The story on your truck

[GmtGmt]

Well

My truck started its life in 1984 build in St. Louis, MO as a Black Chevrolet C-30 Bonus Cab Dually 1-Ton with a J Code 6.2 Diesel. in July 1984 It was at the Choo Choo Customs Inc. in Chattanooga, TN and got there treatment to make it a Convertion truck, 2 custom bucket seats for the front a rear bench fold down seat In Maroon Velour, Headliner, White Paint job with 2 pin stripes, front airdam and alot more.

My truck have spent its life in Oklahoma until 1990, where it went to florida. it has been used a hauler at one time and have been front end damaged witch have been repaird and at some time in the 90s, it went overseas to Poland. where it was used as a hauler for a circus and have been hauler Seals and have been haulering those around many countrys in europe until some time in 2001.
Where it was abandond at a company parking lot. tired 2 damaged tires, dead batteries, destroyed ignition lock, worn out seats, broken passenger side window. it was auctioned of cheap, non running, missing title for parts only.

A well know Drag racer Bought it and was going to restore it but that guy put it up forsale again sometime 2003 or 04 i saw the add and drool over it everyday but didnt have that kind of money as 14 year old kid to buy it. then it was gone until Sebtember 9th 2009.

A guy replied to an add I have on a US car site as i was looking for old truck without engine cheap, he said that he had an old 82 or 83 3500 chevy, I could get cheap, call him and he told me it had a great sounding 6.2 Diesel with 4 speed manual, but had a very rusty cab and it was missing title. He agred to send me pictures that same afternoon, as promissed i got the pictures that same evening when i opend my mail box i almost fell of my chair there it was the truck i wanted 4 years earlyer:

I made him an offer on it right away, he took it $3452 2 weeks later 3 friends and i went cross country to pick it up we where planing to drive it home.

It has been taken care off most of it life since there are written oil/filter, fuel filter, tire, brakes and other stuff on the rad support that fron 5000miles upto 70000 something miles, filters where all AC Delco same with brake pads and Shoes.

[bigblock73]

Back in '95 when I bought my '73, my first love was for 68-70 Dodge Chargers (followed by the 73-87's). There was a nice original '68 near my house, drove by it every day. It was never for sale, until the day I financed and drove home my '73!! I couldn't do a dang thing about it, and was pretty bummed out for a while. In hindsight, I am glad it worked out that way, I really love these trucks and have made a TON of new friends along the way.

[kcackler]

When I was growing up, my grandpa ALWAYS drove a 77 C-10. Old blue we called her. I grew up riding in that truck, going camping in that truck, working on the truck, etc... Better yet, my MOM grew up in that truck and learned to drive that truck. Around 2000ish, he stopped driving it around. He just wasn't in the best of health anymore and wasn't able to. In 2008, I needed a new car. I offered him $2,500 for the truck and went and picked it up that day.

My grandpa died in 2009 from old age. I don't know much about this truck (Or vehicles in general), but it is my hope to eventually completely restore it as I'm able to. For the time being, she starts right up and drives great and keeps me where I need to be. I feel bad sometimes, not being able to put much money into it, but I know someday I'll be able to and maybe pass it on to my son.

My first order of business is getting this floorboard and rocker panel rust taken care of. Don't know how much a body shop will charge to fix it all, but someday we'll get it done...

Actually - On reflection - The truck was first bought by my GREAT GRANDPA. He didn't like the way it drove, and sold it to my grandpa. Then my mom and all of her brothers and sisters learned to drive in the truck. Then it sat for 10 years pretty much. Then I bought it.

The beautiful thing - After sitting for 10 years, the truck started on the first turn of the key (And a fresh battery). These things are amazing.

[MadManAndrew]

Original owner bought it brand new as his daily driver in 1980 and drove it as such until a couple years ago when he decided he wanted a mud bogger. He put it on an '81 4x4 frame, put 5" of lift under it, and dropped the 350 out of his '74 Camaro in it. He passed away shortly thereafter, and after his son supposedly drove it for about six months (I don't believe this, nobody could have driven it in the condition I got it in,lol), I picked it up for $1000.

[87 chevy silverado]

check my build thread

[81ShrtBox]

A few years ago my uncle showed up at my house with a 1981 GMC shortbox that had duals and a 350 vortec. it was ruff looking... 3 different sized tires, busted windshield, and about 3 different colors and a lil surface rust. I put my eyes on it then. My uncle is not mechanically inclined and I knew he would sell it soon. So I told him whenever he wanted to sell it, give me 1st dibs. About 9months laters he called, he was on the way to my house with the truck. He needed some cash and was either coming sell the truck or borrow some $$$ So I took the truck for $600

got a windshield, new tires, 4wheel brake job, seat cover, speakers and amp, sprayed it with a little gray primer, added 2000 yukon heads with LT4 hotcam, headers and new mufflers..

Now i'm swapping the vortec for a 2002 Z06 powerplant

[big10charlie]

Bought my 78 last spring from my buddy! he owned it for 14 years, but of those years it was in storage for 12! we graduated in 98 and he joined the navy and it sat since then till last year when I became 3rd owner. The truck was bought new in Denton Texas, and served as a ranch truck for the helping hand! next to my 75 sb stepside that I just sold This is my favorite truck and it has only 40K original miles according to documents! Love the SQUARES!!!

[66FLH]

I graduated high school in 1979 and went to straight to working full time. Ordered this 1980 Silverado in December of 79 and picked it up in February 1980. I asked the dealer to have it built on a Wednesday and he produced the paper work proving it was. It pretty much stayed parked during the 90's while I worked and raised 2 kids. I pulled it out and had it painted, new interior, bed wood, and wheels in 2006 for my son to drive during his senior year in high School. Thinking about updating it a bit with new wheels and motor this year for my 50th birthday present.

[nublood1]

1975 C/10 long wheelbase. The 350 engine and TH350 tranny are all still stock and have never been rebuilt to my knowledge. It was my grandfathers truck. He and my dad used it to pull a racecar about 40 miles every weekend (my dad raced dirt track). They used that truck to haul lumber, used it as a farm truck, and it was my grandfathers only means of transportation for years. My grandfather passed away and it sat under a tin garage for probably 15 years. Finally one day my dad decided to ask his step-mother if he could have the truck and she gave it to him. He re-painted it, new interior, and some other cosmetic stuff was replaced. He put a for sale on it and there was no way I was letting that truck go. I asked him how much he was selling it for and he gave it to me lol. I haven't done much to it yet but I have plans for it. Replacing the exhaust and those PESKY vent windows is first on my list. I probably have my priorities in the wrong place though haha.

[xs-style]

Originally Posted by 66FLH

I graduated high school in 1979 and went to straight to working full time. Ordered this 1980 Silverado in December of 79 and picked it up in February 1980. I asked the dealer to have it built on a Wednesday and he produced the paper work proving it was. It pretty much stayed parked during the 90's while I worked and raised 2 kids. I pulled it out and had it painted, new interior, bed wood, and wheels in 2006 for my son to drive during his senior year in high School. Thinking about updating it a bit with new wheels and motor this year for my 50th birthday present.

I guess Ill be the one to ask.... Why a Wednesday?

[66FLH]

Originally Posted by xs-style

I guess Ill be the one to ask.... Why a Wednesday?

I always heard cars built on Monday's or Friday's had the most trouble, so I just threw it out as a request just joking around, but the dealer actually had it done. Only trouble with it the past 30 years was timing chain and fuel pump, so maybe I did get lucky.

[Restrorob]

NICE rig 66 and Welcome Aboard !!!

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by 66FLH

I graduated high school in 1979 and went to straight to working full time. Ordered this 1980 Silverado in December of 79 and picked it up in February 1980. I asked the dealer to have it built on a Wednesday and he produced the paper work proving it was. It pretty much stayed parked during the 90's while I worked and raised 2 kids. I pulled it out and had it painted, new interior, bed wood, and wheels in 2006 for my son to drive during his senior year in high School. Thinking about updating it a bit with new wheels and motor this year for my 50th birthday present.

Oooo - I like. Looks just like my first truck, also an 80, and also ordered from the dealer (except I watched mine get built).





Mine was a straight six, three on the tree, which I converted to a floor shifted four speed. True dual exhaust, 3.42 posi rear axle. A Sun tach mounted on the column completed the ambiance.

I sold it when I got my first company vehicle. I bought the aforementioned red truck with the company car got taken away...

[66FLH]

Dropped her down a bit, new wheels and a fresh 383.

[Brockwaykid]

Well, I dont know the history on mine until about 1990. An older guy that lives near our house bought it (not sure if new or not) at somepoint. It sat in a barn from 1990-91 to 2006-07. My father purchased it from his son with a load of scrap in the box, and a "lost" title for 300$. His wife for some reason threw a crowbar through the windshield... I can faintly remember going to look at the truck with him. He got the truck running, and scrapped everything in the back of it. It never ran the best, because it supposedly jumped time. I drove it once with him with me, and at 9-10 years old I loved it! After that it basically has sat in one spot behind our house. This spring I really started planning for a 73-80 as my first truck. my dad bought it mainly because the body was in nice shape and it was a 4wd K20. He told me i could have it and do yard work all summer to get it. I originally planned to have it as my dream truck next summer, but I never realized how much money and knowledge it took. So, I have now changed my plans to have a 88-06 pickup that can be a bit safer, more reliable and better on fuel, and nicer, while i have the square as a project. My plans with the truck are to put it on a 6" lift, put a 12V 5.9 cummins in it with an nv4500 trans, dana 60 front and a 14 bolt full floater rear with a detroit locker. Also, the truck is currently a 1975 Chevy custom deluxe 20 that has a 73 half ton cab on it. I will convert the truck to a GMC Sierra Grande 20. I want to use a 73-74 GMC chrome grille with no silver paint, 79 bezels, steel cowl ind. hood, a narrow gmc tailgate band, 73-80 gmc gate, black door panels/dash bezel all with woodgrain, along with the dash insert. As for the interior colors, I want to recreate the 99-06 colors. i want to use the 99-06 buckets with console, so i think it would be neat. light gray abs headliner, get all the light gray stuff on the pillars, and the sunvisors. black dash pad etc. I havent made my mind up on the paint. I want either GM arrival blue, or the red/white two tone with a red roof. Also i want to put the yankee 77 cab lights on it, along with the small tripod mirrors. for rims and tires i want either outlaw ii's or moto metal 591's and the older style bfg mud terrains. Not sure if i would put a stack in it, or run 4" reb pipes so i can smoke out cars behind me. haha The truck is in really great shape as far as rust goes for being up here most of its life. if i didnt go the cummins route i would make a hot 350 or 383 with an sm465 with an np205 case. same axles. Long expensive list I know! Hopefully I will do it like i just explained someday.
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[wwillmon]

Figured i would post up.

Not exactly sure on the history of the truck, but the reason i bought the truck is.....my dad had an 85 when i was little. It was the coolest thing ever to me back then, and i always said it would be mine when i got older. Well as time went on the truck got parked and he ended up selling it to a friends son, who went on to total it. I wasnt mad at my dad when he sold it because i knew he needed to, but i always said i would have one someday.

Found a 73 on craigslist for $1500 that ran and drove, and decided to buy it. Im going in to my last semester of college so hopefully when i graduate ill have a little extra money to throw towards it and build it how i want.

[Rich84]

Originally Posted by 66FLH

Dropped her down a bit, new wheels and a fresh 383.

That is one sweet looking stepside...

[JWall]

My Dad bought the truck new in November of 1975.
He traded in a van & $500 for the truck. They actually had the truck sitting just out the showroom because they where about to put it on the show room floor & he asked them from quite a ways away "is that truck V8, Auto, & have A/C?" the guy said yes & he said "then thats the one I want".
He has had it ever since.
He decided about 10-12 years ago to give it a "quickie paint job" & to do it himself in his shop.
The paint came out better than he expected & has held up great.
When he painted it, that led to wheels, interior, engine dress up, etc & then he began showing it.
Recent medical issues stopped him from driving so he passed it on to me.
I have been trying to get my hands on the truck since I was probably 13 or 14, but glad I didnt get it then as it means more now.
I did an interior update & new wheels/tires to update the truck a little, but shes still rolling the paint job he did.
I plan to do a complete rebuild of the truck in the future but for now it looks good & is fun to drive so I will wait a while.

Original Invoice...




The truck today...

[Jwood70]

The story on mine is this: My Grandfather bought the truck from a lumber yard in 1984 with around 40K miles. I think he paid $2000 for it. Its a 250, 3 speed column shift 2wd custom deluxe 10. He kept used it for hauling lumber, yard scrap, trash and mulch. It lived a pretty easy life pulling in about 900 miles a year.

When I was 12, I told my grandfather I wanted his truck and had dreams that I would get it to drive when I got my license. Heck, I even learned to drive a straight drive in this truck. For the best, I didn't get the truck. Over the years, my Grandfather and I did a few things to the truck, as well as planned out a few others.

My grandfather passed away last week and while he was in the hospital, he wrote my grandmother a note telling her what he wanted her to do with the truck (give it to me) as well as he wrote me a note telling me that he had told my grandmother what to do with the truck.

My plans are to keep the truck true to what my Grandfather and I had discussed, a straight 6, straight drive truck. I've gotten a non integrated head/manifolds that are heading to the machine shop soon. I also want to refresh the interior with a new dash pad, install a headliner & maybe carpet (it has a rubber floor mat now), an updated stereo (head-unit and 2 speakers behind the seat), and sound insulation. There are some rough spots on the exterior, but nothing that cant be fixed (new grill and a spot of rust on the passenger side wheel well) and maybe some wheels down the road a ways.

I have a build thread, just haven't linked it to my signature yet, pictures are over in that thread.
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[dieseldawg142]

i hate bodywork, so i looked long & hard for my truck. SRW crews are really rare in bc, & rust free even more rare.
after 2 yrs of searching, found one 10 hrs away. took a long, crappy bus ride on an unseen truck (couple of email pics).
older man, had bought it at gov. auction, used it a couple yrs to lug a 12 ft camper around, sold the camper & didn't like the fuel bills.
truck was 99% rust free, one dime size hole where the door bumper was missing, but it had "accessory" holes all over it-still, i HAD to have it. paid more then i should have, (old guy was a hard bargaineer), & i DID NOT want to do another 10 hr bus trip.
with some basic tools & a lot of faith, pointed her south for the trip. was astounded at the fuel consumption, (454, t400, 205, 4:56's with 235 16's) 5- 20 gal fill-ups, 8 1/2 hrs later i was home with no problems.
that was almost 15 yrs ago. can't see selling this one for a long time, if ever. it fits our needs perfectly, & my 9 yr old son can't wait till the day he can legally drive it

[83GMCK2500]

My story is in my introduction, in my signature.

[wilkin250r]

I don't know the history on the truck, but it's aquisition is an interesting tale.

I work on cars and motorcycles on the side, so when a friend had a car that quit on him one day, I took the car for free. It had sat for a couple years, but the problem was merely a transmission cooler line. I fixed the line, filled it with tranny fluid, and then spent another $200 and a few trips to the junkyard fixing odds and ends (cracked bumper, bad power window motor, ect).

I saw an ad on craigslist, a guy looking to sell his truck to buy a commuter. He had bought the truck just a week before to use offroad, but an unfortunate turn of events forced him to move into San Francisco. I must have done a bang-up job fixing that little piece of junk car (Ford Tempo) because he loved it, and a handshake later the deal was done.

Does that mean I bought this truck for $200?

[69 C10 LWB]

My truck was purchased new in December 1972 by my dad. It is a 1973 GMC C20. It still has the original 350/th350. After a few short months with the new truck dad installed a hotter cam. After about a year with his new truck he got tired of it and sold it to my great grandpa who put a camper in the bed and used it to travel around Illinois and Missouri. After he put the camper in dad installed an aftermarket A/C system. At some point great grandpa got tired of the camper and sold it to my grandpa. Grandpa bought a newer camper from a friend and continued to travel around with the truck. I still remember when I was about 5, sometime around 1987, we traveled from the Chicago suburbs to Branson Mo with grandma and grandpa in that truck. Shortly after that grandpa sold the camper out of the truck and it was used as a back up vehicle. In 1990 grandma and grandpa moved to a new house and since then the truck has been traded back and forth between dad and grandpa atleast 5 times. Last year the after more than 100,000 miles the GM Performance cam from the 70's lost a lobe and dad did another cam and intake swap. Ive always loved old GM trucks. In 2006 my 1964 Chevy C20(daily driver) was rear ended and I traded it for a 69 C10. Late last year dad decided that at 11mpg his truck wasnt really good for a daily driver anymore and asked if I wanted it. Since it is just a toy for me and gas mileage isnt a concern I couldnt say no, so I sold the 69 and now the 73 sits in my garage. It is currently waiting for a transmission swap. The th350 leaks and I miss the 3rd pedal so I stripped another truck of its sm465 and all the parts. The transmission swap is first on my list then it needs a lot of body work. Grandpa had the body fixed in the early 90s and the body shop did a crappy job, the only sheetmetal that isnt rusted is the hood. The truck may be ugly now but it has never let any of us down and there have been a lot of good memories in that truck. Now I can say I am the 4th owner of this truck and the name on the title has never changed, dad, grandpa and great grandpa and I are all named George.