WTH was i thinking ??? 68 SWB Fleetside build and the answer to all lifes questions

[KRamsey07]

Ok so i been lurking for some time now heck I have even went as far as starting a thread about a 68 swb with a big block yada yada yada... so that was last year around this time . Id like to introduce myself ... I am Kenny from Oklahoma in a rural town named Roberta . I have always loved these trucks because growing up my dad always had one he was tinkering with . It started with a 69 lwb he had and we would work like dogs on it . My duties where to clean and wire brush everything and get it ready for Dad. Well he kind of got sick of it and went and found him a 72 blazer ... it was dark olive in color and had black saddle spoke rims on it before black rims where cool. By this time i was around 13 and had moved up in my duties i could disassemble things and help with motor work suspension work and anything else . This blazer was pretty sweet and i just was in love with it however i was at that tender age ( like with girls) i just didnt say much about it . So dad drove the blazer until i was 15 and sold the damn thing . I was so heart broken .I was for sure it was mine. Little did i know my dad thought i hated it and when i told him i would of liked it i got this dadism ... "If your not gonna use your head you might as well have 2 asses son" ... I cannot read your mind you should of spoke up . Well it was time for me to start driving about that time and he called the guy he sold it to and asked if he would sell the blazer back to us and i was so excited ... that was until we got to it . The guy put about a 15 inch lift on it and 44 " tires and painted it purple ... so i ended up with an 81 lwb chevy ... We built a motor for it as it was bad and i learned the 3 on the tree shifting ... If your wondering about the 69 dad sold it to my best friend in high school . So lets fast foward about 20 years i have always wanted a swb 67-72 truck and around here they are slim pickins or an arm and a leg. One fine sunday after noon i was over helping a friend with his live stock and in the pasture i saw a frame, a cab, a swb bed, and all the other sheet metal ... So the dance was on ... I asked my friend what he'd have to have for it and he goes " it aint for sale" damn i thought to myself everythings for sale ... and i go back to my teenage years of not speaking up and losing a blazer . So i cant let this one go !!! I turned on my charm and offered a nice offer i thought he said no way its my dads he dont sale nothing ! I said lets go talk to him . So i get to talking to this guys dad and he said the same ...

[KRamsey07]

I explain to him about how i lost the blazer and all that thinking it would tug at his heart strings... Nah he told me he dont do charity work ... Lol anyways this went on for 20 mins or so and he finally said i will not sale it however i do like trading for things and im in need of a tiller ... HMMM ive got a tiller ... so we made the trade and i went to get my trailer ... so heres some pictures of when i first saw it :

[KRamsey07]

sorry for being anti climatic LOL

[KRamsey07]

One at a time

[KRamsey07]

heres some more !!

[KRamsey07]

Not sure why there sideways im sure someone will get on me and get it right
this thing had some rockin interior and it also had a goose neck hitch in it ...

[KRamsey07]

I am sure im doing something wrong but loading pictures is exhaustive work !!!
So i think your getting the picture now of what kinda shape and how much work there is to do ... I think sometimes my mind gets the best of me . I didnt really check things like most of yall do i just got it lol ... Well its got a ton of rust in the body sheet metal no motor no transmission so i do what most do i gotta get this thing going ... I go buy a 454 that was ran on propane it was the cleanest block i seen ever ... then i want to go with a manual transmission and all the go fast parts ... and this is where reality sunk in ... i was in for a long build . So since the truck was already blown apart i thought i can do all the frame work and get it sand blasted and painted and then just work on all this other junk !!! Well i do that get the frame in primer and then i raptor lined it . So while all this is going on Dad had started on another 69 and was almost to finish line and he started getting blood clots in his lungs and was in bad shape. He pulled through but he said he was done with working on the truck . I tried to talk him out of it but to no avail ... So he said i have an offer you cannot refuse ...

[KRamsey07]

Well the 69 he has been working on has a nice cab no rust ... it has all the 5 lug swap and disc brakes ... It also has a 387 stroker and 350 turbo trans ... and a slew of other parts... I asked him what his offer was he told me and the deal was done ... The only stipulations he put on the whole deal was that #1 i finish it #2 dont put it on air bags and put 30 inch rims on it LOL hes old school so i told him i could manage that ...

[KRamsey07]

Ok so now i have this nice 69 truck its a lwb but i plan on using as much of it as i can . The plans for the truck are the following : Fuel injection for the motor, 4L80E transmission, Vintage air , Dakota digital gauges , 3"/4" drop, Wheels and tires of course, nice interior , and in paint. So today i applied the Raptor liner to the swb frame , next will be to pull engine and trans out of other truck and put in this one run my exhaust and brakes and fuel lines, then put the cab on . I am thinking i will have it done in 2 years but who knows ... I hope you enjoyed a piece of my life and the truck i will update as i do more !!

[raggedjim]

Looks like you have a great start.

Good luck, Rg