Project: 69 K20

[68,69 K20]

I guess it's time I document some of the progress I've made on my 1969 K20.
My computer crashed a while back and I lost a bunch of pics I had taken since I bought the truck. But I have a bunch to give you guys an idea of what I had and where it is now.

My first truck was a 1968 K20, but being a life long NY truck it was in pretty rusty shape. It was complete with a 327,four speed, and 23K miles, but as I said it was rusty and the frame horns were pretty bent from years of rough snow plowing. I had come to the conclusion that the truck was more or less a parts truck, and not something I wanted to dump alot of $$$$ into. So the hunt was on for a different truck, but........It had to be another K20

Living in the rust belt sucks bad... especially if your into vintage metal like I am. I knew I would have to look out west. I found this '69 up for auction on Ebay in June of '07. It was in Nebraska and had been inoperable for quite some time. The seller didn't know alot about the truck, he recieved it as payment for some work he did.
I could only find one pic of it as it sat in Nebraska....The pic makes it look way better than it was.

[68,69 K20]

It was a low optioned truck. 292, 4 speed, and that's about it. The intake and exhaust manifolds were were off and sitting in the bed, so was the carb. No radiator, blah blah blah. You get the idea, and old farm truck that was beat hard and shoved in the weeds when it died.

I decided to bid on the truck with some good pics as well as an honest description from the seller. I was the winner for a fairly cheap price, and after arranging transport, it arrived in NY August 19, 2007.

First impressions of it....About what I expected, mostly solid some rust here and there but a good foundation to start building.

[68,69 K20]

Ok, so the the truck had some good and some bad, but I was ready to get it running again. Or.....so I thought. The "292" was actually a 250 and in worse shape than I wanted to deal with, so the decision was made to swap in a V8.

The 327 in the 68 parts truck had a bad cam and needed a good overhaul. I was pretty broke at the time so I waited to see if any 350's popped up.
So I waited and waited..............nothing really turned up and winter was approaching, so on the shelf it went.

Fast forward to spring '08... cruising Craigslist I came upon a 72 C/20 for sale. The owner claimed to have started restoring it but lost interest and storage, so it had to go. Metal work done to the cab, rebuilt 350, bunch of parts, ect. I went and looked at it, thinking it was too good to be true...

Well it was and it wasn't....The cab did have new rockers and floor pans, but it had a ton of rust in the cowl, in the roof line and various other places. It did have a good motor, doors, fenders, and a bunch of other usable parts that I needed, so I offered him less than what he wanted and he accepted...On the trailer it went...One ugly son of a gun, but it was a great donor truck for the K20 build.

Here a few pics of the '72...

[68,69 K20]

Some of the '68 I found...It was a fantastic parts truck...

[68,69 K20]

The 69 as it sat stored at my Dad's place, winter '07 or early '08 iirc...

All I did up to this point was pull of the grille, rad support, and bumper.
Waiting till spring so I can start pulling and swapping motors

[68,69 K20]

I started with the '69 in late summer '08. First thing was removal of the dead 250. Borrowed the engine hoist from work and pulled it, along with the tranny/transfer case.
Cleaned and painted the frame and undercarriage from the front bumper to under the cab.

This was one of the dirtiest trucks I've ever seen, a testament to how much this truck was used around the farm, and to how tough these trucks are...Used and abused and still begging for more

So I needed some V8 conversion parts...That's where the '68 comes into play.
I pulled the 327 and parked it. Snagged the engine crossmember, painted it and installed in the 69.
The 4 speed and t-case in the '68 were in great condition and were also pulled and placed in the '69.

The '72 came next...Took off all usable sheetmetal and stored it.
The 350 was pulled, cleaned,and painted. It was then givin a new clutch and new motors mounts. The tranny and t-case mounts were also replaced.

The engine was installed in the '69 late October of '08 and that's when the snow and cold arrived and shut me down...
I will admit it, I'm a puss when it's snowy and cold out

I condensed the above a bit, it took me many hours to just to get to that point.
All the pics I took for this segment were lost in the crash so.....

[68,69 K20]

Looking at the truck and knowing I was close to firing it up and being trapped inside was killing me slowly...So in February '09 I decided to take the skirt off and go outside and try and get it fired. I picked a weekend when it came close to 32 degrees and went for it.

I first needed to reinstall the gas tank and hook up the fuel lines. Done, and hooked up the front d-shaft and exhaust as well. Put in a good rad support I picked up from a board member. Then came a new alt/light harness and a new harness for the motor.

Put some gas in it, double checked everything, crossed my fingers, and turned the key....It started Quickly found a fuel leak and a few small coolant leaks. I shut down and fixed the leaks. Then I started it back up, and put it in gear and moved it from it's hibernating spot. The first time the truck has moved under it's own power in a long time.

Here are a few pics from that day after I moved it out....I had a grin from ear to ear

[Yukon Jack]

Great story on bringing your truck back to life! I bet you were grinning big!

[68,69 K20]

Thanks YJ, I did a little celebrating later on

So it sat again for awhile waiting for the winter to finish, and for my cash flow to speed back up, so I could get the remaining parts to get it road worthy.

Really was up in the air about if I wanted to continue to keep it a '69, or '68 front clip it....

[68,69 K20]

Decided the '68 front clip was going on. Had a useable hood and driver side fender left from the parts truck. Pass side is a little rough but I'm going to try and use it.
Needed a new 67/8 core support, so I just bought a new reprop one...Grille is a little rough on top from some homeade plow frame braces. But it's still very useable, and will be cleaned and painted.

[68,69 K20]

Gave the fenders and grille some white...

[68,69 K20]

Also a good time to clean and paint the inner fenders....

No laughing at my Redneck workbench

[68,69 K20]

More painting of the firewall, frame, and undercarrage...

[68,69 K20]

Also a great time to tear down the heater box and reseal it. Put a new heater core in as well. Painted it, and reinstalled it.

[68,69 K20]

Time for some new KYB front shocks....

[68,69 K20]

I also dicovered a slight oil leak from the bottom of the timing case cover. I decided to get a new cover and gaskets, as well as a new water pump, new pulleys, and a new timing chain and gears. Thought I'd might as well replace it all while I was right there.
Summit racing is the best, they had the best prices, and it was delivered in 2 days

So, that's pretty much where I'm at right now. I have changed the timing chain and gears and I getting ready to seal it back up. Would have done it this weekend but I spent all day yesterday at the Goodguys show in Rhinebeck and I'm pretty tired today.

[68,69 K20]

New tires are next on the shopping list

I was looking at these...http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MTT-5263/

Any opinions on what size I should run?? No lift, on a 16 inch rim.

[Wildstreak]

Nice truck man! any progress? I wouldnt go any bigger than 33" with out a lift.

Watch out sir, you are on a slippery slope, it starts with tires, then goes to a lift then all hell breaks loose lol. jk have fun!

[68,69 K20]

Thanks, I guess it's about time to update this thread. Alot has happened since the summer. I moved closer to work and I also moved the truck back to my Dad's for the final touches.

It is now running excellent. I put the rear driveshaft in it today and started installing the headlights. Yesterday I put down the insulation pad and a new floor mat in the cab.

The only things left to do get it road worthy are the brakes, which I am working on tommorow, and I am awaiting a new tailight harness and harness that runs the length of the frame and plugs in by the firewall. Once those arrive I can finish the lights and give it a real road test.

It has been a long road to this point and it's all starting to come together finally. This place has been fundamental to this project and I can't imagine where I would be with this truck if it weren't for the great and knowledgeable people on this board, Thanks so much!!!