Scored a '70 SWB factory Big Block truck!

[o6r1man]

Congrats!! Nice find!! Dont forget to change your sig. :-)

[67_C-30]

Thanks guys! I just got back from the store with an intake gasket set, set of points, oil & filter, fuel filter, and some odd and end stuff. I'm going to get started on putting a cast iron intake back on it, and see if I can get it running. I'm also going to try to get a pic of engine code too. I have it cleaned, but I can't get a legible pic of it with my phone. I can clearly see the TBG code!

Code Year CID HP Trans Comments
TBG 1970 402 310 TH400 10, 20, 30

Originally Posted by o6r1man

Congrats!! Nice find!! Dont forget to change your sig. :-)

Check!

[Dave]

Is there a story behind finding this one? If there is, I'd like to hear it. Nice truck!

[flashed]

Congrats on the truck ,I know of a big block 72 fleetside shortbed near me for sale that appears to be all original and unmolested but I havent had a chance to check on the price of it. I need to go see if he would consider a trade toward my 55 Bel Air .

[67_C-30]

I did some crawling around and checked all the engine codes, casting numbers, and date codes and everything checks out original. The stamped engine code is T0504TBG - meaning the engine was built at Tonawanda on May, 4th and the TBG designates it as 1970 402 truck engine. The engine casting number is 3969854 designating it as a '69 -'72 396/402 block. The date code is D 22 0 -meaning it was casted April 22nd, 1970. The blue sticker on the driver's door has a production date of 5 - 1970, so everthing is consistent.

Its pretty cool to know that it was 13 days fom when the block was casted until the day it was assembled. I would have thought it would have been longer than, but I guess your popping them out in the numbers they were making, it moved pretty quickly.

I also did a shake down of everything, and found that all the dash lights, lights, wipers, blinkers, and brake lights all work. The heater fan and A/C heater controls all work smoothly and none of the levels are broken. The only things that didn't work were the horn, cargo light and dome light. Hopefully the lights will just need bulbs. The awesome Sparkomatic AM/FM cassette player (that's like a CD player, but it plays these things called tapes for you young bucks!) works. I put broke out my trusty AC/DC Black in Black tape, and it played in crackledy Sparkomatic splender!

I hope to have a video of the monster running sometime tomorrow!

[basemodel67]

Sounds like a nice project you got started there. Curious, does it have the elusive 6-lug Dana 60 rear? I've heard it came in 1/2 tons with the big block... Either way, I'm jealous!

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by basemodel67

Sounds like a nice project you got started there. Curious, does it have the elusive 6-lug Dana 60 rear? I've heard it came in 1/2 tons with the big block... Either way, I'm jealous!

No, its a 12 bolt. This is the 2nd BB 1/2 ton I've had and they both had 12 bolts, although I have seen a Dana 60 out of one of these trucks.

[67_C-30]

I got the engine ready to put the intake back on. I'm glad I took it back off - whoever put it on there were going to reuse the old worn out intake gaskets . It would hve definitely had a vacuum and/or coolant leak. The lifter valley was surprisingly clean. Its got some miles on it, but it t least looks like the oil was changed regularly. There was hardly any crud or build up.

I also cleaned up the interior. The old interior cleaned up pretty good. The seat is very nice except one small tear in the lower skirt part of the seat. The rest is perfect. My buddy that does my upholstery work says he can fix it easily. The dash is pretty nice besides the ends curled up a little. That medium gold is a pretty color when its cleaned up.

[MARKDTN]

Originally Posted by 67_C-30

.... The awesome Sparkomatic AM/FM cassette player (that's like a CD player, but it plays these things called tapes for you young bucks!) works. I put broke out my trusty AC/DC Black in Black tape, and it played in crackledy Sparkomatic splender!...

That brings back memories. We always used to say "You can tell by the static that you have a Sparkomatic!"

Nice truck

[lolife99]

Sweet truck!
The right front wheel looks like the rare 15x7 6-lug ralley wheel also.
Very nice truck.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Sweet truck!
The right front wheel looks like the rare 15x7 6-lug ralley wheel also.
Very nice truck.

It is. In fact, the whole set was on the truck, but the tires were bad, so we put some rollers on there to get it loaded. I remember when Nate was looking for some of these for his truck.

[gotchamel]

Slick rig with a vega wheel to boot!

[Dave]

Keep the updates and the pic's coming, especially when new parts are added!

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by Dave

Keep the updates and the pic's coming, especially when new parts are added!

Will do. You asked about the story behind it. A frend of mine had been riding past it for years, but he was never able to catch anybody there. He finally saw somebody there, and stopped by. The lady told him it was her son's, and he had owned a long time. She said she would see if would sell it, and a few days later she called him and said he would sell it. My friend called him and they struck a deal. He really got a deal on it! I got it for a very fair price, and he made a little finder's fee money

He did say it wasn't close enough to the road to easily tell it a BB truck. Its shocking that it sat in plain view all those years without somebody else getting it.

[Becker67]

You have a really nice truck. I wish there were still trucks like that around here. Good luck with your build.

[VWBeamer]

Man, this the best barn find Evar!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dan42]

I am very glad I wasn't the first to see that truck - my wife would be sooo P.O'd right now Very nice find and keep us posted on your progress - that interior really cleaned up well.

[RagingAsian]

I love it!

[C/10 King]

Awesome!!! Strictly awesome, makes me want to go and buy my old truck back, that way we can hang out. Make sure you keep us up dated!

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by C/10 King

Awesome!!! Strictly awesome, makes me want to go and buy my old truck back, that way we can hang out. Make sure you keep us up dated!

I love everything about that truck! Do you have the specs on springs and rim info (width, backspacing, etc)?

Oh, and we can still hang out anyway!

[C/10 King]

Originally Posted by 67_C-30

I love everything about that truck! Do you have the specs on springs and rim info (width, backspacing, etc)?

Oh, and we can still hang out anyway!

That one came lowered, so I can only guess on the stance, maybe 2/4, but on my black truck it's a 3/5 drop, the slot rims are 8's and 10's with backspacing either 4.5 or 5, tire size's are 245/60/15 in the front and 295/50/15, hope this helps.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by C/10 King

That one came lowered, so I can only guess on the stance, maybe 2/4, but on my black truck it's a 3/5 drop, the slot rims are 8's and 10's with backspacing either 4.5 or 5, tire size's are 245/60/15 in the front and 295/50/15, hope this helps.

Thanks, Rene! The 2/4 drop looks perfect to me. I would really love to to find some slots, but I'm going to start out with 15 X 8 6-lug Ralleys and run a 1.5" spacer in the rear to space it out and kinda give it the look of a 15 X 10 wheel. I ran that combo on my '69 C/10 and I really looked how it looked. It was low to enough to look tough but still not too low for my taste. Here's a few pics of it and the look I'm planning for this truck.

[no moa]

Sweet find!
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device

[lolife99]

I really liked your red truck.
Are you keeping this one or fixing it up to sell?
(you gotta put some black headlight bezels on it,... just my 2 cents)

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by lolife99

I really liked your red truck.
Are you keeping this one or fixing it up to sell?
(you gotta put some black headlight bezels on it,... just my 2 cents)

Thanks! I'm definitely building this one to keep. The ONLY reason I sold my red '69 was because I found my '69 Camaro SS. It was an original big block car, and found it at I price I could afford (I actually got a really good price on it) when we had a baby on the way. My wife was having a lot of complications with the pregancy, and I couldn't justify spending the money without selling something. There was guy driving me nuts about buying my truck, so I called to see if he was serious, and a hour later, he was driving it home. I sacrificed my truck for my dream car, but I still hate that I had to sell that truck. I'm planning on building this one to much like that one as far as look and stance.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with white below the belt line. I actually like the gold, but it needs some white to help it pop, IMO. I played around with one of the pics below and I like the way it looks. I may do away with the upper trim too, but I'm not sure about that yet.

Of course, the original paint scheme looks pretty good too when its fresh, even though I think that truck is a shade darker gold.