much slower. I finally cleaned all the leaves and crud under the cowl and back below the vent doors, also replaced the cab mounts. Yours is looking great already and it looks like the type of truck you might even find the build sheet. I got lucky and mine was still behind the seat, purchased from Appleway Chevy in Spokane.

[chev-obsession]

Originally Posted by 68mg

Great project, just subscribed. I picked up a 69 C20 last year and working through some of the same things, but going much slower. I finally cleaned all the leaves and crud under the cowl and back below the vent doors, also replaced the cab mounts. Yours is looking great already and it looks like the type of truck you might even find the build sheet. I got lucky and mine was still behind the seat, purchased from Appleway Chevy in Spokane.

That’s cool man, these trucks are a lot of fun and relatively easy to work on. That’s funny you say that, my tailgate has an Appleway Chevrolet sticker on it

[yuccales]

Looking good under that hood! You're not wasting any time that's for sure!

[Palf70Step]

Truck is looking good. Looking forward to seeing the rest of you work.

[chev-obsession]

Originally Posted by yuccales

Looking good under that hood! You're not wasting any time that's for sure!

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Truck is looking good. Looking forward to seeing the rest of you work.

Thanks guys! I’ll keep you guys updated.

I got a LOAD of parts to start working on the front end and new hoses, fluids, tune up type stuff yesterday and plan to hit it hard this weekend. Also my friend who rebuilds carburetors was able to get mine done. It looks great and he really did a great job rebuilding it.


I Need to drain the old gas out of the main tank and get it cleaned out so it can start drying. Then I’ll probably start on the front end stuff, or maybe the engine . Idk we will see where it takes me.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

[Ol Blue K20]

Subscribed to watch. Nice find!

[67RS/SSx2]

Great find. Loved the camper. When I was a teenager we had a 68 C10 with rear coil springs and a 9 ft overhead camper. Had to drive that mammoth to high school many times. It lumbered in turns so you had to take them a little slower than normal.

Your progress looks great. Happy for you. Good luck with the restoration!

[yuccales]

With all the new parts you're throwing at it, that truck has a lot to be thankful for! Have a great day.

[chev-obsession]

I didn’t get nearly the amount of work done this weekend as I would have liked to. I did a lot of “inspecting” since it was the first time I really got to look at things with much less grease and actually being able to craw under it. I did see that my truck was sold from the local dealer in Pasco, so it’s stayed in the area it’s whole life. So the pictures are less than what anyone would expect. I did get the seat, gas tank and front end removed. Gas tank looks like it has a lot of solidified crap in the bottom. I have 2 more spare tanks that I’m going to take a look at and see if one is better.

I did notice that the truck never had a front sway bar… this thing must of handled like CRAP especially with a heavy camper on the back! I can only imagine this thing bouncing all over the place. So now I’m on the hunt for a sway bar, preferably a 1.25”. But any bar would be better than none.

I did notice these goofy magnets and UHMW plastic contraption on the steel fuel line. I’m assuming that was some kind of rig up to avoid heat soak/vapor lock. It was removed

I also noticed the rear axle bearings have a noticeable amount of play on the drivers side, not so much on passenger. Driver side rear drum had an abnormal wear spot (deep groove) on half the drum, so new drums on the rear. Panhard bar and trailing arms need new bushings too.

Front end came apart without too much fuss, I will need to get the old ball joints removed and would like to pressure wash those again to get them squeaky clean. I don’t think i will repaint anything, just leave it in it’s rusty/patina state.

The front shocks weren’t doing a damn thing, they were difficult to compress and didn’t return at all. I think they need some Viagra
The rear shocks I think we’re doing a ton of work, super stiff and when I removed them the bed dropped a couple inches.

Lastly, I noticed the intake was over tightened and the gasket was squished out. So now that I need to pull the intake to replace the gasket, I think I want to pull the heads off and put better non smog/ thin casting heads on. I don’t want to have to drain the anti freeze, pull the intake and distributor again if I don’t have to. Also noticed the heat crossover and manifolds have gotten hot… not sure what that is all about. Anyway enough boring stuff. I have another parts list going and hoping to get the front end back together shortly.
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[chev-obsession]

Originally Posted by yuccales

With all the new parts you're throwing at it, that truck has a lot to be thankful for! Have a great day.

Lol yeah seriously, it’s been slightly neglected!
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[chev-obsession]

A couple front end pics. You can see where the manifold was over heated. Not sure what that cause is, I’m thinking carbon buildup on the cross over, or the flapper before the manifold isn’t working correctly.
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[68mg]

Great progress, looks like a pretty original and unmolested truck and it sounds like it has the original 350 in it. Also pretty cool that you found the build sheet and it's been a local Tri-Cities truck. Interesting that they didn't add the swaybar since your SPID shows they added both the HD rear springs and also the aux. spring. They could have added a C10 Custom Camper badge with the swaybar and the right tires.

[BigBird05]

Those heat riser valves always go bad and coke all of the exhaust up thru the intake. Check it out and i'll bet you it will be bad.

[zellway]

This looks like a great project. I wish I still had my fathers old camper from my 67. Excited to fallow along on this build

[Louisvillekytruck]

Nice find

[chev-obsession]

Originally Posted by 68mg

Great progress, looks like a pretty original and unmolested truck and it sounds like it has the original 350 in it. Also pretty cool that you found the build sheet and it's been a local Tri-Cities truck. Interesting that they didn't add the swaybar since your SPID shows they added both the HD rear springs and also the aux. spring. They could have added a C10 Custom Camper badge with the swaybar and the right tires.

Im not sure if the engine is 100% original, it was rebuilt at Tacoma Auto Machine and has the tag on the front of the block. Yeah I thought it was pretty cool that it stayed local all these years! I agree on the custom camper... my thought s exactly, or why not upgrade to a c20?

Originally Posted by BigBird05

Those heat riser valves always go bad and coke all of the exhaust up thru the intake. Check it out and i'll bet you it will be bad.

I will definitely do that and report back... at some point

[chev-obsession]

I haven’t had a ton of progress the last week or two. I was able to get the lower control arms off, steam cleaned all of the old grease off LCA’s and steam cleaned the inside of the gas tank. Got the new lower ball joints pressed in, and upper ball joints installed. Pulled the remaining brake lines from the master down to the drums and rear line. Also scrubbed the dirt and grime from inside the cab before I install the tank. I didn’t take a before picture, it wasn’t horrible but it wasn’t real clean either.

While I was in scrubbing the cab I had pulled up the vinyl floor mat and found a little pouch of keys. Turns out there was a key for the ignition!

When I was first going through the cab of the truck and camper, I found enough tools and spare parts to dang near rebuild the engine on the side of the road then I’m thinking, if this guy was this well prepared I’m sure that he had a spare key hidden somewhere. Turns out it was tucked up under the floor mat a ways
I’m really glad to find it because I was dreading having to drill out the ignition cylinder.

I have the spindles soaking in vinegar to remove the rust, I’m not sure why I had to wait until I was ready to install them to clean them up. Also was turning the rear axle and it’s making noise not in a good way. I will pull the diff cover at some point, without seeing the oil I’m guessing that it may need a rebuild.

Also need to figure out what I need for brake booster stuff. I forgot that the ‘69 booster isn’t compatible with the ‘72 master.

Oh yeah and my foreman came in to inspect the control arms after torquing
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[Getter-Done]

Well did the foreman approve?
My Grandpa had a key pouch just like that.

The floorpan under the seat looks as it did from the factory.

[68bowtie]

That’s pretty damn clean inside the cab. Looking good.

What’s the plan for the interior pieces (floor mat, steering wheel, etc)? Just cleaning up, replacing with new/nice used, etc.

[Ol Blue K20]

Nice find on the keys, I like those old key pouches. It looks like an original key too.

[chev-obsession]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Well did the foreman approve?
My Grandpa had a key pouch just like that.

The floorpan under the seat looks as it did from the factory.

The foreman approved only because he wanted to go back home

Thank you, it’s kind of scratched up from all of the extra tools he had under the seat but I didn’t think it was too bad. There are 4 holes from the auxiliary tank valve that I plan to weld up before the seat goes back in.

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

That’s pretty damn clean inside the cab. Looking good.

What’s the plan for the interior pieces (floor mat, steering wheel, etc)? Just cleaning up, replacing with new/nice used, etc.

Thank you!

As of right now I am just going to clean up what is there. I will get a better passenger side sun visor or have that one re-sew’n. At some point after the truck is running, detail the interior and use some simple green to give everything a good scrubbing. On the off chance I find a nice OEM blue steering wheel and dash pad for reasonable then I probably won’t replace what I have. As for the floor mats, I’m not sure if I clean to clean them up or not. The drivers side is kind of torn up but a floor mat would cover it well and do a better job.

I would like to reseal the wing windows, glass runs and doors… at some point, after I get the truck running and driving. The windshield and back window rubber looks to be in good shape and if they don’t leak then I won’t mess with them.

Originally Posted by Ol Blue K20

Nice find on the keys, I like those old key pouches. It looks like an original key too.

Yes I was more than pleased when I found them! I’m fairly certain the other keys go to the auxiliary gas tank, camper door and storage compartments. I might just keep the little pouch to give the truck the full grandpa effect.

[May70]

Thats a cool truck and camper!

[LT7A]

Very cool that you found that truck and could give it the attention it needs. Thanks for detailing your efforts and I look forward to following along.

[68bowtie]

Originally Posted by chev-obsession

As of right now I am just going to clean up what is there.

Awesome, glad to hear it. It’s really satisfying to refresh the original stuff. I bet that mat will clean up nicely. Nothing like that OE fit.

[chev-obsession]

Originally Posted by May70

Thats a cool truck and camper!

Originally Posted by LT7A

Very cool that you found that truck and could give it the attention it needs. Thanks for detailing your efforts and I look forward to following along.

Thanks guys, I enjoy sharing this stuff with people who appreciate these trucks and the work to get them going again.

Originally Posted by 68bowtie

Awesome, glad to hear it. It’s really satisfying to refresh the original stuff. I bet that mat will clean up nicely. Nothing like that OE fit.

Yes I couldn’t agree more on the OE fit! It should clean up well with some oxy clean and the Hotsy!

Speaking of OE fit… I saved the rubber grommet from the fuel tank filler neck. My neighbor restores vintage motorcycles and has a trick for anything you might ever need fixed or repaired. One day I was over at his place and he was bragging about how he was softening a rubber intake boot. In the back of my mind I’m thinking “yeah, what kind of snake oil did you find on an infomercial?” Lol

Turns out he runs the rubber pieces through a “Vapor Hone” to clean them well, then soaks them in wintergreen oil and alcohol mixture and it works very well at softening old brittle rubber pieces. I had never heard of it before and I’m impressed to say the least. Since the rubber grommet on the fuel filler came out undamaged for the most part I had him give it a soak for half a day and it came out great. Good enough to put back on the truck. Also it smells like wintergreen/peppermint so it’ll be a nice “air freshener” if you will

Also I repainted (powder coated) a K5 blazer emblem that I found at a junkyard. I was going to put it on my tool box but wanted it to have a fresh paint job. I think it turned out fairly nice, a couple little blemishes that I will work out on my next fine detail job. Also wish the yellow was darker but that’s all I had. The chrome is fairly decent and not pitting so it went through the neighbors “Vapor Hone” with the fuel filler grommet.