'72 Super Project: Updates!

[1972CheyenneSuper]

I've been browsing this forum for the past couple of months and I must say that you guys know your stuff. I've just recently purchased a 1972 Cheyenne Super from my brothers. They were planning on restoring it but they've got other toys to work on. The truck has factory buckets and factory air conditioning. It is a two wheel drive with a long box. As you can see, there is quite a bit of work to be done sheetmetal wise and mechanically. I know many people would like to see an original restoration done with a truck of this rarity, but being sixteen years old, I need something a little more exciting. But don't worry, I have plans to keep everything intact so if I do sell it in the future, converting it back to original will be possible. I will use this thread to post any updates that I have done to the truck and also to ask for assistance if any is needed, which will more than likely be often. Here's the pics:

[1972CheyenneSuper]

[jhwkns]

Welcome to the forums.. It's great to see young guys like yourself that have interest in these old trucks. There's hope yet for the future..

[Joesjunk]

Cool truck. You dont see too many that were two tone Medium and Dark Blue.

Loos like a great project!! Have fun!!!!

[krue]

Welcome to the board from South Mississippi! Looks like a great project.

[special-K]

Welcome from a 50 year old that still can`t quite leave one totally stock.That`s why I like the resto-rod approach.A truck like yours has class as it is.Like Joe said,that`s a seldom seen color combo.There were few 2-tone combos available and few ordered that didn`t use white as the accent color.

[northcountry67]

Welcome to the board. I'm only 70 miles east of Grand Forks, if you need anything, drop me a line.

[boundstaffpress]

Welcome to the board

Your truck looks like a lot of fun. Can't wait to see you rodstore it. You did right by posting lots of pics. We all love pictures.

[Yukon Jack]

Welcome to the board - will enjoy following your progress.

[Palf70Step]

Welcome from southern Mississippi. Nice truck and glad to have you on board

[boraxman]

from sunny So.Cal.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

Thanks for the welcomes everybody!
I got the seats, gas tank carpet, and the fuel tank along with the fuel lines in the cab out today. I also started on getting the guage cluster out, but stopped there. I suppose I may as well list a few of my plans. For an engine I will be getting a 5.7 Vortech from the place that I work. Engine management will be handled by a Painless Wiring Harness, possibly along with a complete truck harness. For the suspension I would like to go air ride, with an AirOverLeaf system in rear and the regular system in front. I do plan on doing a frame off so everything underneath will be cleaned and fixed as needed along with a fuel tank somewhere on the frame. For the interior I am looking at some nice bucket seats, but I will keep the originals in case I ever convert it back, it's just that by the time I refoam and recover the originals, I could have bought some that will be twice as comfortable and look nice too. Sandblasting is in the works too to uncover as many problem areas as possible. I want this truck to last a long time so a little time now will save a lot of time later. Although the bed was primered by the previous owner, I believe bondo was used to cover up a few things. I also need to get some doors, front fenders and inners, tailgate, along with the patch panels. I am leaning towards LMC truck because they have free truck freight on orders over $1000. Thanks again for the warm welcomes.

[OLDROCK&ROLLER]

Welcome to the board from S-E N.C. Good luck on your project sounds nice. I like um with some mods. check out the board vendors before buying from that other place.

Kenneth

[1972CheyenneSuper]

Well, I've made some major headway on the truck, with the limited time that I have. Much has been removed, and the cab is about ready to come off, next day or so. My plans with the truck has changed. I want to completely redo it original with the exception of the engine, transmission, suspension, and wheels. I got the 5.7 Vortec cleaned up and painted with new intake gaskets and an oil pan gasket. I'm also about to pick up my 4l60E. My Painless Wiring harness for the truck chassis and also the engine will be in my hands on Wednesday. That's about it, now for the good stuff:


Also if a moderator could change the name of this thread to:
'72 Super Project: Updates!
It would be most appreciated.

[Palf70Step]

Nice project. See how your title change works too.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

It looks good, thank you.

[67chevy2wd]

1972CheyenneSuper, That is a very nice looking truck. Where in ND are you located? I live about 30 miles west of Bismarck. Oh and hello from ND.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

Thanks 67chevy2wd. I live in Minot.

[67chevy2wd]

Cool, I was just up there for the big fair. Went to see Keri Underwood(not by choice) but it was a good concert. I suppose you know where Beulah is then, not too far from Minot.

[toms68cst]

Hello from Bismarck. Nice project you have there!

[1972CheyenneSuper]

Originally Posted by 67chevy2wd

Cool, I was just up there for the big fair. Went to see Keri Underwood(not by choice) but it was a good concert. I suppose you know where Beulah is then, not too far from Minot.

The only person I wanted to see was Keith Urban but I had to work.

Originally Posted by toms68cst

Hello from Bismarck. Nice project you have there!

Thanks. There's actually quite a few people from ND on this board. Then again there are alot of old Chevrolets in ND too.

[Lated]

Been a long time since your last post. How is the truck coming?

[1972CheyenneSuper]

It's funny how life happens and before you know it, ten years fly by and you're picking up where you left off. This truck started as a project I bought from my brothers when I was in high school 10 1/2 years ago. My previous pictures have lost their hosting privileges, so I'm going to attach a few from '06. I have more, just not worth the time to repost them all, if you want to see something specific let me know as I probably have it. Anyways, I ripped this thing apart down to the bare frame, resulting in pieces everywhere. Then the whole college thing happened, followed by grown up things like working full time, saving for a house, etc. The money wasn't quite there for some time to sustain a frame off project, so around 2009 I put everything in a shipping container for storage minus the frame and engine. I bought a '62 Impala after college so I'd have something that I could drive in the summer and work on in the winter without the constrictions of a full frame off. Two winters ago, that car received the Vortec and 4L60E that I intended to put in this truck.

[1972CheyenneSuper]

I'm fairly content with where I had gotten with that car, so about two months ago I started getting the itch for another project. I've also picked up a 68' K20 and a '69 C2500 in this stretch of time. Before ripping more stuff apart though, I told myself that I need to work on and finish this truck first. I got to thinking about how much money and time I'm probably going to have into this thing. I know that I'm probably going to have to buy new bedsides for this truck, so I may as well buy short box bedsides and build what I really want. So the search for a swb frame commenced and after a couple of weeks of searching and finding nothing remotely close I found a parts lwb truck with trailing arms. This thing was probably eventually going to end up at the crusher so I feel I don't feel too bad shortening this frame as it gave it some purpose. As a bonus, I can keep my original frame intact if I ever want to turn it back into a lwb. A deal was struck and I had a very straight '71 frame and rear end out of a 67' for $250.















The front suspension crossmember and associated parts are from my original '72.



A week ago I was getting some parts at the local wrecking yard where I worked in my high school years, where I had bought the 5.7 Vortec mentioned before. They said that that they had just gotten a 5.3 in with 18,000 miles. The price was too good to resist so I found my power plant and the 6L80 that it was mated to.



The direction that I want to head with this truck is similar to what I had envisioned ten years ago. I'm going with a modern powertrain. I'm about 80% set on a 4/6 ECE drop. I was always dead set on bagging this truck, but it's not quite in the budget right now. I want to keep the original color combo, and put the full trim back on, stock interior, and a nice set of wheels.

The first frame picture was taken Aug 6. I have been working diligently on weeknights and weekends the past month and a half to get to the second to last picture taken last weekend with all of the pieces sandblasted and painted. I've gotten more done in that time period than I have in the last ten years. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going. My first question, any body know where I can track down an upper control arm stud besides the LMC offerings?

[Palf70Step]

Glad to see she is moving along again. Will be looking forward to more updates.